I’ve always said that the most interesting and creative happenings take a bit more effort to find. Of course the bigger stages cater for most tastes, tribute bands, West-End plays doing the rounds, name comedians and retro circuit acts, the stuff which ticks most boxes for most people. But if, like myself, you are someone more interested in turning over a few metaphorical stones to find the sort of thing that doesn’t normally arrive with big PR and fanfare, then the Swindon Fringe Festival is just the thing.
It’s theatre Jim, but not as we know it. Centred around smaller, regional productions, of modest casts and sets that require a bit of poetic licence, The Fringe is perfect for people who like to be challenged and who don’t need their art spoon fed to them. Music, comedy, workshops and children’s activities are also thrown into the mix.
And as the launch was held at The Bohemian Balcony, a place I was yet to visit, it was the perfect two birds with one stone moment. The Balcony proved to be a great venue to kick things off in, itself matching the underground nature of event. As was pointed out a number of times throughout the course of the evening, the venue has the feel of an art space in Berlin, Amsterdam or Prague, places where creativity and enterprise are less shackled by those fun sucking twin demons….health and safety.
It was a night of music in all guises, from bluesy dynamics to classic covers and folk frolics and later promised theatre and comedy but sadly as I had an elsewhere to be, the latter part of the night goes unrecorded here. But from what I experienced, this was everything the grassroots theatre and performance circuit needs, a reminder that not everything has to happen in pristine theatres or high-end music venues, often the best experiences can come in strange left-field venues where the imagination is often required to meet the performance half way. After all, they probably didn’t pay much to get in so why not expect the audience to earn their money.
https://www.swindonfringefestival.com
