Okay folks. The (soft) deadline for applications passed, and things have gone absolutely nuts.
Artists: we intend to get back to you with slot offers later this month.
For more details on where we are and what what we're doing, come this way:
durhamfreefringe.org.uk/wp/2026/04/0...
Wow, five free fringe applications in three days.
Damn, we're going to have to work harder to accommodate this.
🎭 Durham Free Fringe is back for 2026! 29 Jul – 2 Aug, free to perform & free to watch.
Artists across theatre, comedy, music & spoken word can apply now. Read more ➡️ www.northeasttheatreguide.co.uk/2026/03/news...
#DurhamFringe #NorthEastTheatre
I'm getting featured on Upload.
Hear last year's participant Dan Husband talking about his poetry and prose book "Love in Shorts".
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
(Starts at 17:00)
It's Not Cluedo logo
And it's official!
It's Not Cluedo is coming to @oldjointstock.bsky.social Theatre in Birmingham on 30th April, on my way to Brighton Fringe. Still pinching myself.
More details here:
chrisnevillesmith.info/wp/2026/02/2...
Interested? Read more details and apply at durhamfreefringe.org.uk Any questions? Drop us a line at hello@durhamfreefringe.org.uk We’d love to have you.
All categories welcome, theatre comedy, whatever. As long as you can make it work under free fringe conditions, we’re interested. We are in a better position to help out with sound and light than a usual free fringe setup, but the less dependent you are on tech, the better.
Applying for Durham Fringe too? No problem! If you apply to both festivals with the same show, we will co-ordinate with Durham Fringe. You are also welcome to bring different shows to each festival, and we will ensure you don’t clash.
We are looking for stand-alone free fringe shows of 40-75 minutes. For shorter shows, we will look to include them in mixed bill shows, including our headline event Just off the Bailey Banter.
We will again be primarily based at the Holy GrAle, but will take on additional spaces as needed to meet demand. Not all spaces are available on all days, so the more flexible you can be, the more likely we can include you.
Durham Free Fringe is inspired by Edinburgh Free Fringe, which makes fringe performances more accessible with a simple ethos: You don’t need expensive bells and whistles for a great show: just you, a room, and an audience.
We have a "soft" deadline of March 31st. Scheduling will start after this date.
Application after this date will still be considered, but we may have fewer options for you.
We're doing things a little differently this time. Most notably:
* We are going to programming earlier.
* We will plan venues and schedules to adapt to whatever demand we have.
* Anyone applying for Durham Fringe too is welcome to apply for us.
Durham Free Fringe Programming is open
Aaaaannnnnd ...
Applications are OPEN for Durham Free Fringe.
Read all about it here:
durhamfreefringe.org.uk/wp/2026/01/1...
If this appeals to you, apply here:
durhamfreefringe.org.uk/wp/apply-to-...
Okay, it's all set.
We're going to do it.
Application form under construction.
It's coming ...
Right folks, Aadil and I had a productive meeting today to set plans for Durham Free Fringe 2026, including venues and an earlier timetable for programming.
Expect to share this with you in early January.
(And yes, we know, this isn't on the Durham Free Fringe website. Please bear with us - we will be setting that up as our proper home for Free Fringe news soon.)
We're back.
Still a long way to go for planning Durham Free Fringe 2026, but we're ready to start sharing news of our plans.
Our new decision: we want Durham Free Fringe to be an artist-run event.
For more about what this means, read here:
chrisnevillesmith.info/wp/2025/11/2...
Testing testing ... is this still working?
*Waves*
One month ago, @durhamfreefringe.bsky.social was underway.
It already feels like a lifetime ago.
Do us proud.
One week ago, @durhamfreefringe.bsky.social began.
This feels like a lifetime ago now.
A few more personal reflections of @durhamfreefringe.bsky.social on my own website, going public for the first time on just HOW stressed I've been.
chrisnevillesmith.info/wp/2025/07/2...
Well, that was fun! The very first Durham Free Fringe is complete. Thank you so much to everybody who got involved in this first year, from performers to venues to audiences. It’s been a wild ride for us this week, but we’ll be back. For the time being, we’re keeping the listings below for information. We will be expanding this website in time for programming in 2026. Right now, however, we are taking a long rest.
One final edit on the website.
The End! See you next year.
And that's a wrap. Four days and six shows later, Durham Free Fringe 2025 is done.
Thank you to everyone who took part, came to shows, offered venues or supported us in any other way. We're going to have a big rest now, before planning Durham Free Fringe 2026.
So that's the end of @durhamfreefringe.bsky.social day 3 and our last day in our main space of Holy GrAle upstairs.
We're not quite finished, a couple of days in smaller spaces still to go but after months of stress I can't believe how well this has worked.
Good to have you.
Best of luck for Dundee Fringe.
View down the river Wear from the pedestrian bridge in the centre of Durham with trees overhanging on both sides clouds reflecting on the still water and Durham Castle overlooking it
Good evening from the Wear