Big day of Fringe Saturday 18th July!

Fringe Events co-ordinator Rob Harrison looks ahead to an extraordinarily busy day at the Fringe!

Kate Butch meets the Day of Dance (credit: Rob Harrison)

Our 47th Buxton Festival Fringe is now underway with every day boasting a wealth of fun shows and events.

However if you were thinking of coming to the Buxton Fringe but not sure when, may I suggest that you consider Saturday 18th July? By then Wimbledon will be a memory of great tennis from the week before and the only World Cup game to worry about will be the very meaningless 3rd/4th play off.

We have over 54 shows and events that day including a great day of free entertainment in Pavilion Gardens.

If you got to Buxton in the morning you could start your day at the Lee Wood Hotel where the Den of Laughs will be starting its second weekend of shows there across two venues

The first show that day is the ever popular A Political Brunch where a group of comedians and the audience discuss what's in the news, not dissimilar to The News Quiz or Have I Got News For You.

You could stay there for Acomedytapas, a mixed bill show straight after, followed by shows all day till late with two rooms showcasing some of the best comedians on the circuit.

Or you could head into town where you may be greeted by Morris dancers as Chapel Morris hosts its annual Day of Dance, where about 10 sides come together and dance on the street all around Buxton including outside the Buxton Opera House and on Spring Gardens.

This all left comedian Hayley Ellis feeling somewhat shocked when performing her show at Underground at the Clubhouse a few years back. When she asked what the noise was, the audience shouted back Morris dancers! She was used to being heckled by drunks or rock bands but Buxton Fringe is always a bit different from other events… 

If you head in to Pavilion Gardens we have a fest of fun and frolics for you including at 1pm a performance by Two Left Hands of Guardians of the Wye, a story told through giant puppets. This is taking place near the playground.

After that if you can keep up with the pace, High Peak Pride is back with the wonderful Pride Picnic opened by Buxton’s own drag superstar Kate Butch. It will be a great way to enjoy the afternoon; I think the great big Gay Bake Off will be back so you might even get a slice of cake! 

At 2 o’ clock the event that normally takes place on the first Sunday is back a week later rebranded for 2026 as Fringe Saturday. We are on the Don Redfern Memorial Bandstand till 4.30pm where amongst others, Darren and Trish, Edy Hurst, a fan dancer and belly dancers will be making up the varied line up to entertain you all. At 5.30pm at Underground at Spring Gardens, Edy Hurst is doing his show Pick Up Thy Bow and Swim! Oh Mighty King of Ithaca.

After Pride and Fringe Saturday are long gone, if you are still near Pavilion Gardens at 6.15pm then the Shakespeare Jukebox players from Buxton Drama League will entertain with a hand-picked selection of Shakespeare's work performed at your request.

If you have any energy left, we have a host of great shows in the evening including more comedy at the Lee Wood. There will be a Pride Picnic after party at Onnen from 6.30pm while Kate Butch is performing her new show at Underground at the Working Men’s Club at 8.30pm.

As mentioned, there are 54 shows that day so please check our listings. As with all our events you may have to book in advance to avoid any disappointment but there is always another show to see with so much happening that day and throughout the Fringe.

There is lots of talk of Buxton becoming the Town of Culture. What better day demonstrates this than Saturday 18th July? If your reading this Phil Redmond or culture secretary Lisa Nandy, you could do worse than come to Buxton on that day to see all we have to offer!

Check buxtonfringe.org.uk for all the news and full What's On listings including the Diary where you can select events by day and/or venue.

Rob Harrison

Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: @buxtonfestivalfringe
Bluesky: @buxtonfringe
Instagram: @buxtonfringe

Hold the Front Page 7 - A welcome dose of nostalgia at Buxton Fringe

Jess Carrivick (credit: Karla Gowlett)

Welcome to the seventh of our blog series featuring vivid extracts from performers' press releases. Several of our Comedy entrants are feeling nostalgic and their shows are sure to chime with Fringe audiences. Read on to find out more. 

