19.29°C Colchester Fringe Summer Weekender takes place from 23rd-26th July 2026, bringing four days of theatre, comedy, spoken word, drag, cabaret and live performance to venues across the city.
Whether you’re planning to spend the whole weekend exploring the Fringe or simply looking for a show or two, this guide brings together the highlights from across the programme. Over the past few weeks we’ve spoken to many of the performers taking part, with links to our interviews and previews throughout.
Performances take place at the Mercury Theatre Studio, Three Wise Monkeys, Coda, Patch, Roots & Grooves Cafe, The Dragonfly Lounge and The Minories Garden, each offering its own atmosphere and style of performance.
Theatre and Storytelling
This year’s theatre programme ranges from intimate personal stories to inventive solo performances and physical theatre.
At the Mercury Theatre Studio, A Year and a Day follows Nathan, a man cursed to leap a year and a day into the future every time he falls asleep. Also at the Mercury Theatre Studio, Breathe… explores how a couple respond to life-changing news, while One Man Poe: The Black Cat and The Raven brings Edgar Allan Poe’s famous stories to life through a haunting solo performance.
At Three Wise Monkeys, Offgridland mixes music, humour and family relationships in the story of a family attempting to leave modern life behind. The venue also hosts Delusions and Grandeur, introducing audiences to an ageing actor determined to tell his story, alongside Pup Play: A Queer Pseudo-Lecture (of sorts), which blends theatre, humour and discussion while exploring queer identity and community.
Boudica & Me: A Guide to Carrying Your Fire appears at both Patch and Roots & Grooves Cafe, combining history with personal storytelling, while The Real Black Swann comes to The Dragonfly Lounge. Last year’s winner of the Fringe’s Best International Show award, it tells the story of William Dorsey Swann, widely regarded as America’s first drag queen.
At The Minories Garden, Three Wise Women combines movement, physical theatre and comedy in an outdoor performance celebrating friendship, resilience and growing older. The garden also hosts Rocking the Folly!, a lively blend of storytelling, live music and comedy celebrating the history and spirit of Colchester’s iconic Jumbo Water Tower.
Comedy Across the Weekend
Comedy takes many forms across this year’s Fringe, from stand-up and musical comedy to character pieces and work-in-progress performances.
Three Wise Monkeys hosts Adam Larter’s Who Remembers the 90s?, while Coda welcomes Dr Jansen Majenkas: Con(spiracy) Man, Alice Keys’ musical comedy Rocket Fan, and Thao Cao’s What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Funnier.
Patch and Roots & Grooves Cafe host 10 Things They Hate About Me and Will Davies’ Heroic Scale, while Kate-Lois Elliott presents TRAD (Work In Progress) at both Coda and The Dragonfly Lounge.
The Dragonfly Lounge also hosts Final Queen, an Australian production that combines drag, circus, physical theatre and horror in one of the festival’s most distinctive shows, while Sunday Roast @ Fringe! rounds off the weekend with an afternoon of comedy featuring festival performers.
Poetry, Spoken Word and Performance
For anyone who thinks poetry isn’t for them, James Domestic may have other ideas. His show, Poetry For People Who Think They Don’t Like Poetry!, uses humour, storytelling and sharp observations to introduce spoken word to new audiences.
Leon The Poet brings The Cult Kid and Me: My Villain Origin Story to Patch and Roots & Grooves Cafe, combining poetry and personal storytelling in a show that explores childhood, identity, and belonging.
The Late Night Cabaret Club at Three Wise Monkeys offers a changing mix of comedy, music, drag and surprise performances, while Music Bingo at The Dragonfly Lounge provides one of the more informal late-night events in the Fringe Club programme.
Around the City
One of the joys of the Colchester Fringe Summer Weekender is discovering performances in a wide variety of venues.
Across four days you can move between theatres, pubs, cafés, independent venues and outdoor spaces, often seeing several completely different shows in a single day. It’s a chance to experience both established performers and emerging artists in some of Colchester’s best-loved cultural spaces.
Tickets
Colchester Fringe Summer Weekender takes place from 23rd to 26th July 2026.
Full programme details and tickets for every show are available via the official Colchester Fringe Summer Weekender website.
