Scarborough Fringe
13 June – 22 June 2025
Scarborough Fringe
13 June – 22 June
Creativity of all kinds
Scarborough Fringe includes comedy, music, dance, theatre, spoken word, workshops and family shows – so there really is something for everyone. This year we are pleased to begin a new partnership with the Milan and Catania Fringe festivals, as well as offering the inaugural Chris Mellor Award for Excellence in New Writing, in fond memory of a former colleague and friend of the Fringe. We also welcome back journalists from The Telegraph, presenting a live recording of the world’s most listened to, and award-winning, podcast covering the war in Ukraine.
Cabaret & Circus
- Switching the Spotlight: A Gender Swapped Cabaret
- Under The Leaves
Children & Young People
- A Puppet Zoo Adventure!
- Benny Shakes: Slugageddon!
- Comics Vs Kids
- Enchanted Story Trails
- Jeddy Bear & Gary Save The World
- Lucy Wizpop and the Bedtime Monster
Comedy
- Absolutely Reliable! Solo Mask Show
- Big Quiffy Bingo
- Disabled Cants
- Graeme Rayner: Dadology
- Graeme Rayner: KrowdWerk
- Haus of Games: Totally 1980s Summer Prom
- It’s Not Cleudo
- It Just So Happened: An Alternative History Show
- Richard Pulsford: The Short Joke Teller Returns
- Scarborough FAIRly Funny
- Scarborough Fringe Comedy Gala
- Selena Mersey: Bisexuelle
- Sh*t Lawyer 2025
- Yorkshire Dad, Immigrant Mum
Dance
- Dance Together
- The Final Toast – Taster
- Twisted & Illegally Blind Double Bill
- Twisted & Sorry for your Loss
- WATCHING, Ceci n’est pas de Deux
Events
- Putin’s Folly: The War in Ukraine Three Years On
Literature & Spoken Word
- Balcony Performances
- Barnacled Anchor Tales
- Doctor Coppelius
- Going to tell you a little story about the Battle of Flamborough Head
- Poetry Live at the SJT!
- Poetry Open House Special
- Voices Unleashed
Music
- Illegally Blind
- Live at The Crescent Lounge, Alistair James
- Live at The Crescent Lounge, The Northern Riots
- The Lounge
- Musical Serenade
- Music Dude
- Music Excursion
- North Soul Night
- Open Mic Night
- Opera for the People
- Organ Concert for a Summer’s Evening
- The Pine Hill Haints
- Sam Jewison in Concert
- Scarborough Jazz
- Steamin’
- Sunday Acoustic Sessions, Mark Stanley
- Sunday Acoustic Sessions, Charlie Swainston
Theatre
- A Ballad of a Very Sad Story
- The Ballad of Blea Wyke
- Battleground
- Bunny
- Esther’s Revenge
- Feral
- From Broadway to Birdland, with Rhythm and Shoes
- Hannah – The Soldier Diaries
- The Impossible Guy
- Inside
- Jumpers for Goalposts
- The Last Orders
- Live and Let Fry
- Material Boy
- Much Ado About Nothing 1917
- Open Stage Night
- Pat Douthwaite: Alive and Kicking
- Paul Richards: There’s a Band Playing at the Social Club Tonight
- Ruth Abokoku: A Rehearsed Reading
- Secrets of Scarborough
- Strelitzia – Deconstructed
- Tony Howes: Shakespearean Music Hall Autobiographical Stories
- Unspoken Voices
Visual Arts
- Foxy
- Mobile Pawtraits
Workshops
- Acting and Creating a Character
- Aztec Mask Making Workshops
- Beginner Tap Dancing for Adults
- Creative Catch Up
- Drawing with a Difference
- Neon Verses: A Queer Poetry and Journal Journey
- Photography Walk around South Bay
- TikTok Poetry Workshop
- Writing a play with Kat Rose-Martin
Scarborough Fringe 2024
To get a real feel for the festival, take a look at this video from last year.
ABOUT SCARBOROUGH FRINGE
Scarborough Fringe will feature theatre, music, comedy, spoken word, children’s shows, and a variety of other events and performances. Running between Friday 13 June and Sunday 22 June 2025, it is just the second Fringe to ever take place in Scarborough.
Some events will be free, and others will be ticketed. They could take place in traditional arts venues or more unconventional settings such as pubs, hotels, the indoor market or even the Central Tramway. The Fringe will take over Scarborough for 10 days and will have something for everyone – from residents and families to students and tourists alike.
