Entries open for CT Fringe

ENTRIES opened yesterday for the popular Cape Town Fringe Festival, which will be back in September.

Production proposals from artists are being welcomed for the fest, which is organised by the same team that puts together the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown every year.

The organisers are promising a longer festival, with the 2016 Cape Town Fringe Festival running for a bumper 17 days – from Thursday September 22 to Saturday October 8 – and offering an eclectic mix of theatre, comedy, music and magic.

“We’re helping to grow a new generation of theatregoer,” Cape Town Fringe chief executive Tony Lankester said.

“By making the Fringe six days longer than last year, the programme will extend into the school holidays, giving pupils and their families a chance to participate fully in one of the freshest cultural events of the year.

“Fringe festivals are ‘shorts and T-shirt’ events, changing the perception that theatres are formal, stuffy spaces. They bring a new energy to their host cities – and the Cape Town Fringe is no exception,” Lankester said.

Cape Town’s City Hall will be reincarnated as the home and heart of the Fringe, complete with pop-up restaurant and bar.

As part of the call for proposals, Lankester named former artistic director of the Amsterdam Fringe Festival and Capebased director and producer Rob Murray as this year’s guest artistic director. He replaces Ismail Mahomed, whose resignation from the National Arts Festival was announced recently.

“Around the world, Fringe festivals showcase work that is bold and provocative as well as popular and accessible,” Lankester said.

“Rob brings an artistic sensibility that not just matches that boldness, but urges theatre makers and audiences to get out of their comfort zones.”

Artists from across the country are invited to submit proposals for consideration as part of the programme.

The application form and guidelines are available at