Wandsworth Arts Fringe Announces 2019 Programme For 10th Anniversary

Tickets are now on sale for Wandsworth Council's Wandsworth Arts Fringe (WAF), which returns in May 2019 for its tenth year of bold, boundary-testing arts and culture. WAF will be celebrating this milestone in style, with a two-and-a-half-week-long birthday party of dance performances, cutting-edge comedy, theatrical delights, circus, music, outdoor arts, and a journey down memory lane to revisit some favourite WAF moments.

As WAF approaches its teens it grows bolder, braver, more rebellious. The Fringe has become known for daring artists and audiences alike to take a walk on the wild side and test something new. With an eclectic range of arts and culture, every conceivable space both indoor and outdoor in the South London borough will buzz with activity and creative endeavour.

Like many of the best Fringe festivals, WAF started life as part of a curated festival (Wandsworth Arts Festival), with the open access element of the festival eventually evolving into something bigger and more beautiful, leaving the programmed part of the event behind.

Festival Producer Cath Mattos says:
"It's been such a delight to see the festival flourish, attracting amazing artists from the width and breadth of the UK and beyond, whilst nurturing the high quality talent we have on our doorstep. WAF's growing reputation has secured its spot in the UK festival calendar, as well as in the hearts of its audiences and participants."

Wandsworth Council's Cabinet Member for Community Services and Open Spaces, Councillor Steffi Sutters says:
"Celebrating WAF's decade-long history of rich, diverse art and culture in the area. This unique and inspiring programme of events offers something for everyone, with rip-roaring comedy, powerful theatre, a delightful family programme, and much, much more."

Punters can dance their socks off in the middle of the street with Guru Dudu's silent-disco-walking-tour hybrid; be whisked away on the journey of a lifetime via RawTransportTM's unique blend of Virtual Reality technology and theatre; and enjoy the comfort of a real-life bathroom as Isadora Vibes offers a one-on-one, intimate poetry experience like no other...

#WAF10 also boasts an impressive array of contemporary dance performances by some of the UK's leading dance schools, companies and artists, including Tavaziva and Akeim Toussaint Buck. In true WAF style, there's a whole host of accompanying free taster sessions, workshops and classes for all ages and abilities, led by the Royal Academy of Dance, F.R.E.S.H. Studios and Ballet Soul - because WAF is about more than seeing fantastic art and culture: it's about taking part, experimenting and experiencing it.

With no need to travel further than the high street, Wandsworth Arts Fringe permeates the borough at every street corner - literally coming to the audience rather than asking the audience to seek it out. As well as pop-up venues such as The Arches at St Mary's Church, tucked under Putney Bridge, and Fresh Ground in Battersea's transformation into a dance studio, there are mobile venues such as the Errant Stage, a big, red, travelling van bringing poetry to the streets of Wandsworth, and a series of pop-up performances of 'Don Giovanni' by Rogue Opera set to stun passers-by.

As always, WAF is also chock a block with fantastic family events for little ones of all ages. Kids can rehearse to the tune of 'Mary Poppins Returns' in a free workshop with Stars' Thursday Theatre Company at Tara Theatre, decorate skateboards at Kimber Skatepark for a community art exhibition, and learn all about the art of animation with professional filmmakers from Chocolate Films at Battersea Power Station.

Community-minded at heart, but always with big aspirations, WAF is a unique melting pot of creativity from both local and International Artists.
Visit wandsworthartsfringe.com to browse the full programme of over 150 events and book tickets.