PRESS RELEASE for immediate release May 27th 2021
Buxton Fringe now has over 90 entries following its May 18 print deadline and is confident that the final tally will be 100 plus as more events come on stream before July.
The uncertainty surrounding Covid has meant that not all performers have been ready to commit. The Fringe has therefore decided not to print its traditional listings programme but to publish a handy fold-up guide featuring a map and an overview of how to buy tickets and the kind of entertainment on offer at its many venues in town and beyond. This will be available at the Buxton Visitor Centre in the Pump Room and other locations towards the end of June.
An open-access arts festival, the Fringe runs from July 7-25 in parallel with Buxton International Festival and is both an integral part of the town’s cultural reputation and one of the biggest UK Fringes between Edinburgh and Brighton.
Buxton is enjoying a special moment this year following the redevelopment of the Grade 1 listed Crescent as the 5 star Ensana Buxton Crescent Hotel. A beautiful spa town, Buxton is surrounded by the hills of the Peak District in the heart of England in easy reach of Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent and Sheffield.
Two managed venues in Buxton, Underground at The Old Clubhouse and The Green Man Gallery, have packed programmes in July but there are also other popular venues including the United Reformed Church and unusual locations such as Pooles Cavern and, out of town, Eyam Parish Church. There are venues indoors and outdoors and there are a number of events that are purely online.
So far the Fringe’s Comedy, Theatre, Music, Theatre and Spoken Word categories are particularly bulging but there is also plenty of visual arts, children’s activities, family-friendly trails, street theatre and more to enjoy.
Theatre is back with a bang as High Peak Bookstore hosts Battle Cry, based on a soldier battling with PTSD, the Green Man presents Eddy Brimson living life on the edge in Naughty Boy, and at the United Reformed Church, Qweerdog Theatre offers an intimate thriller, For I Have Sinned. Fringe favourites Sudden Impulse return with two shows, Kes and The Virtuous Burglar, and Ray Castleton brings his award-winning one-man show Without Malice orIll Will. Nathan & Ida offer fast-paced comedy theatre and Tommy Cooper comes back to life in Just Like That! At Underground. From Shakespeare to Peter Pan and classic monologues to full cast youth theatre, there is a huge range of entertainment promising laughs, thrills and tears.
Comedy treats include the return of Upstart Crow’s Rob Rouse, award-winning punster Richard Pulsford, a poetry masterclass from Andy Gilbert, a new piece from Nathan Cassidy, a game show from Mike Raffone, manic Canadian storyteller Gerard Harris, two shows featuring Peaks parodist Andy Quirk and much more besides.
Music will ring out across the town thanks to choirs such as Kaleidoscope and VociVoices, and there will be classical recitals and fine instrumental performances from the likes of pianist Adrian Lord, the Roth Guitar Duo, saxophonist Guy Stewart, guitarist Jonathan Prag and others. Roots band Raintown Seers offers music with an Americana flavour while Sam Dunkley makes a welcome comeback with stories and songs. Award-winning Egriega and Ormrod also team up for songs, piano and a touch of the unexpected.
Full listings are available on www.buxtonfringe.org.uk and on the free to download Buxton Fringe App. During the Fringe, the Fringe Information Desk, in its new home in the Pavilion Gardens Conservatory near the restaurant, will be open every day from 10am-7pm.
The Fringe also hopes to be able to offer its traditional free showcase of events, Fringe Sunday, outside at the Pavilion Gardens on July 11, roadmap permitting.
Fringe chair Stephen Walker says: “After the traumas of the past year we are delighted to bounce back with such a strong line up. As ever there is a good mix of brand new talent and firm favourites making a welcome return.”
NOTE TO PRESS:
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