Optical Illusions at Buxton Fringe

In the weeks leading up to the 26th Buxton Fringe, we will be trying to bring you a flavour of the different categories in our programme.

The Visual Arts component of this year’s Fringe is a good deal bigger than it looks with the revival of Buxton Art Trail bringing a host of artists and exhibitions to the town, many to be seen in their own homes and studios.

By the same token, Grinlow Art and Storytelling Trail, last year’s Fringe Visual Arts award winner, is an event that features many different artists, creators and storytellers in its quest to turn Buxton’s local Grinlow Woods into something magical.

Equally massive in a different way is The Great Dome Art Fair, a prestigious annual gathering of over 60 members of Peak District Artisans and featuring free talks and demonstrations. Another Fringe regular is the Derbyshire Open at Buxton Museum presenting traditionally very high quality works on a Derbyshire theme.
Lest all this should feel faintly overwhelming, don’t forget that Buxton is a small place. One visit to the Museum will also allow you to check out the fascinating collection of 1920s’ famous-names artwork amassed by Arto Funduklian, as well as some atmospheric landscape photography by Brian Adams. And just behind the Museum is The Green Man Gallery - our Fringe programme launch hosts - where you can see the exhibition Fragile Dreams in Solid Stone inspired by the history of the gallery’s new home, Hardwick Hall.

Exhibition-going is thirsty work so why not enjoy a break at the Pavilion Gardens Art Café where you can also see Derbyshire Stone, an exhibition from High Peak Artists? The nearby Pavilion Gardens conservatory will be blooming a little more than usual thanks to High Peak Community Arts’ Making Your Garden Grow show of ceramic flowers. A one-off exhibition by Burbage Art Group on July 18 at Burbage Institute meanwhile offers free tea and cakes alongside plentiful art works.

And if all this inspires you to have a go yourself, Dr Sketchy Sheffield is returning to the Fringe for one of its cheeky cabaret evenings where burlesque performers will pose to be sketched. Buxton Fringe - naughty but nice? We like to think so...

  Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: buxtonfringe
Twitter: @buxtonfringe

From Buxton to Las Vegas

SEE DALEDIVA AT BUXTON FRINGE BEFORE IT TAKES ON THE WORLD!

Award-winning Derbyshire women’s chorus DaleDiva will be performing at Buxton Festival Fringe for the first time this year as part of its lead up to the World Championships.

The group will be performing ‘Feelin’ Good with DaleDiva’ at St John’s Church, Buxton on Saturday 25 July ahead of its preparations for international competition in Las Vegas.

The Divas won gold in national competition last year which has earned them the opportunity to represent their county and their country in the USA in October.

DaleDiva musical director Ally Law said: “We’re thrilled to be performing as part of Buxton Festival Fringe this year – it’s a fantastic opportunity to be involved in such a popular and well-loved local arts event.

“We’re working hard in the lead up to the World Championships so we’ll have an extra edge to our performance as well as some new material to show off.

“We haven’t performed in Buxton before so will be great to welcome a new audience to see us perform as well as see some of our loyal fans.” 

DaleDiva sings a variety of acapella pop, show tune and barbershop arrangements and has more than 65 members aged 24 to 72 from Matlock, Wirksworth, Cromford, Belper, Derby and surrounding areas.

Since the chorus was formed seven years ago it has taken numerous medals on the national competition stage, performed as part of the BBC’s Last Choir Standing show and annual ‘Children in Need’ appeal and was invited to take part in Radio 3’s ‘Choir of the Year’ competition. 

The Divas also won the final of Channel 5’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ search to find Britain’s best show choir and has now set its sights on ‘Going for Gold’ singing against some of the best choruses in the world on the famous MGM Grand stage at the World Championships in October.

DaleDiva will be performing at Buxton Festival Fringe at St John’s Church, St John’s Road, Buxton, SK17 6XQ on Saturday 25 July from 7pm to 9pm. 

Tickets are £10 (children and concessions £7) and now on sale from 
www.buxtonfringe.org.uk or www.dalediva.com/shop or call the Divas on 07594 890 625.

For more information about DaleDiva visit www.dalediva.com or follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dalediva


Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: buxtonfringe
Twitter: @buxtonfringe

Buxton Art Trail returns for Fringe 2015

Over 100 artists take part in 2015 Buxton Art Trail!

The award-winning Buxton Art Trail (BAT) is back at the Fringe this year with 
a whopping 100 plus artists taking part in 26 venues around the town.

The buzzing event takes place on the final weekend of the Fringe from 2-8pm 
on Friday 24th and 11am to 5pm on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th with a 
fantastic variety of painters, printmakers, photographers, illustrators and 
craftspeople, professional and amateur, exhibiting and demonstrating in 
homes, gardens, studios, galleries, church halls and business premises. 

There will also be art displayed in shop windows such as One Small Step on 
Hall Bank as the entire town comes together to celebrate this popular 
initiative. 

