The Great Yorkshire Fringe Comes To York This July

The hugely popular The Great Yorkshire Fringe will bring an eclectic mix of comedy, theatre, cabaret and magic shows, as well as the best food and drink the North has to offer to York for an eleven-day festival. Now in its fourth year, the festival offers a wide variety of entertainment for everybody from proud Yorkies to the curious under-tens; the magic show admirer to the jazz connoisseur. All served up with a feast of food stalls and cementing itself as one of the biggest events in York's cultural calendar, The Great Yorkshire Fringe celebrates York's recently attained title of the Sunday Times' 'Best Place To Live In The UK' 2018. The festival will put the City Centre in the spotlight as it transforms Parliament Street into a village green with the spectacular White Rose Rotunda and Turn Pot Spiegeltents, and host events at the stunning Grand Opera House and pop up venues throughout the city.

Alongside acts already announced such as Omid Djalili, Stephen K Amos, Tony Slattery and Gyles Brandreth, award-winning household names join the lineup including Monty Python founding member Michael Palin CBE who will be in conversation with comedy historian Robert Ross. Meanwhile Reginald D Hunter, whose TV appearances include BBC 2 series Reginald D Hunter's Songs of the South, will be showcasing new material with a one-off performance on Saturday 28th July at the Grand Opera House. Britain's Got Talent 2018 champion and winner of BBC New Comedy Award Lost Voice Guy takes a sideways look at inspiration internet memes with an additional date at The White Rose Rotunda announced due to popular demand. Viral sensation Rachel Parris, star of BBC's The Mash Report, is to showcase some of her best bits, from her trademark comic anthems, to her all-too relatable, bittersweet stand-up, alongside brand new material.

York's legendary Hyena Lounge Comedy Club makes a welcome return to the Great Yorkshire Fringe with four laughter-packed shows on Friday and Saturday nights featuring the cream of the UK's comedy circuit, with appearances from Gary Delaney, Justin Moorhouse and Rob Rouse. Welcoming fresh talent from up and coming comics, The Great Yorkshire Fringe once again also plays host to the Great Yorkshire Fringe New Comedian of the Year with heats taking place across the festival and culminating in the final at the White Rose Rotunda on Sunday 29th July.

For theatre goers, multi sell-out fringe phenomenon Sh*t-faced Shakespeare will be bringing their own version of Hamlet to York, served up with their signature twist of one genuinely inebriated actor. Meanwhile, festival favourites Thinking Drinkers are to take audiences on a journey from the symposiums of Ancient Greece to the classic British boozer via Wild West saloons, Victorian gin palaces and the secret Speakeasy (with five free drinks along the way).

Full of original song and plenty of audience participation, Monstersaurus is thrills, spills and mayhem for the whole family from the creators of West End smash hit Aliens Love Underpants. Also for younger audiences and their parents, Morgan & West (ITV's Next Great Magician, CBBC's The Slammer) will present a magic show mixing brain-boggling illusion and good old-fashioned tom-foolery.

Festival goers can expect world class music from the acclaimed Ronnie Scott's All Stars direct from London's world-famous jazz club, including performances from multi-award winning vocalist and BBC Radio presenter Claire Martin. The White Rose Rotunda Spiegeltent will play host to celebrations of iconic musicians from Ella Fitzgerald to saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.

Yorkshire's finest street food will be on offer including the award-winning Yorkshire pudding wraps from Yorkypud which became a social media sensation in 2017. Alongside traditional local fare, local favourites Shambles Kitchen will be returning as well as Cattle Shed, last year's winner of best Great Yorkshire Fringe concession award whilst tipples of choice will be available from a converted horse box with the Angel Share Gin Bar.

Firmly rooted in the local community, this year's festival includes Hall Together, a collaboration between composer Jon Hughes and choreographers Drew and Hannah Wintie-Hawkins performed by an intergenerational cast of people from the Tang Hall Community. Other local offerings include one of York's liveliest live nights, Say Owt, a raw melting pot of poets delivering rapid fire, heartfelt, energetic and exciting spoken word as well as performances from Yorkshire's most vibrant ukelele collective, the Grand Old Uke of York who have supported the likes of Newton Faulkner.

For four-legged friends, the hugely popular York Fringe Dog Show will be returning with prizes up for grabs for the Waggiest Tail, Prettiest Female, Most Handsome Male and Best in Show.

Festival founder and York resident Martin Witts said, "We present to our fair home city of York, the fourth special edition of The Great Yorkshire Fringe. It's bigger, brasher, cooler than ever before with over 500 performers, the best street festival of food drink and delights on this island (well we think so!) as well as two of the most beautiful 19th Century performance Spiegel palaces and our Teapot Tent creating a beating heart in the City Centre. We dare you to come....".

Full line up details can be found at www.greatyorkshirefringe.com with more shows to be announced.

Offering a sneak peek for Southerners and £1 off tickets for thrifty Yorkshire folk, The Great Yorkshire Fringe Launch Gala comes to Leicester Square Theatre on Tuesday 3rd July from 7pm to offer a stellar line up of comics with headliners Reginald D Hunter and Paul Foot as well as performances from Mitch Benn, Tony Slattery, Robert Ross, Paul Sinha, Alice Fraser, Rahul Kohli, Ben Pope, John Pendal, Craig Campbell, Harry & Chris and Charlotte Brooke. Festival favourites the Thinking Drinkers will also be taking to the stage to toast God's own county with Northern tipples from York's first gin distillery, York Gin. Tickets available from: www.leicestersquaretheatre.com

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