DELFT FRINGE FESTIVAL 2019

Overall this was an excellent, jam-packed Festival spread over twelve exciting days with more than fifty acts performing in diverse locations ranging from proper theatres to garden sheds, from cafés to old factories. We clearly were not able to see all the shows and, as this is an English publication, we concentrated on shows that were LNP – Language No Problem. I am sure there were many outstanding Dutch language performances that were well worth seeing – but less so but if you don’t understand them . . .

There was a very smart and glossy programme with a well laid out list of events, hour by hour, day by day and venue by venue. Each act presented their show eight times, usually at different venues, so I suppose, in theory, it was possible with careful planning to see them all. The tickets were cheap enough but it was a bit like sushi or tapas – you just fancied another quick one and then finding you had spent €100 or more.

It was a pity there wasn’t some sort of free stage, perhaps in the Markt, where the public could see and sample some of the acts before buying tickets. Which brings me to my two small issues, firstly about information and secondly about ticketing.

It was a shame that there was not much, if any, information given out at each event about the show. There was information online and some in the brochure but it’s nice to be able to read something about the show and the names of the performers while you are there – a quick A4 sheet would have been enough. My main issue was with ticketing. The system seemed unnecessarily complex making it difficult to buy tickets in advance and impossible just to turn up at a gig, pay and go in. Also, on many visits, the phone app the attendants had for zapping the barcode on the tickets simply didn’t work causing problems and delays when the audience was trying to enter the venue.