Wandsworth Arts Fringe celebrated its 15th birthday with a selection of theatre, experimental dance, music, comedy and cabaret.
This year’s fringe set up for Wandsworth’s London Borough of Culture programme 2025. Delivering a year to remember using the power of culture to transform lives and connect individuals.
The Fringe delivered something for everyone, across 17 days of performances, exhibitions and activities, inspiring everyone to try something new.
Bringing the community together, Wandsworth Arts Fringe was another tremendous success. Showcasing a range of local talent and exciting new productions, it was a great testimony to the creative community.
Producer, Cath Mattos said: “Wandsworth Arts Fringe is so successful, because it is properly embedded within the local community and the arts networks locally. It’s organic open access model gives the flexibility to be able to respond to the needs and interests of the creatives, and to the current social climate.”
Historic women took centre stage at this year’s Fringe. Celebrating the lives of women we may have forgotten, or those we don’t know enough about.
Cath said: “The Fringe is a great platform and springboard for emerging artists to develop their craft, and experiment with new ideas and pieces of work.”
“WAF is an expression of the wealth and breadth of creativity in the borough and the vibrant arts scene. WAF is held fondly by the community as it grows from them and is built with and for them.”
We went along to a few events at the fringe, here’s what we thought.
Putney Theatre Company’s Go Back For Murder
Putney Theatre Company’s production of Go Back for Murder, an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s book Five Little Pigs, was a intimate spin on a classic whodunit.
This exploration of a common story dives into the gripping themes of love, justice, jealousy and anger. Full of twists, this play entices the reader into the motivations of each character.
The story follows Clara Cole’s pursuit in finding her father’s killer and proving her mother’s innocence. When she turns 21, Clara reads a letter from her deceased mother Caroline, stating that she was wrongfully convicted of her father’s murder. In order to crack the case, she returns to her hometown in England and visits the son of her mother’s solicitor, Justin Fogg. Justin helps Clara call upon the past and revisit the events before her father’s murder.
There were five others present at the house where Clara’s father, Amyas, was murdered. The governess, Carloline’s younger sister, his mistress, his best friend, and his best friend’s brother. Throughout the play each suspect reveals traits that suggest they could be the murderer. Convincing performances throughout the play from Cara Bellmore who plays Clara Cole, Jerome Joseph Kennedy who plays Meredith Blake and Angel Witney who plays Elsa. The cast transported the audience from the theatre to the events leading up to the murder. Bonus points if you detected the murderer, because I was certainly clueless till the end.
Pen Marks
This feminist drama follows the parallels between a modern woman, author of Frankenstein Mary Shelley and her mother Mary Wollstonecraft.
This story emphasizes the classic tale of love, loss and heartbreak. Questioning why as women do we continue to make the same mistakes when it comes to men?
This play was the perfect balance between inspiring women, and laughter at their own expense. Tugging on to a variety of modern issues, Pen Marks relatability mixed with historical stories leaves the audience reflecting and comforted by the familiarity.
You may also enjoy reading about this July’s Theatre and Exhibition picks.
