The Camden Fringe is a comedy festival in London, taking place over four weeks in the summer as an alternative to the Edinburgh Fringe. The first Camden Fringe took place in 2006 at the Etcetera Theatre. In 2017, the Camden Fringe sold 30,000 tickets for 1000 performances across 25 venues.
Performances at the Camden Fringe include stand-up, revivals of classical plays, new writing and musical comedy.
The Camden Fringe was set up by Zena Barrie and Michelle Flower for It's Alright For Some Ltd, who produced comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 2002 to 2006 and ran the Etcetera Theatre in Camden from 2003 to 2009. [1]
The first Camden Fringe took place in August 2006 at the Etcetera Theatre and included 57 performances by 22 acts over a 4-week period.
In 2007 Liberties (now known as The Camden Head or Camden Comedy Club) was added as a cabaret style venue and in 2008 the Camden People's Theatre joined in. There were 301 performances across the three venues over four weeks in 2008.
In 2009 The Roundhouse studio was added as the 4th and largest space. They staged 399 performances of 120 different shows and sold 10,600 tickets.
In 2021 the festival was hosted by sixteen venues: 2 Northdown, Aces and Eights, Camden Comedy Club, Camden People's Theatre, Canal Cafe Theatre, The Cockpit, Comedy Cabin, Etcetera Theatre, Hen and Chickens, The Hope Theatre, The Lion and Unicorn Theatre, The London Irish Centre, Museum of Comedy, Theatre Deli, Broadgate, Upstairs at the Gatehouse, The Water Rats.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2018 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 different shows across 322 venues. Established in 1947 as an unofficial offshoot to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Edinburgh every August. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has become a world-leading celebration of arts and culture, surpassed only by the Olympics and the World Cup in terms of global ticketed events.
Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival, held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, it features more than 7,000 artists from around Australia and the world. Over 1,300 events are staged in hundreds of venues, which include work in a huge variety of performing and visual art forms. The Fringe features many free events occur alongside ticketed events for the duration of the festival.
The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is an annual arts festival held every August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Produced by the Fringe Theatre, it is the oldest and largest fringe theatre festival in North America. The Edmonton Fringe is a founding member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals.
The Melbourne Fringe Festival is an annual independent arts festival in Melbourne, Australia, usually over three weeks from late September to early October. Held since 1982, the Festival includes a wide variety of art forms, including theatre, comedy, music, performance art, design, film, cabaret, digital art, and circus. Over 300 shows are held at over 100 venues from bars, clubs and independent theatres to high-profile locations.
Jerry Sadowitz is an American-born Scottish stand-up comedian and magician.
Gilded Balloon is a producer and promoter of live entertainment events, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and best known as one of the Big Four venue operators at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each August.
The Etcetera Theatre is a fringe venue for theatre and comedy. It was founded in 1986 by David Bidmead and is situated above The Oxford Arms pub in Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden.
Underbelly is a live events producer and venue operator, known as one of the "Big Four" venue operators at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. From its roots as a Fringe venue, the company has expanded to include a festival on London's South Bank and seasonal events in Edinburgh and elsewhere.
The Free Edinburgh Fringe Festival is a programme of free entry events that takes place at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, each August. It is organised by the comedy promoter Laughing Horse, although it includes shows of different genres. It used to be affiliated with the Free Fringe when it was initially launched, but since 2007 has operated as a separate entity.
The Edge Festival was an annual music festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland, during August of each year. Formerly known as T on the Fringe, The Edge was part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts fringe festival. Unlike other music festivals, The Edge did not take place at one location, with performers instead playing numerous venues across the city during the month. The festival was founded under the T on the Fringe name by DF Concerts and Tennent's Lager, with DF continuing to promote the festival after the departure of Tennent's from 2008 until 2012.
The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival is a 14-day annual arts festival that takes place in Orlando, Florida, every May. The festival features 850 ticketed theatrical performances on indoor and outdoor stages, produced by local, national and international artists. It is an open access performing arts festival, meaning there is no selection committee, and anyone may participate, with any type of performance.
The Stand Comedy Club is a chain of three stand-up comedy venues in the cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Newcastle upon Tyne.
Kevin Andrew Bridges is a Scottish stand-up comedian. His 2012 television series Kevin Bridges: What's the Story? was based on his stand-up routines.
Wilfredo is a fictional comedy character, created and portrayed by the British comedian Matt Roper.
Broadway Baby is a British online review guide and arts news website which launched in 2004. It is the most prolific reviewing publication at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 2012 onward. It contains reviews of music, comedy, theatre and dance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Brighton Fringe, Camden Fringe and year-round in London and Central Scotland. Formerly, a printed version was also published.
Fringe World, or Fringe World Festival, is an annual multi-arts fringe festival held in Perth, Western Australia during the city's summer festival season of January/February. The annual program of events features artists and acts from a range of styles including circus, cabaret, comedy, music, dance, theatre, film and visual art.
Hong Kong People's Fringe Festival is a month-long open-access multi-arts festival held annually in Hong Kong.
Bob Slayer is an Edinburgh Comedy Award winning comedian, musician and promoter. He has been part of a new economic model for venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which has made the event fairer and more affordable for performers and audiences. Acts that have performed at his venues have won and been nominated for a number of prestigious awards.
Ivor Joseph Dembina is a British stand-up comedian and writer in the alternative tradition from London.
Assembly is a theatre and comedy promotion company, producer and venue operator. It programmes and promotes entertainment events at venues in Edinburgh, London and Brighton, and is the longest-established of the so-called Big Four promoters at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. Year-round audience numbers at Assembly events are more than 500,000, and the company's artistic director is William Burdett-Coutts.