Greater Manchester Fringe is back 1st-31st July 2015
The Greater Manchester Fringe Festival returns for its fourth year this July, bringing with it the chance to see some of the country's most exciting alternative comedy, drama and theatre right on our doorstep, with Salford venues playing a key role.
With artists and performers eager to take the opportunity to preview their shows in the run-up to the Edinburgh Festival, the GM Fringe already has a knack of attracting some well-known names. Phill Jupitus (6th July), once of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, returns this year along with Robin Ince (1st July, King's Arms), whose previous collaborators have included Ricky Gervais and Oldham-born stargazer Brian Cox.
More than this though, the Festival is a celebration of the local, of the no-frills attitude, and provides a perfect remedy to those left slightly weary by the banal mediocrity of evening entertainment offered up in an ever-increasing number of places throughout Salford.
With the official launch less than a week away, excitement is building for the Festival organisers, who are making a statement with this year's line-up by giving women centre-stage. Festival director Zena Barrie, who runs the Fringe with Lisa Conner and Iain Scott, says: "When you look at other festivals you often notice that women are given the daytime or teatime slots, and rarely top the bill. We are giving creative women headlining slots. This is not tokenism. It is equality. We also have working class writers and performers from the North West and around the world."
One such female headliner is a great-gran from Salford, whose play Heavy Breathing (21st and 22nd July at The Ruby Lounge) casts a satirical eye on the sordid world of the sex industry. Written and directed by Eccles-based mother of eight, Joan Breen, age 69, it offers an entertaining glimpse into the rather unknown world of the sex chat line, revealing some uncomfortable truths along the way.
Other females in the limelight this year include talented double-act Norris and Parker, who return to the King's Arms with their show receiving some rave reviews. All Our Friends Are Dead (15th-17th July) promises sixty minutes of fast-paced dark comedy full of sketches, song and satire.
Not wishing to be outdone, there are sure to be great performers from male artists. One to look out for is Chris Boyle, whose debut Cinema One-Man Geek Show offers a 'wry observational eye and plenty of big laughs' as he tries to battle frustration and ridicule while tackling the 'last great taboo of the 21st Century… going to the cinema on your own'. You can catch it alone, or with friends, at the King's Arms on 15th and 16th July.
The Festival runs throughout the month of July, with venues all over Greater Manchester. Salford venues are the King's Arms, the Eagle Inn, Salford Arts Theatre and the Lower Kersal Social Club, which played host to a gig from The Fall during the Salford Music Festival last year.
Venues for this year's GM Fringe elsewhere also include Allotment Bar, Apotheca, Castle Hotel, Dancehouse, Guide Bridge Theatre, Gullivers, Joshua Brooks, Miners Arts and Music Centre, Montpelliers, Moston Small Cinema, Nexus Art Café, Night & Day Café, Taurus Bar, The Albert Square Chop House, The Edge, Ruby Lounge, The Swan (Dobcross), The Wonder Inn, TV21, Z-arts and Ziferblat.
The full programme is available on the Greater Manchester Fringe website: www.greatermanchesterfringe.co.uk
• Over the coming weeks the Salford Star will be previewing specific nights at the Fringe
Words by Rory Mitchell
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