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

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

Hold the Front Page - Thinking big at Buxton Fringe!

Scarlett Whispers © Stephen Sheridan.

Welcome to the first of our blog series featuring illuminating extracts from performers' press releases.

This year’s Buxton Fringe performers have really pushed the boat out seeking to wow audiences with ambitious and thought-provoking entertainment! Read on for a flavour of what they have in store for us...

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!

Pump Room Cabaret - Drunk ‘n’ Whispers

One of the most notorious and long-running cabaret shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is making its debut at the Buxton Festival Fringe this July with a special spin off: Drunk 'n’ Whispers’ Pump Room Cabaret. A series of shows will run at the Pump Room, Buxton Visitor Centre & The Buxton Crescent Experience on the festival's opening night, 8th July, followed by two shows on 16th and 17th July.

Cabaret producer, host, Hollywood Hellraiser (and quite the character) Sir Dickie Benson has been producing Sir Dickie Benson’s Midnight Mania at the Edinburgh Fringe for over a decade. Given its popularity, the number of shows will double this year by running alongside a brand new daytime edition, Sir Dickie Benson’s Midday Mania. The new series at the Buxton Fringe sees the next step in the show's evolution: developing as a touring model and adapting for new audiences.

As the show expands, Dickie has teamed up with international award-winning burlesque dancer and producer Scarlett Whispers. Between them, Scarlett and Dickie have over a decade of experience producing and performing on the international cabaret circuit and at clubs and festivals across the country; together they have curated an evening with some of the most charming, talented and incredible acts they’ve met along the way.

In the manner of a true variety show, the cabaret rounds up a range of some of the most crowd-pleasing acts from across the UK’s cabaret circuit. A riotous mix of burlesque, live music, comedy, magic and all manner of variety acts run back-to-back as a fast-paced and intoxicating show. Artists are selected for the high-quality of their performances and as representations of genuine cabaret.

Scarlett Whispers comments:

"I'll tell you a secret... Under the glitter and rhinestones, we are both history nerds! Buxton feels like a treasure chest to us, full of heritage, culture and a rich connection to the arts. And the community spirit in Buxton is electric! As freelance performers, there's something magical about being immersed in that festival frenzy, where the audience becomes part of the performance and the whole town is illuminated by this creative energy. With all the parades, the floats and those fabulous parties, it’s the kind of atmosphere that makes you feel alive. Buxton is passionate, creative and the perfect place to develop our show!”

Dickie and Scarlett have a taste for glitz, glamour and the finer things in life, especially antiquities (much like Dickie) and as such only a venue as delightfully elegant (much like Scarlett) will suffice. The Grade II-listed Pump Room at Buxton Crescent, aptly a historic place for drinking and social gatherings, will host the Pump Room Cabaret, blending history, elegance and entertainment.

When asked for a quote, Dickie said: “What the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] are you doing in my [EXPLETIVE DELETED] parlour? Did that Kenneth [EXPLETIVES DELETED] Branagh send you?!”

You Oughta Be in Pictures - Polis Loizou

Author, performer, storyteller and award-winning* fringe theatre-maker Polis Loizou is returning to Buxton Fringe with You Oughta Be in Pictures – an unsettling one-man show about the seedy side of Old Hollywood, and what filmmaking can teach us about engaging critically with the media we consume.

The hour-long piece sees Loizou reenacting old found footage of a casting session from the 1940s, involving a notorious film director and the young hopeful he’s auditioning to replace the suspiciously-murdered lead in a horror B-movie. Except neither this footage, nor the director in it, actually existed.

“I grew up in the ‘90s,” says Loizou. “I was on the Internet in the days of the Blair Witch hype, reading claims that this footage was shot by people who’d actually vanished. Of course, it was all fake. The filmmakers simply used the early Internet as an innovative, free marketing tool for a micro-budget movie. And it worked!”

Of course, all cinema is fabricated. Images are edited together with sound recordings, usually created separately with totally unrelated objects, all with the goal of implying actions and consequences to tell a story.

