Description
The purpose of this paper is to establish the image and associated impression of
atmosphere created by independent theatres at two fringe festivals namely, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
and Melbourne Festival Fringe.
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
Independent theatres and the creation of a fringe atmosphere
Elspeth Frew J ane Ali-Knight
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Elspeth Frew J ane Ali-Knight, (2009),"Independent theatres and the creation of a fringe atmosphere", International J ournal of Culture,
Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 3 Iss 3 pp. 211 - 227
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Independent theatres and the creation of a
fringe atmosphere
Elspeth Frew and Jane Ali-Knight
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish the image and associated impression of
atmosphere created by independent theatres at two fringe festivals namely, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
and Melbourne Festival Fringe.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper contains a content analysis of promotional materials
produced by the independent theatres for their involvement in their respective fringe festival.
Findings – The atmosphere created is of fringe festivals replete with serious experimental theatrical
productions, with independent theatres being the home of alternative ideas and the performers being
skilled in the production of the art form.
Research limitations/implications – The atmosphere created by the independent theatres is similar to
that projected by the fringe festival overall.
Practical implications – The paper highlights the importance of the fringe festival organisers
establishing a strong working relationship with the managers of independent theatres to ensure the most
appropriate promotional material is used to attract the desired target audience to the fringe festival.
Originality/value – This paper is of value as most festival-related literature provides only a passing
mention to atmosphere whereas this paper investigates atmosphere in more depth. The paper adds to
the limited research on fringe festivals.
Keywords Festivals, Theatre, Arts, Scotland, Australia
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Several authors have noted the inter-relationship between theatre and tourism (see, for
example, Bennett, 2005; Hughes, 1998; Mitchell, 1993). Bennett (2005) explains that the
tourist audience is a substantial one for contemporary theatre, particularly as such an
audience brings much needed ?nancial viability to independent theatres. This paper
considers the promotional material produced by a sample of independent theatres and the
associated atmosphere created at two fringe festivals on opposite sides of the world, namely
in Scotland and in Australia.
Managers of independent theatres make many decisions relating to their involvement in their
local fringe festival, ranging from the selection of shows to stage during the programme, the
marketing mix chosen and, the words and images used in the promotions. This study
investigates, in particular, the print and visual images used by independent theatres to
promotetheir involvement intwofamous fringefestivals, namely theEdinburghFestival Fringe
and the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Thus, the aims of the paper are to advance research into
fringe festivals and atmospheric related research, by examining the promotional images
created by independent theatres and the resultant associated fringe festival atmosphere.
Initially the paper considers the importance of visual imaging in tourism marketing and then
considers the phenomenon of atmospherics and environmental psychology with particular
DOI 10.1108/17506180910980528 VOL. 3 NO. 3 2009, pp. 211-227, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182
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PAGE 211
Elspeth Frew is Senior
Lecturer, School of Sport,
Tourism and Hospitality
Management, La Trobe
University, Bundoora,
Australia. Jane Ali-Knight is
Lecturer, Centre for Festival
and Event Management,
Napier University Business
School, Edinburgh, UK.
Received: June 2008
Revised: February 2009
Accepted: April 2009
The authors wish to
acknowledge the work of Susie
Bass in the early development
of this paper.
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focus on the tourism and events industries. Consideration is given to the fringe movement,
and then research propositions are provided, followed by the research methodology,
?ndings, and an analysis and interpretation of the results. The study indicates that the
promotional materials provided by the independent fringe theatres play an important role in
creating an appropriate atmosphere for these fringe festivals. The article concludes with
suggestions for additional research.
Visual images in tourist marketing
Extensive research exists into the nature of destination image (see, for example, Boo and
Busser, 2006; Govers and Go, 2005, 2003; Gallarza et al., 2002; Baloglu and McCleary,
1999; MacKay and Fesenmaier, 1997). MacKay and Fesenmaier (1997, p. 538) de?ne image
as:
[. . .] a term which generally refers to a compilation of beliefs, and impressions based on
information processing from a variety of sources over time, resulting in an internally accepted
mental construct.
Image, they conclude, is ‘‘tri-dimensional’’, consisting of attractiveness, uniqueness and
texture, where a destination’s image ‘‘is a composite of various products (attractions) and
attributes woven into a total impression’’ (MacKay and Fesenmaier, 1997, p. 538).
Similarly, Echtner and Ritchie’s (1993) study concluded that destination image has two
components: those which are attribute based and those that are holistic and that each of
these components contains functional and psychological characteristics. Therefore, images
of destination can range from those based on ‘‘common’’ functional and psychological traits
and, those based on more distinctive or unique features, events, feelings or auras (Echtner
and Ritchie, 1993). Baloglu and McCleary (1999, p. 870) expand this further by asserting
that image is mainly caused by stimulus factors (such as a physical object or previous
experience) or, personal factors, which they term the ‘‘social and psychological
characteristics of the perceiver’’. Essentially image is a subjective concept, as it ‘‘always
corresponds to an interiorization of some perceptions and not everyone has the same
perceptions’’ (Gallarza et al., 2002, p. 71).
The multidimensional and intangible nature of tourist destination image means this is a
complex area to research and subsequently the topic has been studied by many academic
disciplines including geography, sociology and marketing (Gallarza et al., 2002). However,
despite the dif?culty in measurement, the tourist destination’s image is of extreme
importance as it affects the individual’s subjective perception of place, the perception of
atmosphere and, ‘‘consequent behaviour and destination choice’’ (Gallarza et al., 2002,
p. 56).
As Boo and Busser (2006, p. 225) assert, ‘‘destination images can be formed by stimuli from
sources of information, previous experiences and physical characteristics’’. There are many
in?uences on destination images including the media, television advertisements and
newspapers, although information from relatives and friends remains the most in?uential
factor (Boo and Busser, 2006). In recent years, advances in information technology and the
growth of the internet have altered the way in which destination image is promoted and the
use of photographic imagery is increasingly important (Govers and Go, 2003). This current
research considers the image and associated impression of atmosphere created by
promotional materials produced by independent theatres at two fringe festivals. Both fringe
festivals rely on their particular destination for their individual success in terms of the
provision of festival venues, the attractive city surroundings and, the destination images
provided in the media.
Atmosphere creation
Research into the creation of atmosphere falls into the realm of environmental psychology,
described as the study of the direct impact of physical stimuli on human emotions and, the
effects of physical stimuli on a variety of behaviours, such as work performance and social
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interaction (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974). Other terms used in this area include
‘‘servicescape’’, which is the physical environment in which services are delivered (Bitner,
1992; Lin, 2004), ‘‘atmospherics’’ (Kotler, 1973), which includes the physical elements of
‘‘color, lighting, layout, style and furnishings’’ and, how it impacts on a customer’s
perceptions and impressions (Countryman and Jang, 2006, p. 534), and ‘‘ambience’’ which
refers to the perception and experience of the interaction between people (i.e. service
providers and customers) and the physical environment (i.e. the servicescape) where the
ambience experienced is abstract and ambiguous, and people vary in their individual
perception (Heide et al., 2007).
Research into the in?uence of atmosphere in social settings has mostly appeared in relation
to the retail sector (see, for example, Chebat and Michon, 2003), with less research in the
tourism and events sectors. Turley and Milliman (2000) reviewed the 60 empirical studies
published from 1964-2000 which considered the in?uence of marketing atmospheres on
consumers. They found enough evidence to suggest that such atmosphere has an effect on
consumer spending and that variations of atmospheric variables can affect the amount of
money people spend and the number of items they purchase. Figure 1 summarises the
various stimuli that impact on retail atmosphere such as the interior and exterior of the shop,
the interior displays, the store layout and human variables.
Fewer studies have appeared in the hospitality arena. Wilson (2003) considered the effect of
music in a restaurant on perceived atmosphere and purchase intentions, while Countryman
and Jang (2006) identi?ed the most signi?cant element in the overall customer impression of
a hotel lobby were the atmospheric elements of colour, lighting and style. Other hospitality
researchers have considered the importance of creating an inviting atmosphere to maximise
customer satisfaction in a casino setting (Johnson et al., 2004) and, in?uencing customer
intention to return at a themed restaurant (Weiss et al., 2004). Similarly, Heide et al. (2007)
considered what design experts and hotel managers understand by ambience and how
they improved the ambience of their establishments. Their study found that while the desired
ambience in a hospitality setting can never be created by a single factor, it might take only
one inconsistent element to ruin an otherwise favourable ambience. For example, using
Figure 1 Atmospheric stimuli in the retail sector
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inexpensive wallpaper may ruin the ambience of an otherwise luxurious hotel, while a rude
waiter or waitress may have damaging effect in a restaurant with an otherwise friendly
atmosphere.
In the tourism sector, Hayllar and Grif?n (2005) considered the nature of the tourists’
experience in a historic precinct and determined that atmosphere was one of the important
contributors to their experience. Similarly, Dann and Jacobsen (2003) considered the
odoriferous atmosphere of cities and how, to be successful as a tourism destination, the city
must appeal visually and aromatically to the tourist. Milman (2001) noted the need by Disney
theme parks to create a fantasy atmosphere of another time and place, and Wong (2001)
considered the importance of tour guides in creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere
among tour participants. Agarwal and Brunt (2006, p. 654) also highlight a tourist resorts’
‘‘ambience, essence and atmosphere’’ as being a very important characteristic of a tourist
destination but then simply describe this atmosphere as being a ‘‘holiday’’ atmosphere with
no further elaboration emphasising the need for further research in this area. Only the study
by Echtner (2002), examines in detail the type of atmosphere created from a tourism
perspective. She examined a range of Third World tourismbrochures and found they helped
create particular atmospheres associated with individual countries. These atmospheres
ranged from ‘‘Abundant’’ and ‘‘Amazing’’ and, ‘‘Mystical’’ and ‘‘Opulent’’, to ‘‘Tropical’’ and
‘‘Vibrant’’ (Echtner, 2002).
