Greater Manchester Fringe is back for its seventh year 1-31 July –  and there is just one month left to register to get in this year’s glossy brochure.

Stand up, sketch shows, clowning, new plays, revivals, dance, visual arts, magic, bands, orchestras, club nights, choirs, children’s shows, poetry – you name it, there’s room for it at this grass roots arts festival held at 29 venues in Greater Manchester.

New venues for 2018 include Footlights in Media City; Limelight in Old Trafford; The Twisted Wheel Club on Princess Street; Plant Noma on Dantzic Street; Ramsbottom Civic Hall; Touchstones in Rochdale; Underdog on New Wakefield Street and The Way Theatre in Victoria Mill, Atherton.

Other venues include 53two, Castle Hotel, Crown & Kettle, Eagle Inn, Guide Bridge Theatre, Gullivers, International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Jimmys, King’s Arms, Leaf, Bury Met, Portico Library, Salford Arts Theatre, Tribeca, Twenty Twenty Two and Z-Arts.

Festival director Zena Barrie said: “If you’re a poet, a performance artist, in a rock band, a magician, a mime artist, a DJ a singer a comedian an actor, a playwright whatever it is you do, we want to hear from you, and help you get your event up and running for our festival in July.

“Greater Manchester if full of amazing venues and wonderful talents, we help to bring it all together and make it accessible for everyone.

“Some venues will have many shows taking place throughout the day, morning, afternoon, evening and late night. Day time shows can work really well so don’t dismiss the idea out of hand if you get offered an afternoon slot!

“The length of run is up to you and what you feel will work best for you and your audience. You can decide this with your venue. Most people go for between one and six performances.

“We try hard to find a suitable slot for everyone in the Greater Manchester Fringe however if you’re struggling to find the right venue for you, then you are welcome to find your own space in Greater Manchester.

“The deadline for getting in the printed brochure is Saturday 31 March. Late applications will be accepted but you may find that most slots have already been taken and you won’t be printed in the brochure… Though this isn’t the end of the world if you do apply to us late because you still be listed online.”

Award-winning

Shows that were performed at Greater Manchester Fringe 2017 have received FIVE nominations for prestigious Manchester Theatre Awards.

Rosie Fleeshman has been nominated for TWO awards for her one-woman play Narcissist in the Mirror – Performance in a Fringe Production and the award for New Play, after it was performed at the King’s Arms in Salford.

Alexandra Maxwell has also been nominated in the Performance in a Fringe Production category for The Loves of Others at 53two.

The Marriage of Kim K, an operatic musical with live band at 53two, has been nominated for the Best Fringe Production award.

Written by Manchester-based composers Leo Mercer and Stephen Hyde, it mashed together a couple’s argument over whether to watch Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro or reality TV shows like Keeping up With the Kardashians – with flashbacks to Kim’s failed marriage to Kris Humphries.

In that category they are up against Bad Advice written by Eli Karen and produced by Bear Trap Productions at TwentyTwentyTwo.

The winners will be announced in a star-studded ceremony at The Lowry’s Quays Theatre on Friday 9 March 2018 – hosted by actor, comedian and GMFringe patron Justin Moorhouse.

For more details of how to apply for Greater Manchester Fringe 1-31 July 2018 visit greatermanchesterfringe.co.uk.

The photographs below are from previous years.

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