Lancashire Fringe Festival is the new performance arts show launching in Preston on 15^th-16^th July at Ham & Jam Coffee Shop, Lancaster Road.

The free event will showcase the country’s best live acts including stand-up comedians, improvisation and spoken word performers.

Organiser Garry Cook has devised a major line-up featuring some of best acts from last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as several newcomers who are expected to be huge hits this year.

Cook told Blog Preston: “The idea is to bring some of the best entertainment and comedy acts in the country to Lancashire – so people can see great performances and comedy on their doorsteps.”

The headline act is Joanne Tremarco, a Liverpool-based performer, who became one of the biggest hits at the Fringe Festival in 2015.

After performing her show over 150 times worldwide, Tremarco has received huge acclaim for the piece described as “a genuinely remarkable piece of theatre. Tremarco is utterly captivating.”

The Lancashire Fringe is coming weeks before the Edinburgh Festival 2016 starts, giving you chance to see fresh material before everyone else.

Other performances include talent from around Lancashire and the North-West, such as Charlotte Berry, an ex-University of Central Lancashire Contemporary Theatre and Performance student, who will showcase Crystal Vision.

The festival will also feature the work of Wigan-based conceptual artist Claire Doyle and UCLan Graduate Frances Kay’s shockingly beautiful durational work ‘Sorry’.

Exciting Chorley-based comedian John Porter will preview his new Edinburgh Fringe show Lunatic (of the) Fringe.

Audiences can come and go as they please without charge, and they can leave donations at the end of a performance going directly to the performers, helping cover their travel costs, if people wish.

Cook added:

“Free really is free. The audience can come and go as they please. You can come and watch one act, leave, and then come back later if there’s another act you think you might like.”

The Ham & Jam Coffee Shop, run by Richard Lowthian, a keen supporter of local arts in Preston and Lancashire, will have an alcohol licence for both nights allowing audiences to have the full festival experience – or you can have coffee.

To discover the full list of performers, visit www.lancashirefringe.com. Organiser Gary Cook can be contacted via email: gazcook@hotmail.com, twitter: @gazcook, or mobile 07976 579 522.

Ham & Jam Coffee Shop is located at 50 Lancaster Rd, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 1DD.