More than 170 acts have entered the 2015 Buxton Fringe, making it one of the biggest fringes ever in the Derbyshire spa town.
At least 60 acts are from the local area and the Fringe is “delighted” that all categories have a mix of national and international as well as local artists.
Home-grown entrants in the theatre category include Buxton's Rec Youth Theatre presenting Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Ash Girl and, for younger audiences, Grimm Tales, while Buxton-based Orange and Pip Theatre offers a dark take on Cinderella, Lilly Posnett’s Ugly.
Companies returning from further afield include all-female Shakespeare troupe Smooth Faced Gentlemen with Othello and Butterfly performing As You Like It in the unusual surroundings of Poole's Cavern.
Dance is also particularly strong, with flamenco from dotdotdot dance, Japan’s Makoto Inoue presenting Clown Macbeth and Chapel-en-le-Frith Morris Men performing Day of Dance.
Keith Savage, Buxton Fringe chair, said, “we’re delighted that so many of our acts are local. The Fringe is about promoting local and national talent, so it’s brilliant to see this in action.”
The full programme is available at the Buxton Fringe web site.