I have just returned from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - the first time I have been able to attend since before the pandemic.
For the theatre industry, these four weeks create one of the biggest gatherings of creatives, producers, and programmers in the world.
It is a rare opportunity to connect with colleagues and, as I’m often asked, it is also a little bit like a "shopping spree" for shows we might bring to Norwich.
However, I always find it fascinating to see Edinburgh as a barometer in many ways.
For me, it’s important to hear the stories that artists are wanting to tell at that point in time and to see who the audiences are that they are reaching with these stories.
At each of my annual visits pre-pandemic, I would notice a theme or thread from the festival.
On my first visit back, it was comforting to see several coming through loudly and clearly in the stories being told and the audiences who were engaging.
One of these that has given me cause to pause and reflect was that of "family."
It was utterly delightful to see the huge strides forward that the Edinburgh Fringe has made to be more inclusive and whole-family-friendly.
The presence of buggy parks, new protocols in place for people with varying abilities, and more captioning than I’ve ever seen before showed itself in noticeably different audiences.
For the first time at Edinburgh, I got the feeling I get when I watch our Panto: watching joyful performance on the stage but experiencing the joy of the families around me having that creative experience together.
It made me also reflect on the notion of being accessible and being family-friendly and how these things are inseparable.
I bumped into an old friend one day who is a long-time stalwart of The Fringe who summed it up: "My Mum has never seen one of my shows as she uses a wheelchair. This is the Fringe First I’m most interested in."
I also saw so much work that told stories rooted in the universal value yet wonderful diversity of the family.
This is clearly a moment where artists and creatives wish to discuss and platform this and, in part, it’s because 2023 marks two important anniversaries of one divisive and destructive piece of legislation: Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of Section 28 being signed into law and the 20th anniversary of it being repealed.
Section 28 banned the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities for 15 years, and it set back the evolution of the family.
For many of us, that 15-year period is lived experience and it caused much pain and hurt through its narrow definition of what a family should be.
The theme this year in Edinburgh was a vital message from many artists and companies that we should not take for granted our ability to form our own families in glorious technicolour and to protect that against any new form of Section 28 that could be introduced by stealth through the erosion of equal rights bit-by-bit.
Throughout the year at Norwich Theatre, we see the joy and safety that families of all forms take from our venues, whether that’s the annual treat of Pantomime, our weekly music and movement sessions for little ones and their grown ups or our annual Pride celebration where many people find their logical family.
Our Family Festival, running again this summer 29 Aug – 1 Sep, and Open Day on 26 Aug are further opportunities for togetherness.
Whether blended or extended, logical or biological, whichever group of people make up your version of a family should be protected and celebrated.
Engaging with creativity in that group can help those important bonds to grow and flourish. This will always be a part of our raison d’etre at Norwich Theatre.
Stephen Crocker is chief executive and creative director of Norwich Theatre
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