Artistic Explosion

By Barbara Isenberg/Edinburgh

The first time British impresario David Sefton attended the summer arts festivals in Edinburgh, he shared a cramped apartment with a feminist comedy group called Sensible Footwear and a stand-up duo called the Brown Paper Bag Brothers. As offbeat as their names might suggest, they fit into the Edinburgh scene perfectly. Known for showcasing obscure acts and up-and-comers, along with more classical fare, these festivals are fertile grounds for talent scouts. Now, 20 years later, Sefton is still mining the Edinburgh festival grounds each summer. "There are a lot of companies I discovered in Edinburgh that I went on to work with," says Sefton, director of UCLA Live, a performing-arts series in Los Angeles.

Discovery is at the heart of the 57-year-old festival tradition. Every August some 500,000 tourists descend upon this picturesque city, doubling its population. They come from around the world to soak up a month-long string of arts festivals that virtually inundates Edinburgh. Schools, churches, caves and doorways become makeshift stages, eager actors thrust handbills at passersby, and anything that doesn't move is plastered with promotional flyers. There's something for everyone. If you like new plays, try the Traverse Theater. Opera and symphony concerts are around the corner at Usher Hall, while up on the esplanade of the Edinburgh Castle, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo features hundreds of bagpipers, drummers and military musicians, tanks and more.

"Where else could you go at lunchtime and see Andreas Schiff playing the 'Goldberg Variations,' go across the road and watch an Iranian movie, walk a couple blocks to hear Gore Vidal talk, then sit in a sweaty cellar at midnight listening to some stand-up comedy?" asks Shane Danielsen, artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. "There are certainly worse ways than that to spend one's life."

Each of the six summer arts festivals here is run separately, funded by a varying mix of government monies, advertising, donors, company sponsorship and ticket sales. While auteurs head to Cannes for films, music lovers go to Salzburg for melodies, and opera fans flock to Glyndebourne, two hours outside London, for lyric drama, none of these fests offer the array that Edinburgh serves up each year. But before you book for Scotland, a word of warning: don't try to take in everything on your first jaunt. Some advance planning and a little willingness to experiment will make your Edinburgh adventure easier and more enjoyable.

The main event is the renowned Edinburgh International Festival, which was created in 1947 by Rudolf Bing, then general manager of Glyndebourne Opera and later general manager of New York City's Metropolitan Opera. Various royals and city fathers became involved, inviting groups to attend. But legend has it that eight groups came uninvited, booked their own halls and launched what has come to be known as the Festival Fringe--an eclectic gathering of street performers, experimental theater, stand-up comics, musicians and much more. "[The founders'] aim after the war was to bring the nations of the world together through the arts," observes London-based writer-director-producer Giles Ramsey, who first went to Edinburgh with his college revue in 1985 and will be working this summer with longtime Edinburgh arts producer Richard Demarco. "For the month of August, the city doesn't belong to Scotland. It belongs to everyone."

The International Festival, which runs from Aug. 15 to Sept. 5, appeals to the highbrow set. This year's 160 performances include everything from a new production of Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice to Paul Claudel's Le Soulier de Satin, an 11-hour epic play set in 15th century Spain. Both the Hanover State Opera and Cleveland Orchestra will be in town. And there's a major retrospective of Antony Tudor's choreography.

International Festival participants are formally invited, but any performer can enter the Festival Fringe--provided a venue is available. This year's Fringe catalog lists more than 25,000 performances of nearly 1,700 shows, including theater from Montenegro and Kosovo, electronic music from France and comedy from Japan. School groups, amateurs and even a few professionals conjure up some very creative venues. Among last year's hits were Ladies and Gents, a play set in cleaned-up public toilets, and hourly poetry readings, magic shows and even short filmsall done in an elevator.

And there's always the chance that you'll stumble upon an up-and-coming hit. Jerry Springer--The Opera debuted here in 2002 before heading on to London's National Theater and West End. This summer Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, brings her one-woman show, My Life as a 10 Year Old Boy, to the Fringe. And Guy Masterton, who directed last year's hit Twelve Angry Men with a cast of comics, is back this year casting comics in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Most festival events are within 20 minutes' walk of one another, and cabs and buses are fairly easy to find if you don't feel like walking. Brochures for the International Festival and the Fringe provide show running times to make it easier to plan your schedule. The larger venues have bars and restaurants, but expect some waiting even at Edinburgh's seemingly limitless supply of places to eat and drink. Cafes offer everything from South African smoked ostrich to fish and chips, often to go, and the main street is lined with parks for alfresco dining.

There are also restaurants in and around the upscale Sheraton Grand and Caledonian Hilton hotels, both well situated for the film festival and key International Festival events. Moderately priced hotels, bed-and-breakfasts and other housing are available in Edinburgh and environs. As always, it's a good idea to book hotels and restaurants as soon as you know you will be attending the events.

Experienced visitors like Sefton recommend purchasing tickets for International Festival events from home. Give yourself plenty of time for on-the-spot Fringe bookings. The Scotsman newspaper publishes a daily guide to the festivals, beefing up its regular staff with 10 free-lance critics, who review more than 600 Fringe events and everything at the International Festival.

"Talk to everyone in every line you're waiting in," suggests retired businessman Robert Wetzel from Portland, Maine. "Ask them what they've seen and what they've liked, because that's where the best recommendations come from. And if you hear a consistent buzz on something, move fast, because it will sell out."