With the hills of the Peak District all around us, it is no surprise that Buxton Fringe attracts its fair share of performers eager to celebrate the joys of nature.
This year’s programme - already featuring over 80 entries and with many more to come - is no exception with inspirational events including Love, Nature & Shakespeare with a mix of lute songs and soprano arias performed by Sue Morgan and Espérance, and Spoken Word’s Heading for the Hills, in which Peter and Gillian Byrom-Smith combine music and poetry in a nature-themed evening. Not surprisingly, our Visual Arts category is full of artists capturing our fantastic landscape with High Peak Artists and The Green Man Gallery both celebrating water and the Derbyshire Open at the Museum traditionally featuring many atmospheric renditions of local scenes amongst its eclectic offerings.
We are also intrigued by KEMS Contemporary’s Sound Scape whereby musicians and audience move around nine sculptures representing natural objects. This art-in-nature installation by sculptor Lorna Green has music by Julia Harding and takes place in the spectacular setting of Fringe sponsor, the University of Derby’s Dome.
TICTAC Theatre meanwhile offers a humorous take on man’s effect on the natural world with its series of two-person plays through the eyes of seagulls, seahorses and, those Fringe favourites - sheep.
On a more serious note, it’s worth saying that the Fringe works hard to reduce the impact of the festival on the environment and is supporting the work of the not-for-profit organisation Positive Impact for the 2017 United Nations International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. We have recently created a page on the Fringe website www.buxtonfringe.org.uk/environment.html where we set out some of the ways in which we try to be green. We would love to hear your ideas on this and, if you are a performer, the eco-initiatives that you have taken. Do let us know!
Buxton Fringe
Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
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Twitter: @buxtonfringe