In the leisure sector, Wake?eld and Blodgett (1994) considered the effects of consumers’
perceptions of the servicescape on their level of satisfaction with the leisure service and their
subsequent repatronage intentions. They also examined the effect of the servicescape on
the level of excitement that consumers associate with the consumption of the leisure service.
The results showed that the aesthetic factors and the facility layout in these leisure services
might attract customers or discourage them from frequenting or returning to the facility.
Froma festival perspective, two studies (Taylor and Shanka, 2002; Taylor, 2001) investigated
the factors which lead to successful festivals. The studies found that atmosphere is of
signi?cant importance and an integral part of the success of any festival and event. Kim
(2004, p. 13) similarly suggests that the presence of serious participants is necessary for a
festival’s existence because they play a ‘‘signi?cant role in constructing the atmosphere of
the festival and help to sustain what it stands for’’. In addition, Frew (2006) found that
comedy festivals provide a social atmosphere that encourages participants to relax and
socialise with each other. In addition, the attendees noted that the aspect they most enjoyed
about the festival was the atmosphere in the streets around the central hub of the festival.
Mules (2004) noted that in one tourist destination, when promoting the festival, the local
press advertising and street banners in the area of the event was as much about generating
atmosphere as about promoting the event to potential patrons. However, most
festival-related literature provides only a passing mention to atmosphere and the term
‘‘atmosphere’’ is used in very general way (see, for example, Kim and Chalip, 2004).
Atmosphere is de?ned as a ‘‘general pervasive feeling or mood’’ (Makins, 1992, p. 77) and
this de?nition highlights the concept of atmosphere as being an emotional response to a
physical environment. Therefore, the literature on environmental psychology considers the
physical stimuli of a place to in?uence an individual’s emotions. However, studies are scarce
in the area of festivals and events and there are none in the area of fringe festivals that
consider the creation of atmosphere. Therefore, this research is important because the study
considers the in?uence of images and wording of promotional documents on the image of
festivals and, in particular, considers the ability of promotional material of independent fringe
festival theatres to produce an appropriate atmosphere for visitors.
The fringe movement
Event tourism has been de?ned as the ‘‘systematic planning development and marketing of
festivals and social events as tourist attractions, catalysts and image builders’’ (Getz and
Wicks, 1993, p. 2). Events, in particular mega-events, give the host community high
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prominence in the tourism market place (Hall and Hodges, 1996). Three factors arose in
event tourism. First, an event contributes to a city’s range of tourist attractions. Second, it
generates media coverage of the area and third, it promotes awareness of the area. Boo and
Busser (2006) expand on this by citing three main reasons why governments sponsor
festivals, namely that they have signi?cant economic impact on the area, they bring
intangible social bene?ts and, they lengthen the life cycle of a destination. This paper
considers two events, namely the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Melbourne Festival
Fringe, both successful tourism events, which were developed originally for more artistic
rather than touristic reasons.
Bushnell (2004, p. 13) describes a fringe festival as:
A non-pro?t organization of performing artists, producers, and/or managers dedicated to
providing emerging artists a non-juried opportunity to present new works to local, national, and
international audiences.
She also suggests that all fringe festivals are committed to a common philosophy that
promotes ‘‘accessible, inexpensive and fun, performing arts attendance’’ (Bushnell, 2004,
p. 4). The original fringe festival was the Edinburgh Fringe with its beginnings inextricably
bound with the staging of the ?rst Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) in 1947. Set up just
two years after the end of the Second World War, the EIF aimed to unite Europe by
showcasing the best of European arts and culture (Harvie, 2003). At the ?rst EIF in 1947 eight
theatre groups turned up uninvited and set up performances in alternative venues on the
fringe of the of?cial festival and thus the Edinburgh Fringe festival was born (Edinburgh
Fringe Society, 2005). This Fringe movement positioned itself as ‘‘oppositional and
intentionally anti-elitist, dedicated to operating as an inclusive rather that an exclusive
festival, and presenting a broader range of work, by a greater range of companies, for a
more diverse audience’’ (Harvie, 2003, p. 21). Like many fringe movements, the Edinburgh
Fringe challenged the norm and ‘‘grappled with de?nitions of culture, challenging accepted
de?nitions of ‘high’ and ‘low’ arts’’ (Quinn, 2005, p. 930). The Edinburgh Fringe has always
welcomed new expression and encourages the use of alternative venues and experimental
theatre groups (Quinn, 2005). Additionally, by providing a platform for new writing, showing
theatre at all times of the day and by providing touring opportunities by attracting critical
attention to many shows, the fringe festival has exposed theatre work to a new and diverse
audience (Edinburgh Fringe Society, 2004; Harvie, 2003). In its near 60-year history the
fringe festival has grown hugely: in 2001 over 600 groups from 49 different countries
performed and in 2005 over 1.35 million tickets were sold (Edinburgh Fringe Society, 2005).
Sixty years on, the Fringe remains committed against artistic vetting, encourages freedomof
artistic expression (Edinburgh Fringe Society, 2004) and, has been the inspiration for a
proliferation of fringe movements throughout the world (Quinn, 2005).
The idea to establish a fringe festival in Melbourne was created in 1982 when performers
noted that the vast majority of artists presenting work at the then ?edgling Adelaide Fringe
were from Melbourne. As Melbourne was thought of as a city where a fringe festival could
?ourish, a coalition of independent artists created a week-long Fringe to coincide with the
1983 Moomba Festival (a family-oriented arts festival ran by the Melbourne city council). For
the next three years the fringe had the name Melbourne Piccolo Spoleto Fringe Festival until
the Spoleto Festival ended and the Melbourne Fringe became the Melbourne Fringe Festival
(Melbourne Fringe Festival, 2006a). Similar to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the primary aim
of the Melbourne Fringe Festival is to resource and support the creation and presentation of
new art whereby the ‘‘most contemporary, innovative and trend-setting work created and
presented by independent artists, is presented to the broader Melbourne audience’’
(Melbourne Fringe Festival, 2006a).
Atmosphere develops through ambient conditions (e.g., temperature, air quality, noise,
music, odour) and space/function (e.g., layout, equipment, furnishings) and, signs, symbols
and artefacts (Bitner, 1992). Therefore, festival atmosphere could be developed for the
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potential tourist, through written words, photographs and illustrations. Hence, based on the
preceding discussion, the following two research propositions were developed:
1. The written word, used in the promotional materials of the independent theatres in
Edinburgh and Melbourne, creates a particular fringe festival atmosphere.
2. The photographs and illustrations, used in the promotional materials of independent
theatres in Edinburgh and Melbourne, create a particular fringe festival atmosphere.
Method
The aim of the study therefore, is to establish the particular atmosphere created through the
written word, the photographs and illustrations provided by a sample of independent
theatres in Edinburgh and Melbourne during the 2006 fringe festivals.
Four independent theatres involved in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe were selected, namely,
the Traverse Theatre, the Theatre Workshop, the Bedlam Theatre and the Assembly Rooms.
Similarly, four independent theatres involved in the Melbourne Fringe Festival were selected,
namely La Mama Theatre, CUB Malthouse Theatre, Theatreworks and The Butter?y Club.
Each of these theatres was selected as they are well-established, independently-owned
theatres. They stage theatrical performances all year round and had one or more show
included in the respective fringe festivals.
Edinburgh independent theatres
Now in its 43rd year Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre is Scotland’s new writing theatre and has
been an integral in?uence on the development of the Fringe Festival from the early 1960s. It
has a reputation for commissioning and supporting groundbreaking and innovative work
from writers from Scotland and around the world. During the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the
Traverse is one of the key venues, with Traverse productions regularly picking up awards as
a result of the world-class premiers playing in the various theatre venues. During festival time
its programme expands to incorporate unique site-speci?c productions such as a public
toilet (Ladies and Gentlemen, 2003), Indian Restaurant (Curry Tales, 2004) and department
store (The Devils Larder, 2005) (Traverse Theatre, 2006).
The Theatre Workshop was established in 1965 as Edinburgh’s ?rst arts and drama centre
for children. It has a strong tradition of community performance projects, combining the skills
of professional performers, musicians, writers and technicians with the energy and
enthusiasm of people from local communities. It also has a programme of work aimed at
people with disabilities with a strong commitment to participation. Politically
uncompromising docu-dramas such as Black Sun over Genoa (2005 (a response to the
G8 Summit in Scotland)) and Babylon Burning (2006 (an examination of contemporary Iraq))
form an integral part of the theatre’s fringe programme (Theatre Workshop, 2006).
The Bedlam Theatre is said to be located near the site of Edinburgh’s ?rst lunatic asylum,
hence the theatre’s current name. Home to Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC),
the Bedlam Theatre is the only student-run theatre in Britain hosting an average of 90 shows
during the academic year as well as other productions throughout the year. The Theatre was
listed in the Guardian newspaper’s ‘‘Top Ten’’ venues for every day of the Fringe in 1994 and
has experienced sell-out shows and excellent reviews and awards. As well as being a key
Fringe venue Bedlam also hosts FebFest, a festival of new writing, the largest of its kind in
Scotland to date (Bedlam Theatre, 2006).
The Assembly Theatre is synonymous with the growth, increased exposure and
development of the Edinburgh Fringe programme. For the past 24 years, Assembly
Theatre has transformed the elegant Georgian Assembly Rooms traditionally at the heart of
political, social and literary events in Edinburgh into the focus of the Edinburgh Festival
Fringe. Over this time the Assembly Theatre has presented over 1,700 productions including
most of the major names in British comedy, as well as a huge array of theatre, dance and
music that have been seen by over 2.5 million people. In 2002 the Assembly Rooms offering
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was extended through the creation of an additional venue, namely, Assembly @ St George’s
West. In later years this has been mirrored with the development of Assembly @ Assembly
Hall and Assembly @ The Queens Hall. Recent highlights have included the return to stage
of Jim Hansen’s Puppets, 2006, The Exonerated, in 2005 winning the Amnesty International
Freedom of Expression Award and, Christian Slater’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest,
2004. The Assembly Rooms also plays host to other festivals (i.e. Edinburgh International
Science Festival) throughout the year (Assembly Rooms, 2006).
