Perform at Durham Fringe

Applications to perform at Durham Fringe Festival are currently closed.

We are currently reviewing plans for our 2026 event. On this page, you can read about our performer selection process and sign up to a mailing list if you're interested in hearing from us when applications open.

How does Durham Fringe work?

Durham Fringe Festival takes place in the beautiful and historic City of Durham (a World Heritage site), in the North East of England. In 2025, we celebrated our fifth year!

We’re an open, curated festival and welcome applications from anywhere and anybody - we love stand-up, comedy, theatre, dance, musicals, children’s shows, spoken word, circus, magic, music and mime! Indeed pretty much any “performing art”. When applications open, shows will be voted on by our diverse Jury of over 20 individuals and then acts are chosen based on the average score awarded by the Jury.

We, the festival, take a central coordinating role. We both select and run the venues and set ticket prices. Performers take home 70% of the net ticket price, after we’ve accounted for fees we pay on Box Office.

There’s no commitment to perform with us when you apply, and we don’t charge you any fees at any point in the process; not to apply, or to be in our programme, or for the use of our venues. If you subsequently accept an offer from us then we will ask you to sign a contract, and pay a deposit (usually £100), which is refunded in full provided you give the performances you have agreed to.

Who Can Apply?

Literally anyone. Whether you have a long history of performing or want to give performance a go for the first time we are keen to hear from you. We have hosted international performers visiting the UK for the first time, local acts, regional acts on their way up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, student troupes, community groups, singers, poets, plays, musicals, dancers, acrobats, princes, pirates, and all in between.

Where appropriate, we are keen to source works outside of the traditional application process, created by those in marginalised communities; to ensure The Durham Fringe Festival is relevant to all, and to promote a diverse and inclusive festival of arts.

How do I apply?

Applications are currently closed. We will reopen applications at sometime around December 2025/January 2026. Our application process is comprehensive and we ask for all the information we need to review your application and to schedule your performances.

All applications to take part are made through a third party, Eventotron, who manage applications for us. You will need an Eventotron account to apply to perform at the Durham Fringe Festival.

Once you have an account, you can fill out our application form; or you can head to “Festivals & Seasons” -> “All Festivals & Seasons” and search for us there.

Information on our venues can be found here.