Brian Paisley, founder of Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, dies at 67
The legendary theatre impresario, who created the world's largest Fringe festival in 1982, passed away after 42 days battling severe pneumonia in Mexico.
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Brian Paisley, the world-renowned founder of the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, has died. He was 67.
Paisley's partner, Ti Hallas, announced his passing Saturday at 7:46 p.m. in a Facebook post, saying he "peacefully let go" after 42 days battling severe pneumonia in a hospital in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. "He rallied, he fought," Hallas wrote. "He 'did not go gentle into that good night.'"
Hallas gave thanks to friends, family, and well-wishers who offered emotional and financial support during Paisley's illness. The funds allowed him to stay in a private hospital and receive daily palliative care. "You sent prayers and encouragement and messages and donations. It didn't save him, but it helped him have a dignified and gentle death," she wrote. "We had video calls with him and sent audio messages every day. His children got to see him and spend time with him and say goodbye. Brian knew the extent of what his friends and family tried to do for him."
Paisley's death comes just over a month before the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival marks its 45th anniversary on August 13. Over four decades, he transformed the word "Fringe" from a noun into a verb — and an indelible part of theatre globally, inspiring Fringe festivals in Australia, the Netherlands, and American cities like New York and Indianapolis.
In 1982, Paisley took concepts from the famous Edinburgh Fringe and gave them a platform on the Canadian Prairies. That first year, 45 theatre groups participated, with 7,500 theatre goers attending 200 live performances across five theatres. In a 2011 interview celebrating the festival's 30th anniversary, Paisley noted that something of that kind would have happened inevitably. "There were too many (theatre) people around, with not much going on in the summer," he said. "Something like the Fringe had to emerge."
"The audience was so much larger than I expected," he reflected. "And the bigger surprise is they're still there. It amazes me. You throw a party, and 30 years later, it's still going on. They just won't go home."
