The weekend starts here - Friday 25th July

With forty shows and events to choose from today – including half a dozen new ones – there’s plenty to keep Fringe enthusiasts going all day.

New arrivals in town include the K’antu Ensemble who scooped a music award last year. They are doing two separate events at the lovely St Peter’s Church, Fairfield today. At 4pm they are running a workshop for children and in the evening they are doing a concert ‘Dancing & the Divine’. They are brilliant and engaging musicians – playing early music instruments such as viols and theorbo – do make an effort to see them.

At 4.15pm in Underground Venues is the second show this Fringe with a cricketing link - a whole new genre. Slow Left Arm are Mark - an optimistic Northern slacker - and Dom - a tortured soul. Their new show 'Orthodox' is a mixture of songs, sketches and monologues.

PB Youth Theatricals are doing three performances of Gilbert & Sullivan’s one-act opera ‘Trial By Jury’ at St Thomas More School – at 6.30, 7.30 and 8.30 – so no excuses for missing this one!

‘Swan Canaries’ is a new musical play about the women who filled shells fired during the First World War in a factory in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire. In 1918 eight tonnes of explosives detonated but the workers proved themselves heroes. A bit of nostalgia but also a fascinating and important story at the United Reformed Church at 7.30pm.

There is more First World War related theatre at the Arts Centre Studio with Patricia Hartshorne and her new show ‘When the band begins to play’. Patricia will be accompanied by pianist Peter Dobson in a mixture of letters, poems and saucy songs relating the horrors and humour of wartime.

Jonathan Ellis was in Buxton earlier in the Fringe for a much-acclaimed recital with violinist Duncan Reid. Tonight at 7.30pm Jonathan is playing solo at the Methodist Church. His programme includes popular and well-known works by Beethoven Chopin, Bach and Mussorgsky. He is a splendid and exciting pianist to watch and hear.

At the Buckingham Hotel there will be two performance poetry events – at 7pm and 8.15pm. Get free tickets from the hotel from 6pm. This is part of a run of 16 events with different poets at every show – so variety is guaranteed. More shows right through to the very end of the Fringe on Sunday 27^th.

Among the shows ending their run at the Fringe is the brilliant Dotdotdot Flamenco Company with ‘No Frills’ at the Arts Centre Studio at 9pm. They chose Buxton to premiere this show and the dance, song and music has got standing ovations. It really is a thrilling show.

It is also ‘goodbye’ to Professor Harry Stottle’s Music Hall Extravaganza (Old Clubhouse at 3pm and 8pm) and the Library Theatre Touring Company’s production of Alan Bennett’s much-loved monologue ‘Soldiering On’ – 7.30pm at the United Reformed Church.

Buxton Fringe

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