Chichester Fringe commissioning grant winners announced!

Chichester Fringe has announced the winners for its brand-new commissioning grant scheme.

The two worthy winners are local writer and director Lin Robinson and University of Chichester Graduate Iona Rose. Both have been awarded £250 to help bring their work to life, as well as a place to debut their work in the Chichester Fringe 2025 programme.

Lin Robinson, writer and director for Troubadour theatre said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be one of the two recipients of the first Chichester Fringe Commissioning Grant award, 2025, and very grateful to the Fringe Team for considering me worthy of this funding. I’m looking forward to getting the production process underway and to Troubadour Theatre’s participation in the Fringe in June.”

Lin’s winning application will see her show ‘Toil’ take to the stage this Summer. ‘Toil’ tells the story of six women who are confined on a small farm and must toil everyday, in a state of ‘transition’, to atone for their past mortal sins. A new arrival upsets the harmony of the group and it is through this new arrival that we learn the histories of the other women and why they find themselves in this purgatory.

Iona Rose is the second of the two winners with her new play, ‘Three Witches Brew’;  a comedy play about the three witches from Macbeth, but not as you know them! They are out on a hen do when they get a phone call from Lady Macbeth asking them to fake a prophecy for her husband. The cast aims to give audiences a fun, accessible way to get into Shakespeare.

The grant will allow the three actors involved in the show to meet in person for rehearsals as they live in different locations, in Scotland & Wales! Iona is hoping to take the show on afterwards to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The Directors of Chichester Fringe were thrilled to receive such a variety of applicants for the grant scheme this year.

Director, Katie Bennett said, “We are thrilled to confirm that due to its initial success in 2025, our Commissioning Grant scheme will definitely be returning for 2026, with the help of our ongoing funding from Chichester City Council. It is such an honour to continue to help artists get their work onto a stage for the first time!”

You can watch ‘Toil’ and ‘Three Witches Brew’ during Chichester Fringe 2025, which runs from 31 May until 14 June. The full line-up will be announced in March. Head to its website to be kept updated and be the first to secure your tickets: www.chichesterfringe.co.uk