Every August, The Camden Fringe provides an alternative to The Edinburgh Fringe. Based in London, Camden Fringe is an opportunity for artists to showcase work at every stage of development. From rehearsed readings all the way through to complete productions, The Camden Fringe is a fantastically diverse and exciting alternative to Edinburgh Fringe.
We’ve compiled a list of some fantastic shows featuring OSD Graduates that are all must watch events.
OSD at The Camden Fringe 2025
Miss
Starring 2023 One Year Graduate James Coward.
Show Bio – “Miss is starting to find white hairs at 25. Miss wants you to know that teenagers are mostly decent people, it’s the adults who are tossers. Above all, Miss is sick of being called ‘Miss’.
Giving us a glimpse into what teachers want to say but never could, ‘MISS’ follows a day in the life of a secondary school English teacher. From her 8am Weetabix to her 3pm breakdown and everything in between, ‘MISS’ blends character comedy with narrative storytelling to draw attention to the joy, heartbreak and humanity of a profession in crisis.”
When – 7pm, 7th, 8th and 9th August
Where – Lion & Unicorn Theatre
Booking Link – https://camdenfringe.com/events/blood-bath/
Far Away
Starring 2021 One Year Graduate Lorna Dale.
Show Bio – “Joan can’t sleep. She hears screaming outside. Her auntie Harper says it’s an owl, but she’s not sure. She thought she saw her uncle in the distance, wielding an iron bar.
Years later, and the screaming hasn’t stopped. The whole world is at war; the animals and birds too. They say the crocodiles are always in the wrong, that deer terrorise shopping malls, and that all the wasps have to go.
But the deer have been with Joan and Harper for weeks, their goodness shining through their soft brown eyes. So what then is the truth?
Performed in one of London’s most exciting new spaces Ambika P3, this new site-specific production promises an immersive and intimate experience that brings new life to “the most significant play of this millennium” (Simon Stephens).
25 years since its debut at the Royal Court, this unique revival of Caryl Churchill’s masterful surrealist play is not to be missed.”
When – 7:30pm, 5th-23rd August
Where – Ambika P3
Booking Link – https://camdenfringe.com/events/far-away/
Wilt
Starring 2022 Foundation Course Graduate India Erlam.
Show Bio – “‘WILT’ is a beautiful and ugly story of grief in all its wholeness and is an ode to anyone who has been told that ‘it will all get better’ when that feels impossible.
Nadia and Elliott are returning home after the funeral of Nadia’s father. The pair don’t know how to cope with the loss and so we watch their relationship go through the five stages of grief. They uncover each other’s secrets and wrongdoing’s as we learn that Nadia may be losing her father a second time…”
When – 7pm, 18th-19th August
Where – Bridewell Theatre
Booking Link – https://camdenfringe.com/events/wilt/
Ivy Day
Starring 2023 One Year Course Graduate Hannah Balogun.
Show Bio – “‘They’re the most prestigious universities in America: Harvard. Princeton. Yale. Columbia. Brown. Cornell. UPenn. Dartmouth.
And all eight release their admissions decisions on the same day.
In an American high school, six friends await the release of admissions decisions. But tension grows as the hour passes, forcing them to grapple with the pressures and prejudices driving their desire to get into the Ivy League. ‘Succession’ meets the petty dramas of high school, Ivy Day is a sharp and darkly funny interrogation of elite higher education.”
When – 8:30pm, 18th-22nd August
Where – Hope Theatre
Booking Link – https://camdenfringe.com/events/ivy-day/
Pop Goes The Dollar
Starring 2023 Three Year Graduate Harriet Cantello, and 2023 One Year Graduates Xavier Atkins, and Ayan Philip.
Show Bio – “Most people think they know what happened in 2008: reckless banks, a housing crash, and financial ruin for ordinary people. Few know about the frantic behind-the-scenes attempts to stop the collapse.
‘Pop Goes the Dollar’ plunges into the New York Federal Reserve as, one by one, the biggest banks in America crumble. As markets freefall and time runs out, a handful of decision-makers must choose who to save, who to let fail, and whether any of it will be enough. Tim Geithner, President of the NY Fed and a young family man, must confront what he’s prepared to sacrifice in the face of global disaster.
This high-stakes office drama combines financial history with human stories, making a complex crisis both thrilling and accessible. Fast-paced, tense, and thought-provoking, ‘Pop Goes the Dollar’ is not just about 2008: it’s about the systems that shape our world today.”
When – 7pm, 21st-24th August
Where – The Hope Theatre
Booking Link – https://camdenfringe.com/events/pop-goes-the-dollar/
Mickley Lane
Starring and written by 2023 One Year Graduate Eleanor Cross, with 2021 Three Year Graduate Callum Cronin also starring.
Show Bio – “MICKLEY LANE is a daring new play directed by Esalan Gates (★★★★★, BroadwayWorld UK Nominee – Best New Production), co-produced by CRISCROSS Productions and Second Quarter Productions (Love Conditions, LEICESTER CURVE), and written by Eleanor Cross (Homecoming, BRIXTON HOUSE). A searing portrait of familial and romantic intimacy, where the unspeakable is spoken, and nothing is as black and white as we want it to be.
Developed from a real-life conversation between two former lovers, this bold two-act play interrogates the elusive nature of truth and asks: what if truth isn’t what’s real, but what we make others believe?
Set in an isolated flat on the edge of Sheffield, MICKLEY LANE forces Fran and Max to confront the wreckage of their relationship. What begins as a seemingly simple conversation quickly unravels. Jealousy, desire, and power shift uneasily between them, as the past refuses to stay buried.
Blending verbatim text with original writing, MICKLEY LANE is a dark, emotionally-charged exploration of coercion, control, and the desperate need to be believed.”
When – 9pm, 22nd – 24th August
Where – hen & Chickens Theatre
Booking Link – https://camdenfringe.com/events/mickley-lane/
Much Ado About Nothing
Starring 2024 One Year Course Graduate Sam Nafisi
Show Bio – “So no one told you life was gonna be this way…
Much Ado About Nothing meets Friends in a bold, hilarious new adaptation from Constellation Players.
This summer, grab a coffee, pull up a chair, and prepare to laugh your way through love, lies, and lattes. Constellation Players present a fresh take on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, reimagined through the lens of the iconic 90s sitcom Friends.
Set in Leonato’s café, this modern retelling follows six close-knit companions whose romantic entanglements and clever deceptions play out with wit, warmth, and a generous helping of chaos. Claudio and Hero are hopelessly in love, Beatrice and Benedick are hopelessly at war, and Margaret and Don Pedro are—well—hopelessly meddling.
But this isn’t Much Ado as you know it.
What if Hero herself crafted the scheme to fake her death?
And what if Shakespeare’s sharpest comedy was told through the heartbeat of a modern rom-com?
Whether you’re a Shakespeare lover, a Friends fanatic, or just in need of a night of feel-good theatre, this production promises heart, hilarity, and a few surprises.”
When – 7:30pm, 26th and 27th August
Where – Bridewell Theatre
Booking Link – https://camdenfringe.com/events/much-ado-about-nothing/
Established in 2006, The Camden Fringe continues to champion early-career artists by providing an alternative to The Edinburgh Fringe.
If you’re in London at all across August we strongly recommend you check out what’s on! Supporting Fringe festivals is vitally important for continuing to improve diversity in the arts sector. With much-loved and highly respected festivals such as Vault Festival sadly unable to continue producing, we have to show up for the Fringe festivals that are still going strong.
If you’re performing at the Camden Fringe, OSD Alumni or otherwise, break a leg!