(Sharjah Waterfront)
Against the backdrop of the iconic Edinburgh Fringe, the
world’s largest arts platform, it was announced this week that South Africa’s
National Arts Festival has been contracted to co-produce and present the first
Fringe on the Arabian Peninsula.
The new Fringe Festival will debut in Sharjah, in the United
Arab Emirates, in January 2020.
Speaking at the launch, the CEO of South Africa’s National
Arts Festival, Tony Lankester, said he was delighted that their company could
be part of this inaugural event: “The National Arts Festival has been going for
over 40 years and is the flagship festival in our country. South Africa also
has a long trade relationship with the UAE and so this is a natural partnership
for us – we’re looking forward to developing a unique, vibrant new festival in
Sharjah.”
The Sharjah Fringe, revealed during a biannual gathering of
Fringe management at the World Fringe Congress, will be programmed on a
selected basis, and will invite applications from producers of Children’s
Theatre, Street Theatre, Circus and Family Theatre in the course of 2019.
“We’ll be looking for great, solid entertainment for young people and families,
presented in English. We’ll be building hubs and venues across Sharjah to stage
the work, using some global best practice and local expertise to bring these
spaces to life,” Lankester said.
The Festival is joined in the co-production agreement by
Dubai-based Dolphin Creative – who specialize in street theatre festivals and
have a long history with the Grahamstown event.
Excellency Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, Executive Chairman
of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), said: “Sharjah
International Fringe Festival will be one of the biggest additions to the list
of festivities and events which Sharjah attracts year on year, across all our
destinations. The new festival also falls in line with our mission and vision
to expand on our portfolio of strategic partnerships that introduce new
experiences and unique offerings to our visitors and tourists in Sharjah.”
He added: “The Fringe Festival is a globally acclaimed
concept known for presenting a melting pot of cultures and artistic
performances. Year after year, we explore ideas and joint-ventures to
facilitate and host global entertainment events in Sharjah, thanks to the
growing demand of citizens and visitors, the diversified tourism projects in
the emirate, and its growing tourism sector.”
He continued: “ Sharjah International Fringe Festival will
become a regional attraction to visitors, with performances to communicate the
emirate’s multi-cultural environment and community to visitors and tourists
from all around the world.”
The enormous tourism potential of Fringe Festivals was
touched on at the launch, with Shurooq acknowledging the power of the arts to
drive global tourism and support local trade and small business.
H.E. Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Commerce and
Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), said: “The pioneering Sharjah Fringe is
another opportunity for us to promote the magical world of theatre and,
consequently, the arts and culture to families and children in Sharjah and the
whole of the UAE. As an addition to our rich portfolio of dazzling and
entertaining festivals, the premier event is expected to result in a further
influx of tourists to the emirate, thereby paving the way for more vibrant
local tourism sector and growth of businesses associated to tourism and
hospitality. Hosting Sharjah Fringe is the step in the right direction as we
endeavor to spread artistic and cultural awareness, diversify our recreational
offerings, and position the emirate as one of the world’s most favoured family
destinations in line with our vision of attracting 10 million tourists by
2021.”
The Sharjah International Fringe is being produced for
Sharjah’s Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) by South Africa’s
National Arts Festival and Dubai-based Dolphin Creative.
Commenting on the Street Theatre programme, Stuart Every,
the CEO of Dolphin Creative, acknowledged the importance of having a vibrant
street culture at Fringe Festivals “Some of the best known and most successful
Fringe Festivals globally have street theatre and performances at their heart.
It is the ultimate in crowd-sourced entertainment and is a sure-fire way of
reaching new audiences and building excitement around an event. Our work in
Sharjah will adopt this same approach.”
For more information contact Sascha Polkey on media@sharjahfringe.com,
www.sharjahfringe.com or www.facebook.com/sharjahfringe
(To link direct to the
National Arts Festival site, click on the large banner that runs across the top
of this blog)