The Sick of the Fringe

The Sick of the Fringe (London, 17-19 February 2017) was a culmination and celebration of the most exciting, innovative, and relevant conversations about health, illness, disability, medicine and the body that we have been having since 2015. Created by Brian Lobel and Tracy Gentles, and produced by In Company Collective, this festival featured six new commissions (Busty Beatz/Hot Brown HoneyAmy Bell & Lucy HutsonPerforming Change with Laura Dannequin, Emma Frankland and Lost WatchKathryn Mannix + Claire NolanBourgeois + Maurice, and Lynn Ruth Miller + The Fringe Is Turning 70) and three days of performances, events and workshops at Wellcome Collection, Camden People’s Theatre, The Place, and Conway Hall. After two years of watching and responding to performance at the Edinburgh Fringe – with professional workshops, a writing programme with over 20 writers creating over 200 ‘Diagnoses’ of shows – The Sick of the Fringe London was a major coming together, reviewing some of the most exciting work we’ve seen/people we’ve met, and forecasting the most pressing conversations and exciting works yet to come.

It’s challenging to say more about The Sick of the Fringe than the programme itself which we are very proud of, and which we hope provides a true expression of the festival’s interest in presenting a diversity of voices, forms and subject areas. Even with 30+ events, we cannot represent the breadth of thinking, research and creative expression dedicated to the body, but hope the work presents an ‘in’ for audience members, from regular theatre and art audiences, to new, incidental and accidental audiences. We will be back in Edinburgh 2017, watching work, creating Diagnoses, providing workshops and support for artists, and look forward to all that comes next.

We believe that art has the ability to change the way we talk about health, illness and wellness.

We believe that theatre, performance, music, dance and comedy have the ability to make lives better.

We believe that the Fringe/fringe can inspire the participation of marginalised voices, inspiring new outlooks and more effective policy.

We believe that the arts are critical to healthy communities.

We are especially thankful for our partners Deaf & Hearing Ensemble, University of Chichester, venue partners Wellcome, Camden People’s Theatre, The Place and Conway Hall, and all the brilliant artists, volunteers, programmers, venue staff, production managers and more who made the project the success that it was. The Sick of the Fringe is commissioned by Wellcome Trust.

- Brian Lobel

Preview of The Sick of the Fringe in The Times.
Review of Day 2 of The Sick of the Fringe in Disability Arts Online.
Diagnoses + Prognoses of Fringe Shows here.
Full schedule

Categories: Report


Date Posted: 22 March 2017