Be entertained by famous and upcoming artists in Ludlow in 2024”

What to expect in 2023

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Ludlow Fringe Festival is running from Saturday 17th June to Sunday 2nd July in 2023 and tickets are already on sale as we are dropping tickets as we sign-up our performers this year.

Don't miss out! Sign up for the Newsletter, or the Friends Scheme (For 10% off ticket prices, & early-bird access) to ensure you get to see the acts you want to see!

BOOK 2023 tickets!

Many thanks again to Alistair McGowan, our patron again for this year, which is our eleventh Festival! He is always on hand with ideas and inspiration, helping take our Fringe to the level!

Live Music encompassing all genres

We have soloists and bands performing blues, rock, funk, folk and jazz throughout the festival fortnight. If you love live music Ludlow will come alive with gigs at venues all over town - most of these venues also have real ale and local beers btw!

We are very pleased to announce that some of our old favourites are back again this year.

Jon Pickard will mesmerize his audience with his harp guitar. His show features classic, Celtic and Spanish melodies which come alive with new energy when heard played on the harp guitar - if you didn't see his performance last year, we seriously recommend booking your seats for this stunning piece of musicality.

Singer-songwriter Joe Bayliss is with us again too, weaving stories within his songs that are relatable and emotional, to create an atmosphere that will take you with him on his musical journey.

We also welcome back our friends Lucas D & the Groove Guetto, made up of some of Birmingham's best musicians. They are a 6 piece soul outfit which will get your toes tapping, and we encourage you to come along and dance the night away at Ludlow Brewery - we also recommend a pint or two of Ludlow Gold!

Tickets for these events will be on sale soon! Sign up for the Newsletter for updates:)

Changing Landscapes in Jazz Music

The beautiful and talented Annette Gregory is with us this year as part of her 2023 Believe Tour. She is gathering fans across the fringe scene and was awarded the Buxton Fringe Award in 2021 for Best Vocal Performance.

With her amazing vocal range, she will wow us with her  "reflections on the changing landscapes in jazz". Her voice lends itself to songs old and new and she is a delight to watch.

Reviewers are saying:

"Gregory's jazz credentials, her voice exhibiting a rich deep soulfulness and a genuine talent for jazz phasing" - Brecon Jazz Festival Review - The Jazzman' 2018

"A voice like Velvet" - Abbey Radio 104 Sandy jazz show

BOOK tickets now!

Folk Music at Ludlow Brewery

Flatworld are back! Come along and listen to groove-laden music from Eastern Europe and beyond. Music lovers should not miss the opportunity to see these talented musicians as they create distinctive melodies on saxophone, flute and mandolin, woven with classical harmonies played on the violin.

They are an energetic ensemble who are masters of rhythm!

Reviewers are saying:

"Brilliant... like The Ukrainians meet klezmer" - Genevieve Tudor, BBC Radio Shropshire

"Love the music..." - The Ukrainians

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A one-woman show about the darling of the Music Hall

A one-woman show with music about the darling of the Music Hall, Marie Lloyd Stole My Life is a show about one of the first drag kings, Nelly Power.  The show is a funny and poignant true story of female empowerment in a patriarchal society. Whilst the suffragists are politely protesting outside her place of work, Merry Nelly Power is on stage using Music Hall’s own brand of humour to subversively mock the male establishment. Watch some videos of Nelly on stage on our blog: Who is Marie Lloyd?

But why is the show called Marie Lloyd Stole My Life? book now and find out...

BOOK tickets now!

Stars of TV, Screen & Theatre

This year we have several famous faces joining us and they will appear in interview-style events, which should delight audiences as you'll get to see the real person behind the performer.

Dame Judi will discuss her enduring love of Shakespeare in a career that spans 65 years: from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra. She is going to be interviewed by actor/director/friend Brendan O’Hea. She will guide her audience through her rehearsal process and invite them to share in her triumphs, disasters and backstage shenanigans. The event will also include accounts of her creative partnerships with such luminaries as Peter Hall, Trevor Nunn, Ian McKellen, and Kenneth Branagh.

Jasper Carrott has been persuaded to drop by for a chat on stage with his friend Alistair McGowan. Alistair says, “Jasper and I have known each other for a good many years, and in our tour, in 2021, where we both did our sets and bantered in-between we just had great fun, which seemed to delight our loyal fans.  I will be asking him to re-live a few of his most loved sketches which never fail to make me laugh.” 

