An escape into a cultural wonderland

In a city that never sleeps, what better way to explore its offerings than with a melange of film and stellar performances alike? This year, the Fringe Festival is finally coming to India. What once started off in 1947 as a foil to the Edinburgh International Festival has now bloomed into the world’s largest open-access arts movement spanning more than 300 festivals across Edinburgh, Prague and Adelaide.

On till March 15 and with nearly 60 performances, the festival transforms the neighbourhood into a dynamic cultural map where audiences discover new mediums of art in its most immediate form.

Community-first


“I think Fringe festivals are definitely community-sensed events,” said Steve Gove, founder and director of the Prague Fringe Festival. “You can’t get that experience if you go to a theatre performance, see one show, and you clap, and then you go home. I’m constantly telling people: Don’t just go and see one show and then say that was good and go home, because you’re not really in the ‘fringe zone’ then,” he added.

Mumbai has no dearth of art lovers and with the arrival of this festival, it offers Indian audiences a rare opportunity to witness performances from around the world. “Fringe has always stood for joy, openness and giving everyone a platform with minimal gatekeeping,” said Tony Lankester, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society. “We are delighted to see the Mumbai Fringe carry this same spirit forward, creating new opportunities and joy for audiences in India.”

A space for cinephiles

Cinema, culture and art have always been central to the cultural fabric of Mumbai. After all, the city is known for its vibrant film industry and a growing community of passionate cinephiles who celebrate storytelling in all its forms.

“I think it’s a very Indian thing for us to sit and watch films together in a theatre and, you know, interact with the world,” said Simar Singh, founder of UnErase Poetry. “As a young kid in India, that’s the first way you interact with people around you by watching films in a theatre and everyone hooting together.”