5,000 BAT leaflets complete with handy map and artists’ listings have now 
been published and are being circulated round the town in cafes, shops, the 
Tourist Information Centre and the library. They will also be available from the Fringe Information Desk next to the Opera House once the Fringe starts on July 8th.

BAT was founded in 2010 by a small group of local artists who felt that visual 
arts had a larger role to play during Buxton Fringe. Over 70 artists and more 
than 30 venues came on board with the Trail being repeated in 2012, winning 
the Fringe’s prestigious Visual Arts Event prize that year. 

Says BAT member Linda Rolland: “We are delighted that BAT has taken off in 
such a big way again this year and are indebted to our sponsors Discover 
Buxton, Buxton Film, Gallery in the Gardens, The Green Man Gallery and 
Buxton Spa Prize as well as the dedicated team who have worked so hard to 
put the Trail together.”

Anyone looking for further information can visit the BAT website 
at www.buxtonarttrail.com, featuring news and contact details for the artists 
involved plus electronic versions of the map and trail leaflet. There are also 
links to BAT’s social media profiles on Facebook and Twitter where there is 
an opportunity to join organisers and the artists in conversation about all the 
exciting displays and demonstrations at BAT 2015.


Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: buxtonfringe
Twitter: @buxtonfringe

Fringe Programme 2015 - Launch Party

"Carthorses" by Rachel Slaney of the Burbage Art Group

We're having a modest party to launch publicly our printed programme. If you are in Buxton on Friday, June 5th please join us at The Green Man Gallery between 7-10pm. There will be some drink, some nibbles and something that we hesitate to call entertainment. It will be a fairly casual sort of do so drop in and join us if you can, when you can. While you are there you can enjoy the new photographic exhibition - The Quarrymen - which draws on a massive local archive of work in the local limestone quarries.

Here is news from the Burbage Art Group about their Fringe show:

THINKING BIG – AND SMALL – AT BURBAGE ART GROUP

Burbage Art Group’s 2015 Art Exhibition, a highlight of the Buxton Fringe, will be featuring a bumper crop of works of every size and in every medium.

With one of its artists, Laura Critchlow, having had a painting exhibited by the Royal Society of Miniature Painters in London, there will be some beautifully detailed mini-works to enjoy as well as large-scale oils, watercolours and collages from other members of the group, with subject matter ranging from animal studies and Derbyshire landscapes to abstract designs and exotic views from as far a-field as China!

The popular Burbage exhibition takes place on Saturday July 18^th from 11am to 3pm. A free event, it has attracted a good deal of attention over the years with several of its artists, including Laura, receiving nominations for Fringe Awards. But organiser Rachel Slaney is keen to explain that the Group is as friendly as ever with a mixed range of abilities and a supportive atmosphere. “We’ve had plenty of beginners and it’s great to see how they have improved and enjoyed themselves.”

The group meets weekly during school term times on Wednesday nights at Burbage Institute in Buxton and has both male and female members with ages currently ranging from 20 to 80 plus. It also sponsors young artists from Buxton Community School, generally featuring their exciting new work at the exhibition.

The one-off summer art show is supremely family-friendly offering free cakes and refreshments plus a children’s quiz with sticker and balloon for all completed sheets! Says Rachel: “It’s great for the group to have a chance to display its work plus we are always keen to meet people who might want to join us in the future!”

Anyone wanting further information about the exhibition or classes should contact Rachel Slaney on 01538 266220.

  

Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: buxtonfringe
Twitter: @buxtonfringe

The Ugly Face of the Fringe

THINGS TURN UGLY AT BUXTON FRINGE

Buxton-based theatre trio Orange and Pip show there is no such thing as a fairytale ending in their latest production, Ugly, a dark new drama exploring what happens to the Ugly Sisters after Cinderella’s marriage to the Prince.

With Disney’s recent film of Cinderella taking a more traditional line on the classic fairytale, Orange and Pip have put a new spin on the story, offering something that’s angry, moving and decidedly Grimm.

Author Lilly Posnett, who has twice been nominated for a Fringe New Writing award and is studying English and Drama at Cambridge, explains: “I was keen to give the Ugly Sisters a voice for a change... The play is about learning the true meaning of beauty - learning to be free to be who you are.” 

Orange and Pip formed last year when former Buxton Community School students Lilly Posnett, Annie Osborne and Poppy Forshaw-Perring, now at university, teamed up for After Alice, an inventive piece of physical theatre acclaimed for its “excellent” script and “talented” cast (Fringe Review).

The actors are seasoned performers. Annie was nominated for Young Actor in the Fringe Awards in 2011, as well as performing in the production of Red Red Shoes ("a captivating actor" - Fringe Review) which won the award for Young Drama in 2013. Poppy has performed in many Buxton Fringe productions, including a version of Wyrd Sisters which was nominated for Best Young Drama. As well as writing numerous plays, Lilly has taken leading roles including Sandy in the Community School’s production of Grease.

