Image: Dade Freeman

The biggest fringe festival in England kicks off today (May 1), with a number of new venues opening and shows starting in Brighton.

The Brighton Fringe runs from May 1 to May 31, and has around 760 individual events.

Julian Caddy, the Brighton Fringe Managing Director, said: “I think this is the very best time of the year really.

“It is where everything you have been working towards over the year really comes to life.

“It’s a great moment.”

The Fringe is home to a number of different genres of live performance over the month, including cabaret, dance, theatre and stand-up comedy.

High profile shows include stand-up from Tom Deacon, and a Brighton-set play called The Bombing Of The Grand Hotel.

This play tells the story of the Brighton bomber Patrick Magee, and the daughter of one of his victims, Jo Berry.

As well as that, highlights include Shit-Faced Shakespeare returning to Brighton, Louise Reay’s It’s Only Words, and live performance life–drawing show Drawing Circus.

This year’s Brighton Fringe includes 175 free events, 3516 performances and 176 venues.

One of the most famous of those venues, The Warren, has relocated to St. Peter’s Church.

It is thought around 250,000 people will attend the festival over the month, and it was estimated that last year’s event saw a boost of around £10 Million to Brighton and Hove’s economy.

The Brighton Fringe runs from May 1 to May 31. For more information, and tickets to all the shows, click here.