Published: 30/04/2019
By Allan Fuller
Tickets are now on sale for the fringe event which returns in May 2019
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, and a journey down memory lane to revisit some favourite WAF moments.
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.
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.
This year, you can dance like no one’s watching 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 Isadora Vibes invites you into a real-life bathroom, for a one-on-one, intimate poetry performance 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 and Ballet Soul – because WAF is about more than seeing fantastic art and culture: it’s about having a go yourself!
In fact, in a lot of cases, you don’t even need to travel further than your high street for a taste of what the Fringe has to offer – WAF comes to you! 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. Get excited about this phenomenal festival happening just around the corner – and book your tickets now!