EDINBURGH 2016: BWW Q&A - Meryvn Stutter

BWW speaks to Mervyn Stutter ahead of his 25th year of Edinburgh Fringe performances!

Tell us a bit about Mervyn Stutter's Silver Jubilee

Any 25th anniversary is the colour silver, and my show is often described as the Royal Variety Show of the Fringe, so it seemed obvious to make this year's celebrations a Silver Jubilee - in my now legendary pink suit of course.

For 25 years I've hosted a daily lunchtime showcase of Fringe talent from all the arts disciplines. I have a team of reviewers who see as many shows as possible and then we invite the best to come and perform a five-minute extract, followed by a short chat with myself to add any extra details and information. The audiences and artists love it. My showcase is the best way to answer the perennial Fringe question "Seen anything good?" And that was in fact the title of the very first shows back in 1992!

So this year for the Silver Jubilee, I will also be hosting a huge two-hour gala show at the George Square Theatre on Monday 15th August at 12.20pm - all proceeds to the Imibala Charity Cape Town, where I now have an Arts Fund that pays for arts training for talented township kids.

My show is now the longest-running show on the Fringe, and I'm looking forward to hosting many many more. Next up - the Golden Jubilee!

How has the Edinburgh Fringe changed in the past 25 years?

Well obviously it's got a whole lot bigger! This year there's well over 3,000 shows I think. But also it has got more professional. By that I mean that in the early days performers would turn up and work a show into shape over the course of the festival. Now they turn up with their shows previewed and ready to go. In that sense it has become more of a trade fair with performers now looking for theatre producers, TV commissions and touring gigs - their focus also being on their work beyond the festival.

Some people complain this has robbed the festival of its anarchy, spontaneity and random experiment. But with the advent of the Free Festival that spirit still seems alive and well to me. So now you can get whatever you want - TV names, Fringe regulars, talented newcomers and shambolic chancers. All the performers ever need is a budget and a venue.

Do you still feel the same excitement for the festival?

Yes. Definitely. In the early years the excitement used to build up over the year but after 30 years on the Fringe (yes - I actually started back in 1987 with my own comedy and music shows before starting Pick of the Fringe) I now find the weeks of admin and paperwork dulls the excitement a bit until I arrive in Edinburgh and feel the Fringe starting up. And come the first show when I see our invited guest performers rehearsing and acclimatising to our space, then the adrenaline and admiration for the extraordinary talent we have each year begins and the Edinburgh buzz kicks in!

How do you select acts to appear in the show?

Every year since I started in 1992, I have always had a review team go out and see as many shows per day as they can and select the best. It's a guarantee of quality I've always been able to give my audiences. Every day in my showcase there is a different selection of shows to be seen - yes, every day a different seven shows - so the team must work flat out to select the best.

It's important also to stress that we are also the only Fringe showcase to cover ALL the arts - theatre, comedy, cabaret, music, dance, circus - and it is that decision and the guarantee of quality from the reviewing team that I believe has allowed the show to grow and thrive for 25 years.

Tell us a bit about The Spirit Of The Fringe Awards.

Again, from the very first show in 1992 I have always given my own Spirit of the Fringe Awards at the end of the festival and so 'The MERVs' are now one of the oldest awards on the Fringe. These six awards take place on the final show of each year (this year 1pm Sunday 28th August at the Gilded Balloon Teviot) and they acknowledge and celebrate the talent, hard work, pluck and sheer doggedness demanded of performers from all genres on the Fringe, to make a show a success.

The Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Awards were created to recognise those who show commitment in the face of little support or funding or those who have consistently provided audiences with quality entertainment over the years. The winners of a MERV are chosen from the 133 amazing shows that have been highlighted during the daily showcases, so it's fair to say that the winners are the cream of the cream. Be there!

Timings and ticket information for Mervyn Stutter's Pick Of The Fringe are available on the edfringe website.

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