The Camden Fringe Festival and What to Expect
WHAT IS THE CAMDEN FRINGE?
Like myself, I am sure many of you have heard of the Camden Fringe Festival but have never known what it actually involves. Well try not to worry, because this article will help give you an insight into what’s to come.
The Camden Fringe Festival, based in (yes, you guessed it) Camden and neighbouring boroughs, is a performing arts gala and has been running every August for twelve years now – having been established in 2006. Anyone can apply to perform at the festival, meaning the event boosts small and local talent as well as professional and global talent.
Previous fringe events have encompassed new writing, opera, musicals, stand-up, sketch comedy, dance, cabaret, poetry, opera, mentalism, improvisation and Q&As. Shows take place throughout the day and generally last one hour. The Camden Fringe was set-up as an alternative to Edinburgh Festival, offering performers the chance to try out new material and different ideas in a supportive setting with less time and financial commitments than EdFringe did at the time. The Camden Fringe aims to give anyone the chance to perform and showcase their talents, from very experienced performers and companies, to ambitious newcomers. Since 2006 the Camden Fringe has gained a reputation for supporting acts, providing helpful information and guidance for the acts involved. – https://camdenfringe.com/index.php?id=6
WHAT’S ON THIS YEAR?
There are many exciting and inspiring performances lined up this year and I can’t wait to go and discover them! For dance lovers out there, TobyLikesMILK have returned with ‘The Alternative Dairy Selection,’ and they look better than ever. Someone from my secondary school is actually going to be in this, who seems more than chuffed about it. TobyLikesMILK are running a two-day performance between the 24th and 25th of August at The Cockpit.
TobyLikesMILK are back and this year we are not alone! We are debuting a new work, and sharing the stage with our friends Faye Revlon & Hannah Milan, Haus of Anxiety, B-hybrid and The Yonis. Using contemporary dance theatre, vogue and drag we will explore how the LGBTQ+ community has helped everyone to discover and embrace their own identity. – https://camdenfringe.com/index.php
For those who love a bit of drama, The Raising Ashes Theatre is coming to 2018’s Camden Fringe with ‘The Sisters Grimm.’ Based at The Lion and Unicorn on the 30th and 31st of July, a feminist’s take on the Brothers Grimm fairy tales includes a dark and sinister themed play that will truly send shivers up your spine.
From the brisk Siberian winds, in walks The Watcher, a strange man wrapped in a massive coat and carrying a tattered bag. He has travelled far to tell you a story of his homeland through three pivotal moments of Russian history. Three young women are faced with the most dangerous threat of their lives. And the wolves are advancing… – https://camdenfringe.com/index.php
Another performance I’ll mention that will be featured this year is XVelastín’s ‘whalesong‘ at The Monkey House from Wednesday the 1st of August, to Saturday the 4th of August, at 9pm. This is the piece that I am going to review, which I am very pumped about as not only does the actual performance look super interesting, but I also vowed to myself at the start of this year that I must attend more music concerts and abstract sound pieces.
A sound piece on choice, voice, and our impending doom. Technologist and water freak XVelastín presents an absurd cross-arts performance about noise in the oceans. Starring a submarine captain, underwater singing, digital sound manipulation, an overhead projector, a love song to cetaceans (both toothed and baleen), and a very lonely whale. [whalesong] is a subversive, submersive experience; it hates plastic and loves blowholes. It’s inspired by the way humanity has stolen whales’ voices, using technology to manipulate their language and vindicate us from the destruction of their acoustic ecology. It repurposes the same techniques to present a sonic alternative. – https://camdenfringe.com/index.php
Tickets for this event cost £10. For more information on other events check out the Camden Fringe website: https://www.camdenfringe.com/
The whole of London seems to be buzzing about this upcoming festival, and so to put it simply: Camden Fringe is London Fringe (‘Fringe Review, July 2016’).