Durham Fringe Fest returns to city for 3rd year
County Durham’s take on the eponymous fringe festival will look to build on the success of last year by again showcasing a variety of local artists.
County Durham’s take on the eponymous fringe festival will look to build on the success of last year by again showcasing a variety of local artists.
There will be range of events - including music, comedy, theatre and dance - aimed at a range of ages, including families.
It's also hoped the influx of extra visitors to the city will be a big financial boost for local businesses, including bars, cafes and restaurants.
The festival runs at a number of venues across the city until Sunday 30th July.
You can find out all the info about the festival via their website.
One of a number of North East theatre groups showcasing their work is CHAFF Productions who will be debuting their comedy play ‘Error at the Bigg Market’. The performance is a 21st Century take on one of Shakespeare’s more farcical play’s, appropriately titled, ‘The Comedy of Errors’.
CHAFF Productions' reimagination involves hopeless romantics Alice and Tony, who are both looking for nice partners. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be that easy for them. Enter a Druid and an enthusiastic cosplayer, and a typical Hollywood fairytale ending for the protagonists might be derailed.
One of the writers of the play, Jessica Martin-Hodgson, spoke to us about why the group opted to make a comedy:
“We wanted to make a play that was funny. We felt as though a lot of people think Shakespeare’s got to be serious, but we wanted to show he has made comedies.
“It’s making theatre more democratised and accessible to lots of people and opening it out to people who might not necessarily think of themselves as Shakespeare fans. That’s exciting for us and we really enjoyed producing a comedy; it’s been a fun writing process."
Actor in the play, Sam Honour, gave us his take on the creative process:
“Being able to see the performance from both sides (acting and directing) has been very exciting. As a performer, you don’t usually get to see all the bits that are going on in the background. As well as acting, I’ve been doing assistant directing. It’s been great to be involved in that.”
Error at the Bigg Market will be shown at 8:15 pm on the 28th and 30th of July at the City Theatre (Fowlers Yard, 6 Back Silver St, Durham, DH1 3RA).