Edinburgh Festival Is Time For High Prices

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27472, 5 October 1954, Page 6

Edinburgh Festival Is Time For High Prices

(From the London Correspondent of “The Press")

L° ND ON, September 20. Hamburgh is now enjoying the eighth famous festival of the arts with thousands of visitors cramming the city to see some of the best in music, ballet and theatre performed by some of the leading figures m these artistic spheres. , F ? an y of business people of Edinburgh the fruits are extremely ripe. Huge window displays of goods specially for export” without purchase tax draw the tourists like a magnet. Cost means little to many of them and some of the leading stores ?A Princess and George streets find the festival their greatest selling time ♦hJ’nnuS. c?i tors ' specially from JilS.tS? U s d States seem to have unlimited funds and the export departments of these large stores have increased staffs to deal with the huge volume of business. For the people of S b ? bl ?!‘ gh ,, ai ? d ! he surr <>unding districts the festival period is not their shopping time. They are as eager as the visitors to gaze at the luxury disPlays °f Scottish craft and ingenuity, but they do not buy. Some ° f the less reputable business people of this famous city find in the festival an opportunity to increase profits by “clipping” the tourists. Accommodation is so difficult to obtain that many houses, not the leading notels by any means, increase tariffs to suit the occasion. o A xa - N u w Zealand friend with long Scottish residence advised against drinking “Scotch” in Edinburgh during the festival because some of it was much below the standard sold in New Zealand hotels, he said. . There are small shops that specialise in genuine Scottish souvenirs” which, in actual fact, are mass-produced items irom the Midlands or even the East. And in the festival itself, many visitors find they spend hundreds of pounds staying in Edinburgh during the season, but see few of the better shows. Many of the productions are on for one night, some a little longer, but only a minority ever get into most of the shows they wish to see. The festival has become so big since 1947

that it is now proving difficult to handle. Glasgow feels that it ■ should get some share of the limelight, especially as there have been criticisms at the inadequacy of the theatres to handle the crowds and, in some cases, to house the productions themselves.

Mr J. B. Priestley, the well-known author, is one who feels that the festival has grown out of hand. He said this week that he liked Edinburgh ESr e F ■ w^en there was no festival. That is not to say that I do not like festivals, but in Edinburgh there is too much going on| at once,” he said. He suggested the festival should not be so 'big and that it should have more character—Scottish, international, classical or modern. Although Mr Priestley’s remarks have support, there is unlikely to be much change in the Edinburgh Festival. It has proved a success over the years and a grand attraction for people to cram themselves into the cultural city. Scotsmen, like most other people, do not want to let go of a good thing once they have a hold of it. There is, however, something in Glasgow’s claims that the festival could be better spread. There is a huge amount of theatre space in the drab ship-building city and its population of more than 1,000,000 would ensure the success of any such venture. In Edinburgh, however, they feel that once the boundary of the festival is widened, the organisation will slip from their hands. Whatever criticisms there may be of the festival it has proved a wonderful idea—with possibilities for emulation in New Zealand. Auckland has led New Zealand with a festival of its own and it should be able in the future to support something on a grander scale with its population of 350,000. It is rumoured that Germany is eager for its leading theatrical figures to tour as much as possible at reasonable appearance rates for the world publicity value. New Zealand may be able to capitalise on this at its next festival.