Stage and screen star Brian Cox wants to help make it easier for U.S. artists to get to Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Succession star has partnered with the Fringe Society to launch Keep it Fringe US, an initiative that will provide financial support to U.S. theatremakers looking to perform at the famed Scottish festival.
The initiative plans to support at least 10 U.S. artists or companies with $2,500 grants for performances at the 2025 festival. Recipients of the grants will also receive a marketing, screen development, and networking–focused support package to help with audience and career development.
The festival, which runs annually in the month of August, has proved a vital proving ground for new talent, including such names as Lin-Manuel Miranda, David Schwimmer, and Robin Williams. Though the festival is held in Scotland, it attracts talent from around the world, including the U.S. The 2024 festival included more than 300 shows—roughly 10% of the festival's full offering—that came from the U.S. alone.
"The Fringe is such an important market for the development of new plays and musicals,” says New York-based producer Molly Morris in a statement. “It is such a valued place for anyone wanting to launch an artistic idea. For artists it is such an important platform for gaining awareness for your work on a global scale and gaining a fan following. For audiences it has a true 'saw it there first' excitement. There is nowhere else like it, and the inspiration gleaned from being there is unparalleled."
Those opportunities make the Fringe a very alluring outlet for artists looking to get a break, but the realities of taking work to the festival can make it a very expensive proposition. Artists are responsible for their own housing and all production costs. U.S. artists also add international travel to that bill.
“As a Scottish performer who lives in the U.S., I’m doubly invested in this project to strengthen the cultural bond between our two countries," adds Cox. "There’s already an incredibly strong shared heritage between Edinburgh and the States—one of Edinburgh’s foremost theatres for new writing, the Traverse, was founded by a U.S. airman named Jim Haynes in the 1960s. The US Keep it Fringe fund aims to enable and encourage the next generation of emerging U.S. talent at the Fringe, ensuring that a spirit of adventure and collaboration can continue.”
The effort has already received donations from JetBlue along with individual donors Heather and Paul Innella and Scott and Holly Plank. The society is still looking for additional donations, which will include invites to exclusive New York- and Edinburgh-based events among other benefits. Donations are being accepted at EdFringe.com.
