SCOTTISH women’s groups are launching a new project called #FeministFest to coincide with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in a bid to eradicate sexism in entertainment and shine the spotlight on shows which explore human rights issues.
Endgender and YWCA Scotland – The Young Women’s Movement – are working to highlight women’s voices, which they claim are all too often silent at the Edinburgh Festival.
#FeministFest will bring together a group of women from across Scotland, most of whom have never had the opportunity to see a show at the festival before, and offer training to review shows, interview performers, and blog about their experiences.
This year’s Fringe festival, together with the International Book and Just Festivals, offers a host of exciting productions which explore issues of gender, identity, LGBTQI and human rights issues, with many shows explicitly advertising their feminist credentials.
However, the women’s groups insist that what is often missing is a feminist analysis of these shows and women’s voices in reviewing.
The project hopes to change all that through providing a space for a feminist discussion of performances and offering support to new women writers.
Organisers believe that through exploring female comedy productions which subvert gender norms, women-only companies, and the experiences of women performers and visitors at the fringe, women’s voices will be heard like never before.
They say the project was born out of a shared frustration by both the sexism, which still exists to women in entertainment, particularly comedy, and the lack of focus on some of the feminist performances.
Emma Ritch, executive director of Engender, said: “We all know that in issues of culture and public life women often have to take a back seat to men.
“#FeministFest is an incredibly exciting project, which brings women together to showcase some of the amazing feminist discussion happening on theatre stages, in the back rooms of pubs and in the middle of the royal mile during Edinburgh’s festivals.
“We have 30 amazing women, aged between 16 and 66 years old and from a range of backgrounds, who will be reviewing a massive variety of shows through August as well as blogging about their personal experiences.
“These will be appearing online throughout the summer with awards being given to celebrate both reviewers and performers who have shone.
“The response we’ve had from everyone involved in the Edinburgh Festival has been phenomenal – from free tickets to offers of exclusive interviews – showing just how much appetite there is for women’s voices to be represented.”
Shows will be reviewed and appear on feministfestival.scot as well as being featured on the website of Engender and YWCA Scotland.
Other festival-goers will also be able to submit reviews for consideration.
Kara Brown, membership development coordinator at YWCA Scotland, said: “Edinburgh’s festival season is one of the things that makes Scotland a truly special place to live and visit.
“It can be easy to forget that so many women and girls don’t have the opportunity to experience the buzz and benefits of the Fringe.
“Festival veterans might also not realise how intimidating the festivals can be for people who have never experienced them before – walking past street performances, finding your way to underground venues, and being forced to endure an hour of misogynist ‘comedy’ can be intense experiences.
“Through offering support like travel bursaries, guidance from critics on how to review shows and, perhaps most importantly, support from other women in navigating Edinburgh during August.
“There will always be barriers to participation in the Edinburgh festivals, from physical accessibility issues, to the price of big name shows, but we can’t wait to contribute to making the festivals a bit more open, and to celebrate diverse women’s voices.”
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