For venues, times, ticketing and further information about these and all our Fringe shows, see our What's On listings here. If you are performing at Buxton Fringe and would like us to feature your press release, please get in touch via the marketing officer!

For Your Consideration - Jess Carrivick

The race is on to perform every film EVER made - or Daddy will move to Slovakia.

The Academy - aka. character comedian and VHS addict Jess Carrivick - invites you to witness every single home movie the Carrivick siblings ever made between 1995-2001. Digitised, dramatised and unlawfully re-edited into a kaleidoscopic sketch-comedy hour of nostalgic cinematic characters, For Your Consideration blends real home videos with a feast of original characters. This is not just a collection of sketches; each character exists in their own cinematic world, bound together in the same universe by genuine heart - and hilarious absurdity. Part awards ceremony, part dressing-up box, expect parody, pastiche and popcorn in a fast paced hour of character comedy directed by award winning comedian, clown and theatremaker Elf Lyons.

The Performer

Jess Carrivick is a BBC New Comedy Award finalist 2025 and Leicester Square Sketch Off finalist. A 2021 BAFTA Rocliffe Shortlist writer, Jess has spent four years honing her skills in character, clown, improv, and sketch comedy across the London alternative comedy scene, and is the resident host of popular open-mic night Laugh Lines at Bard Books. After a decade working in cinema she began creating the show after digitising hundreds of hours of old family videos - discovering a library of fairytale beginnings, dance-movie middles and rom com endings that deserved a wider audience than the long-suffering parents they were created for. Jess is represented by Avalon Comedy.

”Enjoyably daft”  Chortle

“A masterclass' *****  GetYourCoatsOn

"Carrivick's physical comedy skills were a delight" **** The Phoenix Remix

Highly Recommended **** Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe

“Gearing up to conquer” Dawn French

The Creative Team

Director Elf Lyons was named one of the 50 funniest comedians of the 21st century by The Telegraph and brings her award-winning eye for physical and character comedy to this collaboration. Production support comes from award-winning sketch comedian and comedy producer Rosie Nicholls (Grubby Little Mitts; Sketch Book; The Mayor and His Daughter). 

Jess Carrivick: For Your Consideration is at Underground at Spring Gardens on July 18th 8.15pm - 9.05pm. Tickets via underthefringe.com.

Mirth of Forth Productions - Richard Pulsford: Yorkshire Dad, Immigrant Mum

The multi award-winning stand-up comedian Richard Pulsford presents an autobiographical show about growing up in Yorkshire with an eccentric father and immigrant mother. Pulsford has been previewing the show at festivals around the UK and is bringing it to Buxton for the first time.

Taking a major departure from his trademark light-hearted one-liners and puns, Pulsford has uncovered his parents’ past to create a nostalgic show about them, reminiscing what it was like growing up in an isolated Yorkshire town with a father who lived up to many of the

classic Yorkshire stereotypes and a mother who had immigrated from outside the UK.

There are some darker moments in this show but ultimately Pulsford gets to appreciate how his parents made him ‘funny’. One audience member wrote: “I loved it. It was incredibly touching. I was so moved by your story.”

Richard Pulsford: Yorkshire Dad, Immigrant Mum is at Underground at the Working Men’s Club, July 14th 7pm-8pm and 15th 5.30pm to 6.30pm. Tickets via underthefringe.com.

Richard has a second event up his sleeve proving that he has not forgotten how Buxton loves his trademark puns!

Richard Pulsford: Gold Fashioned Jokes

The multi award-winning stand-up comedian Richard Pulsford presents a show jam-packed with his unique brand of clever wordplay and puns.

After many sell-out performances with ‘The Short Joke Teller Returns’ at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Richard Pulsford is now touring his eleventh stand-up show ‘Gold Fashioned Jokes’, bringing it to the Underground Working Men’s Club venue in Buxton for two performances only.

