Buxton Fringe 2021 is opens for entries!

Buxton Festival Fringe opens for entries for its 2021 festival today (1 December 2020).

With continued uncertainty surrounding the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the festival organisers are making a few changes following their efforts to put on a festival in 2020.

“This year’s switch to a mainly online Fringe with over 100 entries proved that we will put on a Fringe whatever the circumstances. For 2021, we are prepared for every eventuality, and are ready to welcome events in whatever form creative people come up with.” Fringe Chair, Stephen Walker

The entry procedure has been improved making it even easier for performers to use.

“We know that people are considering entering all sorts of different types of event from live physical shows to online ones or even a combination of the two. The Fringe website’s revised entry form makes it simple to create the event that you want. Tweaks to the way we present listings will also ensure that greater prominence is given to online links and in the case of free shows, information on how audiences can make donations.” creator of the online system, Fringe Webmaster, Dan Osborne

The Fringe website’s helpful venues information is also being updated to include new spaces and performance opportunities.

In recognition of the fact that entrants may need to wait a little longer than usual before deciding what they can bring to the Fringe, there is a flat entry fee of just £50 which will extend right up to the final deadline for the printed programme of 18 April 2021.

2020 Review

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, Buxton Fringe was delighted to attract over 100 entries to their 2020 festival. They were mostly online but also featuring some physical events including art trails and an outdoor comedy performance.

Survey results show the average audience approval rating was a healthy 4.05 out of 5 with the Fringe website receiving nearly 6,000 unique visitors in July. There were also good audiences for online performances with Peak Voices reporting over 5,000 hits for One Song More and the Fringe’s new audio series, Fringe Readings, gaining more than 600.

100% of audience survey respondents agreed that encouraging online events was a good idea and 64% felt the online offer meant they were able to see events that would have been inaccessible to them. 77% said they would be interested in seeing online events in the future with many entrants confirming that they would consider putting on online events in years to come, possibly in conjunction with physical performances.

68% of audience respondents had SK postcodes indicating a welcome surge of local support. There were many complimentary comments about the Fringe’s decision to go ahead including: “Means people can still do what they love and an audience can still watch what they enjoy!” and “Forward-thinking, innovative and inclusive… a pleasure to engage with”. Performers agreed, adding comments such as: “Absolutely brilliant! A determined effort to share arts and create community inclusion”, “I’d like to congratulate the organisers on rising magnificently to an unprecedented and totally new challenge” and “Brave, bold, brilliant! Showing the overly bloated dinosaur festivals how it should be done.”

Performers were delighted with the help they received from Fringe organisers offering feedback such as: “Fantastic – great communication”, “The entry process was easy and Fringe staff were always on hand to answer any queries” and “Thank you for making us feel so special and wanted!”

Fringe chair Stephen Walker comments:

 “We felt that despite lockdown creative people wouldn’t stop creating so we went ahead with the Fringe in July to give artists a platform for their work. They repaid our faith in style with over a hundred entries many making use of innovative approaches to technology. It gives us every confidence for a successful Fringe in 2021 whatever circumstances throw at us.”

Next year’s Fringe runs from 7-25 July with full ‘take part’ information including publicity tips and more on www.buxtonfringe.org.uk.