On the eve of Cork's first Fringe Festival
It's curtains up for Cork's first Fringe Festival which takes place this weekend. "The root of it all for us is trying to create more jobs for people who work in the arts in Cork."
This time last year, Ineke Lavers and Daniel Cremin were coming to the end of their Masters in Arts Management & Creative Producing and thinking about what to do after they graduated.
After considering a variety of different options, the pair decided to see if they could start a Fringe Festival here in Cork, but weren’t exactly sure how to go about making this a reality.
So they contacted World Fringe, an umbrella organisation which helps existing Fringe festivals and anyone seeking to start a new festival, and from there, the wheels of the very first Cork Fringe Festival were set in motion.
This week T+D met with Lavers to discuss the upcoming festival and what has been a whirlwind first year of planning and organising.
“The root of it all for us is trying to create more jobs for people who work in the arts in Cork and also fill the space between emerging artists trying to find somewhere to show their work and established festivals.”
“We were invited to the World Fringe congress in Sweden and Finland last year and were told it’s not protected, you can just start your own festival. Fringe is not a brand, just do it, they told us.”
“And creating that opportunity for people who are just starting out was really important to us.”
Although Lavers and Cremin come from quite different backgrounds, Lavers says they both share some similar qualities which helped them navigate the past year.
“We work in the same way and are both right brained in a predominantly left brained environment!”
“Daniel is a magician and is always on stage, but my background is in international relations, but I was always interested in art and the way in which museums act as political spaces.”
“To begin with we were a bit apprehensive of how other festivals and groups would receive the idea of Fringe in Cork, but everyone we have met with have been really supportive.”
When they had everything in place, the co-directors put out an open call for applications late last year and received over 120 proposals and ideas, which meant spending quite some time whittling this number down.
“Luckily our timeline made enough sense so we weren’t particularly pressed and we were amazed by the quantity of applications and the quality.”
“We went back and forth deliberating and asking will this actually work in terms of time to prepare and whether it could be placed in a suitable venue.”
“One thing I will also do when the festival is over, is get back to each unsuccessful applicant, because I want to give them some feedback on our thoughts.”
“We had quite a few international applications too, but there was no way we could pay all of them fairly so this year it is a very Cork orientated festival.”
So how was the festival funded then?
“We made this happen through the help of The Everyman and some private donations, but we also want to keep the independence that comes with the model and a long term goal would be in ten years time to be fully independent.”
Lavers and Cremin have themselves therefore worked voluntarily on this for the entire year, but are hopeful if the festival is a success then next year they will be able to apply for funding from the Arts Council. Artists will be paid from ticket sales with a 70/30 split in favour of the performers.
As for the festival programme this year, Lavers was keen to emphasise that there will be a huge amount of talent and creativity on show.
“I’m very excited for the double billing in The Everyman and curious to see how that will feel in such a big space.”
“Jodot is a really exciting sound piece in the TDC, which is hard to explain but the creator of the show had the speakers and the stands 3D printed. It’s very very experimental and quirky.”
“This year we really looked at keeping it very Cork, which again goes back to the practicality, but we also wanted to link with people who have left Cork and provide an opportunity for them to come back to their home and make work here.”
“I’m half Dutch, and you get some really outrageous shows over there compared to here. We need to gently push Cork towards some outrageous stuff, and I think we’ve started that this year by including shows that will be unexpected to audiences.”
Cork Fringe Festival runs from May 9 to May 11 in venues all over the city. For more information about the shows and how to purchase tickets, please see here
Five to see for Fringe (in no particular order)
Gael Core: A whodunnit murder mystery heavily inspired by the slasher horror movie genre. Written and Directed by Antóin Ó Dúllaing. Tickets and more info here.
Time, date, place: 2pm, Sunday 11 May, The TDC at the Triskel
Kuu: From dancer Kanako Nakajima and artist Mick O'Shea, Kuo borrows heavily from butoh, a paired back dance form from Japan. Tickets and more info here.
Time, date, place: Sunday 11 May 2.00pm Lavit Gallery
In a Bad Way + Happy Capital: Two different one man shows, the first, ‘In a Bad Way’, performed by Isolde Fenton, follows a hypochondriac into the GP’s office. In the second, from Tommy Harris, ‘Happy Capital’ follows a man who also has delusions of his own: a get rich scheme with cryptocurrency at its heart. Tickets and more information here.
Time, date, place: 7pm, Friday 9 May, The TDC at the Triskel.
You’re Toast: Sticking with the capitalistic mores of our capitalist ways, comedian Ross O'Donoghue’s four act one-hour play wants to know what the fictional CEO of Subway should do: Fire 30% of his employees? Or make slightly less money? Tickets and more information here.
The Scent of a Mock Orange: You’d be forgiven for forgetting UCC has a theatre space. It does, and it’s the Granary where Ciara Ní Tuathaigh, writer, director and performer stars in ‘The Scent of a Mock Orange’ as a woman on the edge, quite possibly the worst person she knows and a sex addict. Tickets and more info here.
Time, date, place: 7pm, Saturday 10 May, The Granary Theatre.
Honourable mention: Bodice, cured pork rib that is boiled until tender, is one part of the 3 Bs in Forde’s on Sullivan’s Quay. The other two Bs’ Beamish and ballads.
Time, date, place: Friday evening, May 9, Forde’s, Sullivan’s Quay