Edinburgh Quakers ‘spark conversations’ at Fringe
‘It’s good to have the Fringe back, and for the Meeting to be a part of it.’
Edinburgh Quakers have said they have received ‘a steady stream’ of visitors during the Fringe Festival period, despite being unable to host many performances because of new licensing rules. Sue Proudlove, manager of the Meeting house, said that the visits to the Loving Earth Project panels and Stitches for Survival had also raised awareness of the climate crisis.
The Meeting house normally turns into Venue 40 for the annual festival but was hit by new rules. Edinburgh Council said venues that want to host any commercial profit-making events need an all-year licence, which Majk Stokes, assistant manager at the Meeting house, described to the Friend as ‘prohibitively expensive’. Instead, the building was restricted to only showing plays that make no money and are put on by charities. Edinburgh Quakers put out a call for charities earlier this year, including in the Friend.
Sue Proudlove told the Friend: ‘Regrettably we were unable to run more than a very limited Fringe performance programme this year. But we were pleased to have our old friends Newbury Youth Theatre for a successful run of their new production The Lost Letters.’ Majk Stokes and Beth Clarke both presented fundraising concerts which were well supported.
The Loving Earth Project and Stitches For Survival have already ‘sparked good conversations about the climate emergency and about Quakers’, she added. ‘It’s good to have the Fringe back, and for the Meeting to be a part of it.’
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