 

Ugly looks set to build on the success of After Alice, offering accessible physical theatre, dance, poetry and music in one spell-binding show. "It’s so exciting to be bringing a new production to life this year, and it's fabulous to see our new theatre company going from strength to strength" says Annie. “The play is really thought-provoking, offering a fascinating, feminist perspective, questioning the whole idea of ‘happily-ever-after’.”

Orange and Pip’s Ugly will take place at Underground Venues, underneath Buxton’s Old Hall Hotel, on July 8th (7.15-8pm), then July 9th and 23rd (8.45-9.30pm). For more information and for bookings see orangeandpip.wix.com/orangeandpip 

If you want us to share information about your show on the Fringe Blog send it to us and we'll use it.

Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: buxtonfringe
Twitter: @buxtonfringe

Dolls House Teaser

We are happy to share news of Fringe shows. Here we have details of a premiere for Buxton. If you want your show or event featured here then send details to: entries@buxtonfringe.org.uk

AUDIENCES FACE A TEASER …
A MODERN day ‘whodunit’ is the new theatre play ‘Write Yourself Free: Female Fact or Male Fiction?’ which has its first outing at Buxton Festival Fringe in July.
Audiences decide who wrote a controversial new book – was it ‘wannabe’ celebrity Felix Wright or his wife Jill? And is that book her facts, as she claims, or his fiction?
The play features Dolls House cast, Alan Charnley, Nici Preston and Joanna Lavelle and tackles the topical issue of historical abuse, friendship between women and why women sometimes keep dark secrets for too long inside and out of marriage.
Jaunty Felix claims he wrote the novel in bizarre circumstances in order to film a reality TV show and the work is pure fiction.
However if Jill wrote the book with the help of her new friend film-maker Belinda Gold as she asserts - then her husband is in big trouble as she reveals home truths.
Not only is ‘Write Yourself Free: Female fact or Male Fiction?’ a theatre play but it is also available as a book or download on Amazon 1505931215 – and can be read before or after the show.
Alan Charnley is a Buxton-based writer and singer/songwriter and a previous Fringe award winner. Nici Preston acted in ‘Checking In’ which won last year’s Best British Film in the London Film Awards and Joanna Lavelle is best known for her one woman shows - one of which is a tribute to Joyce Grenfall.
Write Yourself Free: Female Facts or Male Fiction is showing at the Old Clubhouse, Water Street, Buxton, on Friday July 10 and Wednesday July 22. Tickets from Buxton Opera House Box Office 08451 272 190 or 01298 214 454.


Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: buxtonfringe
Twitter: @buxtonfringe

Small is Beautiful at Buxton Fringe

Big as the Fringe is, it is true to say that some of the smallest categories in the Buxton Fringe programme offer some of the most beautiful experiences.

Dance is a case in point featuring last year’s Fringe Award winners dotdotdot dance returning with No Frills, an amazing flamenco show described by many audience members as world class. A small but stunning Dance section also includes former Fringe Award winner Makoto Inoue from Japan, this time with a brand new, non verbal Shakespeare intriguingly entitled Clown Macbeth. Adding great variety are the Chapel-en-le-Frith Morris Men with their weather-defying Day of Dance and Colin & Yozy fresh from touring in China and Japan and bringing contemporary dance, music and beat boxing in an audio-visual show.

The Other Events section is as eclectic as it sounds with Fringe bookends, The Launch Party at Underground Venues and the by-invitation Awards Ceremony on July 26, listed alongside a book-swap run by The Springs shopping centre and the ever-popular Evening of Close Up and Stage Magic organised by High Peak Magic Society and usually a sell-out. There is even a festival within a festival as Chelmorton Village festival enters the Fringe for the first time with a full week of enticing events.

Film has just one entry but that’s not really true as Buxton Film’s Open Shorts competition features a wonderful selection of drama, comedy, sci-fi, documentaries and more, all in bite-sized mini-movie chunks from a host of talented film-makers.

Free is always beautiful and it is worth noting that every single event in Street Theatre is free, whether it is the town carnival, complete with Fringe float, or Fringe Sunday, offering a free showcase of events on July 12. Meanwhile modern-day jester Paolo Ferrari offers irreverent street buffoonery and popular and acclaimed regulars The Shakespeare Jukebox perform Shakespearean scenes of your choice from their location outside the Opera House. Fringe at Five, with 30-minute samples of Fringe shows, also makes a welcome return at the Pavilion Gardens bandstand.

And to make things even easier, we list all the free shows in one place for you: http://www.buxtonfringe.org.uk/descriptionsFree2015.html
So there's no excuse not to have a great time at Fringe 2015 whatever your budget!

Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: buxtonfringe
Twitter: @buxtonfringe