Melbourne independent theatres
La Mama Theatre was set up in 1967 by Betty Burstall (wife of award-winning Australian ?lm
maker Tim Burstall) to ‘‘nurture new Australian theatre practice’’ which she modelled on
experimental theatre activities she had experienced in New York (La Mama Theatre, 2006).
The CUB Malthouse was established in 1976 to focus on ‘‘new Australiana theatre writing’’
and to introduce audiences to new writers from overseas whose work had not yet been
produced in Australia (Malthouse Theatre, 2006).
Theatreworks was set up in 1981 as a collective community theatre with a strong focus on
staging ‘‘new Australian works’’ performed in unusual and interesting locations such as a
play named Storming St Kilda by Tram, performed on a moving tram and Living Rooms,
performed in an art gallery (Theatreworks, 2006).
The Butter?y Club is the youngest of the independent theatres examined in Melbourne. The
Butter?y Club was established in 2003 and describes itself as a ‘‘cabaret salon’’ with a
cabaret show room and licensed bar (Butter?y Club, 2006). Table I summarises the number
of shows staged by each independent theatre during the respective 2006 fringe festivals.
Content analysis
Content analysis is a research technique for ‘‘making replicable and valid inferences from
texts (or other meaningful matter) to their context of their use’’ (Krippendorff, 2003, p. 18)
and is frequently used in tourism to discover how destination images are formed (see, for
example, Lee et al., 2006; Stepchenkova and Morrison, 2006; Xiao and Smith, 2006;
Markwick, 2001; Dann, 1988). Therefore, promotional materials, produced for each of the
Edinburgh and Melbourne theatres representing their 2006 involvement in their respective
fringe festival, were gathered to make inferences about the atmosphere created.
Echtner (2002, p. 428) suggests that ‘‘atmosphere is created in tourist brochures via the
descriptors (adjectives and adverbs) in the text and is also depicted in the pictures’’.
Therefore, similar to the study by Echtner (2002) and Echtner and Prasad (2003), for the
content analysis of the written word, the units of analysis were the promotional brochures, the
theatre’s entries in the fringe festival programmes and the related web pages. These were
examined for the frequency of descriptor words (verbs, adjectives and adverbs) used in
relation to the productions staged by the theatres during each of the fringe festivals. The
Table I Number of shows staged by each independent theatre during the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe and the Melbourne Fringe Festival
Name of theatre Number of shows
Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh) 19
Theatre Workshop (Edinburgh) 1
Bedlam Theatre (Edinburgh) 15
Assembly Theatre (Edinburgh) 100
La Mama Theatre (Melbourne) 3
CUB Malthouse Theatre (Melbourne) 2
Theatreworks (Melbourne) 2
Butter?y Club (Melbourne) 4
Sources: Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2006); Melbourne Fringe Festival (2006b)
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descriptor words of the verbs, adverbs and adjectives were examined as they convey the
means by which the theatrical productions were promoted, for example, the ‘‘extraordinary
play’’ or, the ‘‘passionate performance’’. Two academic researchers examined the
promotional materials gathered and highlighted the key descriptor words relating to the
individual theatrical productions. The researchers then codi?ed the material independently.
Although there was not complete agreement by the two coders, there was substantial
agreement that most of the promotional material was codi?ed correctly. For the content
analysis of the visual components, the promotional photographs and illustrations for each
show were the units of analysis, and were coded according to a grounded theory approach
where the code categories emerged from the analysis (Hesse-Biber and Leavy, 2006).
Results
The written word
Initially, to establish the type of atmosphere created overall by each fringe festival, the
programmes for each festival were examined. Table II summarises the frequency of
descriptor words used once or more in the Introduction or Forward to each of the fringe
festival programmes. These descriptor words re?ect the atmosphere being projected by the
respective fringes which appears to be a festival full of new, diverse, creative and
experimental theatre.
Table III summarises the themes of the descriptor words used by the independent theatres in
their promotional materials. Several different themes were found which relate to the
originality of the performance; the physical aspects of staging the performance; a
description of the performance; the theatricalness of the performance; and, a description of
the content of the performance. Thus, the atmosphere created by the independent theatres
appears to be of serious theatrical productions, where the theatres are depicted as the home
of new, fresh, alternative ideas were the artists are skilled in the creation of
thought-provoking performances.
The photographs and illustrations
In general, most of the photographs and illustrations associated with the theatres’
involvement in the fringe festival depict drama and creativity. For the promotional materials
used by the independent theatres at the Melbourne Fringe Festival, only one of the
photographs or illustrations depicts a non-human image, namely an empty chair. The rest
are either images of the artist or artists, either as photographs or sketches, or human-like
puppets. The most striking image is a photograph of a woman’s head resting on the ?oor with
her eyes looking downwards towards the ground. Her hands are ?at beside her face and she
appears to be listening. The image re?ects the content of the play, which includes the main
character listening to the creaking of the house. The large number of images of people in the
independent theatres promotions re?ects that fringe festivals are human and emotive,
comprised of individuals who are telling stories about their life, loves, problems,
relationships and society.
Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival differs from Melbourne due to the scale of the productions and
number of performers (17,000 in 2006) (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2006). The Fringe
Festival brochure and web site act as a database of information therefore giving the reader
an opportunity to sample and choose performances. Photographs and illustrations in the
fringe festival brochure therefore also tend to be ?gurative, but are presented in a
commercial way as a means of increasing ticket sales rather than for artistic merit.
Photographs tend to be re?ective of the key performers at the Fringe, a large majority of
whom are comedians, aiming to present themselves as lively, funny and irreverent. Generic
pictures re?ect key market segments seen to be enjoying and celebrating the fringe
experience. Images on the web site tend to be more provocative, again largely ?gurative,
depicting fringe performers but in a more contentious, theatrical way, for example: an image
of a man attempting to consume a chicken; aerial acrobatics and, a woman watering ?owers
painted on a wall.
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Table II Frequency of descriptor words used in the Introduction or Forward to the
Edinburgh and Melbourne Fringe Programmes
Descriptor word(s)
Access; accessible Melbourne ( £ 3)
Af?uent Edinburgh
Amazing Melbourne
Anarchic Edinburgh
Artistic Melbourne ( £ 2)
Attention-seeking Edinburgh
Authentic Melbourne
Best Melbourne þEdinburgh
Celebration Melbourne
Challenging Melbourne þ Edinburgh
Comfortable
Compelling Edinburgh
Creative; creativity Melbourne ( £ 4)
Cultural; culturally Melbourne ( £ 3)
Cutting edge Edinburgh
Delights Melbourne
Diverse; diversity Melbourne ( £ 4)
Dynamic Edinburgh
Edge; edgy Melbourne ( £ 2)
Emerging Melbourne ( £ 2)
Emotional Edinburgh
Entertaining Edinburgh
Enthusiasm Melbourne
Established Edinburgh
Excellence Edinburgh
Exciting Melbourne
Exotic Edinburgh
Experience Melbourne
Experiment; experimenting Melbourne ( £ 2)
First Melbourne
Fresh Melbourne
Global Edinburgh
Great Melbourne
Greatest Edinburgh
Hedonistic Edinburgh
Hilarious Edinburgh
Ideas Melbourne ( £ 3)
Impetuous Edinburgh
Inclusive Edinburgh
Incredible Edinburgh
Independent Melbourne ( £ 6)
Innovative Edinburgh ( £ 2)
Intimacy Edinburgh
Intimidated Edinburgh
Involved Melbourne
Inspiring Melbourne þEdinburgh
Laboratory Melbourne
Largest Edinburgh
Lively Melbourne
Major Edinburgh
New Melbourne ( £ 9) þ Edinburgh ( £ 5)
Open Melbourne
Original Melbourne
Passion Edinburgh ( £ 4)
Passionate Melbourne þEdinburgh ( £ 3)
Perspectives Melbourne
Platform Melbourne
Powerful Edinburgh ( £ 2)
Prestigious Edinburgh
Professional Edinburgh
Provocative Edinburgh
Push Melbourne
(Continued)
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Table II
Descriptor word(s)
Remarkable Edinburgh
Smash Edinburgh
Subterranean Melbourne
Successful Edinburgh
Talented Melbourne
Uncomfortable Edinburgh
Uncompromising Edinburgh
Unexpected Melbourne
Unique Melbourne
Vibrant Edinburgh
Wild Melbourne ( £ 2)
Young Melbourne þEdinburgh
Youthful
Note: Each word was used once unless otherwise stated
Sources: Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2006); Melbourne Fringe Festival (2006b)
Table III Themes and examples of descriptor words used by the Edinburgh and Melbourne
Independent Theatres in promotional materials
Themes of descriptor words Examples
The originality of the performance Apocalyptic, avant-garde, contentious, courageous,
created, devised, different, dynamically, formidable,
landmark achievement, must-see, new, original,
renaissance, revelation, revolutionising, specially, UK
debut, unforgettable, unique, unpredictable, unpublished,
vital, world premiere
The physical aspects of staging the
performance
Act, cabaret, character, mixed media, performance,
projected animation, style, theatre, theatrical, visual theatre,
vocal, verbatim
Describing the performances Alive, animated, authentic, bawdy, beer-stained, biting,
bittersweet, bizarre, buoyant, breathtaking, brutal, clever,
colourful, commanding, committed, compelling, cynical,
dark, dynamic, earthy, electrifying, emotional, energetic
intelligence, evocative, exhilarating, exuberant, explosively
comic, fun, funny, gripping, hard-hitting, harrowing, heart
warming, hilarious, idiocy, incisive, infectious, irreverence,
intricate, life-af?rming, mind-blowing, miniature, moving,
muscular, oozing, outstanding, passionate, physically and
emotionally charged, political, quiet, quirky, resonant,
riveting, sad, skilful, sophisticated, spirited, startling,
stunning, suburban, supple, tense, tragic, twisted, ultimate,
uncompromising, understated, un?inching, unforced,
unstoppable, vibrant, versatile, wicked
The theatricalness of the performance Beautifully staged, burlesque, dark, ?lm noir, gothic,
images, layered, live, magical, nightmarish, playgrounds,
pieces, shadow, spinechilling, surreal, visually stunning
Description of the content of the
performance
Anger, darkly comic, deadpan dialogue, docu-drama,
dreams, ethical drama, fable, fairytale, horror, human
stories, life, loneliness, lyrical, mystery, nail-biting thriller,
narrative driven, pain, pathos, physical theatre, rap,
redemption, relationship, retro-British, rivalry, romance,
satirical, self realisation, site speci?c, story, storytelling,
surreal satire, style, text-based drama, tragi-comedy, verse
Sources: Various promotional materials produced by Traverse Theatre, Theatre Workshop, Bedlam
Theatre, Assembly Theatre, La Mama Theatre, CUB Malthouse Theatre, Theatreworks, Butter?y Club
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The use of photographs and illustrations in the independent theatres brochures, however,
are much more experimental, trying to evoke the originality and dynamism of the work being
shown. Some ?gures appear to be anxious and distressed and, the illustrations are often
dark and surreal re?ecting the nature of the work. Fact and ?ction become blurred and the
photographs are used as a tool to exploit the unique contribution of the theatres’ productions
to the fringe programme. The photographs and illustrations are also re?ective of the artform;
contemporary visual and physical theatre appearing layered and visually stunning, whereas
comedy and children’s performances are shown as colourful, comic, bold and brash.
