VIDEO: Chichester Fringe 2023 unveils its line-up

Spokesman Simon O'Hea said: “If you don’t fancy travelling up to Edinburgh Fringe this year? Well, don’t worry, Chichester Fringe has a wide selection of shows. You may even get a sneak preview of a comedian's stand-up show before it hits the Edinburgh Fringe. This year’s Fringe takes place from Thursday, June 1 until Sunday, June 18. It will feature an exciting range of shows, with theatre, comedy, music, dance, musicals, variety, cabaret and other events all included.

"This year’s fringe programme includes stand-up shows at Chichester Canal Cafe from Phil Green’s Millennial Bug (June 13), Lulu Popplewell’s Actually, Actually (June 16), Matt Hutchinson (June 16) and Charlotte Cropper’s Good Girl Gone Rad (June 13). There is the return of Comedy on the Canal after a sell-out show during last year’s fringe. Chi Fringe takes over Draper’s Yard (June 7 & 14) for summer evenings of music, poetry and drama. Collaborating with the businesses in the yard, it will be a night of entertainment, food and drink! The Novium Museum makes its debut at Chichester Fringe, hosting a free event Ovid with Reverb (June 2) during Roman Week. Graylingwell Chapel will host a series of fringe shows between Friday and Sunday, June 16-18, including free performances on Saturday 17 from Simon & Enfys Horner, Indie band Electrical Fault, The Rosemary Bell Academy of Dance, Figure 23 Dance, the TADDA musical show, as well as a new children’s show The Mousehole Cat.”

Carol Webb, Fringe producer, says: “I’m excited to see how the Fringe has developed since it was founded two years ago. We received a fantastic response from a variety of performers applying to take part, and as a result we’ve got an exciting programme of live shows. I can’t wait for everyone to enjoy these performances! Something new for 2023 is our Fringe in a day events. Buy a £15 day pass for a day of theatre at Chichester City Arts Centre and 104 The Hornet, to access all the shows on that day. These events take place on Thursday, June 1 and Saturday, June 10. Find full schedules on our website. And if that isn’t enough, another first, we are hosting The Chichester Fringe New Comedy Act of the Year Competition. Epic Comedy is proudly collaborating with Chichester Fringe to provide an excellent opportunity for new comedy acts. 20 comedians from Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey will be competing to become Chichester Fringe's New Act of the Year! The competition will be run over two heats (on June 7 and 8) and one grand final (14 June), with the winner performing on the pro Chichester Fringe show on June 15, alongside some of the top names on the UK comedy circuit.”

Paul Cox, of Epic Comedy, said: “Epic Comedy is very excited to collaborate with Chichester Fringe! Founded in 2021, with the sole intention of bringing the most epic comedy shows to local communities, we now have eight venues across West Sussex, Hampshire and Dorset. At the heart of everything we do is community, so this is a very exciting partnership for us!” www.chichesterfringe.co.uk