Our 2026 line-up! See what's on at Chichester Fringe

chichesterfringe
4 days ago
5 min read

Learn more about what you can see at Chichester Fringe this year! 🥳

See what's on

Left to right: Oving Folk , SammyG, Kate-Lois Elliot: TRAD and James Lanigan all join the 2026 line-up.

See the full line up on our What's On page

When is Chichester Fringe 2026?

30 May - 14 June 2026 - hosted at venues in the heart of Chichester.

What's happening?

Get ready! Chichester Fringe returns for 2026 bringing two weeks of incredible entertainment to the city.

This year’s programme features an exciting mix of music, theatre, comedy, and — for the first time ever — a brand-new Street Performance Festival in the city centre!

Andrew Bailey, newly appointed Chichester Fringe Director, says, “It’s so exciting to join the Fringe’s brilliant volunteers as we connect with new venues, new performers, and our biggest slate of shows yet.”

Head to the Chichester Fringe website for tickets, for further information and to be kept updated.

Comedy

Comedians from all over the country bring their shows, including Phil Green (3 June), Kate Lois-Elliott (5 June), Abbie Edwards (5 June), Mark Daniels (10 June), Milo Edwards (10 June), Neil Sinclair (11 June), Andrew White (11 June) plus a brand new comedy night at Ghost at The Feast (12 June).

And don’t miss last year’s winner Piran Armes, who brings his WIP show to the New Part Centre Studio on 10 June.

Left to right: Blessed x Kizz, Belle Street Productions, Rodney Beckford and Abbie Edwards

Genres of Sketch, Improv, Cabaret and Interactive Comedy also join the line-up; direct from Edinburgh Fringe, there’s ‘Sketch Show Bingo!’ (11 June) and ‘Closure Cabaret’ (11 June). The sell-out 2025 show ‘A Room Full of Idiots’ (13 June) returns to the 2026 line up, plus you can experience an improvised undead apocalypse movie with ‘Improv the Dead’ (30 May) or join connoisseur of the creepy Billy Bones for a whistle-stop tour of Every Ghost Story Ever told: is this show supposed to be serious or funny? (30 May).

British-Iranian comic and singer Hajar J. Woodland weaves standup with musical comedy to explore what it means to find love and your voice when you’re caught between two worlds in ‘Hajar, Like Badger (WIP)’ (9 June) and Aidan Jones presents Chopin's Nocturne in Eb Major ‘with jokes by a bald, Australian with a beard!’ (7 June).

Find out more

Theatre

From musical theatre to drama, be swept away by the talent on stage this year.

We open this year’s Fringe (30 May) at brand new venue, The Nest (Chichester Festival Theatre), with ‘Best Wishes, Kind Regards’ and ‘A Criminal Melody’, simultaneously down the road at One-O-Four, The Hornet; multiple plays and musicals are being staged throughout the day starting at 2pm with ‘Living The Dream - A Bus Driver’s Lament’.

Best Kids’ Show nominee (UK Kids’ Comedy Festival) ‘Slugageddon!’ (7 June) is one of the wonderful children’s theatre offerings for 2026. Other shows include ‘The Smallest Sardine of the Seven Seas’ (7 June) , ‘Where did Bailey’s Bark Go?’ (6 June) and ‘The Magic Crayon’ (13 June)

Local playwright and spoken word artist Olivia Coppin brings her brand new production ‘Just to Say!’ to The Nest (11 June), a silly little show, with a big heart. A work of poetic storytelling and an uplifting, love letter to language.

The final Saturday of the fringe (13 June) sees a full day of theatre with ‘Darwin’s Cleaner’, ‘The Diary of John Marsh’ and concludes with ‘Tapestry’, which interlaces six compelling short plays into a vivid patchwork of drama, humour, and intrigue.

Image: Dead Doves and Lemons OR Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Fan Fiction (but were too afraid to ask)

Music

For music lovers, Laura Page returns to JAM Cafe (5 June), Driftwood Troubadours present its unique songs each with projected backdrop images (5 June) and for the first time Chichester Fringe hosts a music night at The Ghost at the Feast, MC’d by Sammy G and featuring James Laingan and David Robinson (4 June).

Oving Folk also return to the fringe, performing at The Nest on 6 June and 18-year old singer song writer Oli Patient takes to the stage at Chichester Canal Cafe (31 May).

Image: Oli Patient

See all our events

New Street Performance Festival | 07 June

For the first time, Chichester will be host to an international array of world-class professional street performers, from 11 am to 5 pm on Sunday 7th June. The city centre will be transformed into a playground for the imagination!

IMAGE: Jon Hicks

Performer and organiser Harvey Stinton says: “The Chichester Fringe Street Performance Festival brings a spectacular celebration of street theatre, outdoor arts, and community spirit together with a vibrant mix of national and international acts that will transform the city streets into a playground of joy, laughter, and surprise, a spectacle that brings moments of magic, mayhem, and memorable performances through the jam-packed day.”

This event has been made possible as the result of the support of Chichester BID. The fringe is on the lookout for further partners and sponsors. “Chichester BID is delighted to support the Street Performance Festival as part of this year’s Chichester Fringe. Bringing high calibre live performance to the city centre adds energy, atmosphere and moments of surprise to a weekend in the city. This kind of activity keeps Chichester vibrant and distinctive - a world away from out-of-town shopping centres.” - Natasha McLeod, CEO of Chichester BID.

2026 Commissioning Grant Winners

This year, we are thrilled to be able to support another two companies, with the return of our Commissioning Grant, which is kindly supported by Chichester City Council. The grant is for those who need additional financial support in order to develop their performance, including helping to secure rehearsal space, props or costume. This year’s winners are theatrical company The Audition Room and Chichester University graduate Tom Pagett.

Tom said, “I'm DELIGHTED to be bringing ‘735’ back to Chichester for the Fringe this year, having made the original version at the university. It was an amazing surprise to have received the Commissioning Grant, and it has been a massive help in putting the show together. I can't thank the team behind Chichester Fringe enough for their support, and I can't wait to see everyone on June 4th in The Nest!”

Summer Tewkesbury and Fillipe Ribeiro from The Audition Room said, “We’re so grateful to the Fringe team for their support and for believing in our improv show. This opportunity will make a huge difference as we continue developing ‘Who Wrote This?’, and we’re really excited about the potential to grow it beyond the Fringe. Rehearsals are already underway, and we can’t wait for our brilliant cast to show you what they’ve got this coming June!”

The fringe has awarded them £250 each to help bring their work to life, as well as a place to debut their work in the Chichester Fringe 2026 programme. Audiences can watch both shows at The Nest on 4 June.

The Chichester Fringe New Act of the Year (CNFA) competition was launched in 2023, after both the Epic Comedy team and Chichester Fringe wanted to create an opportunity for new talent to showcase their abilities in a supportive and friendly environment.

Paul Cox from Epic Comedy said, “Each year, the competition has grown, with over 100 comedians applying for the chance to be one of just ten finalists stepping onto the stage, all hoping to be crowned the 2026 winner. Previous winners have gone on to perform at professional Epic Comedy shows and are now active on the comedy circuit.”

This year the heats will be held at La Havana and the final is extra special as it will be held at Chichester Festival Theatre's excellent new venue, The Nest (Heats on 2 and 4 June, and Final on 9 June).

See all our events