Discussion
Taylor and Shanka (2002) note the creation and de?nition of atmosphere can be very dif?cult
due to its intangible nature. However, Echtner (2002) suggests that atmosphere can be
represented in tourism promotional materials via the written word and the visual images.
Therefore, to address the research propositions developed earlier, the study appears to
support both propositions in as far as the written words, photographs and illustrations used
in the promotional materials of independent theatres in Edinburgh and Melbourne creates a
sense that the fringe festivals are vehicles for serious, experimental theatrical productions,
where the independent theatres are depicted as being the home of new, fresh, alternative
ideas and the performers are portrayed as being innovative and skilled in the production of
the art form.
The creation of interesting and stimulating visual images by the independent theatres
supports Dann and Jacobsen’s (2003) ?ndings that for a city to be successful it needs to
appeal visually to a tourist. The fringe festival atmosphere created may also appeal to the
serious theatre tourist interested in experiencing new and innovative theatre. Kim’s (2004)
?nds support this view; whereby the presence of serious tourism participants is necessary
for a festival’s existence as they help construct the atmosphere of the festival. Therefore, the
creation of an appropriate atmosphere and the associated attendance by serious theatre
tourists perpetuates and authenticates the fringe festival atmosphere.
Based on the earlier review of the festival related literature, and the analysis conducted, a
range of factors contribute to the creation of the fringe festival atmosphere. Similar to the
?ndings by Turley and Milliman (2000), physical and human variables are involved, but there
are also in?uences from the fringe festival organisers. Figure 2 highlights that the
independent theatres and their associated promotions are only one, although signi?cant,
factor in?uencing or contributing to the fringe festival atmosphere.
The analysis also reveals that the original aim of the fringe festival organisers to create an
outlet for new, alternative and experimental art is being upheld by the Edinburgh and
Melbourne independent theatres’ involvement in their respective fringe festivals. At both
fringe festivals the written words and, the photographs and illustrations help to build an
atmosphere of new, diverse and experimental theatre. Any differences between the two
fringe festivals, such as the more varied and encompassing Edinburgh programme, may be
explained by the fact that Edinburgh is a much larger fringe festival and is fortunate to be
closer to a larger international population base to attract a diverse range of artists. However,
in recent years, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been criticised for becoming more
commercialised and ‘‘corporate’’ and less experimental because of its uncontrollable
growth and the predominance of large venues, such as the Assembly Rooms, supported by
aggressive promoters (Maresh, 2000). The Edinburgh Festival Fringe because of its history
(established in 1947) and legacy may also have a higher level of awareness and acceptance
among potential audience members compared to Melbourne, which is relatively young
(established in 1982). The similarities and differences created by the Edinburgh and
Melbourne fringe festivals is supported by Ferguson and Ferguson (2001, p. 142 as cited by
Bushnell, 2004) who suggest that ‘‘the quality and content of Fringe shows can vary widely
(and wildly)’’ but, the overall atmosphere at both festivals is one of experimentation and
innovation.
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Arts Council England (2006) reports that the theatre creates four distinct types of social
impacts: personal, group, civic, and so-called ‘‘hard’’ bene?ts such as employment and
greater awareness of social or health issues. Within these categories speci?c bene?ts
included: artistic excellence, cultural partnerships, participatory creative processes, and
giving a public voice to marginalised experiences (Arts Council England, 2006). Given this,
the development of theatre audiences, especially for innovative, groundbreaking work, is an
important objective for anyone working in the cultural sector of the public domain. For
example, one of the anticipated outcomes of the Scottish Arts Council’s Drama Strategy for
2002-2007 is a ‘‘higher demand for theatre in Scotland, leading to increased audiences and
a broader range of attenders and participants’’ (Scottish Arts Council, 2002a, p. 12).The key
aims of the Drama Strategy include: allowing forms to be developed that address the
aspirations of under-represented groups; providing a national support structure for new
writing; and encouraging initiatives that are daring and imaginative (Scottish Arts Council,
2002b). Therefore, to help achieve such outcomes it is important for experimental
independent theatres, such as those examined, to exist. For example, the explosion of new
work from the Edinburgh Fringe would not have happened without independent theatres
such as the Traverse Theatre’s direction, support and risk taking. Exposure to such creative,
diverse, international work creates positive social and cultural bene?ts for the tourists and
locals alike.
The ‘‘big sisters’’ of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and, the Melbourne Fringe Festival,
namely the Edinburgh International Festival and the Melbourne Arts Festival respectively,
now also stage new art performances each year which has led to each of the main stream
festivals and the associated fringe beginning to stage very similar productions and compete
for audience share. An examination of the types of performances staged at each Edinburgh
and Melbourne festivals and fringes in 2006 reveals many similarities between the two types
of festival, suggesting that the atmosphere at each festival may have become very
comparable, with the ‘‘high’’ arts festivals beginning to view themselves as also being
experimental and challenging (see Figure 3). As a result, the performance innovation gap is
closing and the mainstream and fringe festivals support the general creative atmosphere of
the city where the existence of independent productions and performers helps create an
Figure 2 Atmospheric stimuli at a fringe festival
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atmosphere of experimentation and innovation. Indeed Edinburgh’s reputation worldwide as
the ‘‘Festival City’’ would not be upheld without the combined promotional efforts of, in
particular, its summer festivals. Realising the potential for the festivals to create images of
Edinburgh as a contemporary, exciting and challenging destination, a new organisation
named ‘‘Festivals Edinburgh’’ was created in 2006 by the current 12 Edinburgh festivals to
leverage the artistic and creative legacy of the festivals on the destination. Similarly, in
Melbourne, the ‘‘Victorian Major Events Company’’ formed in 1991 by the Victorian
Government, aims to attract international cultural and sporting events and raise the
international pro?le of Melbourne and Victoria.
Concluding comments
Kim and Chalip (2004) found that event organisers should pay particular attention to the
ways in which they construct their event’s atmosphere, and, in particular, marketers of sport
events should utilise narratives that capitalise on event atmospherics. Similarly, Turley and
Milliman (2000) suggest that more research is needed on how atmosphere should be
manipulated or developed for different market segments. Given this, the results of the
present study are important as they highlight the need for fringe festival organisers to
establish a strong working relationship with the managers of independent theatres to ensure
the most appropriate marketing campaign is used to attract the desired target audience of
locals and tourists to the fringe festival and that there is consistency of brand, image and
approach. Indeed, Gursoy et al. (2006) highlight the need to understand visitors’
perceptions and how they arrive at an evaluation of festivals. In particular, they suggest that
visitors’ attitudes toward festivals and their corresponding attendance, their formation of
future attendance intentions, and their likelihood of suggesting that others attend, are all
logically linked to their perceptions.
The focus here is on the supply side of the development of the fringe festival atmosphere.
Future research could consider the demand side, by gathering data from tourists attending
the two fringe festivals, to determine how customers perceive the promotional materials, the
actual fringe festival and, their relationship with the destination. These important questions
Figure 3 Performances staged at Edinburgh and Melbourne festivals and fringes
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are beyond the scope of this study and so are not answered here, but raising this issue
highlights the fact that often a small-scale study such as this exposes the need for larger
studies.
Future research could also further compare the atmosphere at fringe festivals with
mainstream arts festivals and, with other types of events, such as sporting events, as this
may highlight the most appropriate atmosphere for their target market audiences. In relation
to traditional festivals, the failure to stage new and innovative works may create a staid,
conservative and elite atmosphere which may result in alienating a large proportion of the
population and limit potential funding and support. Perhaps this is one reason why the
traditional festivals are beginning to introduce more innovative performances as a means of
attracting a larger and more diverse audience. Gursoy et al. (2006) found that festivals are
perceived by visitors as having both utilitarian as well as hedonic bene?ts. Therefore
independent theatre managers, in their promotional materials, would be well advised to
highlight both their hedonic attributes and functional attributes in order to ‘‘maximise
attendance of people seeking both types of bene?ts’’ (Gursoy et al., 2006, p. 290). Overall,
this research has signi?cant cross-discipline relevance for tourism and heritage
management, communication and marketing.
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Further reading
Campbell-Smith, G. (1967), Marketing of the Meal Experience: AFundamental Approach, Department of
Hotel and Catering, University of Surrey, Guildford.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society (2006), Edinburgh Festival Fringe Guide, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Society, Edinburgh.
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applications’’, Festival Management & Event Tourism, Vol. 1, pp. 11-17.
Getz, D. (2000), ‘‘De?ning the ?eld of event management’’, Event Management, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 1-3.
