Shaftesbury Fringe returns for fifth year

Venues include the stunning Shaftesbury abbey, a salon, or even a dentist's garden.

Author: George SharpePublished 28th Aug 2021

Shaftesbury Fringe festival is back for it's fifth year, after last year's festival was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Over 110 acts are performing over the course of the weekend and they're all within a stonesthrow of eachother, making it easy to get between each event.

This year's line-up includes the Great Baldini magic act, acrobatics and a 'soundbath' of Tibetan drums.

The venues themselves are as unconventional as some of the performers, featuring folk music performed in a dentist's garden, singing in a salon and comedy at Shaftesbury Abbey.

Organisers say it's exciting to see the weekend come together after last year's festival was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Fringe Co-Chairman Rob Neely said:

"One thing that's fantastic is that it's actually happening, and people have been so isolated over the last year, or two years really, and now it's a great opportunity for the town to come together and have a great weekend.

Co-Chairman James Thrift added:

"Shaftesbury's brilliant; it is a small hilltop town so everything is really close and compact so you can come up and spend the weekend here and see all sorts from poetry to theatre to comedy to jazz to blues without basically having to walk really very far at all."

To find out more visit their website.

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