Everyone who has spent even a modicum of time in the United Kingdom, especially in the summer, will have heard about the Edinburgh Festival. The much-loved event has been taking place in the Scottish city for decades, seeing artists and musicians come from all around the world as they look to make a name for themselves. Guildford isn’t a town to sit idly by and watch such a thing take place without trying to offer an event of its own, however. That is why the Guildford Fringe Festival came into being, having been founded in 2013 to showcase the area’s vibrant talent.
About the Guildford Fringe Festival
Formed in 2013, the Guildford Fringe Festival has been taking place every year since, with the only exception being when the world all but shut down because of the global health crisis. It is a multi-arts festival that has been designed to be open-access, welcoming performers and creative types from any discipline. If you have a talent that you want to show off to the rest of Guildford, the Fringe is where you’ll be able to do it. The entire point is for the Festival to embrace inclusivity, meaning that there are opportunities for everyone to get involved as either a performer or an audience member.
There is a diverse and dynamic programme of events on offer each year, ensuring that an eclectic mix of people get to take to the stage. Each year you can watch your fill of comedy, live music, children’s shows, dance, theatre and even opera, to name just a few of the different things that take place in the town. There is something on offer for everyone, regardless of your age or your taste. The Guildford Fringe has even played host to some acts either before or after they’ve gone up to Edinburgh, meaning that you don’t need to travel to Scotland to see some top-notch entertainment.
This Year’s Festival
Beginning on the fifth of September, the Guildford Fringe 2025 promises a fortnight of talent right on your doorstep. It is the largest independent arts festival in the area, so it isn’t a surprise that it’s also one of the most popular. What you will be able to see will depend largely on what it is that you want to see, given the huge number of acts that are bringing their shows to the town. From a cabaret drag night with Will Power through to an unscripted adult panto, there is no shortage of options available to you at the Fringe in 2025, with inclusivity being the watchword.
We live in a time when trans people and other members of the LGBTQ+ community are under constant attack, so the Guildford Fringe Festival is doing what it can to be a safe space. If you’d like to be an ally and show support for the community, one of the best ways of doing so is by getting along to shows such as the Drag Story Time With That Girl show or taking part in the Drag Bingo at the Fallen Angel. If you want to see something specific, then you can head onto the Festival’s website and choose from any of the following topics:
- Burlesque
- Cabaret
- Comedy
- Drag
- Exhibition
- Family Friendly
- Film
- Free Fringe
- Live Music
- Musical Theatre
- Opera
- Quiz
- Spoken Word
- Theatre
- Workshop
Where & When
In terms of where you’ll need to go in order to catch the various acts that are part of the Fringe, it will obviously depend on what it is that you’re hoping to be able to see. There are nine different venues that are predominantly being used across the course of the Festival, which are as follows:
- Clandon Wood Nature Reserve
- Guildford High Street
- Guildford Library
- Kerrera Bar
- St Marys Church
- The Britannia Pub
- The Fallen Angel Bar
- The Guildhall
- The Star Inn
The Festival gets underway on the fifth of September, lasting just over a fortnight and coming to a close on the 20th of the month. The exact date for the show that you want to see will vary from event to event, so the best thing that you can do is to have a look on the Guildford Fringe Festival’s website to work out where you should head to and when you need to make your way there. Suffice it to say, though, that there is something for almost everyone on pretty much every day of the week, so you are unlikely to be hard-pushed for something to do.
What You’ll Need to Pay
You may have noticed that one of the categories around the sorts of things that you’ll be able to see was ‘Free Fringe’. That, of course, is because not everything taking place across the Festival is free for you to attend. The exact cost of each of the various things on offer is decided upon by a combination of the act and the venue. If you want to go to the cabaret drag night with Will Power on the fifth of September at the Fallen Angel Bar, for example, then that will cost £10, whereas A Broken Man’s Guide to Fixing Others at the Star Inn on the same day is £12.
Whilst none of the things being held during the Festival will be prohibitively expensive, it’s fair to say that there will be different prices for different things. If you are particularly conscious of your budget, then you might want to check out the list of things and see which one has the right balance of what you want to see along with the cost of it. You can also enjoy the likes of Opera on the Balcony at The Guildhall and the Off the Scale Choir without having to spend a penny. Maybe doing so will give you the bug to spend some money seeing something else across the fortnight.