The Cape Town Fringe is going to be put on hold for 2018 as organisers prepare for the 2019 edition, but the popular Buskers Festival component will go ahead as planned.

“We have put the Cape Town Fringe on pause while we raise additional funding to allow us to execute our vision for this Festival,” says CEO Tony Lankester. “Last year we started a new journey for the Festival, one which took theatre to more audiences and gave more theatremakers the opportunity to showcase their work.”

The Cape Town Fringe branched out of the CBD in 2017 to include partner venues in Khayelitsha, Delft, Nyanga, Observatory and Athlone.

“What we learned was that to do this new model justice we have to resource the event properly, enabling us to leave a proper legacy in the spaces we used. And we want to give ourselves time to build up those resources from both public and private partners,” he said.

The Fringe’s popular side-event, the Cape Town Buskers Festival that focuses on free street performances and busking, will, however, run from 1 – 11 November at the V&A Waterfront, and in some communities outside of the City Centre.

“We established the Buskers Festival in partnership with the Waterfront and it has become a great event for families and visitors to the City. We want to keep the Fringe brand alive on the streets and to take the spirit of busking further afield this year, and have approached funders for support to do this,” Lankester said.