The Month-long Tallinn Fringe Is Turning 10!
Text Timo Raussi Photo Anton Sedjurkov
The performance and performing arts festival Tallinn Fringe, which for the tenth time brings together music, theatre, circus, dance, comedy, burlesque and everything in between, has announced the first parts of this year’s programme. Taking place from 18 August to 18 September in cultural clubs, bars, small theatres, the outdoor stage at Iglupark and even an English-language bookshop across Tallinn, the urban festival will once again gather performers from around 20 different countries to present nearly 200 diverse performances.
Originating in Edinburgh shortly after the Second World War, the event format has expanded into a global network of around 250 annual Fringe festivals. Showcasing new and experimental ideas in the performing arts, the event is not centrally curated or produced; instead, performers themselves arrange their approximately hour-long shows directly with the venues.
The only exception is the “All Irish: Street Showcase” event, held as part of the festival in Tallinn’s Old Town at Town Hall Square over the weekend of 28–30 August. It is sponsored by the Embassy of Ireland and the country’s cultural promotion organisation, and focuses on Irish street music and street performance.
Some of the Fringe performances are free to the public, while some events collect a “pay what your conscience tells you” style donation on site. Advance tickets for the club and theatre performances with standard admission are sold online through the Fienta ticketing service, where events can be searched using the keyword “Fringe”, in addition to the festival’s own website. New performances, freshly confirmed with artists and venues, are added to the Fringe programme and to Fienta every Monday. Early ticket buyers can also benefit from so-called “Early Bird” discounts.
The driving force behind Tallinn Fringe, first organised in Tallinn in 2016, has from the beginning been Dan Renwick, owner of the Heldeke! theatre bar in Kalamaja. Originally from Australia but long settled in Estonia, the comedian and clown is also a highly respected consultant and trainer for Estonian startup communities, the EU cybersecurity unit, and artists in the creative industries. Among other things, around four years ago he launched the Learn2Fringe#Tallinn training programme, which encourages artists in the creative fields to think in a more business-minded and goal-oriented way.
Tallinn Fringe also caters to Finnish audiences with a homepage in their native language. It reminds travellers that because Fringe is not a festival confined to just one or two main stages, it offers a good reason to head to Tallinn, and to different festival venues, even several times over the course of the month, letting the city’s diversity surprise you. The low threshold for cultural experiences is made even lower by the fact that circus, dance, music, burlesque and visual theatre work across language barriers, while a large share of the comedy and theatre in Fringe is performed in English.
To learn more about this and similar topicsBurlesque Dance events Fringe music Stand-up Comedy street theatre Tallinn
