Lambeth Fringe runs in venues from Waterloo to Camberwell till 25 October. For full details and tickets go to https://lambethfringe.com. Here are this week’s most local highlights. Pictured: Esmond Fountain (Desperate: A Beverly Hills Manny)
You Sou 23 October, Bread and Roses Theatre, Clapham Manor St, SW4 6DZ, 9pm. Tickets £14, £12 concs. A co-production between [embuscada] and meraki theatre, this bilingual play asks questions such as: Is speaking the same language enough to understand each other? In an interview, the performers describe hoping that ‘audiences leave with a deeper awareness of the untranslatable spaces between people — even those who love each other most’.
Desperate: A Beverly Hills Manny 22 October, Effra Social, SW2 1DF, 7pm. Tickets £8, £6 concs. This ‘raw, hilarious and way too real’ solo comedy show from Esmond Fountain (winner of Best Stand-Up at the 2025 New York City Fringe Festival) is a show about failure, identity, and the lies we tell ourselves to stay afloat.
Stories From The End 22 October, Effra Social, SW2 1DF, 8:30pm. Tickets £10, £8 concs. Presented by UGLI Theatre Company, this show asks you to look at what survival might look like after the end of time. Company founder Ewan Mulligan brings to the stage six stories of people surviving and even thriving amongst the bones of society.
Let’s Try Gay 22 & 23 October, Bread and Roses Theatre, Clapham Manor St, SW4 6DZ, 7:30pm. Tickets £8, £6 concs. Writer and director Alessandro Onorato brings this ‘tremendous comic treat’ to the home of the Lambeth Fringe. When two best friends, Jack and Phil, meet in a hotel to shoot a gay adult movie for the very first time, things don’t go to plan…
Spare some *Humanity*, Please? 24 October, Bread and Roses Theatre, Clapham Manor St, SW4 6DZ, 6pm. Tickets £8, £6 concs. This play from writer, playwright, and screenwriter Chin Lewis makes its first appearance at the Lambeth Fringe. We follow two homeless men, Jake and Ed, as they share stories and converse about grief, friendship, and the simple universal desire to be seen.
One Time for the Birthday Girl! 25 October, Bread and Roses Theatre, Clapham Manor St, SW4 6DZ, 5pm. Tickets £10, £8 concs. Written by Kaneesha Watt and directed by Temilola Ademilola, this one-woman show tells the celebratory story of a newly turned 30-year-old. The show invites the audience to join our protagonist and take a trip down memory lane, exploring Black British girlhood in the 00s-10s and the lessons she learnt to find self-acceptance.