Loizou was a film graduate when he became involved in theatre. His love of cinema goes back to his childhood in Cyprus, when he would ask his mum endless questions about how these moving pictures on the TV were made. “I was in love with the artifice as much as the craft,” he says. “I find something hypnotic about the levels of deception in film. And as a longtime cynic, the glossing over Hollywood’s dark side always intrigued me.”

All storytelling requires a suspension of disbelief – and human brains seem only too willing to swallow total fantasies. But that’s where the danger lies: when fabrications are more appealing than fact. With the prevalence of AI in an increasingly unstable and polarised world, it seems more important than ever to encourage people to engage critically with the media they consume.

“I’m haunted by a phrase my film tutor used in the Documentary module at uni: ‘Reality is up for grabs.’ She was right, and I see that more with each passing year. I wanted to make a show about the making of art, and the need to be vigilant about being tricked by it. When we hand over our minds to manipulators, we have so much to lose.”

You Oughta Be in Pictures will be at Underground Spring Gardens on 9, 13 & 20 July.

*Mr Fox (Best New Writing at Buxton Fringe 2021), Back Door (John Beecher Memorial Award at Buxton Fringe and Best Comedy Show at Greater Manchester Fringe 2014)

Art For Health and Wellbeing - Clare Parker Artist and Art Psychotherapist 

Discover how art transforms lives. Local artist and art psychotherapist Claire Parker reveals powerful research, moving stories, and real case studies showing how creativity and engagement in art boosts health and wellbeing. 

Be inspired, gain practical tools for change, and witness the impact of art on individuals, families, and communities. This talk at Buxton’s Pump Room on 21 July is suitable for anyone interested in how we connect with what we see and how engaging with our senses through the arts brings about new possibilities, learning and connections.

Buxton Fringe

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

First Night Excitement!

Reviews displayed at the Fringe Information Desk

It's late May already and all things Fringe are really hotting up. Our bumper 64-page programme is with the printers and will be available at our Programme Party on 6th June, then at outlets around the town.

The next challenge is finding reviewers for all of our 230 or so entries!

I love doing reviews, but that's too many for one woman, or indeed all of the committee and our existing reviewers, so that's why we are asking for extra people to get involved this year.

The things I love about reviews are looking at the list of first nights with anticipation; will any of my favourite performers be back this year? What new shows will tempt me?  Then turning up on the first night, the excitement of sitting in the audience waiting for the show to start or of being one of the first to look round an exhibition. Getting caught up in the performance, then remembering I'm there to work, hastily counting audience numbers (as requested by Fringe organisers), unobtrusively getting out my note book, then of course forgetting to make notes as the performance begins...

For me writing reviews is one of the most rewarding bits of the Fringe; the committee has been beavering away since last September to get this year's Fringe up and running and being there on the first night is so satisfying and rewarding, experiencing the fruits of all our labours and seeing other people enjoy themselves as well. 

I've seen some truly wonderful performances as a reviewer, every thing from laugh-till-I cry comedy and powerful and thought-provoking theatre to classical piano, folk, jazz and art. There really is a vast choice.

I talk to Reviews supremo Stephen Walker about why people should volunteer for reviews and what they should expect.  "The majority of our entrants request first night reviews" he tells me, "These really help potential audience members decide if the show is for them, it helps with ticket sales and gives performers feedback as well as quotes for future events' publicity".

So I know why I volunteer to review but what's in it for other people? "Reviewers receive a free ticket to the show they have selected. It will be the event's first night at Buxton Fringe and sometimes we have premieres of new work not seen anywhere else. Reviewers can chose from all of our categories; comedy, theatre and music tend to be the biggest, but there's lots of choice. Reviewing can be really exciting. We get some really high quality shows!"

Sounds like a bit of a balancing act; is there any support for new reviewers?  "Yes there's lots of guidance and tips on our website and as the Reviews Co-ordinator I'm there to offer support", says Stephen.

"The main aim is to capture the flavour of the show, its standout moments, its mood or helpful ideas for improvements.  We want to be supportive to our entrants while giving audiences enough information to decide if it's for them or not."

Would you advise new reviewers to stick to what they know or go off piste with a new genre? "I'd say for your first time, chose something you like the sound of and think you'll enjoy, whether its new to you or more familiar.  Then once you've experienced the process and got some confidence you can be more adventurous if you want."

