Letter

IRVING WARDLE in his preview of the Edinburgh Festival (Review, 16 August) was right to praise Jim Haynes's pioneering work at the Traverse but wrong in claiming that it led to the success of the hit revue, Beyond the Fringe.

Beyond the Fringe (1960) was based on the Fringe's already established tradition of late-night university revues, hence its stars were Alan Bennett and Dudley Moore (Oxford Theatre Group) and Peter Cook and Jonathan Miller (Cambridge Footlights). The Traverse was founded in 1963 as an attempt to carry on the Fringe spirit in Edinburgh.

Michael Imison, founder president, Festival Fringe Society, London N1