Festival 2011 is only about half-way through and it is already safe to say that it has been highly successful.
Festival 2011 is only about half-way through and it is already safe to say that it has been highly successful.
Venues have been packed with enthusiastic audiences and rave reviews are the order of the day – but of course there will always be people who dispute this and there will always be those who complain because they haven’t made large piles of money.
Yes, we know that money is important, but the real benchmark that we are talking about is the quality of the shows on offer. Here in the Grocott’s Mail newsroom, although we are further from most venues than we would like to be, our staff members still attend a lot of shows and hear about many others.
Student reporters and interns working with our regular reporters end up seeing dozens of performances, and we are also in close contact with the journalists and editors who are putting together Cue – the daily Festival newspaper.
The point is, we have a good idea of what is happening at Festival. It is our business, and the reports we are receiving are overwhelmingly positive. There seems to be a greater number of comedians than in previous years – or perhaps they are just funnier and more people are talking about them.
Stand-up comedy in a wide variety of flavours and genres has definitely come to Fest to stay. There are also thought-provoking plays, a wide variety of musical concerts and, of course, there was the ballet – Swan Lake – that had everyone searching for superlatives.
Festinos are certainly getting their money’s worth from Festival stages. There have been one or two disappointing shows, but most performances have been excellent or better. The high quality of the programme is largely due thanks to the discerning eye and impeccable taste of Festival Director, Ismail Mahomed.
Business appears to have been brisk on the Village Green, where we are sure the rather brisk weather was great for those selling coats, jerseys, scarves and other woollies. Some of the stalls might have lost out, but our rather unscientific research through the tents suggests that the traders selling high-quality merchandise, unusual arts and crafts were doing well.
The final figures will no doubt be interesting, but meanwhile – got to go – the next show is about to begin.