With a diverse range of performances, exhibitions, and events, you are sure to find something to enjoy. Don’t miss out on this vibrant and dynamic celebration of the arts that will leave you inspired, entertained, and uplifted. Whether you’re a seasoned culture lover or a curious newcomer, this festival promises an unforgettable experience that will stay with you long after the final curtain falls.
Keep an eye out for the 2025 schedule soon!
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Scarborough Fringe has something for everyone, including families with youngsters. Kathy Seabrook will be staging Art Tunes with visual artist Petra Ingham encouraging children to make music and art in response to it. The Dinosaur Beach is an interactive story for under 5’s. SESKA, who has performed around the world, brings his comedy magic show SESKA: DON’T WEE YOUR PANTS to town and YMCA Yorkshire Coast’s Musical Theatre School debut the Y-Perform Summer Show Case.
COMEDY
A diverse set of comedy acts are bringing their shows to Scarborough Fringe. Go on an adventure through time and space with Any Suggestions, Doctor? The Improvised Doctor Who Parody. Dan Driver shares the soundtrack of his life in Dan Driver: The Sound of Musak. Those who enjoy a murder mystery should seek out It’s Not Cluedo – a nonsensical parody of the great board game. KIZZA: BIGFUNKY-MAGICMAN is a comedy magic show for grown-ups which won Best Act at the Bucharest Comedy Festival.
The Queen, Shakespeare and Me is an affectionate musical comedy tribute. In Jen Strike: Strike by name, the comic takes us on a tour of a northern childhood amidst the backdrop of The Miner’s Strike. Leicester Comedy Festival 2023 nominee Stanley Brooks will be performing his show Stanley Brooks: I Can Make Me Rich. Hollie Noble unveils Janifesto, honouring a powerhouse Mother who defied social norms with empowerment, resilience, and the unconventional. A Fine Line (Work in Progress).
DANCE
The Brave Project will bring their show BOUNCE which aims to make physical expression and dance accessible to boys in Scarborough. WATCHING, Ceci n’est pas de Deux by Ester Natzijl Projects is a solo-duet of puppetry, theatre and dance which has received international acclaim and been performed worldwide.
EVENTS
Daniel Parker-Parker will host Open Mic, and showcase local musical talent. Join the Telegraph’s most listened-to podcast Ukraine: The Latest – LIVE to analyse the conflict and lessons western militaries can learn. Enter the world of two caterpillar men in Waiting (optimistically). At the Whiskyside Festival: The English Spirits Showcase you can step into a world of exquisite flavours celebrating the best of English spirits.
LITERATURE & SPOKEN WORD
Adrian Riley brings Junk Haiku, a daily visual poem which is part performance art and part exhibition. Tales in the Key of Terror: Spooky Storytelling Performance is an immersive readers theatre performance of two spine-chilling horror stories by author C.J.Carter-Stephenson.
MUSIC
Musicians and composers will be sharing their musical talents in venues across the town. From acoustic sets, tea parties and folk music to a live lounge at Scarborough’s newest recording studio. There are big tribute gigs to pop legends Queen and Elton John as well as a celebration of soung and dance from South Africa. In one show Opera is turned on its head whist elsewhere Latin music takes focus. Both international and local talent will be on show during these must-see performances.
THEATRE
Exciting theatre productions will be staged all over town throughout the Fringe. Capture the Flag! is a talen of fun, friendship and grief. CheapArt bring their show Deck The Stalls, a dark comedy set at a Christmas party. Fresh from Off-Broadway in New York, Esther’s Revenge is an award-winning retelling of the story of Esther Ada Johnson. Sea Wall tells the story of a man cominf to terms with his new reality. CU Scarborugh will bring together new talent from across the region for the first time with Speak Out! Whilst Rachel Fearnehough will take you on a comic and quizzical journey through tough times in Thank you for the Music. The true story of the Guglielmites in 13th century Italy is told in the dark comedy solo-show The Popess: Instructions for Freedom.
TOURS
Scarborough’s Siren Distillers was founded in 2023 but is already causing quite a stir. Join the creators of the two rums produced so far at Siren Rum – Meet the Makers and Tasting to give the product a try for yourself at this free event.
WORKSHOPS
The Sub Rosa collective invite you into their creative process as they develop an immersive installation to the sound of the finest DJs at Secret Sub Rosa. If you want to learn a refreshing approach to performance with this Stanlislavski-inspired technique then Acting and Creating a Character could be for you.
