IT’S ALMOST TIME FOR DURHAM FRINGE 2026

OUR SIXTH FESTIVAL RETURNS 29 JULY – 2 AUGUST WITH 140+ SHOWS ACROSS 11 VENUES

VOLUNTEER IN 2026

THE ACADEMY

TICKET INFO

Harriet Kemsley: Work In Progress

Presented as part of Durham Fringe Festival, in collaboration with Gala Durham 

Following her eye-opening appearance on the first series of Last One Laughing UK, multi-award winning stand-up comedian Harriet Kemsley tries out new material in this work in progress show. As seen and heard on Live at the Apollo, Would I Lie to You?, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and co-host of the wildly successful Single Ladies In Your Area podcast, Harriet has been described by Time Out as ‘a very funny rising star’ and as one of Rhod Gilbert’s ‘Ten Comics to See’ in the Mail on Sunday.

Age restriction: 14+

Tickets: £15* (Available via Gala Durham website)

*Tickets to Harriet Kemsley’s show are not part of our Discover Durham Fringe ticket bundle deal

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IT'S TIME FOR THE ACADEMY TO LAUNCH 🚀 📅 Thursday 9 July 2026 7pm 🫶 Everyone welcome, whether you're a fringe-fanatic, curious about what we're up to, or you just fancy a fun night out with your friends! Behind the scenes, we've been converting a retail space at @princebishops into a 70-capacity theatre space, cafe-bar and rehearsal space. It's finally time to swing open our doors! The Academy is one of the venues participating in Durham Fringe 2026 (29 July - 2 August), however the venue will remain our home over the next year! We will be bringing more Durham Fringe Presents events and working with various partners to deliver even more performing arts to Durham. What's more, The Academy is not just a venue. It's a space we want to share with anyone who's interesting in learning, making, and thriving in our industry. JOIN US AT OUR LAUNCH 🙌 Book FREE tickets to our official launch party where you'll get to see a lineup of incredible live performances -- music, magic, comedy and more! Find the link in our bio and grab your tickets before they go! The Durham Fringe Academy project is supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
Tickle your funny bone at this year's Durham Fringe 🕺 We've got a crazy-good line up of stand-up comedy AND comedy theatre taking over Durham, between 29 July - 2 August. Brand new acts, established touring comics, and big names. Oh, and none of the shows will set you back more than £15. 🤯 GET YOUR TICKETS BOOOOOOKED ➡ durhamfringe.co.uk/events PS. There are just a handful of tickets left for Harriet Kemsley's show, presented as part of Durham Fringe in collaboration with @gala_durham Grab those last few tickets via the Gala website. All other Fringe tickets available only via durhamfringe.co.uk 📸 Lead photo by @johnlyons99 shows @kelly.rickard_123 who'll be back with a show this year! 🙌
If your Durham Fringe is shaping up to be a family affair, we've got you covered. A whopping 59 shows at this year's festival are suitable for the whole family! If you're looking for a show specifically created for kids, here are the six you want to explore 👇 Fossil Fury Humdinger Words for Whippersnappers and Guttersnipes Jeddy Bear & Gary's Pie Wars The Beauty is a Beast The Magic Sweet Jar The best ever cartoon draw along in the world ever As always, find full listings for each show on our website ➡ durhamfringe.co.uk/events
We built a theatre in a day 💪✅ Last week we hosted our first Durham Fringe Academy workshop. What better way to start than to build our venue!? We had a big group of people made up of previous volunteers, new faces, and students from Durham School. We covered safe working practices and built staging, raked seating, truss, and much more! We started the day with a totally blank room and ended with a proper black box theatre! We are getting closer and closer to The Academy's official opening day... Thank you to all our workshop participants and @thecdbgroup for leading the session. This workshop was made possible with support from Arts Council England. Thanks also to our venue sponsors @emgsolicitors
The beauty of Fringe is you never know exactly what you're in for. It's all about genre-bending and experimentation 🌟 Comedy in the form of song. A classical music concert that is actually an immersive play. There's more to it than a genre category... Take a chance. Fill your day with creativity. Remember, our shows cost between £5-£15, and you get an automatic 10% off when you book to see any three different shows! Head to our website to book your tickets ➡️ durhamfringe.co.uk/events 📸 @johnlyons99
We offer a stage to people from our region, across the UK, and even to those hailing from around the world. Did you know that we carefully time Durham Fringe to take place in the week prior to Edinburgh Fringe? As a much bigger and more established event, Edinburgh draws acts from across the world. We're just a short train ride away, making it viable for productions big and small to tag an extra week onto their time in the UK and drop into Durham. Whether it originates from Crook or California, Tow Law or Taiwan, find incredible talent at Durham Fringe this summer. Explore the programme and get your tickets booked at durhamfringe.co.uk/events 📸 Photos by @richardeyers.photography and @johnlyons99
Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has already signed up to volunteer at Durham Fringe 2026. We are blown away by this year's response. With our festival growing again this year, we are grateful to have your support. In return, we promise you a week of laughs, smiles, and plenty of incredible shows! Do you fancy getting involved as a general steward or technician? There's still time to register. Find all the details via our website ➡ durhamfringe.co.uk/volunteer DURHAM FRINGE RETURNS: Wednesday 29 July - Sunday 2 August 🎉 📸 Big shout out to @richardeyers.photography for capturing these photos
It's time to sound our very first Durham Fringe Academy workshop klaxon! Are you an aspiring Technician, interested in pursuing a career that helps bring amazing shows to the stage? Fancy being part of a team that builds an entire performance space -- from scratch -- in just one day? You'll get to work with @thecdbgroup and Durham Fringe delivery team, learning how to create a space ready for high-quality performance and picking up practical skills from professionals in the industry. Find out more & register: linktr.ee/durhamfringe The Durham Fringe Academy is supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
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