Khaled ElSamman shares impressions from the past four days of Fringe and ahead to the last hurrah on Sunday.
7 September marked the official start of this year’s Gothenburg Fringe Festival. It started out with an opening night at Kviberg’s Kulturhus and a Preview Night at 2Lång, a local theatre space in the heart of Gothenburg.
The Preview Night has become an established routine in the festival. It allows its goers to get a taste of its many shows by watching a 2-minute performance pitch by the artists. The 2.5-hour event had more than 30 acts which included comedies, contemporary dance, visual arts, musicals and improvs. With themes varying from existentialism, light and dark comedies, child-friendly, loss and grief, displacement, inequality, hope and love, you are guaranteed to find something that matches your taste.
What stood out this year is the diversity and the inclusiveness of the festival. It is genuine and impactful. No tokenism. No colour washing.
The lineup is not only robust but also diverse. This year’s performances include artists from different ethnicities, age groups and cultural backgrounds, and the themes are not any less diverse.
Language diversity is also very present at the festival. There are shows in English, Swedish, Sami and even Gibberish, alongside those designed to be easily appreciated by anyone regardless of what language they do or do not speak.
The organising team walked the extra mile and made sure that the Fringe is spread out across the city, from Kviberg and Frölunda to Stigbergets and Majorna, which makes the festival accessible for all residents of Gothenburg.
Photo: Sophia Kontopoulou
If I were to pick a motto for the 2022 edition of the Fringe Festival, it would be 'A Festival for All'.
The festival comes to an end on Sunday 11 September, with the final 28 events of a programme with over 150 this week.
It culminates with the much-anticipated Awards Party in Oceanen at 20:00 hrs. You can find the schedule and book tickets on gbgfringe.com.