This Space Could Be Yours!

We are more than happy to use this space to share information about any of the 219 events that make up Buxton Fringe40. Send us your news, pictures or video clips and we’ll do our best to share them. Meanwhile, here’s a bit of detail about some events that might creep under the radar.

The Buxton Museum & Art Gallery has had a major overhaul over the past year or so and now looks more splendid than ever. It is free to go in so there is no reason not to. The Museum is putting on a series of lunchtime talks over the course of the Fringe. Under the heading ‘Meet the Experts’ and starting at 1pm you can hear from:
9 July- Hannah Wallace; Duchess Georgiana’s Servants
10 July - Neil Bettridge; Discovering Franklin: The story of the tragic Victorian explorer
11 July- Lauren Butler; The Housekeepers of Hardwick Hall, 1800-1950
12 July- Adam Bench; Restoring the Octagon at Buxton Pavilion Gardens
16 July- Fiona Clapperton; The Country House At War: Chatsworth 1908-1945
17 July- Richard Tuffrey; Saving Buxton’s Crescent
18 July- Gareth Williams; The Great Tutbury Hoard of 1831
19 July- Joe Perry; The Staffordshire Hoard: Ten Years On.
There must be something there that tickles your fancy.

Our very good friends at Buxton Film have been screening some of the best films from all around the world for the past 10 years or so. With the help and support of Buxton Cinema and the Opera House screenings take place most Mondays at the Arts Centre. During the Festival period that venue has other uses but during the Fringe Buxton Film has decided to screen at The Rotunda Theatre. Inspired by Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema series, four genre-defining titles are on offer. 

Starting at 10pm each night you can choose to see: 
6th July - The Philadelphia Story - timeless rom-com: 
10th July - That Sinking Feeling - a micro-budget heist movie; 
13th July - 2001: A Space Odyssey - epic sci-fi; 
17th July - The Orphanage, gripping Spanish horror. 
Get your tickets for Rotunda shows before 24 June to take advantage of an 'early bird' offer.

If you want your stories to appear here write to: entries@buxtonfringe.org.uk

Buxton Fringe

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

England's Biggest Summer Fringe

Evidently there are Fringe Festivals in Edinburgh and Brighton. Splendid affairs. One of them is in Scotland. The other happens during the spring - Brighton finishes on June 2nd. Apparently that means that the claim to be England's biggest summer fringe is up for grabs. As things stand Buxton is claiming the title. Might not be worth that much, but it will do for us for the time being.

We've been making a bit of a fuss about Buxton Fringe 2019 being #Fringe40 - our 40th event. We also feel proud of the achievement. Buxton is a small town (pop. 22,000 or so) in the hills of Derbyshire - 20 miles from a city. The Buxton Fringe is a registered charity - run by volunteers with an annual budget of £17,000. This year we have 219 different shows or events (probably more actually) and over 750 separate performances. Events take place in over 40 different venues - churches, caves, clubs, parks, plazas, pubs. Just about all the performing and visual arts are represented and there are dozens of free events running from first thing in the morning right through to midnight.

This all kicks off in about 40 days time and over a period of 22 days (3-24 July) the Fringe will be a hub for entertainment and displays of creativity. Over the coming days and weeks we'll do our best to highlight what is happening in Buxton during the Fringe. If you have a show and want us to publicise here on our Blog send us stories, pictures, video clips and we'll run them.

Tickets for many shows are on sale already.

The Rotunda  will be open for the third year. The striking sky blue geodesic dome will be on the old bowling green, just inside the Pavilion Gardens and opposite the Old Hall Hotel. Tickets are available - with early bird discounts up until 24 June. There are some tremendous shows at The Rotunda - Tayo Aluko returns with Call Mr Robeson, for example. Pieter Egriega premieres his most adventurous musical show yet - 11 Reasons.

Many shows are taking advantage of the opportunity to sell tickets through the Buxton Opera House box office. Tickets can be bought on-line or in person at the Opera House.

The Green Man Gallery is a very good friend to the Fringe and is an important venue too - offering intimate performance spaces in a friendly, supportive setting. There is plenty of music, drama, storytelling and exhibitions all through the Fringe and tickets can be bought on-line or at the Gallery.

The other 'managed' venue at Buxton is Underground Venues. Their programme - over 70 shows and hundred of performances will be confirmed on June 1st and tickets will be available on-line.

We'll be bringing you much more news and images from now on. Meanwhile we hope you share our excitement about England's Biggest Summer Fringe!

Buxton Fringe

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

Bag your Fringe entry now!

Fringe40 bag goes travelling

It's not too late to join the bonanza that is Fringe40! At the end of our first deadline we had a 73% increase in the number of entries compared to the same period in 2018 so even taking into account the special appeal of our one-off £40 early entry fee, it looks as if this is going to be a bumper Fringe.