This show will include many of his best jokes as published in his book ‘Punball Wizard’, some of his classic one-liners, including ones which saw him get into the Top Ten Jokes of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe three times, as well as the best ones he has written in the past 12 months which have been well received at various UK festivals. True to his style, he promises to deliver more than 125 jokes in the 50-minute show.

Pulsford has received recognition for his writing and delivery by being voted winner of Southport’s ‘You Must Be Joke King’ competition 2024, winner of Leicester Comedy Festival’s UK Pun Championships in 2022 and runner-up in the Scottish Comedian of the Year (SCOTY) competition in 2021.

“Quite literally, just an hour of puns and one-liners… a breath of

fresh air from some of the darker Fringe comedy shows” Broadway

World (Brighton Fringe, 2024)

“A barrage of one liners... [Richard is] enthralling... [he] exudes

confidence and charm.” ***** Lancaster Guardian (2023)

“Quick, original and funny” **** Broadway Baby (Edinburgh Fringe, 2022)

Richard Pulsford: Gold Fashioned Jokes is at Underground at the Working Men’s Club, July 14th 5.30pm to 6.20pm and 15th 7pm to 7.50pm. Tickets via underthefringe.com.

Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: @buxtonfestivalfringe
Bluesky: @buxtonfringe
Instagram: @buxtonfringe

Hold the Front Page 6 - History with a difference at Buxton Fringe

Let Me Entertain You (credit: Ann Orrett)

Welcome to the sixth of our blog series featuring enticing extracts from performers' press releases. History lessons come in all shapes and sizes at Buxton Fringe. Read on to hear about two exciting shows that look back at the past whilst never forgetting how it informs our present. 

For venues, times, ticketing and further information about these and all our Fringe shows, see our What's On listings here. If you are performing at Buxton Fringe and would like us to feature your press release, please get in touch via the marketing officer!

Let Me Entertain You - Chapel Arts Creative Writing Group marks 100th anniversary of television

For its eagerly-awaited spoken word show at this year’s Buxton Fringe (July 8th to 26th), Chapel Arts Creative Writing Group is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first public demonstration of television with a performance of stories, poems, a mini-play and more entitled Let Me Entertain You. 

Narrated by group leader Cheryl Baker, the event will delve into the origins of mass screen entertainment with eye-witness accounts of watching the 1952 Coronation, memories of seeing life-changing news stories unfold and fond recollections of favourite programmes. It will also explore exactly how TV has affected us all, its effect on cinema and how TV itself is now playing second fiddle to newer technologies. Chapel Arts’ talented writers blur the boundary between electronic and real world entertainment and even allow us to hear directly from a TV set at one point.

The thriving Chapel Arts Creative Writing Group, which includes award-winning published writers, will be presenting two shows: an evening performance on July 9th at 7.30pm and a matinee on July 19th at 2pm, both at Rems Cafe Bar & Restaurant in Chapel-en-le-Frith.

A booklet of writings from the show will be on sale at the Fringe events, with profits in aid of charity.

The group, which is open to all, has had its monologues performed by Glossop’s Partington Players, and three of its writers took the top three places in Strajanka Productions’ open competition at Buxton Fringe, The Monologue Project in 2024.

 

Says Cheryl, a Chapel-based writer and artist who took over from Mark Henderson as leader of the group last autumn: ”It's been a pleasure working with this talented group from concepts and rough drafts to polished pieces. The show is great fun and I think Chapel's creative writers have done themselves proud”.

A registered charity, Chapel Arts was formed to encourage the development of a broad range of arts in the Chapel-en-le-Frith area. Details of events, including regular spoken word performances, are available on www.chapelarts.org.uk. The site also includes the Writing Group’s previous stories plus filmed and recorded readings.

Jane: England’s Nine Day Queen

A powerful new musical telling the story of Lady Jane Grey will be performed at Eyam Mechanics Institute this July as part of the Buxton Festival Fringe. 

