North Devon Fringe Theatre Festival

We made it happen. Not by ourselves - that was the wonderful thing - but, having been so inspired by our experience of the Canadian Fringe Festivals, it is a real joy to report that we finally brought a little of that magic home to Barnstaple, UK.

It was a comparatively tiny affair. One venue, eight companies, two performances each. Over the 3 days of the Festival we had 501 attendances. We had one professional tech with help from students. We had a volunteer force about 20 strong to man front-of-house, the cafe-bar, car-parking and so on. We had one professional box-office staff on permanent duty.

In between each show we had some of North Devon's finest musicians playing in the cafe-bar area.

The performances covered a wide range of genres from contemporary dance, to off-beat comedy by way of heavy-duty drama and even a magic act. See the website for details.

We had a wide range of audience types - ages 4 - 94 (literally) and from all walks of life.

The atmosphere was joyful but intent. People were there for the theatre but were thoroughly enjoying the vibe. North Devon College made a great job of creating an atmospheric cafe-bar with an acoustic stage for local musicians. And North Devon Theatres created a studio theatre inside the big industrial unit that houses North Devon College's Music Performance and Technology courses.

The reaction from audience members was intense and many signed up to help to grow the Fringe in the future. Already we are discussing with our partners how to develop the scale of the Fringe, building on the excitement that was generated this year.

This was a truly communal achievement by all who took part, all who made it happen and all who witnessed the event.