Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen performing at the 2013 Brighton Fringe Festival

Fringe theatre is

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fresh in Drama'', Edinburgh Evening News, 14 August 1948 In

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the fringe are small-scale theatres, many of them located above pubs, and the equivalent to New York's

Off-Off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway theatre, Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commerc ...

theatres and Europe's "free theatre" groups. In unjuried theatre festivals, also known as fringe festivals or open-access festivals, all submissions are accepted, and sometimes the participating acts may be chosen by lottery, in contrast to juried festivals in which acts are selected based on their artistic qualities. Unjuried festivals (such as the

, Edmonton Fringe Festival,

Adelaide Fringe Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...

, and Fringe World) permit artists to perform a wide variety of works.

History

In 1947, eight theatre companies showed up at the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

, hoping to gain recognition from the mass gathering at the festival. In 1948, Robert Kemp, a Scottish journalist and playwright, described the situation, "Round the fringe of official Festival drama, there seems to be more private enterprise than before ... I am afraid some of us are not going to be at home during the evenings!".

was founded under the name "Festival Adjuncts", in 1947. The fringe movement in Britain has been said to start in the 1960s, similar to the United States'

theatres and Europe's "free theatre" groups. The term came into use in the late 1950s, and the show ''

Beyond the Fringe ''Beyond the Fringe'' was a British comedy Play (theatre), stage revue written and performed by Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore. It debuted at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival and went on to play in London's West End the ...

'' premiered in Edinburgh in 1960, before transferring to Broadway and is the West End. One of the early innovators in fringe theatre was an American bookseller, James Haynes, who in 1963 created the

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded as The Traverse Theatre Club in 1962 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes, Richard Demarco, Terry Lane, Andrew Muir, John Martin and Sheila Colvin. The Traverse Th ...

in Edinburgh. Also noted in this period is the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Jerzy Grotowski's Theatre of 13 Rows, and Józef Szajna's Studio Theatre in Warsaw. The

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia, now second-largest annual arts festival in the world (after Edinburgh Fringe), started in 1960 as an adjunct to the main

Adelaide Festival of Arts The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

. Haynes, while at the helm of the Traverse, was receiving state support and even got a new theatre in 1969. In 1969, Haynes created the

Arts Lab The Arts Lab was an alternative arts centre, founded in 1967 by Jim Haynes at 182 Drury Lane, London. Although only active for two years, it was influential in inspiring many similar centres in the UK, continental Europe and Australia, includ ...

, but it only lasted for two years.

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...

along with another American

Charles Marowitz Charles Marowitz (26 January 1934 – 2 May 2014) was an American critic, theatre director, and playwright, regular columnist on Swans Commentary. He collaborated with Peter Brook at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and later founded and direct ...

opened the

Open Space Theatre The Open Space Theatre was created by Charles Marowitz and Thelma Holt in 1968. It began in a basement on Tottenham Court Road in London, then transferred to an art deco post office on the Euston Road in 1976. Thelma attracted a team of volunte ...

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tu ...

in London in 1968. Young British writers, after the

May 1968 events in France May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...

, wrote

agitprop Agitprop (; from , portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in the Soviet Union where it referred to popular media, such as literatu ...

plays, including David Hare,

Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter, often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Churchill, and David Hare. Early years Brenton was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, so ...

, David Edgar. Meanwhile, in the United States, experimental theatre was growing due to the political protest of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

The Living Theatre The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group in the United States. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actress Judith Malina and painter/p ...

, founded by

Julian Beck Julian Beck (May 31, 1925 – September 14, 1985) was an American actor, stage director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding and directing the Living Theatre, as well as his role as Reverend Henry Kane, the malevolent preacher ...

, is considered the leader of the "

flower power Flower power was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and nonviolence. It is rooted in the Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War, opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The ex ...

" and "hippie" movement. By the early 1970s, many fringe theatres began to receive small subsidies. After the 1973–74 stock market crash, many fringe companies were forced to close. New playwrights were established at the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

and

King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. The original venue was the oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2024, the pub theatre, and the King's Head Theatre now operates from a purpose-b ...

, both of whom survived the crash. 7:84 and Red Ladder Theatre Company were some of the surviving touring fringe groups. Fringe theatres were attractive to people in the 1960s due to their adventurousness but became less wild in the 1970s while the standards of production rose. In 1982, the first fringe festival in North America was started in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Alberta. It was then a theatre component of the larger Summerfest but evolved to become a stand-alone event, the

Edmonton International Fringe Festival The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is an annual arts festival held every August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Produced by thFringe Theatre(Fringe Theatre Adventures or FTA), it is the oldest and largest fringe theatre festival in N ...

