AN EXTRAVAGANZA of performance art, plays, punchlines and pop music begins on Friday as the Swindon Fringe Festival returns.

This year’s programme is packed to the brim with a wide variety of shows and organisers are confident that they’ve got something for everyone.

It all kicks off with the free-to-enter opening night at The Crossing on Friday from 7pm, with live music from Flame&Co, Hallelugenia and Canute’s Plastic Army, plus street performers Darine Flanagan and Madi Worthington, and market food and artisan drinks on offer. Guests will get the chance to mingle with the stars of several Fringe Festival shows and find out first-hand what’s being performed.

Burger Priest, Broccoli Pasta and Pizza, Franklins, Soul Shack, and Indy’s Vegan Kitchen will be open late for the event, and there will be a bar stocking up on ales from Hop Kettle Brewing Company, wines, ciders and soft drinks.

Victoria Capener of Indy’s Vegan Kitchen said: “The opening night of the Swindon Fringe last year was a great night with a wonderful atmosphere – so much fun. I’m sure this year will be bigger and better than ever.”

The return of the Groovy Pig Festival at The Victoria on Saturday from 5pm is an early highlight, with nine bands performing over seven hours.

The winners of the Best Performance Award at last year’s Swindon Fringe Festival will return with a new show Tropez!at Artiste on Monday April 8 at 7.30pm. Nathan Peter Grassi and Ida Berglöw Kenneway’s fast-paced comedy follows a cat burglar and a gigolo in St Tropez who desperately want to join the jet-setters and glitterati of the chic French town but are repeatedly shunned and ignored by society.

Rachel Mae Brady will bring her semi-autobiographical show Wolf Tamer to the Olive Tree Cafe on April 9 from 7.30pm. The show is a personal project based on how Rachel and her family dealt with the sudden loss of her uncle Neil

Alexandra Ricou will perform her show Monstrous for the first time at Artsite on Thursday April 11 at 7.30pm during her first-ever visit to the festival.

Monstrous follows the emotional journey of Hera, the Ancient Greek goddess of women and marriage, and examines the numerous hypocrisies and injustices women have faced over thousands of years. Using dark comedy and spoken word, the performance piece aims to question how far society has progressed in terms of its ideas of gender and gender equality.

Wiltshire-born writer Jules Hobbs will star in the Third Witch From The Left at Artiste on April 11 from 7.30pm, which imagines what happened after the end of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Jules hopes that her 50-minute drama will make audiences laugh, groan and even cry.

The Incredible Comic Shop is hosting Fringe Festival shows for the first time, and it’s a suitably-nerdy double bill: a look into the past with Steve McLean’s Action Figure Archive and an improvised episode of the Twilight Zone called After Dusk, from 7.30pm on April 12.

Stand up from Tony Cowards, Andrew White, Paul Richards, the Swinge Comedy Extravaganza and Ocelot Comedy Night will provide plenty of laughs.

Festival organiser Molly Campbell said: "Last year's festival was our favourite so far and we thought we would stick to the same format, but the quality of this year's applications has been so astounding that we've included even more in the programme.We've got old favourites coming back and new surprises that showcase something really original and different, plus several local acts."

Tickets for single shows are £5 in advance and £7 on the door, double shows are £10 in advance and £12 on the door. Families can look forward to a bunch of free and fun daily workshops in The Brunel Shopping Centre, including arts and crafts, dance, hula-hooping, andmusic. An Alice in Wonderland-themed show at Swindon Dance on April 14 will give audiences of all ages the chance to shape her story.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit swindonfringefestival.com