This year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival, turning 40, is about time – literally.
The 2022 theme ‘it’s about time’ celebrates four extraordinary decades of history while looking boldly into the future, to bring the best, boundary-pushing art to the present.
A list of leading companies feature such as Back To Back Theatre, Lucy Guerin Inc, Polyglot Theatre, Matthias Schack-Arnott, Koorie Heritage Trust, Theatre Replacement, Kutcha Edwards, Bernie Dieter, and more than 450 events in clubs, theatres, computer screens, galleries, parks, and bars. . . Including the return of the Festival Hub at Trades Hall, and the introduction of Festival Park at Queen Victoria Market.
There are boundary-pushing events throughout the entire programme. It’s led by its largest Deadly Fringe programme, celebrating First Nations artists exploring concepts of time – past, present and future. More than 51 per cent of the shows in the festival are led by LGBTQIA+ artists, including 290 trans and gender diverse artists.
“Through this festival, we’re writing a history of the future,” Creative Director & CEO Simon Abrahams says.
'Loafaoke' – Image © Michael Reynolds
“This year’s Fringe celebrates 40 years of extraordinary game-changing, city-shaping art from the margins, as we look to what we will create over the next four decades. We’ve centred free events as our birthday gift back to the city, including a huge, immersive exhibition at State Library Victoria, free participatory public artworks and of course the return of our iconic Fringe Parade.
“After three years, we are thrilled to take to the streets for our 40th birthday – there’s a lot to celebrate. Melbourne Fringe is back!”
Highlights include The Rest Is Up To You – a free exhibition and sound installation at the State Library of Victoria reflecting on the Fringe’s history; ‘Pendulum’, a site-specific, contemporary dance event where dancers move in sync with a field of suspended bells; ‘Radial’, a new short film shot on the streets of Prahran on a circular camera track showing 40 years of the Fringe community in motion.
'Dynasty: Drag & Dumplings' – Image © Lexy Potts
Plus, there’s free outdoor live music event Town Choir; First Nations programme Deadly Fringe featuring brand-new works from senior and established First Nations artists; Radical Access which is a programme for Deaf and Disabled artists and arts workers; Fringe Focus Taiwan featuring works from contemporary Taiwanese artists; and Springboard – a remarkable series of experimental and innovative new circus works which have been in development for three years.
Melbourne Fringe Festival’s Open Access Program features more than 400 events from more than 2,000 independent artists. ‘Live Leisure Yabby Fishing Restaurant’ is an hour of fishing where you’ll be able to catch yabbies then pass them to a chef to dispatch ethically and be cooked. ‘Loafaoke’ is a Meatloaf-themed communal karaoke session. ‘Dynasty: Drag & Dumplings’ features a fabulous queer Asian cast bringing Old Shanghai cabaret to life, in a drag and dine show featuring handmade vegan yum cha delicacies.
Check out the full programme online.
Melbourne Fringe Festival runs from 6-23 October.
