The definition of what a fringe festival can be blurred in this day and age – you sometimes get ‘big names’ on lineups, and the biggest arts festival in the world is a fringe festival for goodness sake. In any case, it’s a huge bunch of talent full of great shows and performances that are undeniably unique.
With both Sydney & Melbourne Fringe Festivals coming up next month there’ll be loads of good stuff on stages in both cities. We plunged through the program for Sydney and decided to guide you through some real great talent on show for the Sydney Fringe, happening the whole month of September.
Hannah Boland – The Best Medicine
September 10th, The Factory Theatre
Harnessing the ability to take what life throws at you and turning it into comedic gold is one of the reasons Hannah Boland’s The Best Medicine is my pick for the Sydney Fringe Comedy Festival. Relatable comedy with family afiliations really does sound like the best medicine – Naomi Gall
More info & tickets here.
Fringe At World Square
August 30th – October 4th, World Square
Pop by a little disco in the middle of the city! You can head on out and just have your own little party for yourself. But at the same time, you can just chill out and take in the surrounds. An actual Silent Disco will also be held on September 22nd.
More info & tickets here
Silent Dinner Party
September 24th, Paddington Town Hall
A huge hit at last year’s festival, performance artist Honi Ryan sets up a feast for 400 people and instructs you all to be quiet. No dinner conversation is allowed! This living art installation brings the audience into the performance, and highlights our interactions with each other, by having none of that at all.
More info & tickets here
Keep Calling
September 13–17, PACT Emerging Theatre
Primitive Grace Theatre ensemble member Chelsea Ingram‘s Keep Calling is a provocative play from one of Australia’s most prolific writers and producers based in New York City. She and fellow Primitive Grace member Luke Edward Smith come back to Sydney to present this confronting play about children exploring the unknown.
More info & tickets here
The Wasp
September 20–24, Erskinville Town Hall
This is UK playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s latest electric thriller, coming straight from two critically acclaimed productions in London. An all new staging explores how far beyond the playground we carry our childhood experiences and to what lengths some people are willing to go in order to come to terms with them.
More info & tickets here
Frida Deguise – Outspoken
September 7 & 9, The Factory Theatre
An amazing stellar combination of burqas and Metallica? Why not! Frida Deguise has wowed with her previous performances with Joe Avanti, she now goes out on her own with a great unique brand of wit.
More info & tickets here
An Evening With Our Theatre Elders
September 7, Eternity Playhouse
Acclaimed actors will get together for this talk about how much the theatre industry has moved on throughout the years. Stories, insights and lots of great reminiscence with greats such as Penny Cook, Ron Haddrick, and Nancy Hayes.
More info & tickets here
Bart Freebairn’s Fancy Romance Fringe Show
September 7, 9 & 11, The Factory Theatre
The master of the ‘Finty Grimbles’ and other random expressions that don’t make sense, Bart Freebairn will make sure that your brain is whacked out with as many zingers as he can. And he probably will go to KFC to get them as well.
More info & tickets here
The Sydney Fringe Festival is on from September 1 – 30. To check out everything that’s happening, head to their website.
———-