13.03.2024
Nearly 100 entrants have registered for this year’s Buxton Fringe with acts from as far afield as Australia, the US and Canada as well as many locally-based favourites.
The discounted ‘early bird’ entry period up till the end of February was responsible for much of this activity with managed venue The Green Man Gallery now completely full and a wide range of other venues in Buxton and beyond also in use this year.
International events include Australian comic Thao Thanh Cao; Chicago’s On the Spot Theatre company with a swing dance workshop as well as a thought-provoking drama, A Mid-Course Correction; Australian company Nuworks bringing theatre productions including Treasure Island; and Canadian writer Nancy Edwards with live, online performances of a story set in Sierra Leone, Rethinking Good Intentions. Meanwhile in Spoken Word, Canadian company, Hard Times, brings Outside, in the Laneway, Under the Stars, the story of a bullied small-town kid.
There are also many more locally-based treats including Cheshire composer and pianist Adrian Lord, Staffordshire singer-songwriter Joe Bayliss with a new album, local musicians Michael Clement, Paul Wood and Matt Ryan joining forces for Not Bookstock, and the acclaimed Peak District theatre company, Clickers and Benders, with A Crimson Maple Leaf, the story of wounded Canadian soldiers recovering in Buxton after the First World War.
Returning award-winners include Debbie Cannon with her 17th-century tale, The Remarkable Deliverances of Alice Thornton, and Ray Castleton performing Without Malice Or Ill Will about a miner turned police officer.
An already lively Visual Arts category includes the Great Dome Art & Design Fair, a slavery-themed exhibition by Jeff Perks in collaboration with author Michael Rosen at the Green Man Gallery, Art in the Octagon from High Peak Artists and much more.
Looking forward to summer, the Serpentine Community Garden will be opening its doors again, the Pride Picnic will be out and about in the Pavilion Gardens and Funny Wonders will be inviting people to follow its Flowerpot Trail.
Many more entries are listed and many more are expected with performers who enter by the end of March being able to take advantage of a reduced entry fee of £77. The strict final deadline for the printed programme is April 14th.
A sneak preview of Fringe talent will be offered at the Fringe’s open-to-all event Springboard, a spring-themed party at The Green Man Gallery on Saturday March 30th from 7-9pm.
Fringe chair Stephen Walker says: “A century of entries by the end of February is wonderful news, and the pulling power of Buxton’s friendly Fringe is demonstrated by the number of international artists and performers entering. We’re excited to find out what all our entrants have in store for Buxton audiences!”
For more information about what’s on at the Fringe and how to take part, please visit www.buxtonfringe.org.uk, which also offers information on how to sign up as a volunteer, reviewer or Fringe Friend and/or make a donation. The free Buxton Fringe App, available from Google Play or Apple’s App Store, also offers full listings.
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