Brighton Festival Fringe - Venues

Venues

A venue for Brighton Fringe can be anything; from a large concert hall or theatre to a private house, a park, or in the case of the 2011 Fringe, a bath. One notable feature of the Brighton Festival is the concept of the Artists Open House, an opportunity for artists to turn their residential homes into exhibition space.

In recent years, Brighton has found that with the increasing success of the Fringe, it has attracted some of the large outdoor venues down from the Edinburgh Fringe. The Spiegeltent first came to Brighton in 2004, and set up on the Old Steine as a venue for large events, including the cabaret La Clique and the Latest Festival Awards. In 2007, the Fringe featured The udderBELLY, a 400 capacity tent in the shape of an overturned purple cow, with shows such as The Caesar Twins. Other regular large outdoor structures include The Ladyboys of Bangkok in the Thai Pavilion, and the arrival of Cirque Surreal in 2007, replacing the Chinese State Circus. The 2008 Fringe featured four outdoor venues; the udderBELLY, the Parlure Spiegeltent, the Lady Boys of Bangkok and the Chinese State Circus. One of the most spectacular acts has to be from alienZoo and their show 'Infinity'.

There were over 180 venues in the 2011 Fringe. Other notable venues of the Fringe are Upstairs at Three and Ten, a theatre run by the team from the award-winning Marlborough Theatre, The Nightingale Theatre, The New Venture Theatre and Komedia.

With the increase of large high-profile venues, some commentators have suggested that Brighton Fringe may be reaching a similar profile as the Edinburgh Fringe.