Lambeth Fringe is a 4 week Performing Arts Festival in South London – this years festival runs 19th September – 20th October 2024. The festival has taken a leap in grwoth both in terms of programme size and number of venues since its founding years at the Bread and Roses Theatre.
The Lambeth Fringe (formerly The Clapham Fringe) is a yearly festival running since 2015 from the team behind The Bread & Roses Theatre. For 2024 The Lambeth Fringe reveals a multi-venue expansion including exciting venues across the borough. “With something for everyone at this growing festival the Lambeth Fringe is a great opportunity to discover the very best of performance from established and emerging artists.”
View the programme here.
Find a venue.
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As with other Fringe festivals, there is no Lambeth Festival that this is a fringe on! Fringe here means some accessible and edgy, diverse work over a few weeks in this lively part of London.
Here are some of our early choices and previews.
I want to see … at Lambeth Fringe…
I want to see …
… a theatrical night of Silent Slapstick & Movie Magic. Then see Against the Clock. Also check out Blinking Buzzards
… an award winning comedy night. Then see Comedy Bandits
… some live Jazz. Then see Mondo Taphouse Jazz Night
… a play centred around a mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Then see Golden Age
… some theatre about life after university. Then see Post Grad
… a storytelling show. Then see Peter Blue (a storytelling show)
… storytelling, movement, Shakespeare, spoken word and music. Then see Bodies of Water
… fast-paced, physical, clowning solo show. Then see Knapsack
… a new comedy horror musical. Then see The Carnage Returns
… something unique – a mix of choreography and sculpture… a reading of the collective consciousness… a game with no winners or losers. Then see How Many Bricks To Build The Future?
… an autobiographical coming-of-age story, blending comedy and drama. Then see A Small Town Northern Tale
… some surreal theatre. Then see LINDA(?)
… two comedians in an hour of stand up comedy. Then see Fat Goose Goes Halves
… a short play. Then see FLIRT
… some storytelling, thirteen five-minute personal stories performed by the actors who lived them. Then see ‘True Stories (Sort Of)’
… some family-friendly comedy. Then see Comedy Club 4 Kids
… an innovative solo performance exploring dementia’s emotional landscape with “an immersive soundscape blending live and recorded audio”. Then see The Dance Hall
A theatre recommendation that garnered a must see rating from FringeReview at Brighton Fringe’s Lantern Theatre, That Witch Helen,”blends myth, movement, and storytelling to let Helen of Troy tell her own story.” It is written and performed by Catie Ridewood.
Our solo show choice is another hit from Brighton Fringe that was highly rated by FringeReview. The Life And Rhymes Of Archy And Mehitabel from Theatre Nation. Here is the lowdown: hi everybody, archy here. archy is a character created by new york humourist don marquis, back in the nineteen thirties. he’s a cockroach, who somehow has become inhabited by the transmigrated soul of a free verse poet. archy’s quite a philosopher, too, but because he’s a cockroach the only way he can communicate with the world is by climbing on don marquis’s typewriter, and jumping onto the keys, to type out his thoughts letter by letter – philosophical, comical, satirical, whimsical topical and ecological entertainment”. You can ready our quirky review from Brighton Fringe here.
For some very human and edge comedy, Nathan Cassidy: The Spine That Shagged Me is fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe. “Multi-award winning comedian and star of 3 Amazon Prime Specials with a stand-up show like you’ve never seen. First he did his back in, now he’s tripping on Diazepam watching Life of Pi.”
Theatre Preview: Trashed
by Hart & Sparks Theatre Company
Trashed is billed as “a story of friendship, faith and fucking-up over and over again. But is there
something more than just – this?” The scene: “Spilled wine, sex and half-smoked cigarettes. Clothes strewn across the floor, food rotting in the fridge and bare feet dancing in the kitchen. Liv and Ruth are far from perfect, but they know how to have fun, and that’s good enough for them.”
About the show
Trashed follows the characters of Liv and Ruth, and their boyfriends Jackson and Noah. Liv
is a vibrant, assertive personality. Her main priority is to have fun, a lesser priority is to come
out of said fun unscathed. Ruth is fiercely loyal, opinionated, and loving. She is a Christian,
perhaps not God-fearing but certainly God-trusting, and hopes for her enemies and naysayers
to meet His fiery wrath.