Jago, L., Chaplin, L., Brown, G., Mules, T. and Ali, S. (2003), ‘‘Building events into destination branding:
insights from experts’’, Event Management, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 3-14.
Corresponding author
Elspeth Frew can be contacted at: [email protected]
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This article has been cited by:
1. Noel Yee-Man Siu, Penny Yim King Wan, Ping Dong. 2012. The impact of the servicescape on the desire to stay in convention
and exhibition centers: The case of Macao. International Journal of Hospitality Management 31, 236-246. [CrossRef]
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doc_805047305.pdf
The purpose of this paper is to establish the image and associated impression of
atmosphere created by independent theatres at two fringe festivals namely, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
and Melbourne Festival Fringe.
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
Independent theatres and the creation of a fringe atmosphere
Elspeth Frew J ane Ali-Knight
Article information:
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Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 3 Iss 3 pp. 211 - 227
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Independent theatres and the creation of a
fringe atmosphere
Elspeth Frew and Jane Ali-Knight
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish the image and associated impression of
atmosphere created by independent theatres at two fringe festivals namely, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
and Melbourne Festival Fringe.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper contains a content analysis of promotional materials
produced by the independent theatres for their involvement in their respective fringe festival.
Findings – The atmosphere created is of fringe festivals replete with serious experimental theatrical
productions, with independent theatres being the home of alternative ideas and the performers being
skilled in the production of the art form.
Research limitations/implications – The atmosphere created by the independent theatres is similar to
that projected by the fringe festival overall.
Practical implications – The paper highlights the importance of the fringe festival organisers
establishing a strong working relationship with the managers of independent theatres to ensure the most
appropriate promotional material is used to attract the desired target audience to the fringe festival.
Originality/value – This paper is of value as most festival-related literature provides only a passing
mention to atmosphere whereas this paper investigates atmosphere in more depth. The paper adds to
the limited research on fringe festivals.
Keywords Festivals, Theatre, Arts, Scotland, Australia
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Several authors have noted the inter-relationship between theatre and tourism (see, for
example, Bennett, 2005; Hughes, 1998; Mitchell, 1993). Bennett (2005) explains that the
tourist audience is a substantial one for contemporary theatre, particularly as such an
audience brings much needed ?nancial viability to independent theatres. This paper
considers the promotional material produced by a sample of independent theatres and the
associated atmosphere created at two fringe festivals on opposite sides of the world, namely
in Scotland and in Australia.
Managers of independent theatres make many decisions relating to their involvement in their
local fringe festival, ranging from the selection of shows to stage during the programme, the
marketing mix chosen and, the words and images used in the promotions. This study
investigates, in particular, the print and visual images used by independent theatres to
promotetheir involvement intwofamous fringefestivals, namely theEdinburghFestival Fringe
and the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Thus, the aims of the paper are to advance research into
fringe festivals and atmospheric related research, by examining the promotional images
created by independent theatres and the resultant associated fringe festival atmosphere.
Initially the paper considers the importance of visual imaging in tourism marketing and then
considers the phenomenon of atmospherics and environmental psychology with particular
DOI 10.1108/17506180910980528 VOL. 3 NO. 3 2009, pp. 211-227, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182
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PAGE 211
Elspeth Frew is Senior
Lecturer, School of Sport,
Tourism and Hospitality
Management, La Trobe
University, Bundoora,
Australia. Jane Ali-Knight is
Lecturer, Centre for Festival
and Event Management,
Napier University Business
School, Edinburgh, UK.
Received: June 2008
Revised: February 2009
Accepted: April 2009
The authors wish to
acknowledge the work of Susie
Bass in the early development
of this paper.
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focus on the tourism and events industries. Consideration is given to the fringe movement,
and then research propositions are provided, followed by the research methodology,
?ndings, and an analysis and interpretation of the results. The study indicates that the
promotional materials provided by the independent fringe theatres play an important role in
creating an appropriate atmosphere for these fringe festivals. The article concludes with
suggestions for additional research.
Visual images in tourist marketing
Extensive research exists into the nature of destination image (see, for example, Boo and
Busser, 2006; Govers and Go, 2005, 2003; Gallarza et al., 2002; Baloglu and McCleary,
1999; MacKay and Fesenmaier, 1997). MacKay and Fesenmaier (1997, p. 538) de?ne image
as:
[. . .] a term which generally refers to a compilation of beliefs, and impressions based on
information processing from a variety of sources over time, resulting in an internally accepted
mental construct.
Image, they conclude, is ‘‘tri-dimensional’’, consisting of attractiveness, uniqueness and
texture, where a destination’s image ‘‘is a composite of various products (attractions) and
attributes woven into a total impression’’ (MacKay and Fesenmaier, 1997, p. 538).
Similarly, Echtner and Ritchie’s (1993) study concluded that destination image has two
components: those which are attribute based and those that are holistic and that each of
these components contains functional and psychological characteristics. Therefore, images
of destination can range from those based on ‘‘common’’ functional and psychological traits
and, those based on more distinctive or unique features, events, feelings or auras (Echtner
and Ritchie, 1993). Baloglu and McCleary (1999, p. 870) expand this further by asserting
that image is mainly caused by stimulus factors (such as a physical object or previous
experience) or, personal factors, which they term the ‘‘social and psychological
characteristics of the perceiver’’. Essentially image is a subjective concept, as it ‘‘always
corresponds to an interiorization of some perceptions and not everyone has the same
perceptions’’ (Gallarza et al., 2002, p. 71).
The multidimensional and intangible nature of tourist destination image means this is a
complex area to research and subsequently the topic has been studied by many academic
disciplines including geography, sociology and marketing (Gallarza et al., 2002). However,
despite the dif?culty in measurement, the tourist destination’s image is of extreme
importance as it affects the individual’s subjective perception of place, the perception of
atmosphere and, ‘‘consequent behaviour and destination choice’’ (Gallarza et al., 2002,
p. 56).
As Boo and Busser (2006, p. 225) assert, ‘‘destination images can be formed by stimuli from
sources of information, previous experiences and physical characteristics’’. There are many
in?uences on destination images including the media, television advertisements and
newspapers, although information from relatives and friends remains the most in?uential
factor (Boo and Busser, 2006). In recent years, advances in information technology and the
growth of the internet have altered the way in which destination image is promoted and the
use of photographic imagery is increasingly important (Govers and Go, 2003). This current
research considers the image and associated impression of atmosphere created by
promotional materials produced by independent theatres at two fringe festivals. Both fringe
festivals rely on their particular destination for their individual success in terms of the
provision of festival venues, the attractive city surroundings and, the destination images
provided in the media.
Atmosphere creation
Research into the creation of atmosphere falls into the realm of environmental psychology,
described as the study of the direct impact of physical stimuli on human emotions and, the
effects of physical stimuli on a variety of behaviours, such as work performance and social
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interaction (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974). Other terms used in this area include
‘‘servicescape’’, which is the physical environment in which services are delivered (Bitner,
1992; Lin, 2004), ‘‘atmospherics’’ (Kotler, 1973), which includes the physical elements of
‘‘color, lighting, layout, style and furnishings’’ and, how it impacts on a customer’s
perceptions and impressions (Countryman and Jang, 2006, p. 534), and ‘‘ambience’’ which
refers to the perception and experience of the interaction between people (i.e. service
providers and customers) and the physical environment (i.e. the servicescape) where the
ambience experienced is abstract and ambiguous, and people vary in their individual
perception (Heide et al., 2007).
Research into the in?uence of atmosphere in social settings has mostly appeared in relation
to the retail sector (see, for example, Chebat and Michon, 2003), with less research in the
tourism and events sectors. Turley and Milliman (2000) reviewed the 60 empirical studies
published from 1964-2000 which considered the in?uence of marketing atmospheres on
consumers. They found enough evidence to suggest that such atmosphere has an effect on
consumer spending and that variations of atmospheric variables can affect the amount of
money people spend and the number of items they purchase. Figure 1 summarises the
various stimuli that impact on retail atmosphere such as the interior and exterior of the shop,
the interior displays, the store layout and human variables.
Fewer studies have appeared in the hospitality arena. Wilson (2003) considered the effect of
music in a restaurant on perceived atmosphere and purchase intentions, while Countryman
and Jang (2006) identi?ed the most signi?cant element in the overall customer impression of
a hotel lobby were the atmospheric elements of colour, lighting and style. Other hospitality
researchers have considered the importance of creating an inviting atmosphere to maximise
customer satisfaction in a casino setting (Johnson et al., 2004) and, in?uencing customer
intention to return at a themed restaurant (Weiss et al., 2004). Similarly, Heide et al. (2007)
considered what design experts and hotel managers understand by ambience and how
they improved the ambience of their establishments. Their study found that while the desired
ambience in a hospitality setting can never be created by a single factor, it might take only
one inconsistent element to ruin an otherwise favourable ambience. For example, using
Figure 1 Atmospheric stimuli in the retail sector
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inexpensive wallpaper may ruin the ambience of an otherwise luxurious hotel, while a rude
waiter or waitress may have damaging effect in a restaurant with an otherwise friendly
atmosphere.
In the tourism sector, Hayllar and Grif?n (2005) considered the nature of the tourists’
experience in a historic precinct and determined that atmosphere was one of the important
contributors to their experience. Similarly, Dann and Jacobsen (2003) considered the
odoriferous atmosphere of cities and how, to be successful as a tourism destination, the city
must appeal visually and aromatically to the tourist. Milman (2001) noted the need by Disney
theme parks to create a fantasy atmosphere of another time and place, and Wong (2001)
considered the importance of tour guides in creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere
among tour participants. Agarwal and Brunt (2006, p. 654) also highlight a tourist resorts’
‘‘ambience, essence and atmosphere’’ as being a very important characteristic of a tourist
destination but then simply describe this atmosphere as being a ‘‘holiday’’ atmosphere with
no further elaboration emphasising the need for further research in this area. Only the study
by Echtner (2002), examines in detail the type of atmosphere created from a tourism
perspective. She examined a range of Third World tourismbrochures and found they helped
create particular atmospheres associated with individual countries. These atmospheres
ranged from ‘‘Abundant’’ and ‘‘Amazing’’ and, ‘‘Mystical’’ and ‘‘Opulent’’, to ‘‘Tropical’’ and
‘‘Vibrant’’ (Echtner, 2002).
