Interview: Velenzia Spearpoint, Co-Director of the Lambeth Fringe Festival

Hi! What can you tell us about how the Lambeth Fringe Festival started?

It all began ten years ago as the Clapham Fringe, rooted at The Bread & Roses Theatre - our home and the place that really embodies the festival’s ethos. We wanted to create a space where emerging artists could share their work without the huge financial and logistical barriers that often come with festivals. It started small, but with big ambition and a strong sense of community. We were, and still are, a festival built by artists, for artists.

Over the years that spirit has never changed, but the scale certainly has. What started with a handful of shows in one venue has grown into a borough-wide celebration of creativity, collaboration, and accessibility.

Tell us more about the festival's evolution...

This year marks our tenth anniversary and it’s our biggest festival yet, with over 200 shows across 25 venues. It’s incredible to see how far we’ve come. In 2024 we rebranded from Clapham Fringe to The Lambeth Fringe, reflecting our expansion across the whole borough. That shift opened up so many opportunities, with more spaces, more artists, and more ways for local communities to engage.

We’re particularly proud that this is the first year we’ve received support from Arts Council England, which has allowed us to partner with new venues including Club Silly, Vauxhall City Farm, Art4Space and Vaulty Towers. We’ve also introduced some exciting new initiatives like: The Lambeth Fringe Bursary with Morley College, which supports access to higher education for students who might otherwise be excluded, and The Lambeth Fringe GLITCH Awards, in partnership with VAULT Creative Arts, which give artists the chance to bring their work to The Glitch for a headline slot after the festival.

The festival has grown not just in size, but in what it stands for: a celebration of underrepresented voices, experimental work, and creative risk-taking. We want the next ten years to be about deepening those connections and continuing to break down barriers.

What’s involved in putting a festival like this together?

A lot of spreadsheets, coffee, and passion. It’s still a tiny team behind it, Rebecca Pryle and I have co-directed the festival for years, and we’ve been lucky enough to expand our team this year with Adam Laboda joining as Producer, Lauren Lucy Cook as Festival Administrator, and Naz Hoque on social media, alongside some other brilliant freelance creatives supporting different strands of the festival.

It’s been really rewarding to see ideas that lived in our heads for years take physical shape, to walk around Lambeth and see posters up, artists performing in unexpected spaces, and audiences discovering something new. The whole process is a blend of creative vision and community logistics - programming, marketing, partnerships, tech, funding - but at its heart it’s about connection.

Everything we do is rooted in the ethos of The Bread & Roses Theatre. It’s our home and our heart, a space that champions equality, diversity, and artistic quality. That same ethos runs through every part of the festival.

Which performances are you particularly looking forward to, and which would you recommend people see?

I always say there’s no single “must-see” ; it depends what you’re into. That’s the beauty of The Lambeth Fringe. You can see everything from new writing and political theatre to comedy, burlesque, drag, poetry, music, fine art, family shows, film, dance and experimental work - you name it!

A few standouts from this year’s programme include CatGPT – Feline & Ferall, the ridiculous but true story of one man bringing his cat back to life with AI; Willy Witches, a darkly funny play about survival during the witch trials; MJ Hibbet: Data and Dr Doom, a one-man musical exploring data, superheroes, and absurd logic; and The Ultimate Bubble Show, which is pure joy for all ages.

But honestly, the best advice I can give is to pick a few things that spark your curiosity and take a chance on something totally unexpected. That’s where the real fringe magic happens.

Do you have any tips for navigating The Lambeth Fringe (or any fringe festival) as a culture vulture?

Plan a little, but don’t overplan. Leave room to wander, chat, and discover. There are so many venues across Lambeth from theatres and pubs to farms, art spaces, and community venues, so it’s worth making a day (or a few days) of it.

Check out our website and social media for listings, look for pay-what-you-can events, and definitely support local, grab a drink at The Bread & Roses Pub or one of our partner venues, talk to artists, and be open to new experiences.

Fringe is about creativity at its most alive and unpredictable. It’s where you see the next generation of artists before anyone else, and this year, the energy across Lambeth is something really special.