Every year, Brighton Fringe offer a number of bursaries to make the festival more accessible for those who otherwise wouldn't be able to take part in collaboration with various local, national and international organisations.  

Bursaries cover the cost of event registration alongside a variety of other forms of support; financial, mentoring or marketing. If you are awarded a bursary after you have paid your registration fee, you will be refunded in full. 

Each bursary will have a different set of criteria you are required to meet to apply, set by the bursary provider. To apply for a bursary, you will be required to fill out a short application form explaining your eligibility for the bursary. If you require support to fill out the form, please contact our Festival and Events Team at [email protected]. 

To ensure as many people can apply as possible, all bursary applications will remain open until Wednesday 13 January 2027. Applicants will be notified whether or not they have been successful as soon as possible after this time. 

Please note that more bursaries may be announced up until December 2026.

In the past four years, we introduced Brighton Fringe Staff Bursaries, an opportunity for us to give back and offer a helping hand. 

RECIPIENTS OF ALL BRIGHTON FRINGE STAFF BURSARIES SHALL RECEIVE:

• Free Registration to Brighton Fringe 2027 
• Invitation to our BF 2027 Launch Night & Awards Ceremony 
• An exclusive group mentoring session with the Brighton Fringe team 
• Up to 3 hours of 1:1 support with Brighton Fringe staff 
• £100 to go towards production costs 

You can apply for all bursaries via this application form:

Brighton Fringe Staff Bursaries Application Form 2027 (WIP) – Fill in form

Bursary Criteria for Early Career Artist/Company: 

• Artists/companies must be in the early stages of their career 
• We at Brighton Fringe are open to what an emerging or early career artist is. It could be a recent graduate, a company only a couple of years old, or an artist that hasn’t yet produced/written a full-scale production. Please take the time to tell us in the application form why you qualify for this bursary.  
• As part of this bursary your event must not have been toured previously.

Bursary Criteria for LGBTQIA+ Artist/Company: 

• Artist/Company can apply if they include an LGBTQIA+ artist or artists

Bursary Criteria for LGBTQIA+ Artist/Company: 

• Artist/Company can apply if they include a trans artist or artists

Bursary Criteria for LGBTQIA+ Artist/Company: 

• Artists/companies can apply for this bursary if one or more members of the company are on a low income.

Bursary Criteria for LGBTQIA+ Artist/Company: 

• This must be the first fringe festival the primary artist/event manager has participated in.

Bursary Criteria for LGBTQIA+ Artist/Company: 

• Artists/companies must and their event must include a neurodiverse artist or artists.

Bursary Criteria for LGBTQIA+ Artist/Company: 

• Artists/companies applying for this bursary must be currently based in Brighton and Hove

Local legend and seasoned Fringe performer, Spirit of the Fringe winner 2025 Aiden Bex, is offering this bursary for a performer who might consider themselves an underdog.  

The inclusion criteria for this bursary is as follows: 

• The artist must have their show registered with Brighton Fringe 2026 
• The event must be comedy in any form - character, sketch, boy/burlesque, stand-up, clowning, etc. 
• The artist has no formal training - one or two short courses are okay, but you won't be an industry professional with accredited qualifications. 
• Maximum one previous Brighton Fringe registration as a solo performer or split show 
• The artist has not previously performed in any shows produced by All That Bex. 

Find out more about the criteria and bursary package in the application form.

Applause Bursary at Brighton Fringe is for 2 x artists/companies based in the Southeast, producing or interested in producing and touring theatre and drama to rural and community settings (not family theatre). 

Kent based NPO Applause, are the lead partners for Create Tour Connect (CTC) a new innovative partnership project commissioning, developing and touring theatre and drama across the rural touring network in England. CTC supports the regional creation and touring of new work and connects this with a network of touring partners dedicated to small-scale touring.  As part of their ongoing commitment to artists development, Applause are offering 2 bursaries for South East based companies to support their showcase at Brighton Fringe.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Based in the South East 
• Producing or interested in producing and touring theatre and drama to rural and community settings (not family theatre) 

Exclusion Criteria

For this bursary Applause are only looking for theatre and drama for adult audiences that is relevant to rural and community audiences - not inclusive of family theatre. 

Bursary Package

• Free Registration 
• £75 towards marketing costs 
• 2 x Mentoring sessions (In-Person or Online TBC)  

Please apply via the application form.

BURSARY FOR AN ARTIST FROM THE GLOBAL MAJORITY

The inclusion criteria for this bursary are as follows: 

• Artist/Company must have (or plan to have) a show in Brighton Fringe 2027.  
• Artists/companies must include one or more artists of the Global Majority. 
• The event must be a new piece of work that has not previously been toured where the development of which would benefit from the financial impact of the bursary.

The artist will receive:

•  Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2027 
• £100 to go toward production costs.  

BURSARY FOR AN ARTIST WITH A DISABILITY

The inclusion criteria for this bursary are as follows: 

• Artist/Company must have (or plan to have) a show in Brighton Fringe 2027.  
• Artists/companies must include one or more artists with a disability. 
• The event must be a new piece of work that has not previously been toured where the development of which would benefit from the financial impact of the bursary. 
• The artist will receive: 
•  Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2027 
• £100 to go toward production costs.

Find out more about the criteria and bursary package in the application form.

Gold Arts is an independent family jeweller that has been at the heart of Brighton's community since 1979. They are offering a Bursary this year around the theme of Community.  

The inclusion criteria for this bursary is as follows: 

• Artist/Company must have (or plan to have) a show in Brighton Fringe 2027.  
• Community must be at the heart of the event or company's work.  
• At least one member of the company must be from Sussex

The artist will receive: 

•  Free registration to Brighton Fringe 2027 
• A mention on all Gold Arts Social’s Channels  

Now available to people aged under 30! 

For the sixteenth year running, The Pebble Trust is supporting Brighton Fringe artists by offering three bursaries to young people wishing to put on an event. This could be in any category.

The inclusion criteria for this bursary is as follows:

• All those involved in the planned event should be residents of Sussex and aged 30 or under at the time of application.
• The event should be conceived, initiated, developed and produced entirely by the applicant(s). For example, projects led by a teacher or equivalent individual are not eligible. 
• This should be the applicant's first time at Brighton Fringe.

The Pebble Trust will pick three receipients who will each receive:

• Brighton Fringe Registration fees paid by The Pebble Trust
• £500 towards production costs. For example, the money could be used for venue or equipment hire, marketing, buying props etc.
• Up to 6 hours of mentoring, split across 3 x 2 hour sessions with an industry professional.

Fill in this form to apply