Bristol Fringe Festival - Week One Highlights

Bristol Fringe Festival - Week One Highlights

Posted on: 27 Jun 2022

 

 

The inaugural Bristol Fringe Festival looms large on July’s calendar, marking Bristol’s first (and long overdue) foray into hosting it’s own city-wide performance festival – putting local talent and venues front and centre. But with events numbering in the hundreds, across the whole city - throughout the entire month – it can seem overwhelming in what to watch. Well, don’t worry – we’re here to give you our guide to the highlights of the Bristol Fringe – week by week. Let’s start at the beginning – a very good place to start.

 

People’s Comedy - 1st of July, 20:00

The People’s Republic Of Stoke’s Croft are hosting another edition of their People’s Comedy stand-up – a standup event dedicated to platforming grass-roots comedians with a message, that was nominated for best themed Comedy night in the UK (Chortle 2020). This special is dedicated specifically to bringing together the best in working-class comics.

Tickets are £7.50 and are available through Headfirst.

 

Midsummer Night’s Dream at Eastville Park Swimming Pool - 1st and 2nd July, 6pm and 8:30pm.

Theatre Company Insane Root’s series of Shakespeare plays in Eastville Park have been showered with praise, described as ‘masters of site specific theatre’ by B24/7, and as ‘freshly minted, funny and accessible’. This kind of inventive, Bristol-first performance is exactly what the Bristol Fringe is about, and we highly recommend you check it out. It’s running throughout July, so if you don’t catch it in the first week, look out for it in the coming weeks.

Tickets are between £19 and £22, with local residents being able to get a whopping discount down as far as £12.50. Get tickets here.

 

We Are Invisible We Are Visible at Arnolfini - 2nd of July 11:00-18:00

To mark the 102nd anniversary of the 1st Dada International Exhibition in Berlin, 31 d/Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent artists will stage Dada inspired interventions in 30 museums and galleries across Britain and Northern Ireland on the same day on Saturday 2 July 2022 – including Bristol’s own Arnolfini.

This is a varied, intriguing performance exhibition shrouded in mystery, and best of all – it’s free.

 

Scrambled Comedy at the Craft Egg Fishponds - 4th of July, 19:30

Beloved Stokes’ Croft cafe The Crafty Egg have recently opened up a brand-new location in Fishponds – and now they’re bringing brand-new comedy there too. A great mix of local acts and big names – and if you get there 5 or so hours early, you could even have brunch beforehand.

Tickets are just £4(!) and can be found here.

 

Oppo Comedy at The Barrelhouse - 6th July, 19:30

What better even to represent the Fringe spirit than Bristol’s most legendary comedy night – Oppo Comedy. Hosted in the past by now-huge names like Russell Howard & Jon Richardson, Oppo Comedy has featured the likes of James Acaster, Flight of the Conchords, and Rosie Jones!

Get your tickets here, and for a mere £3 you might see the next legend in the making!

 

Debauched Tales at Cloak & Dagger - 7th July, 19:00

Cloak & Dagger are one of the venues at the heart of the Fringe Festival, and here they’re bringing you a collection of salacious stories, as they wander through the world of erotic literature and poetry – this time, focusing on Queens and Kings. Not only that, but audience members can catch a neat 10% discount in Cloak & Dagger’s restaurant after the show! What a bonus!

Tickets are pay-what-you-can, and can be purchased here.

 

Dragpov Revue at The Bristol Improv Theatre - 8th July, 20:00

Bristol has a huge and active drag community, who are taking a big role in this year’s Bristol Fringe Festival. Just one such performance is the brilliant Dragpov Revue. Christian Adore’ and ‘Eaton Messe’ are a drag double act performed by Francesca Forristal and Ed Scrivens. Using your suggestions, this lovable soft-boy and sassy queen improvise dazzling songs, sketches, and raps.

If you want to get in the audience shouting out suggestions, you can get tickets from £12 on the Bristol Improv Theatre website.

 

We've only scratched the surface of the Bristol Fringe Festival's content - to see the full programme, visit their Facebook, Instagram or website, and watch this space for more highlights.


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Article by:

Patrick Bate

Patrick is a filmmaker with so much Bristol in his blood the white blood cells are graffiti'd. Educated at the Northern Film School in Leeds, he’s returned home to be a Videographer and Reviewer for 365Bristol and BARBI. When he’s not messing about with cameras, he enjoys playing guitar, spending far too much time on tabletop RPGs, and being an awful snob about cider. Have a look at his work here, or get in touch at patrickb@365bristol.com.