Take Part - Information for Entrants
Fringe40, marking our exciting 40th year, is now open for entries! Do make use of the helpful advice offered on these pages before entering online, even if you have entered before.
In a Nutshell
- Anyone can enter the Fringe but it is up to you to find and book your venue.
- Buxton Fringe does not book or select entrants.
- The final deadline for the Fringe printed programme is Easter Sunday April 21.
- Fringe40 is longer than usual running from 3-24 July!
- There are currently 3 managed venues in the Fringe: Underground Venues, The Rotunda and The Green Man Gallery. See our venues pages for details of their entry deadlines which may be earlier than the Fringe's.
- Once you are sure of your venue, dates, show description, times and prices then you are ready to enter the Fringe using our online process.
- When you enter you pay an entry fee to the Fringe - the earlier you enter the cheaper it is, just £40 before the end of February! See calendar.
- It is up to you to arrange your publicity materials, public liability insurance, ticketing and front of house staff as well as getting copyright clearences.
- You get to keep your ticket money (special arrangements will apply at managed venues).
- We do not have a centralised ticketing system. Managed venues have their own box offices. Otherwise you may sell your own tickets or The Opera House box office can sell tickets on your behalf for a £10 set up fee per entry. The Opera House also charges you 7.5% of the face value of each ticket sold.
Why enter the Fringe?
- The Buxton Festival Fringe is one of the largest in England yet remains on a human scale. As 2017 performer Charmian Hughes puts it: "You are the friendliest fringe in the fringiverse".
- It's Fringe40! This is the specially extended, bumper event you really can't afford to miss! With extra dates at the end, there is more opportunity than ever to find your perfect performance slot!
- Buxton Fringe is a charity run by a committee of highly experienced volunteers who are ready to offer personal advice and provide marketing back up. See How to grow your audience.
- Thanks to the Fringe's financial supporters, entry fees are attractively low.
- Many of our entrants use it as a stepping stone to the Edinburgh Fringe thanks to its handy timing in July. The nearby Greater Manchester Fringe is also in July.
- The Fringe is open to all. Amateurs and professionals of all ages are more than welcome.
- Gain valuable publicity through our Reviews and Awards.
- Our Community Groups Link scheme offers you the chance to work with local community groups and schools.
- It's simple and fun. Performer Sam Slide commented "Fringe entry was again easy and painless with excellent regular communications from the Fringe team." Here's entrant Matt ‘Lab Monkey’ Pritchard: "Buxton Fringe is one of the highlights of my year. It is a welcoming and supportive festival without the trappings of commercialism. It is a place where creativity is encouraged and new talent fostered. There is a real sense of community between performers, audience and the Fringe committee." And Polis Loizou from The Off-Off-Off Broadway Company: "Buxton is by far the most organised and pleasant fringe experience we've encountered so far!"
What we do
- We run this website.
- We publish around 20,000 printed, full-colour Fringe Programmes and distribute them across the county and beyond including to national media.
- We provide information and advice on venues and programming.
- We have a Press team with nationwide contacts.
- We supply entrants with media lists.
- We supply entrants with an accommodation list.
- Throughout the year we promote the Fringe through multi-media channels as well as events such as the Launch Party, Fringe Sunday, Fringe at Five and Buxton Carnival.
- As part of our Community Links scheme designed to bring the Fringe to a wider audience, we offer entrants contact details for schools, care homes and other community organisations.
- We run the Fringe Information Desk which handles information and publicity for artists and audiences during the Fringe.
- We offer a ticketing facility through the Opera House.
- We strive to recognise excellence, having an Awards ceremony on the final Sunday of the Fringe. Unfortunately events that only take place on this final Sunday (or in the case of the extended Fringe40 on the few days following that Sunday) cannot be considered for awards.
- We like to review each entry, usually after the first performance, and publish the reviews the next morning on the website and at the Information Desk.
