London Fringe Festival

Following years of what ifs, might London finally get its own Edinburgh Festival? The London Festival Fringe is the brainchild of Greg Tallent, a man best known for organising the five-day London Bridge Festival this summer. In an act of neck-rolling bravery, his celebration of theatre, comedy, music and film will take place on the same dates (August 6-30 2010) as its well established Scottish rival.

With no selection policy, all venues and artists are welcome to take part. So far, 68 venues have signed up, mostly pubs around the London Bridge area as well as a high concentration of fringe like West End venues such as Leicester Square Theatre, Arts Theatre and Jermyn Street. The organisers are hoping to have a hundred by the summer with the more upmarket Almeida and the Gate in discussion about taking part.

Here at Time Out we love a bit of spunk. From our Hooray Henry mayor to the cardboard discs sold in Leicester Square as pizzas, London consistently puts the 'city' in 'audacity'. But even we had to raise an eyebrow at this one. Is launching a new arts festival to run at the same time at the world's biggest and best established a good idea? London already has a plethora of arts festivals during the summer, from excellent outdoor events like Watch This Space at the National and The Scoop at More London, to smaller affairs like the Royal Vauxhall Tavern's Red Hot Fringe and the Camden Fringe, all of which act as genuinely attractive but manageable alternatives to Edinburgh. Is there really room for another one? Tallent thinks so: 'London is the arts capital of the world and it should be recognised as such. It needs an umbrella event to tell people about all the great things that are happening here; the London Festival Fringe will provide the perfect stage for that'.

But is it really possible to navigate a genuine fringe festival in a city the size of London? 'People always say that London is too big for a city-wide festival,' says Tallent, 'but we now have the technology - with social networking or iPhone apps - to pull the city together; we can make it a smaller place.' Everyone knows that one reason the Edinburgh Fringe works so well is because there are hundreds of venues - many temporary - concentrated in an incredibly small area. Is it desirable or even possible to follow up a 4pm performance at Madame Jojo's with a 5.30pm show at the Broadway Barking and a 7.30pm show at Notting Hill's Gate? And if the LFF is going to have a central hub why does it have to be the West End? Why not Camden or Dalston, areas that genuinely represent the city's alternative talent?

Only time will tell what will happen, but early objections aside, it could work. Many promoters find putting on a show at Edinburgh prohibitively expensive. Of course, London in general is prohibitively expensive, but with tickets ranging from free to £15, the London Fringe might be an affordable alternative to those who can't get away to Scotland. It also has the exciting potential to reinvigorate the fringe model. The Arts Council's Art in Empty Spaces initiative could be the perfect partners for the LFF with shows taking place in abandoned shops and building sites across the city as well as more traditional spaces. But most importantly the LFF could provide the perfect opportunity to celebrate some of the brilliant but underrated fringe venues across our great city. Below is a pick of some of our favourites:

The innovator
As London's only permanent home for new circus, Jacksons Lane continues to push the physical boundaries of what theatre is, working with artists like Shunt founder Layla Rose and German wheel specialists Acrojou.
269a Archway Rd, N6 5AA (020 8341 4421/www.jacksonslane.org.uk).

The community champion
Other theatres talk community but Oval House Theatre lives it. Along with its diverse main house programme, it nurtures young artists aged 11-25. Steph O'Driscoll, the 23-year-old director of 'Yard Gals', credits Oval House with her career: 'I never considered working in theatre,' she says. 'But it's given me a second family of people who've come up through the youth arts programme.'
52-54 Kennington Oval, SE11 5SW (020 7582 7680/www.ovalhouse.com).

The underrated
Deptford's Albany has reinvented the arts centre model, reaching out to local as well as wider audiences with its bold experimental programme. The Albany has also been a staunch support of spoken word, an art form that looks set to finally break through to the mainstream with Inua Ellam's National debut, 'The 14th Tale', next year.
Douglas Way, Deptford, SE8 4AG (020 8692 4446/www.thealbany.co.uk).

The award-winner
Artsdepot has filled the gaping hole in Barnet's cultural landscape with two state-of-the-art performance spaces and an ambitious programme of theatre, dance, comedy, music and poetry. 5 Nether St, N12 0GA (020 8369 5454/ www.artsdepot.co.uk).

The pub venue to watch
It's been open for less than a year but already the Cock Tavern has established itself as one of London's fringe gems. With an adventurous programme of deftly executed revivals, new work and now opera ('La Bohème' opens on December 8), this 40-seater pub venue rightfully won a 2009 Peter Brook Empty Space Award. We can't wait to see what they do next.
125 Kilburn High Rd, NW6 6JH (0844 477 1000/www.cocktaverntheatre.com).