The Buxton Fringe Festival is another of the UK’s fringes that brings a collection of arts and culture during the summer months (8th – 26th July). In the true style of a Fringe, it runs alongside another larger festival, the Buxton International Festival (9th – 26th July).
Set in Derbyshire, on the edge of the Peak District National Park, these two festivals bring a large dose of performance to a relatively small town. Buxton, known as a spa town with a long history of health and wellness tourism, becomes a destination for arts, culture and live entertainment.
The Buxton Fringe Festival started in 1980. Operated as a charity and run entirely by volunteers, it is open-access. There are between 150 and 200 entries each year, totalling around 500 performances across the town. This spans dance, drama, music, poetry, comedy, film, exhibitions, children’s theatre, cabaret, magic and other forms of performance.
Fringe Chair Ian Bowns told The Quinntessential Review: “The Fringe feels more accessible than ever this year. We are delighted to have attracted so many performers, and the diversity of entertainment means there really is something for everyone!”
A Vibrant Community Spirit in Buxton
The Buxton Fringe stands out for its community feel. Local groups and returning artists pop up across the programme, and the Fringe itself organises many public events to spark a festival feel.
‘Fringe Saturday’ (usually a ‘Fringe Sunday’) is generally the Fringe’s busiest weekend. Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens are packed with family-friendly entertainment with music, singing, comedy and more performances, offering the chance to mingle with the stars at a fabulous outdoor party.
Fringe Chair Ian Bowns told The Quinntessential Review: “The Fringe feels more accessible than ever this year. We are delighted to have attracted so many performers, and the diversity of entertainment means there really is something for everyone!”
Sunday Socials are new to the Fringe, resulting from feedback from Fringe entrants, while Buxton Day of Dance is an established part of the Fringe programme. Traditional dancing from around the country will fill the streets of Buxton with all the music, passion and humour that the Morris brings.
High Peak Pride Picnic invites festival-goers to an afternoon of fun, glamour and fabulous hats! There will be garden games, frivolities and of course Buxton’s Big Gay Bake Off. Buxton Shorts Festival will showcase a selection of moving, funny, beautiful and clever short films – all with a local connection. Audiences can vote for their favourite on the day.
Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust runs a one-day, town-wide creative challenge for artists of all ages. Anyone can enter and must head out to sketch, draw, collage or paint Buxton. Submissions are presented in the same afternoon as an exhibition and put up to the public vote, with prizes to be won.
From Edinburgh to Buxton: Comedy and Cabaret Previews
The Buxton Fringe team states that many artists use it as a preview before appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. However, there are some instances of the opposite direction.
A notorious cabaret that has run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for over 10 years is making its debut at the Buxton Fringe. Pump Room Cabaret presents magic, burlesque, live music and other variety acts in a few shows across the festival.
Danny Matinee, known as a one-liner merchant, brings his sell-out Edinburgh show, 199 Jokes Before Lunchtime, with jokes, props and tips on crafting your own gags.
Marketing Officer Stephanie Billen told The Quinntessential Review: “This is our biggest ever Fringe, and we are so excited by the breadth of entertainment. There’s been a huge growth in comedy, plus massive theatre and music sections and shows in every category of the Fringe. We have venues all over town and beyond, so there are lots of opportunities to book shows and support our performers!”
Stand-up, One-Liners, and Character Comedy
Comedy does make up the majority of the programme. In 2 Dad, or Not 2 Dad, Jim Bob connects childhood pain to parenting chaos. At just eight, his father left. Now, a dad himself, Jim finally gets it, in the funniest way possible!
Some comedy is stripped down to just being about the laughs. 55 Minutes of Adequately Amusing Jokes and Stories comes from an Irishman who has recently turned 67. That is the title. That is the show. Does what it says on the tin. Kevin O’Brien brings a solo show of one-liner jokes.
Other comedians take the opposite approach. Comedian and harpist Caitriona Dowden presents an award-nominated show about Irish folk music and family history, from medieval banquets to 21st-century pub sessions. David Hoskin merges mime, physical comedy and violence for a horror-comedy about an unexpected tour round a haunted house. Mime and clowning also comes into Hot Knees by Enrico Touché, who brings their unique brand of comedy to the stage in an hour of unbelievable business. Hot Knees is a high-energy comedy about ambition, passion, and following your dreams to their illogical conclusion.