Any one interested in joining our group of reviewers please contact Stephen at 

reviews@buxtonfringe.org.uk 

Carole Garner

Buxton Fringe

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

Spring Showers Bring Fringe Flowers

Create your own Fringe Hot Spot!

Earlier this week the clocks went forward and since then we have had sun, rain, wind and hail! So, its official, British Summer Time has arrived.

This can only mean one thing, the countdown to the Buxton Festival Fringe 2026 has started in earnest and it won't be long till our annual Springboard Party. So I'm sitting in my kitchen filling small envelopes with orange flower seeds ready to give away at the party to all our green-fingered supporters.  

We will also be out and about at the Spring Fair promoting the Fringe - if you see us do say hello. It's hard to miss us as we will be wearing our Tango orange tee-shirts and sporting our new rather smart caps and bucket hats, which, for the stylish amongst you, will be available to purchase at our Springboard event and during the Fringe itself.

Plans are underway to fill the Opera House Planter with over 130 orange flowers again this year. Members of the team are filling our greenhouses and windowsills with seed trays and planning trips to the local plant nurseries. 

We would really love it if members of the public, community groups and local businesses would help us paint the town orange by planting your own orange floral displays. Marigolds, calendulas and nasturtiums are all easy to grow.  If you do plant some flowers, post a photo on the socials and don't forget to tag us in on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky @buxtonfringe.

Our Springboard event is on Saturday 11th April, at The Pump Room, from 7 pm to 9 pm (free entry) offering a chance to see some mini tasters from a few of this year's nearly 200 entrants.

If you would like to know more about our Orange Hot Spots or want to get involved in the Fringe, email Carole, our vice chair, on vicechair@buxtonfringe.org.uk.

Buxton Fringe

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

BAFA Conference, Birmingham

Fringe Events co-ordinator, Rob Harrison, reports on an exciting networking opportunity for the Fringe…






I have just got back from two days in Birmingham at the British Arts Festivals Association conference.


BAFA is an umbrella organisation representing over 70 members covering a broad swathe of the festivals’ industry, including individual, single art-form and multi-arts festivals, festival groupings, individuals, universities and associated organisations.


Over 100 people attended over two days in the STEAMhouse in Birmingham where we were well looked after by the University of Birmingham.


A variety of festival industry people gave talks and chaired roundtables on a range of subjects from fundraising to accessibility and activism in festivals


What was really great was the opportunity to network with other festivals.


At the end of the first day we went down the road to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for a welcome from Stephen Maddock OBE and the launch of a BAFA exhibition curated by Naomi Taylor, Festival Footprints, which looked back at the long history and development of festivals in the UK.


In the evening over 50 of us took over the upstairs of Browns restaurant for a chance to catch up and socialise. It was great to meet Holly from World Fringe, which represents over 300 fringe festivals around the world.


We then had another day where we again took on a range of subjects from fundraising to the year of reading and ending on a great recap on Bradford's City of Culture last year.


The whole experience offered a chance to catch up and to discuss some of the challenges and opportunities.


It also offered a chance to realise there are people around the country with great enthusiasm and passion for the arts who are using that to help curate so many great festivals for people to enjoy.


Long may this continue!


Rob Harrison

Fringe Events Co-ordinator



Buxton Fringe

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

Good vibes at Buxton Fringe 2025

Fun times: from l-r, Sam Slide, Rob Harrison, Ian Bowns and in the front, musician and Spirit of the Fringe winner Darren Poyzer, who took the photo

Buxton Fringe in July 2025 proved to be a really successful Fringe.

The loss of everyone's favourite managed venue, the Green Man Gallery, after the Rotunda had taken down their dome the year before, plus uncertainty about the location of our only remaining managed venue, Underground, caused some anxiety at first.  

We need not have worried as Underground managed to find another venue, the Buxton Working Men’s Club, transforming the old billiards room into a first class venue; the WMC built a bar down there too. 

Underground also transformed the old Track and Trail shop in Spring Gardens once again, ensuring Fringe goers got their steps in walking between the two venues. 

