PRESS RELEASE For immediate release - May 2016
Buxton Festival Fringe (July 6-24) is preparing for an action-packed summer with 148 entrants signed up for its exciting 2016 event. Now in its 37th year, Buxton Festival Fringe has gained a reputation as one of Britain's friendliest festivals in a beautiful town that was runner up in 2014’s UK Great Town Awards and is also home to the prestigious Buxton Festival featuring opera, music and books.
The Fringe is a great success story having grown over the years. Data from last year’s Fringe demonstrated that it contributed a total of nearly half a million pounds to the local economy. Ticket sales were particularly healthy with key player Underground Venues reporting a 20% increase on the previous year. 86% of surveyed audience members gave approval ratings of 4 or 5 out of 5.
Buxton is a Spa, Festival and University town, surrounded by the hills of the Peak District in the heart of England. Buxton Fringe (the biggest UK Fringe between Edinburgh and Brighton) takes place between Wednesday July 6 and Sunday July 24 with an exciting programme comprising substantial Theatre, Comedy and Music sections as well as Dance, Film, For Families, Spoken Word, Street Theatre, Film, Visual Arts and more.
Entrants come from all over the UK and beyond with established stars such as Radio 4 comedians Max and Ivan, cop-turned-comic Alfie Moore and controversial comedian/magician Jerry Sadowitz (who last kicked up a storm in the Buxton Fringe in 1989) joining a host of up-and-coming young performers on route for Edinburgh. Other returning favourites include Amaretti Chamber Orchestra, City of Manchester Opera, New Orleans pianist Dale Storr, early music specialists Partita and folk singer Hojo (after a 10-year gap). Fresh from their West End run of Boris: World King, Buxton’s own Three’s Company is back with a new Jane Austen spoof, Nonsense and Sensibility. Meanwhile Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary is marked by many performers with returning company Butterfly performing Romeo and Juliet in the atmospheric setting of Poole’s Cavern.
Some eagerly-awaited newcomers to the Fringe include crime writer Stephen Booth in the expanded Spoken Word section, and the innovative Baby Loves Disco, a tots’ party extravaganza at a local nightclub! The Fringe has become known for its wonderful variety, even boasting a perfume-making workshop this year and a festival within a festival in the outlying village of Chelmorton.
Events are fully listed on the revamped Fringe website http://www.buxtonfringe.org.uk The free printed programme will be widely distributed from the beginning of June. The Fringe can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and via its Blog, accessible from the Fringe website.
A completely open-access festival, the Fringe does not undertake any selection or censorship, and provides a showcase for performers and artists of all kinds in a variety of venues, from a state of the art auditorium to a secondhand bookshop. The Fringe also organises reviews for its shows and the sought-after Fringe Awards.
Buxton Fringe's philosophy is that art is for all and Fringe organisers spread the word by entering a float in the Buxton Carnival and promoting a free open-air showcase of Fringe events called Fringe Sunday (this year July 10). Fringe at Five, a busking opportunity for performers; takes place at the Bandstand in Buxton's Pavilion Gardens at 5pm from July 11-23. Many other events are free, including most of the Visual Arts section, and these are listed on the website’s Fringe for Free page.
The Fringe also conducts community initiatives such as providing work experience for local students and encouraging entrants to perform in schools, care homes and youth organisations.
A BAFA member, the Fringe has given talks at recent BAFA Roadshows and provided an Awards workshop at the 2014 World Fringe Congress in Edinburgh. It also belongs to the Derbyshire festivals organisation, Festivity.
Fringe chair Keith Savage adds: “Fringe 2016 promises to be every bit as exciting as ever. There will be live entertainment and art of the highest quality with emerging and well-established talent on show throughout the 19 days of the Festival. There really will be something for everyone for 12 hours a day.
The Fringe’s longevity is the envy of many and we owe that in part to the support and sponsorship of local organisations. We work closely with the University of Derby - our long-standing sponsors - so that we can share and learn together. High Peak Borough Council and its staff at the Pavilion Gardens have also been brilliant in supporting us as has the Trevor Osborne Charitable Trust.
We look forward to welcoming new friends and old to Buxton in July for what we believe to be the friendliest of Festival occasions.”
NOTE TO PRESS:
For further information, interviews, press releases and pictures please contact:
Marketing Officer, Stephanie Billen: Send message to Marketing or 01298 79351
Press Officer, Amy Simcox: Send message to Press or 07772 854 292
Chair, Keith Savage: Send message to Info or 01298 70705 or 07952 193 521
