Brighton Fringe chief to leave

The chief executive of the Brighton Fringe is to step down in June after this year’s festival has finished.

Julian Caddy, 50, has led the Fringe for more than 12 years, joining in October 2011, and guiding the organisation through the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath.

He is leaving to run the Scarborough Fair in North Yorkshire where he plans to set up a fringe festival for the town.

The Brighton Fringe said: “Under his leadership, Brighton Fringe has given out more than 300 bursaries and awards, with support totalling over £150,000.

“It has also grown its ‘Fringe Academy’ education programme, developed its international relationships and Seasons, helped establish Brighton Spiegeltent in 2013 and this year will be setting up a brand-new Fringe venue, Caravanserai, north of St Peter’s Church.

“The scale of the festival has also grown significantly during Julian’s time in post, seeing a more than tripling of audiences and artists’ revenues between 2011 and 2019, with the number of events increasing from 600 to 1,000 over the same period.

“Brighton Fringe was hard hit by the covid lockdowns, with the festival forced to cancel its May 2020 event, just six weeks before it was due to begin and more than £100,000 in tickets already sold.

“However, though faced considerable obstacles, Brighton Fringe remained committed to supporting the arts community with an autumn season of both in-person and digital events in 2020 and a more full-scale festival in 2021, despite continued restrictions.”

The four-week 2023 Brighton Fringe season is due to run from Friday 5 May to Sunday 4 June, featuring nearly 800 events in more than 100 venues.

According to the organisers, pre-sales are already more than 70 per cent ahead of where they were at the same time last year.

The incoming chair of Brighton Fringe Ltd, Duncan Lustig-Prean, 64, said: “For nearly 12 years, Julian has led Brighton Fringe with great passion, huge energy and distinction, enabling it to grow to one of the largest fringe festivals in the world.

“He leaves an incredible legacy and will be a hard act to follow.”

The outgoing chair of Brighton Fringe Ltd, Jamie Arnell, 53, and co-director of one of the festival’s principal funders, the Pebble Trust, said: “Julian has given so much to the Fringe over his tenure.

“He has helped the Fringe tough out the last few turbulent years and, looking back a little further, he has overseen a period of dramatic growth for what has become England’s largest open access arts festival.

“We will miss his energy, his enthusiasm and of course his Brighton Fringe award ceremony outfits.

“While it is hard to say goodbye, we all wish him the best in his new role and we know that there will be a part of him that is forever Brighton Fringe.”

Brighton and Hove City Council’s executive director for the environment, economy and culture, Donna Chisholm, 47, said: “Over the past 12 years, Julian’s creativity and resilience, as CEO of Brighton Fringe, has contributed a great deal to what makes our city so special, so his move is a loss.”

Mr Caddy said “First and foremost, we have a festival starting in May and we want and need it to be brilliant, so for as long as I am at Brighton Fringe, I am here to do the best I can to ensure that it is.

“It feels surreal to be leaving after so long though and it is still sinking in. The Fringe has come to be part of my identity and I have lived and breathed it over the past decade or more.

“While it has not been without its challenges, it has been a huge privilege to be able to work for an organisation and festival which touches so many people’s lives.

“Providing a platform and voice for everyone is more important than ever and I am pleased that Brighton Fringe has been there to support artists and venues, especially over the past three years.

“In leaving, I look forward to seeing what the next person will do to take things even further and I am so grateful to the brilliant staff team and board, who go above and beyond to make things happen.

“Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank all the participants, venues, partners, funders, sponsors, volunteers, friends, reviewers, photographers and of course the audiences for making Brighton Fringe what it is. I will miss it.”

Mr Caddy is due to join North Yorkshire Council as director of the Scarborough Fair, creating four individual events each year.

These include a winter light festival, an affordable art trail, a street art festival and a major music and extreme sports festival.

And, the Brighton Fringe added, he also intends to set up a brand new fringe festival for the east coast resort.

Brighton Fringe Ltd plans to begin recruitment for a new chief executive in June.

To find out what’s on at the Brighton Fringe or to buy tickets, visit brightonfringe.org.