In the leisure sector, Wake?eld and Blodgett (1994) considered the effects of consumers’
perceptions of the servicescape on their level of satisfaction with the leisure service and their
subsequent repatronage intentions. They also examined the effect of the servicescape on
the level of excitement that consumers associate with the consumption of the leisure service.
The results showed that the aesthetic factors and the facility layout in these leisure services
might attract customers or discourage them from frequenting or returning to the facility.
Froma festival perspective, two studies (Taylor and Shanka, 2002; Taylor, 2001) investigated
the factors which lead to successful festivals. The studies found that atmosphere is of
signi?cant importance and an integral part of the success of any festival and event. Kim
(2004, p. 13) similarly suggests that the presence of serious participants is necessary for a
festival’s existence because they play a ‘‘signi?cant role in constructing the atmosphere of
the festival and help to sustain what it stands for’’. In addition, Frew (2006) found that
comedy festivals provide a social atmosphere that encourages participants to relax and
socialise with each other. In addition, the attendees noted that the aspect they most enjoyed
about the festival was the atmosphere in the streets around the central hub of the festival.
Mules (2004) noted that in one tourist destination, when promoting the festival, the local
press advertising and street banners in the area of the event was as much about generating
atmosphere as about promoting the event to potential patrons. However, most
festival-related literature provides only a passing mention to atmosphere and the term
‘‘atmosphere’’ is used in very general way (see, for example, Kim and Chalip, 2004).
Atmosphere is de?ned as a ‘‘general pervasive feeling or mood’’ (Makins, 1992, p. 77) and
this de?nition highlights the concept of atmosphere as being an emotional response to a
physical environment. Therefore, the literature on environmental psychology considers the
physical stimuli of a place to in?uence an individual’s emotions. However, studies are scarce
in the area of festivals and events and there are none in the area of fringe festivals that
consider the creation of atmosphere. Therefore, this research is important because the study
considers the in?uence of images and wording of promotional documents on the image of
festivals and, in particular, considers the ability of promotional material of independent fringe
festival theatres to produce an appropriate atmosphere for visitors.
The fringe movement
Event tourism has been de?ned as the ‘‘systematic planning development and marketing of
festivals and social events as tourist attractions, catalysts and image builders’’ (Getz and
Wicks, 1993, p. 2). Events, in particular mega-events, give the host community high
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prominence in the tourism market place (Hall and Hodges, 1996). Three factors arose in
event tourism. First, an event contributes to a city’s range of tourist attractions. Second, it
generates media coverage of the area and third, it promotes awareness of the area. Boo and
Busser (2006) expand on this by citing three main reasons why governments sponsor
festivals, namely that they have signi?cant economic impact on the area, they bring
intangible social bene?ts and, they lengthen the life cycle of a destination. This paper
considers two events, namely the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Melbourne Festival
Fringe, both successful tourism events, which were developed originally for more artistic
rather than touristic reasons.
Bushnell (2004, p. 13) describes a fringe festival as:
A non-pro?t organization of performing artists, producers, and/or managers dedicated to
providing emerging artists a non-juried opportunity to present new works to local, national, and
international audiences.
She also suggests that all fringe festivals are committed to a common philosophy that
promotes ‘‘accessible, inexpensive and fun, performing arts attendance’’ (Bushnell, 2004,
p. 4). The original fringe festival was the Edinburgh Fringe with its beginnings inextricably
bound with the staging of the ?rst Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) in 1947. Set up just
two years after the end of the Second World War, the EIF aimed to unite Europe by
showcasing the best of European arts and culture (Harvie, 2003). At the ?rst EIF in 1947 eight
theatre groups turned up uninvited and set up performances in alternative venues on the
fringe of the of?cial festival and thus the Edinburgh Fringe festival was born (Edinburgh
Fringe Society, 2005). This Fringe movement positioned itself as ‘‘oppositional and
intentionally anti-elitist, dedicated to operating as an inclusive rather that an exclusive
festival, and presenting a broader range of work, by a greater range of companies, for a
more diverse audience’’ (Harvie, 2003, p. 21). Like many fringe movements, the Edinburgh
Fringe challenged the norm and ‘‘grappled with de?nitions of culture, challenging accepted
de?nitions of ‘high’ and ‘low’ arts’’ (Quinn, 2005, p. 930). The Edinburgh Fringe has always
welcomed new expression and encourages the use of alternative venues and experimental
theatre groups (Quinn, 2005). Additionally, by providing a platform for new writing, showing
theatre at all times of the day and by providing touring opportunities by attracting critical
attention to many shows, the fringe festival has exposed theatre work to a new and diverse
audience (Edinburgh Fringe Society, 2004; Harvie, 2003). In its near 60-year history the
fringe festival has grown hugely: in 2001 over 600 groups from 49 different countries
performed and in 2005 over 1.35 million tickets were sold (Edinburgh Fringe Society, 2005).
Sixty years on, the Fringe remains committed against artistic vetting, encourages freedomof
artistic expression (Edinburgh Fringe Society, 2004) and, has been the inspiration for a
proliferation of fringe movements throughout the world (Quinn, 2005).
The idea to establish a fringe festival in Melbourne was created in 1982 when performers
noted that the vast majority of artists presenting work at the then ?edgling Adelaide Fringe
were from Melbourne. As Melbourne was thought of as a city where a fringe festival could
?ourish, a coalition of independent artists created a week-long Fringe to coincide with the
1983 Moomba Festival (a family-oriented arts festival ran by the Melbourne city council). For
the next three years the fringe had the name Melbourne Piccolo Spoleto Fringe Festival until
the Spoleto Festival ended and the Melbourne Fringe became the Melbourne Fringe Festival
(Melbourne Fringe Festival, 2006a). Similar to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the primary aim
of the Melbourne Fringe Festival is to resource and support the creation and presentation of
new art whereby the ‘‘most contemporary, innovative and trend-setting work created and
presented by independent artists, is presented to the broader Melbourne audience’’
(Melbourne Fringe Festival, 2006a).
Atmosphere develops through ambient conditions (e.g., temperature, air quality, noise,
music, odour) and space/function (e.g., layout, equipment, furnishings) and, signs, symbols
and artefacts (Bitner, 1992). Therefore, festival atmosphere could be developed for the
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potential tourist, through written words, photographs and illustrations. Hence, based on the
preceding discussion, the following two research propositions were developed:
1. The written word, used in the promotional materials of the independent theatres in
Edinburgh and Melbourne, creates a particular fringe festival atmosphere.
2. The photographs and illustrations, used in the promotional materials of independent
theatres in Edinburgh and Melbourne, create a particular fringe festival atmosphere.
Method
The aim of the study therefore, is to establish the particular atmosphere created through the
written word, the photographs and illustrations provided by a sample of independent
theatres in Edinburgh and Melbourne during the 2006 fringe festivals.
Four independent theatres involved in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe were selected, namely,
the Traverse Theatre, the Theatre Workshop, the Bedlam Theatre and the Assembly Rooms.
Similarly, four independent theatres involved in the Melbourne Fringe Festival were selected,
namely La Mama Theatre, CUB Malthouse Theatre, Theatreworks and The Butter?y Club.
Each of these theatres was selected as they are well-established, independently-owned
theatres. They stage theatrical performances all year round and had one or more show
included in the respective fringe festivals.
Edinburgh independent theatres
Now in its 43rd year Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre is Scotland’s new writing theatre and has
been an integral in?uence on the development of the Fringe Festival from the early 1960s. It
has a reputation for commissioning and supporting groundbreaking and innovative work
from writers from Scotland and around the world. During the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the
Traverse is one of the key venues, with Traverse productions regularly picking up awards as
a result of the world-class premiers playing in the various theatre venues. During festival time
its programme expands to incorporate unique site-speci?c productions such as a public
toilet (Ladies and Gentlemen, 2003), Indian Restaurant (Curry Tales, 2004) and department
store (The Devils Larder, 2005) (Traverse Theatre, 2006).
The Theatre Workshop was established in 1965 as Edinburgh’s ?rst arts and drama centre
for children. It has a strong tradition of community performance projects, combining the skills
of professional performers, musicians, writers and technicians with the energy and
enthusiasm of people from local communities. It also has a programme of work aimed at
people with disabilities with a strong commitment to participation. Politically
uncompromising docu-dramas such as Black Sun over Genoa (2005 (a response to the
G8 Summit in Scotland)) and Babylon Burning (2006 (an examination of contemporary Iraq))
form an integral part of the theatre’s fringe programme (Theatre Workshop, 2006).
The Bedlam Theatre is said to be located near the site of Edinburgh’s ?rst lunatic asylum,
hence the theatre’s current name. Home to Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC),
the Bedlam Theatre is the only student-run theatre in Britain hosting an average of 90 shows
during the academic year as well as other productions throughout the year. The Theatre was
listed in the Guardian newspaper’s ‘‘Top Ten’’ venues for every day of the Fringe in 1994 and
has experienced sell-out shows and excellent reviews and awards. As well as being a key
Fringe venue Bedlam also hosts FebFest, a festival of new writing, the largest of its kind in
Scotland to date (Bedlam Theatre, 2006).
The Assembly Theatre is synonymous with the growth, increased exposure and
development of the Edinburgh Fringe programme. For the past 24 years, Assembly
Theatre has transformed the elegant Georgian Assembly Rooms traditionally at the heart of
political, social and literary events in Edinburgh into the focus of the Edinburgh Festival
Fringe. Over this time the Assembly Theatre has presented over 1,700 productions including
most of the major names in British comedy, as well as a huge array of theatre, dance and
music that have been seen by over 2.5 million people. In 2002 the Assembly Rooms offering
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was extended through the creation of an additional venue, namely, Assembly @ St George’s
West. In later years this has been mirrored with the development of Assembly @ Assembly
Hall and Assembly @ The Queens Hall. Recent highlights have included the return to stage
of Jim Hansen’s Puppets, 2006, The Exonerated, in 2005 winning the Amnesty International
Freedom of Expression Award and, Christian Slater’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest,
2004. The Assembly Rooms also plays host to other festivals (i.e. Edinburgh International
Science Festival) throughout the year (Assembly Rooms, 2006).