Anyone who enters before the end of March will still enjoy a substantial discount on the full entry fee. The strict final deadline for the printed programme is April 21st.

Our loyal audiences are already getting excited and as you will see from the picture, our limited edition Fringe40 bag has been travelling far and wide! You can get hold of yours from the Green Man Gallery, Buxton. It's just £3 or £2.50 for Fringe Friends on presentation of their FF card.

We cannot begin to tell you how much we are looking forward to this year's Fringe - our 40th. Special events will include a celebratory exhibition at the Green Man Gallery on the history of the Fringe. The real stars are always the Fringe's performers and artists however and you can see our bumper programme building up right now on our website. There is already something in every category - music, art, spoken word, dance, theatre, family shows, comedy, film, street theatre and more! We look forward to launching the programme in style on the evening of June 8th at Buxton's Green Man Gallery - all welcome.

Anyone can enter the Fringe so please help us spread the word. It is going to be a fantastic summer with Buxton International Festival celebrating its 40th anniversary at the same time!

Just time to give a shout out to all our friends, venues, volunteers and supporters and particularly our long-standing sponsor The University of Derby.

Happy Fringe-going!

Buxton Fringe

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

Roar Talent - Fringe40 Programme Cover Revealed

Catherine Webb's Roar Talent

We are happy to let this image sit before you. This is the cover for next year's Buxton Fringe programme and we simply could not be happier with it.

Artist and graphic designer Catherine Webb - who lives and works in Buxton - has worked closely with the Fringe's designer, John Tromans, to produce a cover which is bold, immediate, confident and exciting. This is everything we hoped for when we invited artists to submit designs.

Catherine's design was selected from a strong entry - which you can see more of on the Fringe website. We plan to print a set of postcards featuring some of our favourite designs from those submitted in the New Year - do look out for them.

Meanwhile many, many thanks to all the artists who gave their time, imagination and skill in entering the competition.

Buxton Fringe

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

A party and a winner

Catherine Webb - winner of the art open competition for the Fringe40 cover - with Keith Savage, Chair of Buxton Festival Fringe

Right. We are up and running for Fringe40!
Buxton Festival Fringe 2019 runs from 3-24 July and it will be our 40th and longest Festival.
We opened for entries just 4 days ago and have 7 events listed on the website already and we are a bit too excited for our own good so early in proceedings.
The prize for first entry - if there was one - would have gone to Paul Cromford who is bringing a brand new show - a song-cycle about our relationship with the Moon. The Ancient Pull can be heard at the Lee Wood Hotel. Paul has built a strong reputation for his intelligent music-making and this is a show to look out for.
Also at the Lee Wood will be Sam Slide - a loyal Fringe supporter - with the latest instalment in his Trombone Talk, Trombone Tunes which is a whimsical musical autobiography. Sam will be supported in his story-telling by some musical friends. Expect good-natured and gentle entertainment.
Terry Riley’s composition In C was very influential in some circles in the early 1970s. (It was also derided by some, but better to be noticed than ignored). We are very excited to see that a workshop for the piece followed by a performance is taking place at the URC in July. Expect some Fringe stalwarts to be there, eager to join KEMS in this venture.

Buxton Festival Fringe has announced the winner of its recent competition to design the cover of next year’s printed Fringe programme.
Catherine Webb, a part-time teaching assistant at Buxton's St Anne’s Catholic Primary School and formerly a graphic designer at The University of Manchester, says she was “thrilled and tickled pink and everything in between” to be awarded the £100 prize for her winning artwork, an eye-catching design entitled Roar Talent, celebrating 40 years of the Fringe.
Catherine says: “The overall look I have gone for is Art Nouveau which I feel is reflected in the design and architecture within Buxton. The lion is a representation of the lion's head at St Anne's Well, but also has symbolic meanings - strength, pride, courage. The Buxton Spa waters are depicted in the circle around the lion. In the mosaic background I have placed icons representing themes included within the Fringe.”
She learnt about the competition through her friend Mandy Tootill, an award-nominated performer at 2018’s Buxton Fringe. Catherine adds: “As my daughter Milly is now at secondary school I have finally been able to find time to reconnect with my interest in art and design and this competition has been my first step”.
Catherine’s stunning design will also feature on the Fringe’s flyer to be distributed early next year and possibly on other publicity materials. Two joint runners up were also announced, local artist Pam Smart and Ali Quas-Cohen. All the entries to the competition are due to be published on the Fringe website.
Keith Savage, Chair of the Buxton Festival Fringe states: “Catherine’s design and image caught our imagination immediately. It is vivid, vibrant and confident. It sets the standard for all that we hope to achieve in Fringe40.”

