Brighton Fringe 2021: First Week Exceeds Expectations
Brighton Fringe’s first week has come to an end, and what a week it’s been....
With hundreds of shows taking part during Fringe, we had a great selection of awards to be won! Some of these awards were voted for by audience members, others by award sponsors and local arts groups. The majority of awards were shortlisted independently by judging panels, but some were open to submissions.
The Brighton Fringe 2025 Awards Ceremony took place on Sunday 1st June at Big Puck in The Circus Yard.
All awards were judged at the discretion of the partners, and judging terms varied.
2025 Awards
It is the 1st of June — the grand finale of Fringe 2025 — and we’re gearing up to celebrate 31 unforgettable days of extraordinary performances, boundless talent, brilliant creativity, and all the weird and wonderful magic in between. This year, Brighton Fringe wrapped with over eight hundred shows and more than one thousand incredible artists. And now, the awards mark the cherry on top of the rich, riotous, and utterly delicious Fringe cake — and what a sweet celebration it has been!
We started the evening by welcoming all the fabulous guests, presenters, sponsors, nominees hosted by the amazing Revel Puck team at The Circus Yard. Everyone gathered with drinks, and kind words shared while we waited to usher everyone into Big Puck circus tent, and there was a positive buzz in the air with photos being taken and smiles all round.
While everyone found their seats and eagerly anticipated the results, we applauded our dazzling hosts for the evening, Sarah and Elin. The show began with a performance by Selena Mersey, winner of last year’s Pebble Trust Outgoing Touring Award, who performed a song from her award winning show Madonna/Whore, as well as a song written especially for the awards ceremony.
And on with the show!
The winners are as follows:
Brighton Fringe Exhibitions Award in Association with Artists Open Houses
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Judy Stevens, Festival Director
Prize: A free registration for Brighton Fringe 2026, plus a free advert in the Artists Open Houses brochure 2026
Shortlist:
Mid Street Lab Community Award
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Jean Wachter, Director of Mid Street Lab
Prize: Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2026
Shortlist:
The Newman Thomson Design & Print Award 2025
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Warrick Francis, Newman Thomson
Prize: Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2026
Shortlist:
SupaJam Education Outstanding Neurodiverse Performance Award 2025
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Abbie Hill and Lillie Watson, Supajam
Prize: Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2026
Shortlist:
The Brighton Fringe Family-Friendly Award 2025 in Association with Brighton Girls
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Rosie McColl, Head of Brighton Girls Senior School
Prize: Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2026, rehearsal space, marketing package from Brighton Girls
Shortlist:
Most Outstanding Dance Work
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Cath James, Artistic Director
Prize: Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2026
Shortlist:
RUNNERS UP:
PERIOD - We Period
TAP - BN1 Arts Centre
How a Spiral Works - Art for Rainy Days
The Spirit of the Fringe Award 2025 sponsored by Theatre Royal Brighton
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Sophie Denney, Theatre Director, Jackie Alexander, Senior Creative Learning Manager, Simon Miles, Customer Experience Manager
Prize: Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2026, Annual ATG Membership, prosecco and flowers
Nominees:
FringeReview Outstanding Theatre Award
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Sophie Methuen Turner, FringeReview
Prize: Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2026 and teapot!
Farnham Maltings Emerging Artist/ Company Award 2025
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Will Arnold, Producer
Prize: £1000 plus mentoring from Farnham Maltings
Shortlist:
The Pebble Trust Outgoing Touring Award
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Louise Arnell, The Pebble Trust
Prize: £3,000 to be used within 18 months to take their show to another Fringe
SoHo Playhouse International Fringe Encore Series Nomination
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Darren Lee Cole, Producing Artistic Director
Best New Show Award sponsored by No. 124 Brighton
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Josh Williams, Kimberly Butler, No. 124 Brighton
Prize: Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2026
Shortlist:
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Sarah and Elin, Brighton Fringe
Prize: Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2026
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Sarah and Elin, Brighton Fringe
Prize: Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2026
Presented at the awards ceremony by: Amy Keogh, Managing Director of Brighton Fringe
Prize: Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2026
Congratulations to our award winners!
We would like to say a huge congratulations to everyone who took part in Brighton Fringe this year. We hope you are all incredibly proud of yourselves – we certainly are!
We’d like to give a special thanks to Revel Puck for hosting the awards, Danny Fitzpatrick for photographing, Serious Glass for filming, Selena Mersey and Matthew Gest’s Boogie Woogie Troupe for performing and all of you for attending! A special thank you to all our presenters and award sponsors:
Hosted by Sarah French and Elin Eaton, with thanks to the rest of the BF team.
The Brighton Fringe Team:
Chair: Duncan Lustig-Prean
Managing Director: Amy Keogh
Operations Manager: Hannah Turk
Development Manager: Vicky Hague
Artist and Venue Services: Laura Aiton, Sarah French, Megan McEvoy
Box Office: Elin Eaton, Isabella McCarthy-Sommerville, Joe McCracken, Mariana Morais
Jubilee Square Coordinator: Rosa Firbank
Marketing: Spark Arts AM&PM
Content Creator: Alice Langston
SEE YOU IN 2026!
Brighton Fringe’s first week has come to an end, and what a week it’s been....
A Quick Trip Down Memory Lane
Talking to the Box Office...
