information for performers

  • getting a crowd

    • The three 'Taster Sessions' consist of five minute extracts or promos designed to whet the appetite.

    They will take place in the Barnstaple Coffee Shop (venue 8) on the Wednesday at 2.30pm and Barnstaple Library 3B (venue 10) on the Thursday and Friday at 1pm.

    They're largely attended by performers and volunteers plus core audience members keen to see as much as possible. Don't under estimate the value of exciting the interest of fellow performers and volunteers. They're part of your potential audience and they are very good at spreading the word.

    Wednesday

    • 2.30 Does It Hurt? - Unexplored Places  
    • 2.35 Whispers of Woden - Four of Swords 
    • 2.40 Regalia - JackShaw Theatre  
    • 2.45 Baxter vs The Bookies - Andy Linden  
    • 2.50 Tube Tops and Tribulations of a Falling Woman - Lost For Words  
    • 2.55 Finding Connie Converse - MayKing Theatre  
    • 3.00  
    • 3.05 Too Big To Try - Fungus and Moss  
    • 3.10 How I Almost Died - Matthew David Jones  
    • 3.15 Holly and the Holly Blue Butterfly - Sophie Cobb 
    • 3.20 Cavalier - i.e  
    • 3.25 Something Rotten - MonkeyDog  

    Thursday

    • 1.00 Writers Block - Dreamshed Theatre  
    • 1.05 Weathered - Benny and Kate  
    • 1.10 The Fairy Who Wanted To Fly - Puppet Roadshow 
    • 1.15 Bad Things - Bonnet Dog  
    • 1.20 I Don't Have A Maths GCSE - Mia Borthwick
    • 1.25 55 - Stacked Wonky  
    • 1.30 Jack and Jordan: Cosmic Twegheads  
    • 1.35 The Covenant - Agbo Play  
    • 1.40 Belly Flop - Sam Gilroy  
    • 1.45 The Secret Show - Chris Tennant  
    • 1.50 Unknown - RS Dance  
    • 1.55 Red Balloon / Mr Merrick - Lucky Dog  

    Friday

    • 1.00 Thor's A Dick - Stories Alive  
    • 1.05 Phuckets and Rainbows - Lizzie Bean  
    • 1.10 The Life and Times of Archy and Mehitabel - Theatre Nation  
    • 1.15 Do You Want To Know? - Overmorrow  
    • 1.20 Sh*t Show - Kathryn Marper  
    • 1.25 Brick By Brick - The Bard of Windmill Hill  
    • 1.30 Nocturnal - Hands Free Theatre Company  
    • 1.35 The Ghost of Thornwood Junction - Black Box Theatre  
    • 1.40 Held in the Tips of Fingers - IzOKei  
    • 1.45 Yorkshire Dad, Immigrant Mum - Richard Pulsford 
    • 1.50 The Foraging Fan Club - Helen Wood  
    • 1.55 The Spiral - Giorgia Ciampi Tsolaki  

    download the tech schedule

Fringe TheatreFest structure

  • Fringe TheatreFest has two strands: Ticketed Venues and Alternative Spaces.

    For 2025, there are 7 Ticketed Venues each of which will accommodate 5 companies. These seven venues are equipped with light and sound systems. They are staffed with a technician, box-office assistant and steward.

    Alternative Spaces are less formal. We encourage companies to find their own special spaces that will work well for their show and are happy to advise. We will then work with the company and venue to arrange the use of that space. We have a relationship with a number of venues that have proved viable in the past. The Festival does not provide technical equipment or an operator but does provide Front of House or Street Stewards, depending on the nature of the space.

  • Fringe TheatreFest is not juried or curated - companies are picked from a hat for Ticketed Venues and accepted in order of application for Alternative Spaces.

  • 10 Ticketed Venue slots are set aside for North Devon companies, with 25 slots open to UK and International companies.

  • 20 slots are available for Alternative Spaces.

  • One application per company can be made for Ticketed Venues but multiple applications can be made for Alternative Spaces.

  • Fringe TheatreFest timetables the programme and sets ticket prices for the Ticketed Venues. For 2025 these will be £8, £5 concessions, £4 if using a Frequent Fringer Voucher.

  • Payment at Alternative Spaces is by pay-what-you-will bucket collection after each performance.

  • 100% of the ticket revenue or pay-what-you-will income is returned to the companies.

  • In Ticketed Venues, companies are offered a 3-performance slot. Companies must be able to commit to three performance days. Shows in Ticketed Venues open on the Thursday or Friday.

  • Companies performing in Alternative Spaces are welcome to perform as many or as few times as they wish, as long as we have the capacity to steward the events adequately.

  • Ticketed Venue companies will pay a £100 participation fee, £65 of which will be refunded as long as they fulfil their performance commitments.

  • Alternative Space companies will pay a £100 participation fee which will be refunded in full as long as they fulfil their performance commitments.

  • A large group of experienced volunteers provide box-office and stewarding. There is a technician to operate lights and sound for shows in Ticketed Venues but not in Alternative Spaces.

  • Fringe TheatreFest markets and publicises the event as an entity. Companies market and publicise their own shows.

  • Companies must have their own Public Liability Insurance.

  • We do our best to find free billets for companies from outside North Devon if so required. We have limited billets available in the area and in return for being billeted, company members are required to help out with four hours of volunteer duties that support Fringe TheatreFest.

Applications are now closed.

questions?

You are more than welcome to contact us with specific questions.

"We saw some fab shows as well as making great connections with new audiences and promoters whilst at Fringe TheatreFest - may it go on from strength to strength!"