Jane: England’s Nine Day Queen, written and directed by Kim-Louise Sparks, brings to life the dramatic nine-day reign of Lady Jane Grey, the teenage queen proclaimed in 1553 and executed at the Tower of London just months later. Far from a simple retelling of Tudor events, the musical explores faith, ambition, manipulation and the cost of power through an original score and an intimate production. 

"She has created a history lesson in song that educates and entertains all at the same time." - Kev Castle Reviews 

Audiences can expect gripping court intrigue, emotional depth and striking musical storytelling as the drama unfolds from the corridors of power to the final days in the Tower. 

Says Kim-Louise: “Jane is often remembered simply as ‘the Nine Day Queen’, but she was a fiercely intelligent young woman placed at the centre of a political storm. This show gives her back her voice and asks what courage looks like in the face of impossible choices.” 

The production will be staged at Eyam Mechanics Institute on Saturday 18 July at 7.30pm and Sunday 19 July at 4pm. 

Tickets are £8, (£4 using the code EYAM for Friends of the Fringe and Eyam residents.) There are discounts available for large groups and schools. A one-day-only ticket offer will run on 10 July to mark the beginning of Jane’s reign, with 50% off tickets available for the 19 July performance — the date that signifies its end. The offer mirrors the brief span of her rule, from first crown to final moment. 

There will be a chance to speak to the cast/ writer after each performance. 

Further information and booking details can be found via the Buxton Festival Fringe programme, or alternatively through our website 'janethemusical.co.uk'.

Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: @buxtonfestivalfringe
Bluesky: @buxtonfringe
Instagram: @buxtonfringe

Hold the Front Page 5 - The great escape - technology at Buxton Fringe

Stewart Taylor is Virtually There

Welcome to the fifth of our blog series featuring ever-stimulating extracts from performers' press releases. Virtual reality and the sometimes dangerous lure of technology are important themes at this year’s Fringe. Read on to hear more on these topics from two of our performers. 

For venues, times, ticketing and further information about these and all our Fringe shows, see our What's On listings here. If you are performing at Buxton Fringe and would like us to feature your press release, please get in touch via the marketing officer!

Comedy Poet Brings Unusual Mix

This July sees a quirky addition to the Buxton Festival Fringe programme as writer and performer, Stewart Taylor, mixes poetry, clowning and song in presenting Virtually There at Underground at Spring Gardens. 

The show represents the first Buxton outing for the show following a successful performance at the Lambeth Fringe. It follows a hapless presenter as he is drawn into a virtual reality game with no means of escape. The harder he tries, the worse it gets! The show will be of interest to a Fringe audience who like their comedy with content, exploring themes of self-image and the realities of ageing. 

‘It’s a show conceived in Lockdown, when so much communication happened through a screen. Ultimately, it emphasises the importance of genuine human contact’ says Stewart, whose previous show Spillage received a five star review at the Brighton Fringe in 2020. (‘Taylor is a fabulous physical performer’ Simon Topping, Reviews Hub.) 

In bringing the show to production, Stewart draws on fifteen years entertaining audiences as a Spoken Word artist and a background as an actor in Children’s Theatre and Theatre-in-Education. He has performed as a headline or feature artist at Spoken Word poetry events across the South and at festivals including Victorious and WOMAD. 

Virtually There was previously presented at The ARC, Winchester, prompting reviewer Anita Foxall to write ‘He captivates audiences effortlessly and the text exudes both lyricism and talent’ (in-common.co.uk).

The show runs from Monday 20th to Thursday 23rd July. Tickets are £10 and available through Underground Venues at underthefringe.com 

Online Presence - a queer dystopian romance

John Arthur Sweet, a writer/performer from Montreal, Canada, is returning to the Buxton Fringe this year after winning the Buxton Fringe Spoken Word Award in 2024.