About the company
We are a group of recent graduates with extensive experience within the university drama
scene, and professional credits within the teams of shows such as The Improv Musical
(Doonstairs, The Gilded Balloon, 2022), The Last Romantic (The Nip, The Gilded Balloon,
2022), Downpour (Warwick Arts Centre Studio, 2023), A Noble Game (Birmingham Old
Rep, 2023) and A Streetcar Named Desire (Warwick Arts Centre Studio, 2024). Trashed is
what we hope to be our transition from the university theatre scene and into the professional
world with our own theatre company.
Booking info
Venue: The Bread and Roses Theatre,
London
Date: 19th of September
Time: 9pm (60mins)
Tickets: £11/£9
Book here
Instagram: @hartandsparkstc
Twitter: @hartandsparks
Music Theatre Preview: A Different Song
LT PRODUCTIONS present ‘A Different Song’
Billed as “Beautifully balanced with humour and music”, ‘A Different Song’ is “an uplifting story of love, loneliness and what happens when you forget where you belong.”
Here’s the lowdown: A lonely microphone, an unpredictable crowd and a deranged dog…oh, and a spot of knitting-ripping….. It can only be one thing – open mic night. Backstage, seasoned performer, Mitch, tunes up against a backdrop of faded dreams and pain, pushed down. Another regular, Kate, is devastated when she hears that Mitch has decided to call it a day. Chrissie’s taken over the clipboard and hosting for the first time. She needs it to go well. She needs her star turn to stay. Kate has a new song. The crowd are ready. In this room, on this night, there is hope and there is love.
Live music weaves into the fabric of this comedy drama, underpinning the joy and resilience of the unique community that is open mic night.
Following sold-out debut shows at Chichester Fringe and Worthing Festival, Sussex-based LT Productions are proud to be part of the inaugural Lambeth Fringe at its founder venue, The Bread and Roses Theatre with their one-act play by award-winning writer, Liz Tait, who also produces and directs. The three-strong, Brighton-based cast are: Andy Hutchison (Mitch), Helen Rogers (Chrissie) and Sally Best (Kate).
Booking info
Venue: The Bread Roses Theatre, 68 Clapham Manor St, London SW4 6DZ
Dates: Saturday, 5th and Sunday, 6th October 2024
Time: 5pm (55 mins)
Ticket price: £12 & £11 Suitability: 18+
Book here
@instagranliztaitproductions
Web site: www.liztait.com
Also appearing at Canal Café Theatre, 22nd and 23rd November: www.canalcafetheatre.com
Comedy Preview: Dylan Dodds: GroundDodds Day
Comedian Dylan Dodds presents GroundDodds Day at the Lambeth Fringe, a show that plays on the feeling of being stuck in life’s repetitive moments. Drawing on his own recent decision to become a parent, Dodds uses humor to explore the frustrations and absurdities of feeling like every day is the same, as if caught in a time loop.
The show mixes personal anecdotes with sharp jokes, looking at the pressures of starting a family and trying to move forward when life feels stagnant. Directed by Ian Lane, GroundDodds Day is simple in its approach, focusing on Dodds’ observations of his own life with a balance of humor and reflection.
Dodds has received positive feedback for his engaging style, with The List praising his “well-crafted jokes and clever wordplay” and Chortle calling it a “likeable, gentle hour.” Audience members have also appreciated his ability to keep the show fast-paced while touching on relatable themes.
Dodds’ career began in theater, but he shifted to stand-up five years ago, performing regularly at the Edinburgh Fringe. He has also written for BBC’s Newsjack and runs experimental comedy nights in London.
Venue: The Glitch, 134 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7AE
Date: 13th October 2024
Time: 7 pm
Duration: 1 hour
Price: £9.50 (£6 concessions)
Book here.
Solo Show Preview
Skin & Blister Presents: “Don’t Let Me Die Before Sunday” at Lambeth Fringe 2024A Darkly Humorous Exploration of Anxiety, Theatre-Making and A&E Waiting Rooms.
Skin & Blister Theatre Company is thrilled to announce the premiere of their highly anticipated new production, Don’t Let Me Die Before Sunday, as part of the Lambeth Fringe Festival, running from October 18th to 20th, 2024. This follows the company’s successful debut, Hold Me Close, which garnered acclaim at the Brighton Fringe and Camden Fringe in 2021. Reviewers called it “a joy to watch” and “bound to make you laugh, bring a smile to your face, and possibly a tear or two”.
