Touring Companies
Applications for the Bristol Shakespeare Festival are open from December to February, annually.
Every year, we host touring companies from across the UK and abroad throughout the month of July. On average, our touring companies stage more than 40 performances across ten locations, with an average of 4,000 audience members throughout the month.
There are two options for our touring companies:
If you’re planning to charge for tickets:
If you will be charging your audience for tickets, we ask for an up-front festival entry fee which covers the cost of marketing, festival volunteers, box office, public liability insurance (alongside your own) and any other additional assistance required. We have both Premium and Standard packages available to suit your budget.
If your tickets will be free or by-donation:
If you would like to perform at the Bristol Shakespeare Festival and wish to stage a free-to-attend performance as part of our Free Fringe, there is no festival entry fee.
If you are not local to Bristol and need some help finding a suitable venue, we are happy to help. We have good relationships with a variety of local performance spaces and can help to find one to suit your production. We expect all companies to hold separate agreements with their venue of choice, and that all site licenses and other necessary documents are acquired by the company prior to the performance date.
All festival participants who apply on time will receive the following:
- Full show listing on our website
- Full marketing support on social media, in local press and in any interviews undertaken by the festival
- Tickets sold through a central box office managed by the Bristol Shakespeare Festival (all companies should provide an allocation of tickets to be sold by us)
- Regular audience and ticket sales updates
- Festival volunteers at each performance to assist with ushering, box office collection, programme sales, etc.
- Regular communication with the festival management team to answer any queries