Spoken Word and Local History
Spoken word brings comedy into their shows. Stephen Porter, one of Liverpool’s best-known Spoken Word artists and the founder of The New Mersey Poets, mixes poetry and stand up in The Girl Who Could Fly. The Glummer Twins bring The Beat Goes On, trawling through the fads and fashions of eight decades with stand-up spoken word comedy and music from the Beat Generation.
Local histories are also explored through spoken word – very fitting – such as the archaeological dig of Fifty Shades of Archaeology and Intriguing Buxton Residents and Visitors by local historian Julian Cohen.
Music, Choirs, and Concerts at the Fringe
In the music category, Buxton’s own Kaleidoscope Choir will run Moorland Melodies to Maritime Mischief, a celebration of the sounds of the Peak moorlands to rowdy sea shanties. The Manchester Recorder Orchestra, known as Fringe veterans and the winners of the 2025 Music category, return for their silver anniversary (25th) Fringe concert.
There are plenty of shows by solo musicians, who are acclaimed for their acoustic skill as well as their storytelling structure – such as Chloe Jones’ Wanderlust and Dog-Eared Books, a journey of music inspired by travel and literature, and a return to the Buxton Fringe following her nomination for Solo Vocal in 2025.
There’s also a community workshop run by Peak District Music Centres, teaching audiences to learn and play extracts from Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.
Family Performances and Children’s Entertainment
Children’s performances on offer are very varied. Tap dance company Sole Rebel present Jazz Gig for Kids, a relaxed afternoon of live jazz, while a more high-energy show A Tiny! Circus! asks children to make their own circus in the Pavilion Gardens.
The comedy-cabaret poetry show, Humdinger Words for Whippersnappers and Guttersnipes, introduces children to mind-blowing facts and rhyming magic. Children can perform their own poetry in the show-and-tell segment to build confidence and creativity.
Dance and film have a much smaller remit, with only a few shows listed under this category. Like many other shows across the festival, the events are fundraisers for charities. Disco Extravaganza for Blythe House Hospice brings an evening of music and dance from the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies and Eighties in the Palace Hotel.
Broad Theatre Offerings and Niche Topics
The theatre offering is very broad, with shows exploring timely social issues: relationships, social isolation, technology, virtual reality and climate change. Theatre also looks at historical characters, including Dr Willem Kolff, who invented the first kidney dialysis machine with sausage skins and a washing machine, whilst working in Nazi-occupied Holland. Dr Kolff and his Miraculous Kidney Dialysis Machine runs in support of Kidney Research UK. Forgotten Woman explores the life of Mrs Oscar Wilde, revealing the feminist, writer and mother through her letters. This solo show is written and performed by Lexi Wolfe, three-times winner of the Buxton Fringe Actor Award.
Marketing Officer Stephanie Billen told The Quinntessential Review: “This is our biggest ever Fringe, and we are so excited by the breadth of entertainment.“
The theatre programme also has individual themes, such as Lido – A Love Story, which celebrates the people, communities and history that make lidos special. Flight – One Man’s Journey is a theatre show where one actor plays 21 characters. The story of the journey of Maneek, raised in a remote village, shadowed by tigers, ruled by a strict father.
The programme certainly shows the creator’s own interests and passions, meaning the festival allows theatre-makers to take risks and explore niche topics for their audiences. That is, after all what Fringe is all about!
The Buxton Fringe Festival culminates with the Fringe awards on the 26th July. Performers, Fringe Friends, Fringe committee members and reviewers are invited to issue awards and celebrate the festival at the Palace Hotel. A festival that also takes time to celebrate reviewers? Now that’s something special – even if we do say so ourselves!
Featured Image: Buxton Festival Fringe Poster 2026
Details
Event: Buxton Festival Fringe (Buxton Fringe)
Venue: Various locations across Buxton and the surrounding area (including the Pavilion Gardens, Underground at Spring Gardens, the Palace Hotel, and the Buxton Opera House).
Dates: 8th – 26th July 2026
Accessibility: Variable by venue. Central hubs like the Pavilion Gardens provide full level access and designated accessible toilets (including a Changing Places facility). Historic structures like the Buxton Opera House offer limited ground-floor wheelchair spaces but restricted upper-tier access. Select individual events feature British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation, captioning, or relaxed performance formats.
By
By
By