This year’s show, Online Presence, which Sweet describes as a ‘queer dystopian romance’, will be presented at Underground at Spring Gardens on 23, 24 and 25 July at 1:00 p.m.

This will be John’s second appearance at the Buxton Fringe, following his award-winning show outside, in the laneway, under the stars at the Green Man Gallery in 2024. John says: ‘After my experience of Buxton in 2024, I was determined to come back ASAP, even though it’s several thousand kilometres from where I live! Last year, I premiered a new show, Online Presence, at a small theatre festival in North Bay, Canada, and the reception was enthusiastic, and they gave me an award for Outstanding Original Work, and I immediately thought, “Okay, I’ll take this to Buxton in 2026!”’

Online Presence is something of a departure from Sweet’s past shows, which have tended to be autobiographical. This show is about a quiet individual who finds his life being taken over by technology after a visit from a mysterious government functionary. The show is set in a dystopian future that is not, in fact, that far removed from the world we’re in now. ‘This show began as a 10-minute sketch in 2018, and at the time it seemed, to me, to be really “out there”. It now seems to be a reality that is only slightly exaggerated from where we are. I’ve begun to feel as though I really need to perform this show as much as possible before reality overtakes the fiction I’m portraying!’ Buxton will be Online Presence’s second festival, and it will be immediately followed up by two performances at the Durham Fringe.

Sweet says: ‘I’m not naturally drawn to dystopian themes, but I find it difficult not to be dystopian right now. But the show offers rays of light, I think. I’ll be interested to see how Buxton audiences react! People who saw the show last year in North Bay told me it made them want to put their mobile phones down for a while, and that pleased me no end!’

Tickets, priced at £7-£10, are available at underthefringe.com.

Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: @buxtonfestivalfringe
Bluesky: @buxtonfringe
Instagram: @buxtonfringe

Hold the Front Page 4 - Join in the fun at Buxton Fringe!

Erica Jean is confused by languages...

Welcome to the fourth of our blog series featuring intriguing extracts from performers' press releases. There is an intimacy about Fringe shows that means the audience is often very much involved. Read on to find out more.

For venues, times, ticketing and further information about these and all our Fringe shows, see our What's On listings here. If you are performing at Buxton Fringe and would like us to feature your press release, please get in touch via the marketing officer!

International comedian brings 'culture shock' show to the Buxton Fringe Finale

Buxton, UK – This July, traveling polyglot comedian Erica Jean brings her interactive show, MISTRANSLATED! to the Buxton Fringe at Buxton Conservative Club 25-26 July at 3-4pm.. 

Fresh from a tour across Southeast Asia and a successful run at the Tallinn Fringe, Erica Jean offers a hilariously chaotic exploration of what happens when the "gift of gab" goes wrong. Globally. She has offended waiters on five continents, lied on Indonesian TV, practiced French with dogs, and accidentally ordered a plate of eels – more than once. 

MISTRANSLATED is a celebration of the human mistake. Erica Jean—who performs stand-up in seven languages including Japanese, Spanish, and Indonesian—proves that you don’t need fluency to connect with people; you just need the courage to look like an idiot. 

And guess what? The show is totally free. "I wanted to make it as accessible to as many people as possible," says Erica Jean. "Because honestly it’s just as much fun for me to hear everyone’s stories about the languages they’ve attempted to learn. People will surprise you and it’s a great reminder that even though foreign languages aren’t at the top of our minds – the insanity of trying to learn at least one is an experience we all share."

From false friends in French to traumatizing Thai pharmacists with nonsensical requests, the show mixes storytelling with interactive crowd work. Audiences are invited to share their own "language fails," ensuring that at least 30% of every night is a unique, unscripted linguistic experiment. Jokes draw from over a dozen languages but are friendly to those who only speak one.

MISTRANSLATED has been developed over two years of testing in 15+ countries. Described by producers as "a breath of fresh air," the show avoids mature themes in favor of witty, quirky, and universally relatable comedy. The show is 99% in English, although audiences are warned to expect to walk away knowing a few new words - or twelve.