Melbourne independent theatres
La Mama Theatre was set up in 1967 by Betty Burstall (wife of award-winning Australian ?lm
maker Tim Burstall) to ‘‘nurture new Australian theatre practice’’ which she modelled on
experimental theatre activities she had experienced in New York (La Mama Theatre, 2006).
The CUB Malthouse was established in 1976 to focus on ‘‘new Australiana theatre writing’’
and to introduce audiences to new writers from overseas whose work had not yet been
produced in Australia (Malthouse Theatre, 2006).
Theatreworks was set up in 1981 as a collective community theatre with a strong focus on
staging ‘‘new Australian works’’ performed in unusual and interesting locations such as a
play named Storming St Kilda by Tram, performed on a moving tram and Living Rooms,
performed in an art gallery (Theatreworks, 2006).
The Butter?y Club is the youngest of the independent theatres examined in Melbourne. The
Butter?y Club was established in 2003 and describes itself as a ‘‘cabaret salon’’ with a
cabaret show room and licensed bar (Butter?y Club, 2006). Table I summarises the number
of shows staged by each independent theatre during the respective 2006 fringe festivals.
Content analysis
Content analysis is a research technique for ‘‘making replicable and valid inferences from
texts (or other meaningful matter) to their context of their use’’ (Krippendorff, 2003, p. 18)
and is frequently used in tourism to discover how destination images are formed (see, for
example, Lee et al., 2006; Stepchenkova and Morrison, 2006; Xiao and Smith, 2006;
Markwick, 2001; Dann, 1988). Therefore, promotional materials, produced for each of the
Edinburgh and Melbourne theatres representing their 2006 involvement in their respective
fringe festival, were gathered to make inferences about the atmosphere created.
Echtner (2002, p. 428) suggests that ‘‘atmosphere is created in tourist brochures via the
descriptors (adjectives and adverbs) in the text and is also depicted in the pictures’’.
Therefore, similar to the study by Echtner (2002) and Echtner and Prasad (2003), for the
content analysis of the written word, the units of analysis were the promotional brochures, the
theatre’s entries in the fringe festival programmes and the related web pages. These were
examined for the frequency of descriptor words (verbs, adjectives and adverbs) used in
relation to the productions staged by the theatres during each of the fringe festivals. The
Table I Number of shows staged by each independent theatre during the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe and the Melbourne Fringe Festival
Name of theatre Number of shows
Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh) 19
Theatre Workshop (Edinburgh) 1
Bedlam Theatre (Edinburgh) 15
Assembly Theatre (Edinburgh) 100
La Mama Theatre (Melbourne) 3
CUB Malthouse Theatre (Melbourne) 2
Theatreworks (Melbourne) 2
Butter?y Club (Melbourne) 4
Sources: Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2006); Melbourne Fringe Festival (2006b)
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descriptor words of the verbs, adverbs and adjectives were examined as they convey the
means by which the theatrical productions were promoted, for example, the ‘‘extraordinary
play’’ or, the ‘‘passionate performance’’. Two academic researchers examined the
promotional materials gathered and highlighted the key descriptor words relating to the
individual theatrical productions. The researchers then codi?ed the material independently.
Although there was not complete agreement by the two coders, there was substantial
agreement that most of the promotional material was codi?ed correctly. For the content
analysis of the visual components, the promotional photographs and illustrations for each
show were the units of analysis, and were coded according to a grounded theory approach
where the code categories emerged from the analysis (Hesse-Biber and Leavy, 2006).
Results
The written word
Initially, to establish the type of atmosphere created overall by each fringe festival, the
programmes for each festival were examined. Table II summarises the frequency of
descriptor words used once or more in the Introduction or Forward to each of the fringe
festival programmes. These descriptor words re?ect the atmosphere being projected by the
respective fringes which appears to be a festival full of new, diverse, creative and
experimental theatre.
Table III summarises the themes of the descriptor words used by the independent theatres in
their promotional materials. Several different themes were found which relate to the
originality of the performance; the physical aspects of staging the performance; a
description of the performance; the theatricalness of the performance; and, a description of
the content of the performance. Thus, the atmosphere created by the independent theatres
appears to be of serious theatrical productions, where the theatres are depicted as the home
of new, fresh, alternative ideas were the artists are skilled in the creation of
thought-provoking performances.
The photographs and illustrations
In general, most of the photographs and illustrations associated with the theatres’
involvement in the fringe festival depict drama and creativity. For the promotional materials
used by the independent theatres at the Melbourne Fringe Festival, only one of the
photographs or illustrations depicts a non-human image, namely an empty chair. The rest
are either images of the artist or artists, either as photographs or sketches, or human-like
puppets. The most striking image is a photograph of a woman’s head resting on the ?oor with
her eyes looking downwards towards the ground. Her hands are ?at beside her face and she
appears to be listening. The image re?ects the content of the play, which includes the main
character listening to the creaking of the house. The large number of images of people in the
independent theatres promotions re?ects that fringe festivals are human and emotive,
comprised of individuals who are telling stories about their life, loves, problems,
relationships and society.
Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival differs from Melbourne due to the scale of the productions and
number of performers (17,000 in 2006) (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2006). The Fringe
Festival brochure and web site act as a database of information therefore giving the reader
an opportunity to sample and choose performances. Photographs and illustrations in the
fringe festival brochure therefore also tend to be ?gurative, but are presented in a
commercial way as a means of increasing ticket sales rather than for artistic merit.
Photographs tend to be re?ective of the key performers at the Fringe, a large majority of
whom are comedians, aiming to present themselves as lively, funny and irreverent. Generic
pictures re?ect key market segments seen to be enjoying and celebrating the fringe
experience. Images on the web site tend to be more provocative, again largely ?gurative,
depicting fringe performers but in a more contentious, theatrical way, for example: an image
of a man attempting to consume a chicken; aerial acrobatics and, a woman watering ?owers
painted on a wall.
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Table II Frequency of descriptor words used in the Introduction or Forward to the
Edinburgh and Melbourne Fringe Programmes
Descriptor word(s)
Access; accessible Melbourne ( £ 3)
Af?uent Edinburgh
Amazing Melbourne
Anarchic Edinburgh
Artistic Melbourne ( £ 2)
Attention-seeking Edinburgh
Authentic Melbourne
Best Melbourne þEdinburgh
Celebration Melbourne
Challenging Melbourne þ Edinburgh
Comfortable
Compelling Edinburgh
Creative; creativity Melbourne ( £ 4)
Cultural; culturally Melbourne ( £ 3)
Cutting edge Edinburgh
Delights Melbourne
Diverse; diversity Melbourne ( £ 4)
Dynamic Edinburgh
Edge; edgy Melbourne ( £ 2)
Emerging Melbourne ( £ 2)
Emotional Edinburgh
Entertaining Edinburgh
Enthusiasm Melbourne
Established Edinburgh
Excellence Edinburgh
Exciting Melbourne
Exotic Edinburgh
Experience Melbourne
Experiment; experimenting Melbourne ( £ 2)
First Melbourne
Fresh Melbourne
Global Edinburgh
Great Melbourne
Greatest Edinburgh
Hedonistic Edinburgh
Hilarious Edinburgh
Ideas Melbourne ( £ 3)
Impetuous Edinburgh
Inclusive Edinburgh
Incredible Edinburgh
Independent Melbourne ( £ 6)
Innovative Edinburgh ( £ 2)
Intimacy Edinburgh
Intimidated Edinburgh
Involved Melbourne
Inspiring Melbourne þEdinburgh
Laboratory Melbourne
Largest Edinburgh
Lively Melbourne
Major Edinburgh
New Melbourne ( £ 9) þ Edinburgh ( £ 5)
Open Melbourne
Original Melbourne
Passion Edinburgh ( £ 4)
Passionate Melbourne þEdinburgh ( £ 3)
Perspectives Melbourne
Platform Melbourne
Powerful Edinburgh ( £ 2)
Prestigious Edinburgh
Professional Edinburgh
Provocative Edinburgh
Push Melbourne
(Continued)
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Table II
Descriptor word(s)
Remarkable Edinburgh
Smash Edinburgh
Subterranean Melbourne
Successful Edinburgh
Talented Melbourne
Uncomfortable Edinburgh
Uncompromising Edinburgh
Unexpected Melbourne
Unique Melbourne
Vibrant Edinburgh
Wild Melbourne ( £ 2)
Young Melbourne þEdinburgh
Youthful
Note: Each word was used once unless otherwise stated
Sources: Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2006); Melbourne Fringe Festival (2006b)
Table III Themes and examples of descriptor words used by the Edinburgh and Melbourne
Independent Theatres in promotional materials
Themes of descriptor words Examples
The originality of the performance Apocalyptic, avant-garde, contentious, courageous,
created, devised, different, dynamically, formidable,
landmark achievement, must-see, new, original,
renaissance, revelation, revolutionising, specially, UK
debut, unforgettable, unique, unpredictable, unpublished,
vital, world premiere
The physical aspects of staging the
performance
Act, cabaret, character, mixed media, performance,
projected animation, style, theatre, theatrical, visual theatre,
vocal, verbatim
Describing the performances Alive, animated, authentic, bawdy, beer-stained, biting,
bittersweet, bizarre, buoyant, breathtaking, brutal, clever,
colourful, commanding, committed, compelling, cynical,
dark, dynamic, earthy, electrifying, emotional, energetic
intelligence, evocative, exhilarating, exuberant, explosively
comic, fun, funny, gripping, hard-hitting, harrowing, heart
warming, hilarious, idiocy, incisive, infectious, irreverence,
intricate, life-af?rming, mind-blowing, miniature, moving,
muscular, oozing, outstanding, passionate, physically and
emotionally charged, political, quiet, quirky, resonant,
riveting, sad, skilful, sophisticated, spirited, startling,
stunning, suburban, supple, tense, tragic, twisted, ultimate,
uncompromising, understated, un?inching, unforced,
unstoppable, vibrant, versatile, wicked
The theatricalness of the performance Beautifully staged, burlesque, dark, ?lm noir, gothic,
images, layered, live, magical, nightmarish, playgrounds,
pieces, shadow, spinechilling, surreal, visually stunning
Description of the content of the
performance
Anger, darkly comic, deadpan dialogue, docu-drama,
dreams, ethical drama, fable, fairytale, horror, human
stories, life, loneliness, lyrical, mystery, nail-biting thriller,
narrative driven, pain, pathos, physical theatre, rap,
redemption, relationship, retro-British, rivalry, romance,
satirical, self realisation, site speci?c, story, storytelling,
surreal satire, style, text-based drama, tragi-comedy, verse
Sources: Various promotional materials produced by Traverse Theatre, Theatre Workshop, Bedlam
Theatre, Assembly Theatre, La Mama Theatre, CUB Malthouse Theatre, Theatreworks, Butter?y Club
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The use of photographs and illustrations in the independent theatres brochures, however,
are much more experimental, trying to evoke the originality and dynamism of the work being
shown. Some ?gures appear to be anxious and distressed and, the illustrations are often
dark and surreal re?ecting the nature of the work. Fact and ?ction become blurred and the
photographs are used as a tool to exploit the unique contribution of the theatres’ productions
to the fringe programme. The photographs and illustrations are also re?ective of the artform;
contemporary visual and physical theatre appearing layered and visually stunning, whereas
comedy and children’s performances are shown as colourful, comic, bold and brash.
