Edinburgh's Forest Fringe branches out

The Forest Fringe is putting down roots in London with a residency at the Gate. The tiny, not-for-profit hub started life in 2007, churning out free, round-the-clock experimental theatre in the Forest Café, just off Bristo Square at the heart of the Edinburgh Fringe. Over five years it has become a crucial stop-off for anyone looking for the next big thing from new work by Bryony Kimmings to Kindle's play/ dinner party held in the back of a van. Last year, Daniel Kitson performed a midnight gig at the cafe that went on until dawn.

For the London run, two artists will curate a week each. Chris Thorpe will tell a new story each night alongside Chris Goode and Tinned Fingers, and Dan Canham will perform his elegy to a derelict theatre, 30 Cecil Street, and present work by Search Party and Little Bulb,.

As for the Forest Café, it has been boarded up since October after the charity that owned it went bust. "But that's by no means the end of it", says Andy Field, co-director of Forest Fringe. "By the summer, it will have one if not two new venues. We're planning a smaller, more unusual Edinburgh presence this year, returning bigger and better in 2013."

9 to 21 April (www.gatetheatre.co.uk)