It all started by accident in 1947, when 8 groups, told they weren’t good enough to perform at the inaugural Edinburgh International Festival, decided to come and do their shows anyway. What began as the “uninvited eight” grew up to be the largest annual ticketed event on Earth. By 2019 the Fringe attracted 4.5 million visitors from 157 of the world’s 195 countries.
It sold over 3 million tickets - only the Olympic Games sells more - and they’re every four years. It’s an extraordinary success story, entirely, though not deliberately, based on principles conceived by a philosopher who lived in the same city two hundred years earlier: Adam Smith.
Featuring Jimmy Carr, Al Murray, Shazia Mirza, Henning Wehn and Arthur Smith, Father of the Fringe tells the extraordinary economic success story of the Edinburgh Fringe, and how it proved the unlikely realisation of everything Adam Smith argued for.
Written and presented by Dominic Frisby. Directed by Alex Webster. Executive Producer: Paul Wed…