Discussion
Taylor and Shanka (2002) note the creation and de?nition of atmosphere can be very dif?cult
due to its intangible nature. However, Echtner (2002) suggests that atmosphere can be
represented in tourism promotional materials via the written word and the visual images.
Therefore, to address the research propositions developed earlier, the study appears to
support both propositions in as far as the written words, photographs and illustrations used
in the promotional materials of independent theatres in Edinburgh and Melbourne creates a
sense that the fringe festivals are vehicles for serious, experimental theatrical productions,
where the independent theatres are depicted as being the home of new, fresh, alternative
ideas and the performers are portrayed as being innovative and skilled in the production of
the art form.
The creation of interesting and stimulating visual images by the independent theatres
supports Dann and Jacobsen’s (2003) ?ndings that for a city to be successful it needs to
appeal visually to a tourist. The fringe festival atmosphere created may also appeal to the
serious theatre tourist interested in experiencing new and innovative theatre. Kim’s (2004)
?nds support this view; whereby the presence of serious tourism participants is necessary
for a festival’s existence as they help construct the atmosphere of the festival. Therefore, the
creation of an appropriate atmosphere and the associated attendance by serious theatre
tourists perpetuates and authenticates the fringe festival atmosphere.
Based on the earlier review of the festival related literature, and the analysis conducted, a
range of factors contribute to the creation of the fringe festival atmosphere. Similar to the
?ndings by Turley and Milliman (2000), physical and human variables are involved, but there
are also in?uences from the fringe festival organisers. Figure 2 highlights that the
independent theatres and their associated promotions are only one, although signi?cant,
factor in?uencing or contributing to the fringe festival atmosphere.
The analysis also reveals that the original aim of the fringe festival organisers to create an
outlet for new, alternative and experimental art is being upheld by the Edinburgh and
Melbourne independent theatres’ involvement in their respective fringe festivals. At both
fringe festivals the written words and, the photographs and illustrations help to build an
atmosphere of new, diverse and experimental theatre. Any differences between the two
fringe festivals, such as the more varied and encompassing Edinburgh programme, may be
explained by the fact that Edinburgh is a much larger fringe festival and is fortunate to be
closer to a larger international population base to attract a diverse range of artists. However,
in recent years, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been criticised for becoming more
commercialised and ‘‘corporate’’ and less experimental because of its uncontrollable
growth and the predominance of large venues, such as the Assembly Rooms, supported by
aggressive promoters (Maresh, 2000). The Edinburgh Festival Fringe because of its history
(established in 1947) and legacy may also have a higher level of awareness and acceptance
among potential audience members compared to Melbourne, which is relatively young
(established in 1982). The similarities and differences created by the Edinburgh and
Melbourne fringe festivals is supported by Ferguson and Ferguson (2001, p. 142 as cited by
Bushnell, 2004) who suggest that ‘‘the quality and content of Fringe shows can vary widely
(and wildly)’’ but, the overall atmosphere at both festivals is one of experimentation and
innovation.
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Arts Council England (2006) reports that the theatre creates four distinct types of social
impacts: personal, group, civic, and so-called ‘‘hard’’ bene?ts such as employment and
greater awareness of social or health issues. Within these categories speci?c bene?ts
included: artistic excellence, cultural partnerships, participatory creative processes, and
giving a public voice to marginalised experiences (Arts Council England, 2006). Given this,
the development of theatre audiences, especially for innovative, groundbreaking work, is an
important objective for anyone working in the cultural sector of the public domain. For
example, one of the anticipated outcomes of the Scottish Arts Council’s Drama Strategy for
2002-2007 is a ‘‘higher demand for theatre in Scotland, leading to increased audiences and
a broader range of attenders and participants’’ (Scottish Arts Council, 2002a, p. 12).The key
aims of the Drama Strategy include: allowing forms to be developed that address the
aspirations of under-represented groups; providing a national support structure for new
writing; and encouraging initiatives that are daring and imaginative (Scottish Arts Council,
2002b). Therefore, to help achieve such outcomes it is important for experimental
independent theatres, such as those examined, to exist. For example, the explosion of new
work from the Edinburgh Fringe would not have happened without independent theatres
such as the Traverse Theatre’s direction, support and risk taking. Exposure to such creative,
diverse, international work creates positive social and cultural bene?ts for the tourists and
locals alike.
The ‘‘big sisters’’ of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and, the Melbourne Fringe Festival,
namely the Edinburgh International Festival and the Melbourne Arts Festival respectively,
now also stage new art performances each year which has led to each of the main stream
festivals and the associated fringe beginning to stage very similar productions and compete
for audience share. An examination of the types of performances staged at each Edinburgh
and Melbourne festivals and fringes in 2006 reveals many similarities between the two types
of festival, suggesting that the atmosphere at each festival may have become very
comparable, with the ‘‘high’’ arts festivals beginning to view themselves as also being
experimental and challenging (see Figure 3). As a result, the performance innovation gap is
closing and the mainstream and fringe festivals support the general creative atmosphere of
the city where the existence of independent productions and performers helps create an
Figure 2 Atmospheric stimuli at a fringe festival
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atmosphere of experimentation and innovation. Indeed Edinburgh’s reputation worldwide as
the ‘‘Festival City’’ would not be upheld without the combined promotional efforts of, in
particular, its summer festivals. Realising the potential for the festivals to create images of
Edinburgh as a contemporary, exciting and challenging destination, a new organisation
named ‘‘Festivals Edinburgh’’ was created in 2006 by the current 12 Edinburgh festivals to
leverage the artistic and creative legacy of the festivals on the destination. Similarly, in
Melbourne, the ‘‘Victorian Major Events Company’’ formed in 1991 by the Victorian
Government, aims to attract international cultural and sporting events and raise the
international pro?le of Melbourne and Victoria.
Concluding comments
Kim and Chalip (2004) found that event organisers should pay particular attention to the
ways in which they construct their event’s atmosphere, and, in particular, marketers of sport
events should utilise narratives that capitalise on event atmospherics. Similarly, Turley and
Milliman (2000) suggest that more research is needed on how atmosphere should be
manipulated or developed for different market segments. Given this, the results of the
present study are important as they highlight the need for fringe festival organisers to
establish a strong working relationship with the managers of independent theatres to ensure
the most appropriate marketing campaign is used to attract the desired target audience of
locals and tourists to the fringe festival and that there is consistency of brand, image and
approach. Indeed, Gursoy et al. (2006) highlight the need to understand visitors’
perceptions and how they arrive at an evaluation of festivals. In particular, they suggest that
visitors’ attitudes toward festivals and their corresponding attendance, their formation of
future attendance intentions, and their likelihood of suggesting that others attend, are all
logically linked to their perceptions.
The focus here is on the supply side of the development of the fringe festival atmosphere.
Future research could consider the demand side, by gathering data from tourists attending
the two fringe festivals, to determine how customers perceive the promotional materials, the
actual fringe festival and, their relationship with the destination. These important questions
Figure 3 Performances staged at Edinburgh and Melbourne festivals and fringes
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are beyond the scope of this study and so are not answered here, but raising this issue
highlights the fact that often a small-scale study such as this exposes the need for larger
studies.
Future research could also further compare the atmosphere at fringe festivals with
mainstream arts festivals and, with other types of events, such as sporting events, as this
may highlight the most appropriate atmosphere for their target market audiences. In relation
to traditional festivals, the failure to stage new and innovative works may create a staid,
conservative and elite atmosphere which may result in alienating a large proportion of the
population and limit potential funding and support. Perhaps this is one reason why the
traditional festivals are beginning to introduce more innovative performances as a means of
attracting a larger and more diverse audience. Gursoy et al. (2006) found that festivals are
perceived by visitors as having both utilitarian as well as hedonic bene?ts. Therefore
independent theatre managers, in their promotional materials, would be well advised to
highlight both their hedonic attributes and functional attributes in order to ‘‘maximise
attendance of people seeking both types of bene?ts’’ (Gursoy et al., 2006, p. 290). Overall,
this research has signi?cant cross-discipline relevance for tourism and heritage
management, communication and marketing.
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Corresponding author
Elspeth Frew can be contacted at: [email protected]
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This article has been cited by:
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