05/11/2025
Faversham Fringe Announcement: The Field (Me) Needs a Year Off
The ninth Faversham Fringe was another successful festival, with 1,709 seats filled and multiple sold-out shows. And now the dust has settled, it’s time for some thanks.
Thank you to my tiny but mighty volunteer crew, the brilliant teams at The Alexander Centre and the Arden, and to my family (Christophe and Vexi), who spent October doing everything from front of house to tech support to catering (feeding the festival director). Special thanks to Kim Robichaud for listing the shows on the various websites and stepping in to help at the last moment on more than one occasion.
Now, if Glastonbury can let its fields rest, so can I. Except in this case, the field is not a picturesque corner of Somerset. It is me. I am the field.
After nine years of running this festival mostly alone — planning, admin, marketing, tech, finance, spreadsheets, standing behind a market stall every weekend, meeting performers, liaising with venues, absorbing complaints (very few this year!), and doing it all without funding, and while working a day job — this metaphorical field is very much depleted.
There will be no Faversham Fringe in 2026. I plan to return in 2027, once I have replenished my nutrients and fixed some nitrogen (OK, maybe I’ve gone too far with the field analogy).
In the meantime, please:
• Support local artists and venues
• Buy tickets in advance
• Volunteer if you can
• Tell people that Faversham Fringe existed and what you enjoyed about it
Thank you for nine wonderful years. You’ve been excellent. I’m off for a lie-down and some legumes.
— Ribs
Festival Director and Human Fallow Field
