Buxton Festival Fringe: Jewel In Buxton's Crown

PRESS RELEASE: For immediate release March 16th 2007

The beautiful Peak District town of Buxton has to be one of the most culturally exciting places to stay during the month of July.

Buxton Festival Fringe (July 6-22) runs concurrently with the Buxton Festival and is one of the largest Fringes in England offering over 500 events. The Fringe is open to all with no selection or censorship, so there is a huge variety of arts on offer from drama to music (the two biggest sections) but also including visual arts, dance, family events, street theatre, poetry, guided walks and more.

On the first Sunday of the Fringe (July 8) there is a chance to see some of the acts performing at Fringe Sunday, a free showcase at the Pavilion Gardens. This is a family-friendly affair with balloons and face-painting as well street theatre, music and fun. Other free events during the Fringe include the Fringe Readings at the Old Hall Hotel and free performances by musicians and artists at the Fringe Club situated underneath the Old Hall Hotel and run by Underground Venues.

Details of events will be published in early June in the widely distributed free Fringe programme but you can see how it is shaping up before then by checking out the Fringe's expanded website http://www.buxtonfringe.org.uk.

At the time of going to press, entries are already flooding in, from a rousing production of Godspell by the Young Rec to eagerly-awaited performances from early music consort Aitone and the High Peak Orchestra. In a reflection of the diversity of plays on offer, Kobal Theatre Company present Beer!, a comedy drama featuring a pink elephant while the 1623 company will be putting on Macbeth in the atmospheric surroundings of Poole's Cavern. There will also be a plush Salsa Ball at the Palace Hotel, street theatre from Shakespeare Jukebox and must-see exhibitions such as the tenth anniversary Burbage Art Group show and the Derbyshire Open.

Key managed venues for 2007 include Nice One at the Old Clubhouse run by REC Theatre founder Martin Beard, and Underground Venues, the basement rooms at the Old Hall Hotel programmed by Tom Crawshaw and Yaz Al-Shaater, who have also decided to manage Buxton Infant School as a venue this year. The dynamic duo are part of theatre group Three's Company who will be performing a revamped version of their award-winning Play on Words and a prequel to their Transport Trilogy entitled Crash Course (this last is partly interactive so the plot will change each night according to audience suggestions!).

Many other venues are used around the town as well as outreach sites such as St James the Less in New Mills and the Bookstore Brierlow Bar where there will be an environmentally themed season of arts.

The Fringe is a charity run by volunteers and is always grateful for help. See the website for news on how to become a Friend of the Fringe receiving ticket discounts. Don't forget you can also support the arts by supping Fringe Beer at the Old Clubhouse - 10p of every pint goes to the Fringe!

If you are unlucky enough to arrive in Buxton outside the dates of the Fringe, why not check out the Buxton Opera House's Fringe Season running between January and June? This is an excellent chance to catch up on some of last year's Fringe shows.

For further information on the Fringe please contact 01298 79351 or Send message to Info. During the Fringe itself, the Fringe Desk, next to the Opera House, is open for enquiries on 01298 214184. See you there!

PRESS: BUXTON FESTIVAL FRINGE PRESS OFFICER: STEPHANIE BILLEN 01298 79351 or Send message to Press