Camden Fringe 2023: Line up, dates and venues of north London’s alternative to Edinburgh

Can’t travel to Edinburgh for the fringe festival this year? You can still soak up some of the action closer to home at the Camden fringe.

The month-long festival kicked off this week, with over 300 shows across 24 venues across Islington.

Events include improvisations, operas, cabaret acts, sketch comedies, musicals, stand-up shows, dance performances, poetry readings, Q&A sessions and even mind illusion shows.

The Camden Fringe was started in 2006 and was set-up as an alternative to Edinburgh Festival, offering performers the chance to try out new material in a festival setting, without the time and money needed to take a show to Edinburgh.

Here’s everything to know about this year’s festival.

When is the Camden Fringe Festival on?

The Camden Fringe launched on Monday July 31 and will run till Sunday August 27.

There are events on every single day, and tickets cost somewhere between £5 and £20.

What’s on the programme this year?

Highlights of this year’s festival include a 17 year old playwright / performer Cait Roddam Jones with her debut show The Girl With The Glass Heart and the return of Opera Kipling with their version of Rossini’s La Cenerentola.

The programme also includes 20 different improvised shows in the line-up, including an ad-libbed Greek tragedy (Absurdocles) and an off the cuff zombie apocalypse (Improv the Dead).

Acclaimed stand-up Rachel Fairburn will be testing out her new show Showgirl for 3 nights at 2Northdown before heading out on a 36 date UK tour.

Camden Fringe regular Matt Green is back with a new show which has already sold out its Edinburgh and Brighton Fringe runs.

The newly opened Queer Comedy Club in Tufnell Park is a host venue for the first time, whilst old favourite Upstairs at the Gatehouse returns in their 25th anniversary year with a brand new management team after the founders recently retired.

This year the Camden Fringe has also launched its own podcast - titled the Camden Fringe Pod - which gives a look behind the curtains of the festival.

For full details of this year’s programme and how to book tickets check out the festival website.