Delft Fringe Festival 2025 festively launched: 'Together with the city, the festival gives young makers a stage'

Delft, Wednesday 28 May - The 14th edition of the Delft Fringe Festival kicked off on Tuesday evening 27 May. During the festive opening in Theater de Veste, the audience immediately felt why this festival is so special: it is all about meeting, renewal and cooperation. Together with partners in the city, the festival transforms the city every year into a stage for the up-and-coming talent of the future. Until 8 June, you will see cabaret, dance, music and theatre at 30 special locations. The city is buzzing - and the festival has really started. 
During the opening, Collective Dystopia, Lilian Kafa & Yadhira De León Matos and Collective Tender played. The evening was presented by poet Wessel Klootwijk.

Connecting to the city

Roel Funcken, director Delft Fringe Festival: "In recent years, the festival has grown into a strong and valued platform for up-and-coming performing arts talent. We don't do this alone, we do this together with the whole city! The connection with partners, cultural institutions and organisations - such as Gemeente Delft, Theater de Veste and Cultuurhuis Delft, as well as educational institutions such as the CLD and the Stadsverbinders - has anchored the festival in Delft and makes it possible to offer new makers the space to grow and experiment." But the audience is also indispensable: Delfters are curious, open to new theatre forms and embrace the festival.

Culture Press: "That special relationship between artists, venues and audiences is something the organisation exudes in every fibre."

Need

"The growth of the festival is also proving to be a dire necessity. "After last year's record number of applications - which was really barely manageable for our small organisation - this year we reduced the registration time of our open call from three to two months. This resulted in a slightly smaller number of applications, 375 compared to 410 last year. Relatively speaking, this still represents an upward trend, which unfortunately also shows that there is still a glaring shortage of play spaces for young creators in the Netherlands."

The best outing during Ascension and Pentecost

In the coming weeks, the makers will play their performances at special locations in the city. As a result, audiences will not only be theatrically surprised, but will really go on a voyage of discovery in Delft. For instance, makers perform in the imposing Nieuwe Kerk - where William of Orange is buried - but also in audience favourites such as the centuries-old Molen de Roos and the hidden gem the Stadsboerderij Rietveld. New this year are performances in the new 'breeding ground' in the Kabeldistrict, an industrial area just outside the city, with no fewer than five new venues in and around the Schiehallen.