We have many venues acts can use and venues that have had limited use in the past stepped in to replace the void left by the loss of the Green Man Gallery.  The Palace Hotel hosted a range of events bringing one of the biggest crowds seen on the Fringe when local man Andy Mycock packed 180 people into the big ballroom.

Another big hotel in town, the Lee Wood, hosted a comedy weekend where Chris O’Neill of Jesters Comedy Club brought his popular shows A Political Brunch and AComedyTapas as well as some of the best comics on the circuit there too. 

As veteran Fringe performer Sam Slide said to me, it’s not only about seeing the shows but also hanging out with Fringe folk. This year the acts all seemed to get on really well, attending each others’ shows, chatting between shows whilst encouraging, praising and adding to that positive vibe. It’s funny who you get to know being a volunteer on the Fringe. In the early ‘90s in Liverpool, one of the best DJs on the rave scene was Dj Vertigo. Who would have thought he would become a performer and 30 years later we would be hanging out after his shows in Buxton? I may have even put a reference to one of his big tunes in my review of Steve Vertigo's show. 

For some reason when the Morris Dancers arrive in town the heavens seem to open. This year was no exception but the town of Buxton looked after them; the shelter outside the Springs Shopping Centre meant those dancing on wooden board stayed safe, plus they all enjoyed the hospitality of RedWillow and the wooden floors in there made a great place for dancing. We were treated this year to not one but two days of dance, a full weekend to celebrate 50 years of Chapel Morris; they should maybe make it a full weekend every year. 

Buxton Fringe makes Buxton a better, happier place in July. Want to get involved as a performer, a volunteer or just learn a little more about the Fringe? Then why not join us at the Pump Room opposite the Crescent on 12th November for our AGM from 7-9pm? We will have a very short bit of business then plenty of time for a drink and a chat.

Rob Harrison

Fringe Events co-ordinator

Buxton Fringe

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

The Fun of the Fringe!

Destination: 'Old Hag'. Photo Credit: Lesia Dubeniyk

Writer and performer Samantha Houston of theatre show Destination: 'Old  Hag', approached us about writing a guest blog offering a behind-the-scenes view of performing at Fringe festivals. It's a fascinating read!

So, you have an idea for a show. You convince two fabulous friends they need to be a part of it, despite you having no money to  fund it and no previous writing experience.  You write it, rehearse it, present it at Scratch Nights (who knew theatre had such great opportunities to perform new works?!) and agree that – yes, you have a show ... but where do you perform it?

Why, at a Fringe festival of course!

We are now into our 2nd year of performing at Fringe festivals and it is nothing short of a baptism of fire!  Nowhere else will you learn to ‘get in’ and ‘get out’ at the speed of light (that includes costumes as well as setting up/breaking down scenery), become a wiz on Canva in order to produce posters and flyers with no marketing budget, develop ways of seeking out any and all local groups and kindly plead with them to spread the word... I’ve even got better at promoting my show on local radio and in local press, so you might see or hear something about us!

However, even after doing all this, there is no guarantee of an audience. We've run the whole gamut from full houses to having to cancel due to 0 tickets sold ... but we persevere! Why? Because being part of a Fringe festival is a real privilege -  so many artists from across the spectrum bring their stories to life and put them on for our entertainment and we’re part of it. Plus, you usually get to be in some pretty random venues - we've been in purpose-built theatre spaces, but we've also been in a hotel ballroom, a pub backroom, a basement ‘speakeasy’, a church hall and a pop-up tent... environments over which we have no control (one time, we were in the upstairs space of a pub trying to sing opera while a last-minute ‘Battle of the Bands’ raged on underneath us).  

We've travelled to Bath, Folkestone, Lambeth, Bristol, Cambridge, Brighton and Tunbridge Wells, and now we’re heading to Buxton with our show tightly packed into one suitcase and whatever lighting the venue can offer - this sort of ‘guerrilla theatre’ approach isn’t for everyone but, for those of us who choose it, it’s super rewarding! 

So, come and see us create theatre magic with a large, black cloth and a 10-metre extension lead...  

We hope to see you all ‘backstage’ on Saturday 19th of July!

Samantha

Destination: ‘Old Hag’

Find us on Instagram:  @destinationoldhag 

Tickets via TicketSource

Buxton Fringe

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