, one of the largest annual arts events in Canada and still the largest fringe in North America by attendance. The oldest fringe festival in the United States is

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, FL, founded in 1992. There are more fringe festivals in North America than any other continent.

Festival organization

One distinction between fringe festivals and conventional

arts festival An arts festival is a festival that can encompass a wide range of art forms including music, dance, film, fine art, literature, poetry and is not solely focused on visual arts. Arts festivals may feature a mixed program that include music, lit ...

s is the method used to choose participants. Typically, conventional festivals use a jury selection process, whereas many fringe festivals do not use a jury process in their selection criteria, hence the descriptor unjuried or open-access. There are exceptions to this; some fringe festivals (e.g.,

New York International Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across se ...

) do employ a jury-based selection process. All performers are welcome to apply, regardless of their professional or amateur status. No restrictions are made as to the nature, style or theme of the performance, though some festivals have children's areas with appropriate content limitations. Festivals may have too many applicants for the number of available spaces; in this case, applicants are chosen based on an unrelated criterion, such as order of application or a random draw. The number of performances varies among different fringe festivals. Larger festivals may have thousands of performances (e.g., Edinburgh's 2013 festival had 45,464 performances). Fringe festivals typically have a common organising group that handles ticketing, scheduling, and some overall promotion (such as a program including all performers). Each production pays a set fee to this group, which usually includes their stage time as well as the organizational elements. The organising group and/or the venues often rely on a large pool of volunteers. Ticket pricing varies between festivals. At UK fringe festivals, groups can decide their own ticket prices, and some sell tickets at fixed rates in one or two tiers, or in groups of 5 or 10. Although it is unusual for the organising group to choose any winners of the festival, other organisations often make their own judgements of festival entries . Productions can be reviewed by newspapers or publications specific to the festival, and awards may be given by certain organisations. Awards or favourable reviews can increase the tickets sales of productions or lead to extra dates being added .

Elements of a typical production

The limitations and opportunities that the fringe festival format presents lead to some common features. Shows are not judged or juried. Depending on the popularity, some fringe festivals may use a lottery system to determine which shows are selected. Shows are typically technically sparse. They are commonly presented in shared venues, often with shared technicians and limited technical time, so sets and other

technical theatre Stagecraft is a technical aspect of theatre, theatrical, filmmaking, film, and video production. It includes constructing and Rigging (theatre), rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; sta ...

elements are kept simple. Venues may be adapted from other uses. Casts tend to be smaller than mainstream theatre; since many of the performing groups are traveling, and venues (and thus potential income) tend to be fairly small, expenses must usually be kept to a minimum. One-person shows are therefore quite common at fringe festivals. Fringe festival productions often showcase new scripts, especially ones on more obscure, edgy, or unusual material. The lack of artistic vetting combined with relatively easy entry make risk-taking more feasible. While most mainstream theatre shows are two or three acts long, taking two to three hours with intermissions, fringe shows tend to be closer to one-hour, single-act productions. The typically lowered ticket prices of a fringe theatre show permit audiences to attend multiple shows in a single evening. Performers sometimes

billet In European militaries, a billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. In American usage, it refers to a specific personnel position, assignment, or duty station to which a soldier can be assigned. Historically, a billet w ...

in the homes of local residents, further reducing their costs.

List of fringe festivals

;North America * Asheville Fringe Festival — Asheville, NC * Atlanta Fringe Festival — Atlanta, GA * Atlantic Fringe Festival — Halifax, NS
BorderLight Fringe Festival
- Cleveland, OH * Boulder International Fringe Festival - Boulder, CO * Calgary Fringe Festival — Calgary, AB *

Capital Fringe Festival The Capital Fringe Festival was a fringe theatre festival held in Washington, DC, United States, every July from 2005 to 2019, and then again from 2022 to 2024. History The Capital Fringe Festival was first held on July 20–30, 2006. Founded by ...

— Washington, DC * Charm City Fringe Festival — Baltimore, MD * Chicago Fringe Festival — Chicago, IL * Cincinnati Fringe Festival — Cincinnati, OH
Denver Fringe Festival
— Denver, CO *

— Edmonton, AB * Elgin Fringe Festival — Elgin, IL * FringePVD — Providence, RI * Hamilton Fringe Festival — Hamilton, ON * Hollywood Fringe Festival — Los Angeles, CA * Festival St-Ambroise Fringe de Montréal — Montréal, QC * FRIGID New York — New York, NY
Fundy Fringe Festival
— Saint John, NB * Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival — Indianapolis, IN * Island Fringe Festival — Charlottetown, PE * Kansas City Fringe - Kansas City, MO *

London Fringe Theatre Festival (Ontario) The London Fringe Theatre Festival is a Canadian annual fringe theatre and related arts arts festival, festival in London, Ontario. It is credited with triggering a resurgence in local playwriting and performance after the University of Western On ...