Local dancers bring jazz and rhythm tap to Buxton Fringe

Buxton Fringe audiences will have the chance to experience a different kind of dance this summer when North West tap dance company Sole Rebel presents Jazz Gig for Kids on Saturday 11th July at St Anne’s Community Centre, 3-5pm.

While dance at the Fringe is often represented by traditional Morris performances, Sole Rebel’s appearance offers a refreshing addition to the programme, bringing together live jazz music, rhythm tap dance and local young performers in a relaxed, family-friendly event.

Following a sell-out Jazz Gig for Kids in Liverpool earlier this year, Sole Rebel is bringing the format to Buxton Fringe for the first time. Designed to introduce children to jazz and live music in a fun and accessible way, the informal afternoon performance will feature high-quality live music, and performances from Sole Rebel’s tap dancers, who are based across Liverpool, Manchester and Macclesfield.

Families are invited to sit back and enjoy the atmosphere or get involved and dance along.

Drinks and refreshments will be available, alongside crafts and a cosy corner for under-twos.

After Jazz Gig for Kids on 11th, Sole Rebel’s dancers and musicians will head to Onnen on Spring Gardens that same day for an intimate evening Jazz and Tap Dance Jam from 7-9pm, offering Fringe audiences a chance to experience the company’s improvisational approach in a more informal setting. This event is free and unticketed.

About Sole Rebel

Founded in 2011, Sole Rebel creates bold, music-led rhythm tap, touring widely across the UK and collaborating with live musicians through performances, improvisation labs and community tap jams. Over the past 15 years, the company has performed and taught at leading festivals and events including Edinburgh Fringe, WOMAD, Green Man Festival and Just So Festival.

Sole Rebel Macclesfield is led by Bollington-based dance artist, dance educator and drummer Julia Cooper. After training with Sole Rebel Artistic Director Hannah Ballard in Liverpool and gaining experience delivering workshops and performances at festivals nationwide, Julia launched regular tap classes for children in Bollington and the surrounding area last year.

Alongside its touring work, Sole Rebel runs regular classes in Liverpool, Oxford, London, Manchester and Macclesfield, with weekly classes in Bollington for children aged 2-4 and 4-6 during term time.

LOADING... A brand new magic and mind reading show

Magician, TEDx Speaker, and creator of The Magic Room, Ed Sumner will present LOADING... a mix of magic, mind-reading, storytelling, and comedy at Onnen, 1 Spring Gardens across five dates in July.

In this brand new show for 2026, audiences can expect jaw-dropping magic, unfathomable mind reading, and a fresh perspective on timing and opportunity.

This relaxed but engaging evening explores what happens when life buffers and the unexpected ways it starts moving again, asking if the perfect moment ever really arrives.

This free/Pay What You Want performance runs as part of the Buxton Festival Fringe (8th - 26th July), with Ed's shows taking place on 15th, 16th, 17th, 23rd, and 24th July, with shows at 7pm and 8:30pm.

Anyone wanting further information about the show should visit https://edsumner.com.

Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: @buxtonfestivalfringe
Bluesky: @buxtonfringe
Instagram: @buxtonfringe

Hold the Front Page 3 - Powerful theatre at Buxton Fringe

      Credit: Split Infinitive Theatre

Welcome to the third of our blog series featuring revealing extracts from performers' press releases. Theatre is a mainstay of Buxton Fringe, a large category full of interest. Thought-provoking, moving and relatable, here are just two examples of what’s on offer.

For venues, times, ticketing and further information about these and all our Fringe shows, see our What's On listings here. If you are performing at Buxton Fringe and would like us to feature your press release, please get in touch via the marketing officer!

