Back with a bang, Brighton Fringe 2019 launches today with a spectacular firework display at Fringe hub, The Warren, which has relocated to Victoria Gardens following the roadworks at St Peter’s Church.
Venues are well-run and well-curated, allowing audiences to take a chance on a show and rarely being disappointed
Brighton Fringe is one of the more interesting Fringe festivals in the UK – partly because of its size (claiming to the be the biggest UK Fringe outside of Edinburgh) and partly because Brighton can make for an exciting destination for audiences. However, plenty of shows have struggled to find audiences, particularly with mid-week slots, and venues often need to rely on an influx of weekend visitors to boost numbers.
Another curse (or blessing) of Brighton Fringe is the lack of student theatre companies. May isn’t an ideal time if you’re at university and studying for exams. Whereas Edinburgh can be a fertile ground for university Musical Theatre, Improvisation or Drama societies and the Royal Mile packed full of youthful thespians recovering from their hangover and eagerly explaining why their production of Dr Faustus is a sure-fire smash-hit, Brighton hasn’t managed to tap into their huge student population.
But Brighton Fringe does have some truly excellent shows every year – and a first-rate team at both the Fringe & Venues who help promote exciting new work. Venues such as The Warren, The Rialto, Sweet, Komedia, New Venture Theatre & Brighton Spiegeltent are well-run and well-curated, allowing audiences to take a chance on a show and rarely being disappointed.
Tips for this year include Boris Rex from Charlie Dupre which follows an excellent Macblair two years ago. Witch-Hunt from A&E Comedy is the new show from the Bobby award winners behind Enter the Dragons. Others to watch out for are Insolence from Put the Book Down and He Shot, He Scored from Off the Fence Theatre Company.
If you’ve not made the trip to Brighton Fringe before, you should pick a sunny day and book your train ticket. With an ice-cream along the pier either side of a couple of shows before whiling away the evening drink in hand at The Warren, I guarantee that you’ll be heading home with a glow – and not just from sun burnt skin.