Both shows are already sold out!

FOMO again?!..... Sign up for the Newsletter for updates:)

Family Friendly shows at Ludlow Fringe 2023

Family Entertainment

Flabbergast Theatre are back this year, after a hugely successful tour in 2022 with their version of Macbeth. We are delighted they are coming back to the Ludlow Castle venue, having developed a version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream” just for us. This will be a family-friendly performance, although it is recommended for children over the age of 12, with faeries galore and even more mysticism than the original Shakespeare play.

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The Flabbergast actors will be helping local schools and organisations get involved to create costumes and props for the carnival as well as decorating the inner and outer bailey of Ludlow Castle, meaning people coming to watch the play will really feel part of the magical land where fairies live.

We also have Kemps Jig who will weave tales of “horrible histories” that will delight all ages! Based on Kemp’s own diary this is an irreverent one-man show telling the story of the most famous comedian of his generation and the most famous playwright in history.

He'll tell tales like the one of Shakespeare’s forgotten clown and his Morris dance from London to Norwich in a bizarre publicity stunt. Audience participants will love this riotous romp through Elizabethan England.

Our Midsummer Ceilidh is held in the outer bailey of Ludlow Castle on midsummer's day, with a live band and a local caller. If you have never been to a ceilidh, don't dismiss it, you'll pick up the steps easily and everyone is very encouraging. Be prepared to be shown up by your children, as they'll pick it up instantly!

Tickets for these events will be on sale soon! Sign up for the Newsletter for updates:)

Superb Comedy Gigs

Drew Taylor, Harun Masho'd and the lovely Carol Robson the self-proclaimed party poet are back again this year, with their different styles of comedy fun.

The welsh comic Drew Taylor uses razor-sharp wit and his hilarious storytelling that will have you laughing in the aisles.

"Clever stuff" - review by Bath echo

Harun Musho'd is a rising star on the comedy circuit with his sharp and witty humour and his unusual thought process, be prepared to laugh on subject matter from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Carol Robson will bring us a sparkling performance of spoken word, poetry and comedy which shows that ageing doesn't have to mean that you stop enjoying life and exploring new ideas. She says, "spend the kids' inheritance and mature disgracefully' - I tend to agree!

Tickets for these events will be on sale soon! Sign up for the Newsletter for updates:)

Tennis or Football?

We are soon to release tickets for John Inverdale's Talking Tennis’ and BBC’s Nick Owen will be interviewing broadcaster David Davies. Friends of Ludlow Fringe will always be able to book tickets early and get 10% off so sign up today to avoid disappointment! 

John Inverdale soon celebrates 40 years of covering Wimbledon. Live in the Assembly Rooms, on the eve of this year’s exciting tournament, John will be interviewed by Alistair McGowan, a huge tennis fan, on the challenges, the pressures and the downright fun of covering the world’s greatest tennis tournament. There are few tennis greats he hasn’t met and he will no doubt be full of on-court and off-court stories about everyone from John McEnroe to Andy Murray, Pat Cash to Cameron Norrie, Virginia Wade to Serena Williams, Boris Becker to Marion Bartoli - and that incident!

John will be interviewed by Alistair McGowan - a huge tennis fan, himself.

BOOK tickets for John Inverdale!

David Davies had various roles at The Football Association from 1994-2006, working alongside Terry Venables, Glenn Hoddle and Sven Goran Erikkson. He has travelled the world with football and has hundreds of stories to tell about life on the road and up in the air with England squads and managers. He has been a presenter and correspondent on the BBC, not just about football, but programmes on politics, crime and God (Songs of Praise).  He has since worked as a reviewer of newspapers on Sky and BBC News so is not short of opinions as well as fascinating stories about some of the biggest events in football and world history. Qatar, was David's 11th World Cup!

Nick Owen, from Midlands Today, will be interviewing David Davies in Ludlow Assembly Rooms.  For football fans amongst you this is an interview not to be missed!

BOOK tickets for David Davies!

Ludlow Fringe Festival packs a punch! 


DON"T MISS OUT - We will add updates to this page as this is just the beginning of the great things we have in store for you. We are beavering away behind the scenes booking the acts you want to see.

To avoid disappointment please sign up to our Newsletter for our updates on new acts/events/gigs coming your way

 Newsletter


Also, you might like to consider joining the Friends Scheme, and get 10% off all your tickets! (T&C's apply.)

Friends Scheme