Sydney Fringe Festival launches this week with over 400 events across the city this September
Sydney Fringe Festival, the city’s largest independent arts festival, launches this week with a dynamic program of over 400 events and 12 festival hubs taking over the city until 30 September. The Festival kicks off with Fringe Ignite on Saturday 2 September, headlined by the iconic Rogue Traders alongside live performances by The Great West, False London, MUNGMUNG, PEPTALK and DJ Victoria Anthony.
Spanning theatre, music, comedy, visual art, film, musical theatre, dance, circus, street festivals, literature and poetry, Sydney Fringe Festival program highlights also include:
- Spiegeltent Festival Garden takes over Entertainment Quarter from 31 August – 1 October, with the iconic Sydney Spiegeltent home to Australia’s hottest new musical comedy The Marvellous Elephant Man the Musical. Also landing at EQ is the 300 seater circus dome, The Vault, with a program of shows including the multi-5-Star reviewed GODZ by Headfirst Acrobatics.
- Sydney Fringe Sideshow will activate The Rocks from 31 August – 1 October with a program of intimate shows spanning comedy, theatre, music and immersive performance. Highlights include Lola’s Piano Bar, the ultimate pop-up musical theatre club; and Radiohead Uncovered: How to Disappear Completely, the haunting music of Radiohead reimagined through 24 original choral and instrumental arrangements.
- The Sydney Fringe Cabaret Club returns to the Castlereagh Boutique Hotel from 1 – 30 September with a program of fabulous cabaret shows, including legendary Australian cabaret performer Naomi Eyers, creator of the acclaimed cabaret group The Fabulous Singlettes, who brings her show GlamourPussy & The Hip Replacements. Sparkling with glamour, the show will feature well-worn favourites, original songs as well as rewritten classics. Plus join drag royalty Hannah Conda, Charisma Belle, and Carmen Geddit for an unforgettable night of glamour, empowerment, and fierce talent; and experience a mass karaoke sing along at Loafaoke, where everyone is encouraged to join in, and the only options are Meatloaf songs.
- The Neilson Studio at Sydney Dance Company will host Sydney Fringe’s first-ever Dance Hub from 14 – 16 September. Highlights include proud Ngarrindjeri/Bungandidj man and choreographer Lewis Major’s performance work Lien: One-to-One, an intimate exchange between one dancer and one audience member, who come together on an empty stage for a singular ten-minute encounter, never to be repeated.
- Sydney Fringe’s Music Hub is transforming the basement of the Marrickville Town Hall into a cosy listening haven across the month celebrating music in all its forms. The lineup includes Billie McCarthy, Green Mohair Suits, The Versace Boys x Gimme Gimme, Godriguez, and Bower.
- Young Henrys returns with their Best Served Loud live music series for one-night only at The Albion Hotel, Parramatta on 16 September. The lineup features Kamilaroi-Samoan singer-songwriter Becca Hatch, hip-hop artist Vv Pete, Blacktown rapper and producer Isaac Puerile and Western Sydney DJ and producer Sollyy.
- Chinese-Australian writer, comedian, and food enthusiast Jennifer Wong hosts FEAST at Hurstville Entertainment Centre on Thursday 14 September. A sumptuous night of storytelling, laughter, and Filipino food, FEAST features Wong and six of Sydney’s funniest comedians, writers and a chef, as they guide audiences through a family-style feast with stories about how we eat, and how we live.
- Made in Sydney is back from 5 – 9 September at PACT Centre for Emerging Artists, with an incredible program of three locally made works by Sydney’s most exciting independent theatre-makers and artists. The program includes performing artist, writer and composer Almitra Mavalvala’s genre-bending, one-woman show Blacklisted. A heart-warming, autobiographical tale of borders and belonging, the show features an original score inspired by South Asian classical music, jazz, rock and blues. Also featured is Plenty of Fish, a darkly humorous and physically adventurous contemporary fable about finding the perfect catch, created and performed by theatre-maker collective Clockfire Theatre Co featuring Emily Ayoub and Madeleine Baghurst; and Betty is a Butcher, an unmissable debut play written and performed by Thomas Campbell exploring the need for love and the power of family.
- Bringing to Sydney smash-hit shows from the international Fringe circuit, the Touring Hub at PACT Centre for Emerging Artists from 12 – 23 September features award-winning productions from the USA, New Zealand, Poland, the UK and all across Australia. Highlights include creator, performer and founder of Kropka Theatre, Jolanta Juszkiewicz’s solo show The Mother, an absurdist exploration of the relationship between mother and son; and comedic storyteller Jon Bennett’s acclaimed show Playing with Men examining toxic masculinity in Australia’s football culture.
- The pioneering LIMITLESS micro-festival returns to Sydney Fringe. With a dedicated hub at 107 Redfern from 4 – 16 September, LIMITLESS celebrates d/Deaf and disabled artists while offering an inclusive and accessible space for audiences and artists to enjoy. Highlights of the program include Crips & Creeps, an inclusive comedy showcase; The Reckoning, a poetic theatre piece by Sue Jo Wright performed entirely in Auslan; and a screening of short films curated by queer, disabled artist and advocate Emily Dash.
- Annual favourite Acoustic Ritual is back at George Place from 7 – 28 September, featuring a series of free morning concerts by leading local singer-songwriters including Sarah Belkner, Pat Powell and Clayton Doley, Hinano Fujisaki, and Leah Flannagan.
- A pop-up cabaret club at Riverside Theatres presents Big Thick Energy on 16 September, a one-day festival promoting body positivity, inclusivity, accessibility and liberation through dance and music.
- On 30 September, the final night of the festival, audiences can immerse themselves in an explosion of Caribbean culture, as picó sound system collective El Gran Mono takes over Kensington Street for the official closing party Caribe Carnival.
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