The problem with the Edinburgh fringe, with catching an hour of satirical rock music or a new one-man show by Steven Berkoff, is that you've got to get there. Or, this year, you can pop down to your local Odeon instead.
Hibrow, a digital arts company putting original performance and art online, has announced a deal in which eight shows will be beamed to cinema screens across Britain.
Don Boyd, the creator and artistic director of Hibrow, said the project stemmed from an experiment four years ago when script-in-hand readings of five plays at the Traverse theatre were beamed live to Picturehouse cinemas.
"I vowed then that I would extend that with a much more ambitious programme of work because the technology has made this all so much easier to do than it ever was," he said. "We learnt a lot of lessons and we got a good reception – we even made a little bit of money, which at that time was extraordinary. This programme is very much more ambitious."
The plan is to broadcast eight shows in August beginning on the 4th with The Dispute, a new version of the 18th century Marivaux comedy, which tells the story of four babies raised in isolation for 18 years before being released in to the world. Shows that follow include a set by the satirical rockers Jonny & The Baptists; a one man show called Berkoff the Inimitable; and comedy from the sketch quartet Four Screws Loose.
The shows are all being performed as part of the Hibrow Hour at Edinburgh's Summerhall venue in the afternoon and will be shown in cinemas in the evening - not quite live, said Boyd, because the idea is to attract people thinking about what to do after work.
Boyd, a former film producer with credits that include Scum, and The Last of England, said the success of live opera, theatre and art exhibitions at cinemas showed how much appetite there was for such events.
Drew Kaza, the executive VP of digital development at Odeon cinemas, said they were delighted to be bringing "the buzz and innovation of the fringe to local cinemas across the UK for the very first time".Nearly 30 cinemas are taking part, from Basingtoke and Dundee to Warrington.