About the Show
Three years after their debut show, Hold Me Close, Skin and Blister were stuck with a banging title and a simple idea: our mental health dramatised for your pleasure. But how the hell to stage a show about anxiety without it being too self indulgent/triggering/a bit sh*t? Don’t Let Me Die Before Sunday, written by Elspeth McColl and directed by DArcy Brown,has existed in every form possible. With every new draft, comes different problems and new headaches. Ella McCallum stars as Aoife, but also as herself, and also as an actor playing themselves, and also as Aoife playing herself, and…. can you see why it’s taken two years? A one-person show* and an exhuming of our ideas graveyard, Don’t Let Me Die Before Sunday has reached its final form. Finally.
About Skin & Blister
Skin & Blister is DArcy, Ella and Elspeth’s COVID baby, born from chaos and destined to make more. Brought together by the fates (and a shared disillusionment with existing theatre spaces), the trio were united in their shared sense of humour and a desire to make theatre that is important, without necessarily playing by the rules. Audience-focused, and utilising innovative story-telling, Skin & Blister’s work has explored themes of mental health, friendship, experiences of being working class, and what it means to be ‘home’. We aim to produce work that creates conversations, creates community, and always creates with compassion.
Show Details:
Dates: October 18th – 20th, 2024, 7pm
Location: The Bread and Roses Theatre
Book here
Solo Theatre Preview: One Man Poe
To commemorate the 175th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s mysterious death in 1849, Stephen Smith performs four of the American author’s most spine-chilling classics, back-to-back and unabridged: The Tell-Tale Heart; The Pit and the Pendulum; The Black Cat; and The Raven.
Poe’s archaic language paired with Smith’s award-winning tour-de-force performance offers gothic horror fans and classical literature lovers an atmospheric evening rich with imaginative storytelling, making this marathon of the macabre the perfect theatrical treat for Halloween!
A huge fan of the late Roger Corman / Vincent Price’s Poe-cycle when a child, Stephen Smith reignited his love of classical horror stories during the pandemic by creating online renditions of Poe’s work via Facebook Live. When the theatres reopened he combined four of Poe’s most popular pieces in a solo show and named the extravaganza One Man Poe.
First performed in 2021 at Watford Palace Theatre, One Man Poe.has had multiple runs in London, on tour in the UK and internationally in Dubai and Off-Broadway, Since its premiere in 2022 at the Poe Fest International in Baltimore MA and at the Poe Museum in Richmond VA, One Man Poe has been booked for those events on an annual basis.
Cast and Creatives
Written by Edgar Allan Poe
Directed & Performed by Stephen Smith
Music by Joseph Furey / Sound Design by Joseph Furey and Django Holder
Supported by Watford Palace Theatre
Produced by Threedumb Theatre (www.threedumbtheatre.com
Show details and booking here.
Theatre Preview: He’s six years older than me
He’s six years older than me. is a solo debut production from Taeyun Kim. The play is about
unprotected sex, or any type of unprotected sexual relationship that women experience. It is a
journey of a woman researching the pattern in her dating history within the belief of fixing the
problems, whatsoever, she had in it. The play mainly depicts her mental state than the pregnancy
or STD itself.
Because in the writer’s opinion, these biological and medical issues ironically could be
the controllable side yet, the psychological side has never gotten enough emphasis on.
The play focuses on the character’s frustration in expressing the refusal, getting refusal on her refusal, and
in further, how her voices were dismissed not just in her dating life but from the very base.
Taeyun Kim is a performer, choreographer, writer, and producer based in London.
The play was first conceived when she realised that three guys from her past relationships were all six years older
than her. They existed in her life in different times and different situations but were the same age
and the same problem to her.
Taeyun is fascinated by female psychology and physical reaction to the subtly invasive patriarchy. It is never just a fun topic but always captivating to her.
After Choreographies of Care, Thames Festival Trust 2022 and MOLKA, VAULT Festival 2023, He’s six years older than me is Taeyun’s third production in UK and first solo debut.
Tickets are available here.
Website: tae-yoon.com https://tae-yoon.com
The Glitch, 134 Lower Marsh SE1 7AE, London
Sunday, 22nd September 3pm
Box Office Tickets are available priced £13 (Concession £9)
Age Guidance 14+
Writer / Choreographer: Taeyun Kim
We’ll be adding more recommendations and previews in the run up to the Fringe.
