It’s goodbye to the punts, the spires and the crowds of students in bizarre exam-garb – the 2013 Oxford Fringe is over.

Following the cancellation of the orinally planned festival, this year’s Oxford Fringe was an attempt by all the acts and venues intending to take part, to keep the Fringe spirit going in Oxford. With essentially no budget, we split the costs of basic advertising between us, and relied on feet on the ground, word-of-mouth, positive press and social media to spread the word.

Underground Venues were once more running the Old Fire Station’s main theatre space for the duration of the Fringe. Following a successful 2012 we planned to increase our programme by 30%, bringing in both big names and promising newcomers to the 90-seat Arts Centre. Now with a replacement Fringe, hastily put together by its participants, it was uncertain if this gamble would pay off.

However, following the final tally after last night’s final show, we are proud to announce the following:

• Total ticket sales were up on 2012
• Gross box office takings were up
• Average audience per show have increased

All of which is a great credit to the performers and promoters involved in Underground Venues this year, as well as our staff and our wonderful hosts at the Old Fire Station.

More importantly, it bodes very well for the future of the Fringe in Oxford, which we will to continue to support and are keen to see continue to flourish.

Our thanks also to the other venues at the Oxford Fringe: the Oxford Playhouse‘s Burton Taylor Studio, the Ashmolean Museum, Art Jericho, Turl Street Kitchen, Albion Beatnik Bookstore, the Friends Meeting House and East Oxford Community Centre. We couldn’t have done it without you.