Papering Over….

Aug 10, 2017

I love venturing up to Edinburgh Fringe each year, whether as punter, producer or performer and one of the things that I get very excited about is seeing what themes will be weaving their way through the month of August – what issues and concerns have pushed themselves into the collective subconscious to be articulated and shared in myriad creative ways.

This year, the 70th anniversary of the Fringe, motifs that strike me include; health; sex; gender issues and many topics brought to us by and for women. These are expressed through theatre, comedy, art, dance and music.

It’s fascinating to note how themes and styles change from year to year and I’m delighted that they do because this way the festival remains fresh, relevant and topical. However there’s one issue that I passionately want to see become a permanent question, one that, rather than diminishing and fading away, becomes increasingly important and urgent.

This theme is that of paper… the huge and desperate waste of paper. Flyers and posters everywhere, millions of reams of paper…

Since arriving last Wednesday I’ve been wrestling with my conscience, conflicted between wanting to promote my show, ‘Perfectly Imperfect Women’ (STAGE WHISPER: Pleasance Courtyard V33: 12.45pm daily) through hand to hand flyering & plastering posters in shops, cafes and on the large pillars that run the length of the Royal Mile yet wanting to find another way to promote my show which doesn’t include the use of paper or plastic at all.

I take a photo of other people’s flyers telling them that I’m an ‘eco-punter’. The irony of the situation, as they take one of my flyers, doesn’t escape me. But I feel that I have to start somewhere, be the change I want to see.

‘This situation isn’t sustainable, we’re destroying too many trees’ I rant to my fellow performers and flyer teams as I walk towards my venue. Many of them agree with me, some saying that they have been thinking the same thing. I can feel the tide turning. I continue ‘the technology is there for us to choose a different way but it needs a better tech brain than mine to work out how to do it’. Someone says ‘What about Tinder for the Fringe’, they laugh but their friend says that this is a good idea. I hear this more than once (note to self – check up how Tinder works). ‘We could use QR Codes in some way’ I continue, not knowing quite how, but thinking that people could book my show immediately if they wanted to…. I like this idea!

Yes or what about NFC?’ suggests someone else.

‘We could use recycled paper’
, this obviously would be a better solution but what I see daily is that the 1000’s of unwanted leaflets are not making their way into recycle bins.

‘We wanted 3000 leaflets but were told it’s the same price as 5000 so we went for more, but there’s no way we can distribute that many’

‘This isn’t a new topic, it comes up from time to time and then goes away again’ I’m told by a well-respected seasoned Fringe participant, with a touch of weariness. It makes me feel simultaneously hopeless and charged with determination to fight for a change.

I know that for established companies and performers the use of social media, press and a few enormous posters in well chosen spot around Edinburgh will lead to sell out shows, however for the majority of us, individuals and companies, many of whom come to the fringe early in their careers, maybe creating a show for the first time, we’re hustling for every sale we can make. Personal contact is essential –  I would be devastated to think that the cacophony of creativity, sound and visual noise that makes up the Royal Mile and venue interaction would be replaced by something more sterile – but perhaps if flyers were ‘banned’ we’d all find more creative ways to speak to audiences. This could still be quite ‘low tech’. Already people make banners, wear t-shirts, create poster ‘sandwich boards’. If we added to this by each of us only having one flyer that people could ‘scan’ in some way – the joyful interaction between people could continue without us impacting on our planet so much.

I was shocked and pained to hear one urgent plea ‘take a flyer, please take a flyer even if you don’t want it, feed the bin – this is how I get paid’

There needs to be a seismic shift.

With every leap forwards there’s always a period of adjustment, perhaps for a time we have substantially reduced number of leaflets being used alongside ‘phone’ technology. I can hear the comments ‘I remember when…. I preferred it when…..’ I might even be one of these people, but as with all changes once completed we’ll look back in amazement wondering how we ever did it a different way.

I have another conversation with a group of women as we sit in Pleasance Courtyard between shows:

‘It needs to be a decision from the top, from the 4 main venues’,
Someone shakes their head ‘They’ll never do it’.
‘Anthony will’ someone else chips in confidently|‘If everyone refuses to take leaflets then companies won’t print them anymore”
‘Start a petition’

We throw ideas around and I think about my show, about my grandmother who didn’t get the vote until she was nearly 30. Women made a stand, one by one, together, to change the world – then and before.

‘It doesn’t have to be instigated from the top down, it can come from the bottom up’ someone voices my thoughts.

This burning question stays with me with every flyer that I hand out, every conversation I have with a potential new audience member. I’m part of the problem I think to myself as I look at the boxes of leaflets in my apartment hallway, how do I become part of the solution? It seems an insurmountable problem when I consider how many people it involves, all the companies, venues and even the photocopy shop where I go to print off more paper, for my 5***** review ‘slashes’, we would all need to adapt to the new.

But then I think, it’s simple, it’s a decision that we could make together, in this the glorious 70th year of the Fringe, to take us forward to the next 70 years. Then it could be an issue that fades away, making room for the next important themes to emerge. How incredible would that be? I feel as if it’s already in the collective subconscious of the fringe and therefore only a matter of time.

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If you have comments and thoughts about this issue please share them with me,
tweet them #paperingover, shout about them, let’s make a noise! Thanks

Danyah Miller is performing at Pleasance Courtyard V33 12.45pm
Wizard Presents Perfectly Imperfect Women
created, in association with OvalHouse, in celebration of International Women’s Day March 2017  www.perfectlyimperfectwomen.co.uk

TRAILER:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxv5huabZPY

@DanyahMillerStoryteller | @danyahmiller

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