Line up unveiled for Lancashire Fringe - the UK's biggest free performance festival
Line up unveiled for Lancashire Fringe - the UK's biggest free performance festival
16 September 2024
The line up has been announced for Preston's biggest performance festival - with some of the UK's best shows coming to the city.
Lancashire Fringe Festival's exciting program includes comedy, dance, spoken word and theatre plus several new commissions showcasing the work of Lancashire-based performers - with all shows free to attend.
Over 20 shows and performances will take place on 15 consecutive nights from Wednesday, 25 September, across various venues, including The Ferret, Vinyl tap, The Continental, UCLan's Media Factory, Preston Central Methodist Church and Preston Bus Station.
There is also a unique Poet's Pub Tour which will take in several independent pubs and bars across the city, including Chew's Yard, Plugs & Taps and Winckley Street Real Ale House.
Several of the shows coming to the festival have been big hits at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe - including Louise Orwin's five-star rated TikTok-inspired show Famehungry, Naomi Wood's acrobatic spoken word show Gobbess and Cheekykita's word-of-mouth hit clowning show An Octopus, the Universe 'n' Stuff.
Legendary Preston-based radio presenter John Gillmore will host the exciting Short Story Slam, where the audience votes for their favourite short stories which are read aloud by local writers.
There are several double bill nights including Work-in-Progress performances by Nathan Birkinshaw and Blackpool's Martha Pailing, plus dance pieces by Aimee Williamson and Aline Costa. Costa's WIP at Lancashire Fringe Festival two years ago was a major success and she has gone on to develop a full conceptual dance performance.
Specially commissioned pieces include new writing by Kirkham-based writer and actor Sarah Green, brand new work by Preston College student Lydia Baines and the return of the hugely popular Lancashire Briefs monologues by Lancashire People's Theatre.
LPT's work features new writing monologues by Lancashire writers, performed by Lancashire actors. As well as a date at The Continental where over 100 people are expected to see the performances, Lancashire Briefs '24 will also be performed at community venues to give all audiences the chance to see their work. Lancashire Briefs '24 be performed at Plungington Community Centre and Penwortham Arts in South Ribble.
Cabinet member for Culture and Arts, Councillor Anna Hindle said:
"This is a fantastic event for Preston, bringing together local artists with those who have recently performed at the likes of Edinburgh Fringe, and all for free!
"I wholeheartedly encourage people to get out and support this free event along with many other fantastic events held in Preston city centre. There's a lot going on in Preston."
All shows in Lancashire Fringe Festival are free - with an optional 'pay what you decide' donation bucket available at the end of each show.
Festival creator Garry Cook, who has put on shows independently at various venues across the city for the last decade, said:
"It is not a secret that it can be a challenge to engage Preston audiences with arts and culture. Not enough people are coming out to experience live entertainment.
"It is widely acknowledged that arts and culture drives economic growth, so addressing this problem is crucial for Preston, particularly as the Animate leisure complex in Preston moves forward.
"The primary aim of this festival is to address that problem by making the shows free. I've just been to Edinburgh Fringe where I was paying £17 minimum per show.
"These unforgettable, free shows are crucial for Preston's arts future, to re-engage audiences and encourage people to come out and experience live performance. It's the experience of being there and being entertained by something thought-provoking and unusual which makes this festival so special.
"Following on from the festival, we will be putting on one show a month with subsidised ticket prices. This is to ensure Preston audiences have an accessible and affordable opportunity to continue to see live performance and theatre in this city."