— London, ON * Maui Fringe Festival — Wailuku, HI * Minnesota Fringe Festival — Minneapolis, MN * Mississauga Multilingual Fringe Festival — Mississauga, Ontario, CA *

Toronto Fringe Festival The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival, featuring un-juried plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been ...

— Toronto, ON * Tucson Fringe Festival - Tucson, AZ *

Vancouver Fringe Festival The Vancouver Fringe Festival is an annual alternative theatre festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada established in 1985. The event is organized and sponsored by the Vancouver Fringe Theatre Society, a non-profit organization found ...

— Vancouver, BC * Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival *

Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is a 12-day Fringe theatre, alternative theatre festival held each year in July in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Primarily held in venues in Winnipeg's historic Exchange District, it currently ranks as the seco ...

— Winnipeg, MB ;Europe * Amsterdam Fringe Festival * Bath Fringe Festival * Bergen Fringe Festival - Bergen, Norway * Brighton Festival Fringe * Budapest Fringe Festival * Buffer Fringe Festival,

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

, Cyprus * Buxton Festival Fringe * Copenhagen Fringe Festival * Delft Fringe Festival, the Netherlands *

Dublin Fringe Festival The Dublin Fringe Festival is an annual curated arts festival in Dublin, Ireland focusing mainly on theatre. The festival allows artists to submit their work via an application which is subsequently reviewed by the programme manager. The festiva ...

* Durham Fringe Festival *

FringeMi

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy * Reykjavík Fringe Festival,

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, Iceland * Lahti Fringe Festival,

Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...

, Finland * Limerick Fringe * London Festival Fringe * Ludlow Fringe Festival -

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

, England *

Malvern Fringe Festival The Malvern Fringe Festival was an arts festival (founded 1977) which took place in Great Malvern, England. The main events of the Malvern Fringe Festival were the annual Malvern May Day and parade, and the annual three-day festival held in Jun ...

- Malvern, England * Oslo Fringe Festival - Oslo, Norway * Paris Fringe Festival *

Prague Fringe Festival The Prague Fringe Festival is an annual event held every May and June in Prague, Czech Republic. It is a fringe festival, on the model of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Founded in 2001, the festival regularly programmes more than 200 artists in ab ...

* Reading Fringe Festival * Windsor Fringe Festival * Sibiu Fringe Festival, Romania * Shaftesbury Fringe Festival * Southside Fringe Festival -

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland * Stockholm Fringe Festival -

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden * Trondheim Fringe Festival - Trondheim, Norway * Gothenburg Fringe Festival -

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden * Fringe by the Sea -

North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...

, East Lothian, Scotland * Ventnor Fringe -

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

UK ;Asia * Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre * Butterworth Fringe Festival * Manila Fringe Festival * M1 Singapore Fringe Festival * Shenzhen Fringe Festival *

Rainforest Fringe Festival Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropical rainforests o ...

;Australia *

, South Australia *

Anywhere Theatre Festival (Brisbane) Anywhere Festival is an annual Brisbane based festival for performance anywhere but traditional theatre spaces. The first anywhere-but-in-a-traditional-theatre concept was brought to Brisbane in 2011 by creative director Paul Osuch. His theory i ...

* Fringe World,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

* Melbourne Fringe Festival *

The Sydney Fringe The Sydney Fringe Festival is the largest independent arts festival in New South Wales with over 450 events presented in over 70 venues across Greater Sydney each year during September. It encompasses genres such as stand-up comedy, music, theat ...

* Electrofringe ;New Zealand *

New Zealand Fringe Festival The New Zealand Fringe Festival is an open access arts festival in Wellington, New Zealand, held over several weeks in February and March each year. The 2025 programme marks the festival's 35th anniversary. Background The festival was establis ...

* Dunedin Fringe Festival * Nelson Fringe Festival * Couch Soup Fringe Festival ;Africa *

National Arts Festival The National Arts Festival (NAF) is an annual festival of performing arts in Makhanda, South Africa. It is the largest arts festival on the African continent and one of the largest performing arts festivals in the world by visitor numbers. The ...

- Grahamstown, South Africa

References

External links