June 26th - 29th 2008
it's all over now
Four days of frenzied activity and theatrefest is over. For this year.
We almost doubled attendance figures from 500 in 2007 to 935 in 2008.
Naturally some of the companies on their home territory particularly pulled the crowds - notably Forches Finest, North Devon Dance and White Hippos Productions. But it was good to see, for instance, Fergus Rougier doing well with an out-of-town show that attracted audiences through excellent word of mouth.
But theatrefest isn't just about attendance figures - far from it. Its strength lies in its diversity, in the many faces that it presents. And theatrefest 08 was truly diverse however you look at it. Every kind of theatrical entertainment you could think of, all levels of experience, every kind of audience catered for. And many different motives for taking part. It was truly uplifting to see companies and audience enjoying this diversity, enjoying the richness of so much variety and finding so much stimulation in each other's company. And it looks as though relationships forged between companies could lead to interesting developments through the course of the coming year.
Though it's frankly invidious to single out companies or individuals when it was so much a collective effort perhaps a special mention is due to the Manchester contingent - Glasshouse Theatre Company and Bootlace Productions - who partied hard in true Fringe style at the Inn on the Square
The volunteer force remained unfailingly efficient and irrepressibly cheerful throughout the four days, providing a rock-steady framework for the event.
Both new venues worked very well. The Inn on the Square took on the mantle of "Fringe-Central" - somewhere to congregate, swap notes and relax at the end of the day. The Platform proved a well-focused and sympathetic space, the only drawback being that The Strand was almost entirely bereft of passing trade throughout the weekend. Once Barnstaple has sorted out how to bring the life back to this deserted part of town, we'll be laughing. And again the expanse of The Factory, now under its own management, was an exciting venue for dance and other shows needing more space.
We began to develop a critical forum - something which we feel has been an integral part of the more artistically adventurous Fringe Theatre Festivals that we've played. As well as reviews from our two 'official' reviewers we published reviews submitted through the website and have also published the contents of post-it notes from each of the venues.
There's still a deal to do however. Despite great support from the North Devon Journal and other media we didn't manage to saturate the town, district and region with the notion of theatrefest as fully as we would have liked. Audiences were up but not by as much as we had hoped. Building the audience will be number one priority for 2009. We are in a good position - a very good position indeed - and can look forward to next year with confidence.
If you were there and haven't yet given us your feedback, please do. We must progress this thing together.
"The key things for me were: a local venue, low prices, wide variety, equal
opportunities, and the potential for expansion in size of audiences and numbers
participating."
"We were very impressed with the whole lay out, the live music even flowers on the
tables, it was a lovely friendly welcome. The theatre pieces were great. Loved the performances, but
enjoyed the diversity of material that allowed me not to like everything."
