Fun on the fringes
Set to send waves of laughter across the city this May bank holiday weekend, the Cambridge Fringe Festival returns for another year of killer comedy
Since 2018, Cambridge Fringe has been a staple of the city’s cultural calendar, offering comedians from around the world an opportunity to perform their shows as a warmup to the Edinburgh Fringe.
After attending this event, founder of Commoners’ Comedy Club Ali Warwood and a few fellow comedy fans felt inspired to start something similar for Cambridge.
“I loved how each show was free, but you could donate at the end depending on what you thought it was worth,” she says. “In my work as a mental health nurse, I’m always dealing with people who are excluded from certain luxuries in life – like paying £40 to go and see a comedian at the Corn Exchange – so this felt like an accessible option.”
Travis Jay
As an amateur comedian herself, Ali also wanted to give a platform to other local acts. After launching the event with Dan Farmer, the festival’s ‘creative architect’, the Fringe team has expanded this year to include fellow Commoners co-promoter Harriet Wells-Martin (the logistical mind behind the operation) and marketing maestro Claire Lucas to ensure it continues to grow, drawing greater crowds and bigger names from across the comedy circuit.
This year, it promises to be a showcase of comedy in myriad genres, including stand-up, sketch shows, musical comedy, improv and family shows too.
A COMMUNITY BORN FROM COMEDY
This year marks a first in the Fringe’s history, as Commoners is joining forces with another local club, Big Deal Comedy, to stage the event. “It’s so exciting for us both to be coming together and creating a real community out of local comedy,” comments Harriet. “By joining forces for one weekend, we’re no longer competing for acts and audiences but working together under the same umbrella. We’ll go back to being rivals afterwards,” she jokes.
For Ali, Cambridge is an obvious ‘comedy city’ thanks to the appetite from its fans. “There’s a culture of comedy here. People are generally quite intelligent, they get the jokes, they’re very polite and don’t heckle maliciously. Cambridge is a dream audience to play!”
For 2024, the Fringe events will be staged in more venues than ever before, including the original pubs around Mitcham’s Corner from the event’s early days.
In addition to The Portland Arms, The Boathouse and Thirsty, you will also find the Fringe debuting at the Tivoli, Town and Gown, Cambridge Tap and Cambridge Brew House. “We’re slowly taking over the city!” says Harriet.
As the event coincides with Cambridge Beer Festival on nearby Midsummer Common, it’s sure to be a belter of a bank holiday weekend.
With a diverse line-up that’s continually evolving (at the time of writing there are in excess of 100 shows across the two days), there’s a wealth of acts to be enjoyed.
Fatiha El-Ghouri
Ali points to British-Moroccan stand-up comedian Fatiha El-Ghorri as one to watch. “She did an open spot for us several years ago for hardly any money – and now she’s on the telly all the time!”
For Harriet, Commoners favourite and Edinburgh Comedy award-winning act Jordan Brookes is bound to be a highlight. Meanwhile, Ali promises to be on standby with a repertoire of songs at the ready in case of any last-minute dropouts.
As an event fuelled by the passion of a team of volunteers – all of whom balance it alongside full-time jobs, families and responsibilities – this year, to secure numbers and as a sign of mutual respect between audiences, performers and the organisers behind it all, most events have a £5 ticket price.
This is primarily to guarantee a seat in advance, although punters will still be able to turn up to shows with free entry and pay what they feel afterwards. As a not-for-profit organisation, all proceeds then go to the acts themselves, plus the running costs of the festival.
“We’re a grassroots event that wants people to get into comedy, be social and enjoy themselves,” adds Ali. “It will be a weekend of absolute joy.”
The festival runs from 25-26 May 2024.
To check out the line-up and book tickets, visit cambridgefringe.co.uk