Rebecca Mottershead and Caroline Small from the Green Man Gallery 

helping us with "There was a pig went out to dig"

The opening of #Fringe40 was celebrated in grand style at the Green Man Gallery with a combination of food, drink and singing. We were lucky to have Rebecca and Tim Mottershead lead a workshop and the party singing of some Derbyshire Village Carols. (Including a world premiere performance of Tim's arrangement of Down In Yon Forest).

Buxton Fringe

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

Help! So you missed the AGM!

The Fringe is always here to help so here’s our virtual guide to November 14th’s wine and crisp-fuelled AGM at the Green Man Gallery in Buxton.


First off there was a wonderful new Fringe40 banner heralding the build up to next year’s 40th Fringe. It’s going to be a dual celebration as Buxton International Festival will be simultaneously marking its 40th anniversary.


Fringe chair Keith Savage took a moment to reflect on a scorchio Fringe 2018 where Buxton experienced something close to cafe society - even though the Shakespeare Jukebox still managed to get soaked on one occasion (admittedly whilst performing The Tempest).


2018 was “a year of consolidation”, building on changes seen in 2017, with UV reporting increased audiences in its new venue of The Old Clubhouse, the Rotunda enjoying a busy second year in the Pavilion Gardens and ticket sales holding up well across the board. The Fringe was the second biggest ever with particularly high audience satisfaction ratings reported in our survey. Contributing hundreds of thousands of pounds to the local economy, “the Fringe helps put Buxton on the map regionally, nationally and internationally”, said Keith.


The Fringe was able to work closely with a number of partner organisations throughout the year including its sponsor the University, the Trevor Osborne Charitable Trust, HPBC, the Crescent, Buxton International Festival, the Green Man Gallery, Buxton Opera House, Friends of Buxton Station, the Town Team, Vision Buxton, The Springs, The Palace, The Old Hall and others. Over 170 Fringe Friends make a valuable financial contribution as well as acting as ambassadors for the event, while a strong Fringe committee with new members provides energy and ideas.


Looking ahead to Fringe40, Keith hinted at exciting plans including a brass band commission, a carnival collaboration with the Festival and an archive exhibition at the Green Man Gallery. Fringe40 will be an extended event running from July 3-24 and with a special one-off earlybird entry fee of £40 it is hoped that it will be a bumper event too pulling in plenty of performers, both local and from further afield.


Keith reminded us that Fringe40 will be his last as chair. He will have served tirelessly and enthusiastically for six years. So it will be all change at next year’s AGM - in other words that’s going to be an event you really can’t afford to miss!

Buxton Fringe

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

Getting ready for Fringe40

We have agreed the dates for Buxton Festival Fringe 2019 - our 40th Festival and called Fringe40 henceforth.

We start on Wednesday July 3rd and finish a full three weeks later on Wednesday July 24th. (The Buxton International Festival will run from 5-21 July). We have added three days to the end of our established finishing date for two reasons.

Some people have said to us - “The Fringe is great, but it is a pity that it finishes just as the school holidays start.” By extending our Festival into the first week of the school summer holiday we hope that companies and performers that dedicate themselves to entertaining younger audiences and their families will see an opportunity.

The second reason is simply that we think that more artists and performers will want to be in Buxton in 2019 for Fringe40 and we don’t want them to be squeezed out.

We will see how this works out for everyone before committing ourselves to extended Festivals in 2020 and beyond.

We have also agreed on an extra low entry fee for ‘early birds’ at Fringe40. We open for entries on 1st December and for the first three months (up until the end of February) it will cost just £40 to enter Buxton Festival Fringe.
Anyone entering in March will pay £70 and those waiting until April will have to pay £85. We close for entries on Easter Sunday - 21st April.

We hope that the £40 fee - and this won’t be repeated in 2020 or ever again! - will encourage Fringe regulars, and those that we have not seen in Buxton for a year or two, to come back. For those who haven’t performed in Buxton before then 2019 is a good time to see what you have been missing.

Although we are not opening for entries for another 7 weeks there is no reason why you should not be making plans. For anyone planning to bring a show or event to Fringe40 the first thing to sort out is a venue to perform at. If you go to our website and look at the ‘Take Part’ pages you will find dozens of potential venues.
The smallest venues accommodate audiences of a dozen or so, the largest can take 400 or more. Some will charge nothing to ‘rent’ a space and most have very reasonable hourly rates. Get planning and organising now: a handful of events are all ready to announce on 1st December. If you are new to Buxton and you want any help or advice do write to us.
We look forward to our biggest and bravest Festival yet and we want you to join us.

Buxton Fringe

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