THE Somerset Fringe Festival is returning bigger and better next summer at a number of venues across the county.

The event provides a showcase for emerging and existing music, dance, art and drama talent.

Among the venues already on board are The McMillan Theatre in Bridgwater and The Princess Theatre in Burnham.

A spokesman for the festival said: “Our aim is to encourage diverse entertainment from local artists, celebrating both seasoned professionals as well as the undiscovered.

“We are delighted and hugely encouraged at the response to the 2016 Festival. It is a chance for people in Somerset to discover something different, ambitious and innovative without having to go all the way to Edinburgh.

“We would love to hear from more venues which would like to be involved as well as artists wanting to take part.”

Sam Nicol, manager of The Princess Theatre in Burnham said she was excited to this summer’s event: “The Somerset Fringe was a huge success for our venue. Not only were the artists and staff a joy to work with, it brought in a new audience and financially benefited the theatre beyond our estimations. We cannot wait to be involved in 2016, we couldn’t encourage other venues more.

Local artist, Huw Richards Evans, who was specially commissioned to provide artwork for the hit TV show, Broadchurch, was equally enthusiastic.

“It was a great experience to be part of the inaugural Somerset Fringe Festival. We were impressed with the Somerset Fringe’s enthusiastic, driven and professional approach, the marketing and venue and I hope that the fringe gains even more recognition.”

The dates for next year are: August 22 to September 4. For full details, go to: www.somersetfringefestival.com