Melbourne Fringe Festival enters its final week, serving up a multidisciplinary spread of arts and culture events throughout Melbourne. Running until 20 October, here are some of the shows not to be missed in the final throws of this year’s program:
Finucane & Smith’s Global Smash Club
Twenty years after Burlesque Hour rampaged into life and burnt cabaret to the ground, the now internationally acclaimed show has toured 18 countries, won 13 awards and received rave reviews in 9 languages. Fringe living legend Moira Finucane leads a titillating club spectacular alongside Australian cabaret darlings Maude Davey, Yumi Umiumare, Mama Alto and more.
16 – 19 October at Trades Hall, ETU Ballroom
Werewolf
A political thriller by Van Badham and directed by Gary Abrahams, Werewolf follows a fascist speaking tour arriving in Melbourne. As government and media grapple with its implications, local radicals from both the hard left and far right gear up for an anticipated clash. As tensions rise, the characters’ true identities and facades begin to intertwine, resulting in monstrous transformations. Blending dark humour with 80s horror tropes, the play serves as a sharp social commentary on the resurgence of extreme ideologies.
16 – 26 October at Arts Centre Melbourne, The Show Room
COOKED: Hot Nights – Democracy Sausage
As part of Long Prawn’s Fed Square takeover, COOKED will continue its series of events in the amphitheatre where public dining meets performance. Curated and performed by David Williams, Democracy Sausage threads together the voices of ordinary citizens, elected representatives, karaoke outbursts and polling booth sausage sizzles in a spirited BBQ extravaganza.
14 Oct, Fed Square, Amphitheatre
SUGAR takes on the bangers we love and smashes them into a poignant, sexy and hilarious story about being a kept Sugar Baby. Starring Tomáš Kantor (The Inheritance and Opera Australia’s Watershed: The Death of Dr. Duncan), this gender-queer cabaret is inspired by the obscene riches of Australia’s Sugar Baby culture.
16 – 20 October at Trades Hall, Common Rooms
A semi-autobiographical-time-travelling-sci-fi adventure, Notes from a Black Hole is a story about two people, one fastidious spaceship, and an epic rescue mission a thousand years in the making. Based on a (mostly) true story and written by award-winning storyteller Rowena Hutson, this rollicking space oddity is a loving and ludicrous lurch into one young person’s experience of anxiety and depression and out the other side.
16 – 20 October, La Mama Courthouse
Part of the Deadly Fringe program, Na Djinang Circus with Circa Cairns present this contemporary circus work that delves into connections with humanity, culture and place, seamlessly blending acrobatic skill and sophisticated storytelling. For the past year local participants have cared for a native plant, growing alongside each other to discover a deep connection with the land, the work and themselves. The journey of these plants will be intertwined into the In Place performance, a coming together of art with nature to delve into society’s impact on the land and its impact on us.
16 – 20 October, Footscray Community Arts – Amphitheatre
Fringe-favourites YUCK are back with a totally hot, totally bitchin’ brand-new show. Audiences can expect Backstreet Boys, Britney, and big throwback energy, mixed with high-flying acrobatics and award-winning ripper comedy.
17 – 20 October, The Ukiyo.
Billycarts wil roll down Queensberry and Errol streets for one day only, with the Queensberry Cup returning to celebrate the vibrant communities of North and West Melbourne. More than a Billycart race, the event transforms the precinct into a street festival that reflects, celebrates and supports the local residents, businesses, students and workers of our dynamic inner-city suburbs.
19 October, Queensberry & Errol Streets
Melbourne Fringe Festival 2024
1 – 20 October
