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58th Edinburgh Fringe Programme Launched Today

The programme for the 58th annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, which runs this year from 8 to 30 August 2004, was launched this afternoon (10 June 2004) in the Scottish capital.

Theatrically, highlights of the 2004 programme include: a one-woman show from Nancy Cartwright, the voice behind Bart in The Simpsons, called My Life as a 10-year-old Boy; comedian Jenny Eclair in The Andy Warhol Syndrome; the world premiere of The BBC, Andrew Gilligan and Me by Chris Neill; Kenneth – What is the Frequency? by New York-based 74th Street Theatre Lab (creators of last year’s award-winning Boy Steals Train); Bang Bang You’re Dead from Tectonic Theater (creators of 2002’s Laramie Project); and the last-ever UK performances of XXX, the explicit and highly controversial sex show from Spain’s La Fura dels Baus.

As usual, the Fringe also features no end of unusual venues and shows, including this year’s Curry Tales performed in an Indian restaurant, A Mobile Thriller that takes place in a Maserati sportscar, and, at the Cowgate Theatre, Mark Watson’s stand-up which he’ll do for 24 hours non-stop, making it the longest show in the festival’s history.

Organisers of the Fringe are keen to emphasise the international backing behind this year’s event, which will see theatrical contributions from Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ukraine, Kosovo, Montenegro and the Czech Republic, as well as North America, the UK and other parts of Europe.

Fringe director Paul Gudgin commented: “A year that has focussed on international issues has produced a Fringe full of international artists, all choosing Edinburgh to tell their stories. As Athens welcomes the world’s athletes for the Olympics, Edinburgh will be a magnet for the world’s artists and performers this August.”

At the 2004 Fringe, there will be a total of 25,326 performances (an increase of nearly 4,000 from last year) of 1,695 different shows involving 15,629 performers from 735 companies in 236 venues. A third of all the shows presented this year are world premieres, with another 6% European and 6% UK premieres. Theatre, including musicals, comprises 35% of the entire programme, making it the most popular art form of all.

More than half a million people plan their August holidays each year around a trip to Edinburgh. Though commonly seen as one single festival, the event is in reality several different festivals - the main ones being the original Edinburgh International Festival (running this year from 15 August to 5 September 2004), the Edinburgh Fringe, the Military Tattoo, the Jazz Festival, the Film Festival and the Book Festival - of which the Fringe is, by far, the largest.

In 2003, the Fringe broke the million ticket barrier for the first time ever (See News, 26 Aug 2003). Tickets for 2004 go on sale Monday 21 June and can be booked on 0131 226 0000. To access the full 2004 Edinburgh Fringe programme - as well as online booking - visit the