Returning to Oxford for its fourth year, Offbeat Festival once again offers some of the best theatre, comedy, music and dance on the Fringe scene. Taking place across ten days, the festival is a partnership between the Old Fire Station and the Oxford Playhouse, and there are many shows (big and small) that you should check out.
Daily Info had a chance to get to the festival's launch and have a few recommendations:
Something intimate
Offbeat always has a wealth of fascinating, engaging one-person shows, and this year is no exception. Each offers something a little different, be it an exploration of a friend's suicide that is both funny and tragic (Give Me One Moment in Time) or a new perspective on what it means to be young in Britain today (British Vogue). Other highlights include Skip Skip Skip, which combines poetry, storytelling and humour as it explores identity through music, and Run Stanley Run, a poetic play offering an insight into a struggling northern seaside town.
Something to make you laugh, something to make you cry
One of the gems of the festival is a run at the Playhouse of Rotterdam, the Olivier Award-winning comedy deconstructing gender and sexuality. Also worth your time is Her Ps & Qs, from Oxfordshire's own Tell Tale Tits, a two-woman journey through self-disgust and misguided people-pleasing.
Something a little bit different
It wouldn't be Offbeat if it didn't have shows and activities completely unique to the festival. The Phodography Workshop may be sadly full but you can still check out We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, where Bootworks Theatre take over Gloucester Green, bringing the world of Jaws to Oxford. This is one to definitely book ahead for. Also worth booking is the innovative-sounding Raw Transport, a VR journey that promises to let participants touch, taste and smell the virtual world around them.
These shows just scratch the surface of what Offbeat has to offer this year. Check out the full line up and get booking today for this Oxford institution.