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6 - 22 June 2025

Wandsworth Arts Fringe

2025 was WAF’s most ambitious year yet, showcasing more than 150 events across 65 local venues. It was led by 125 lead creatives and producers, with 767 creatives in total, and reached an audience of 24,842 people.

WAF 2025 At a glance

  • 17 days of brand-new theatre, experimental dance, live music, art, cabaret, comedy, community events and celebrations, and family-friendly activities.
  • 154 events across all of Wandsworth’s 22 wards in 65 local venues, including in parks, streets, churches, residential estates, libraries, pubs and theatres.
  • 24,842 people attended WAF 2025, a 43% increase from 2024 (17,434).
  • 1,176 children and young people participated in the LBOC School showcases for dance, music, theatre and collaging.
  • £279,548 local economic value was generated.
  • 767 creatives were involved.
  • 83% of audiences agreed that the event they attended enhanced their sense of community.
  • 30 WAF grants awarded, totalling £56,479 to local artists for work presented across this year’s festival.
  • Almost one third of creatives (31%) involved in WAF identified as being from the Global Majority or from culturally diverse backgrounds, a quarter (26%) identified as disabled, 20% as LGBTQIA+ and 16% as having been eligible for free school meals.
“Having grown up in Wandsworth, it’s great to see cultural events and activities being promoted.”

Programme Highlights Included:

  • Jazz After Dusk - A relaxed rooftop evening of live jazz, smooth melodies and soulful rhythms for audience members under the summer sky
  • .eve - A thought-provoking new work exploring confinement, resilience and the search for hope within invisible systems of control.
  • Operation Blank - A darkly comic play by up-and-coming Scottish writer George Grant. Set entirely on a fictional Microsoft Teams call, it explored themes of unfulfillment and existentialism, blending surreal humour with sharp observations about modern online life.
  • Saree Stories - A performance exploring the cultural history, symbolism and meaning of the saree through storytelling and theatre.
  • Rosie Jones & Toussaint Douglass - A standout night of sharp, mischievous comedy that featured Taskmaster and Live at the Apollo favourite Rosie Jones, alongside South London’s own Toussaint Douglass (Late Night Mash, Outsiders).
  • MINCE, presented by Sophie Chapman & Moa Johansson - A “queers to the front” experimental work-in-progress night where musicians, filmmakers, poets, comedians and performers tested new ideas in a supportive, open environment.
“Great initiative and really important to have events like this in accessible spaces for the entire community. Also really valuable for organising groups, performers, etc, to have financial assistance, which allows them to raise their profile and supports them to host accessible events more widely too.”