The Way From Palestine To Edinburgh’s Fringe, Through Kickstarter

Last week, we showed you an Egyptian troupe of comedians performing at The Fringe, Edinburgh’s most popular festival for artists, comedians, and storytellers.  As we spoke with the fantastic performers, we discovered a courageous initiative that aims to bring Palestinian artists to the festival’s next edition.

The campaign was launched on Kickstarter by David Greig, a Scottish play-writer with a special relationship with the Middle East, who wants to support Palestinian artists, as well as Israeli artists who reject state funds. Running for nine more days, the fundraising campaign aims to raise £10,000 for a ‘Welcome To The Fringe’ project for theater makers, but to also form a network of artists who can offer help in kind, mentoring, venue space or guidance.

The fund is also about recognizing the presence of absence, says Greig. “For example, it’s almost impossible for some artists to exit Palestine. So perhaps in some cases all we can do is  find ways to use technology to allow that stand-up comic to perform live in Gaza and screen it live in Edinburgh,” he writes in his blog.

For more information: Check out the campaign on Kickstarter, David Greig on Twitter