What are we going to do when this is all over? - Split Infinitive Theatre

A play about the memories we hope we never forget and the ones we know we should…

Helen and Alexander have been creating theatre together for a number of years, but as Helen's memory begins to fail and they realise this is something worse than just brain fog, Alexander begins to discover things Helen has been hiding from him for years. Helen's secrets begin to be revealed as the play comes to its dramatic climax. When Alexander realises Helen's desires are darker than he ever imagined, he tries to cover her tracks, putting himself in the firing line. The play's dramatic conclusion may very well be the end of Helen and Alexander forever.

Incorporating Split Infinitive's signature interactive/immersive and autobiographical style of performance, what are we going to do when this is all over? shows a darker side to memory loss, marriage, and how far we will go to protect the ones we love.

what are we going to do when this is all over? is supported by National Lottery Funding through Arts Council England.

Taking place at Underground at Spring Gardens on 10th, 12th and 18th July at 4pm and 17th July at 8.30pm, the play features strong language, adult themes, themes of child abuse and sexual assault.

Split Infinitive is an award winning theatre company dedicated to creating intimate and engaging pieces of original theatre. Our 2023/24 production of A Caravan Named Desire won the John Beecher Award for original, challenging work with high production value at the Buxton Fringe Festival. In 2022/23 our production of I Heart Michael Ball was also nominated for an OFFIE at the 2022 Camden Fringe and a Standing Ovation Award by London Pub Theatres at GrimFest 2023. Helen and Alexander have also received a number of nominations from Broadway World UK including for Best Direction of a New Play, Best Leading Performer in a New  Play and Best New Production of a Play.

Tell Me Where it Hurts - Teepee Productions 

Award-winning theatre company Teepee Productions brings its powerful new

comedy-drama Tell Me Where It Hurts to audiences across the UK this July, September and October. Supported by Arts Council England, The PMDD Project and developed with dramaturgical support from National Theatre's New Writing Studio, the production shines a vital spotlight on Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) through a deeply human, emotionally honest story that balances humour, heart and hard truths. It will be at Underground at the Working Men’s Club on July 22, 24 and 25 at 5.15pm and July 23 at 8.15pm.

The play follows Chrissy, a dedicated drama teacher struggling to navigate life,

relationships and work while living with PMDD, as she mentors Annie, a talented student preparing for a life-changing audition. Together, the pair confront the frustration of feeling unheard in a world that too often dismisses women’s pain and mental health experiences.

Presented by Teepee and Joe Brown and written by Teepee Productions co-founder, Tayla Kenyon, Tell Me Where It Hurts continues the company’s commitment to creating socially engaged theatre that sparks conversation and champions underrepresented voices. Following acclaimed audience responses during its development phase, the production now embarks on a wider UK tour, inviting audiences to experience a story that is as entertaining as it is urgently

Important.

Previous praise for Teepee Productions play - FLUFF:

“A thoughtful piece of theatre that bounces between past and present seemingly effortlessly, it held my attention from beginning to end” **** LondonTheatre1

“A stirring narrative that’ll keep you hooked” **** Theatre & Tonic

“Tayla Kenyon is compelling” **** The Upcoming

“Not just a fluff piece – this show has grit” ***** Bum On A Seat

Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: @buxtonfestivalfringe
Bluesky: @buxtonfringe
Instagram: @buxtonfringe

Hold the Front Page 2 - Game for a laugh at Buxton Fringe!

Angela Bra

Welcome to the second of our blog series featuring enticing extracts from performers' press releases. Comedy is a huge section at this year’s Buxton Fringe but the variety within it is extraordinary. Read on for news of how three Fringe performers look set to have audiences laughing in the aisles.

For venues, times, ticketing and further information about  these and all our Fringe shows, see our What's On listings here. If you are performing at Buxton Fringe and would like us to feature your press release, please get in touch via the marketing officer!

Secret Diary of a Bingo Call Girl 2: The Balls Are Back in Town - Angela Bra

As the founder of her own Absolutely Dabulous Drag Bingo, Angela Bra has seen it all. Hen do high jinx, butlers in the buff, glamorous grandmas and mothers escaping their family for the night. She’s handled more balls than a gynaecologist on a pay-per-view contract and can do it whilst leading the Macarena.

The queen of ball-based bedlam returns to Buxton at Underground at the Working Men’s Club on July 8th and 12th with a brand new show packed with original songs and stories from the front line of the party bingo circuit, wrapped up in a round of her very own “Great British Bingo” and topical stage games.

A multiple award-winner and nominee for both her festival shows and drag performances, in 2025 Angela Bra won “Best Cabaret” at the Bay Fringe Festival, won “Joke of the Fest” at Lancaster Comedy Festival and was a finalist at Mancheser G-A-Y’s premier annual drag competition, “Purple Reign”. Previously, she has won Best Comedy at the Morecambe Fringe, been award-nominated in comedy twice at Buxton Fringe and has been a

finalist in both Mamma’s Drag Battle (Leeds) and The Crown (Manchester), as well as being a venue finalist for Drag Idol in Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.

Closure Cabaret - Maria Ansdell 

Distinguished guests–hold on tight as we try to let go…

Welcome to the Closure Cabaret, a vaudevillian variety show hosted by Razmatastique – your hopefully devoted, French-accented emcee who cannot let her exes rest in peace. Instead, she summons them back for one final encore in pursuit of that ever-elusive promise: closure. 

From bad-boy playground pirates to wannabe hip-hop stars and emotionally unavailable illusionists, each former flame returns with a glittering cabaret act–jazz-handed into public inspection. Expect quick changes, original music and riotous audience participation as Razmatastique leads us through an odyssey of romantic misadventure.

Embarking on its first UK tour, including venues in London, Buxton, Chichester and Edinburgh. 

Created and performed by Maria Ansdell, this solo clown and character comedy show exposes romance as performance–and heartbreak as something we compulsively replay. 

Somewhere between a theatrical fever dream and an emotional exorcism, Closure Cabaret prompts the question: out of everyone we’ve ever dated, who really has the ‘Ex Factor’? She will be performing at Underground at the Working Men’s Club on 20th, 21st and 22nd July.

More about Maria…

Maria Ansdell is a London-based writer, performer and clown from Oxford, trained at École Philippe Gaulier. Her debut solo show, Closure Cabaret, was developed between France and Oxford before sold-out previews in London, an acclaimed Edinburgh run with two 4-star reviews, and further sold-out performances at The Bread & Roses and in Brighton Fringe - which also received critical acclaim. Alongside developing Closure Cabaret, Maria is one of six artists on The Pen Theatre’s Pen Six programme, creating new genre-bending performance work.

***** ‘A rare talent and an exceptional crafter of characters’ ReviewsHub

**** ‘Masterful Clowning’ AYoung(ish)Perspective

**** ‘Surreal and Sharply Intelligent’ RialtoArts

199 Jokes Before Lunchtime: Danny Matinee!

Following his sell-out Edinburgh show in 2025, the family-friendly one-liner merchant comes to the Buxton Festival Fringe for the first time with his latest jokes, props, pictures, and tips on crafting your own gags. He will be performing upstairs at The Old Clubhouse on the 18th July.

7 one-liners in The Times/The Telegraph Best Jokes of Edinburgh Fringe 2025!

Danny Matinee says: ‘I’m really looking forward to the Buxton Festival Fringe – my first visit to Buxton since I came with my grandma in about 1983, on a day trip when we also went to Jodrell Bank. ‘Anyway, I’m fresh from success in the Dungarees Wearer of the Year Awards – I was overall winner. I’ve got a new joke about Marmite – it’s the yeast I can do. And I’m also looking forward to seeing Waiting for Godot – it’s top of my Beckett list.’

***** ‘Finely crafted...slick wordplay’ Edinburgh Reporter

***** ‘A brilliant way to set up your day’ UK Theatre Web

Buxton Fringe

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