The Melbourne Fringe Festival returns for its 42nd annual celebration, running from 1 – 20 October 2024.
With over 470 diverse events taking place across Melbourne, the festival invites audiences to Eat Your Art Out with a program full of delectable experiences for both food and art lovers.
This year’s festival is a two-stream event featuring a curated program of hand-picked works from established and emerging artists, alongside an open access program created by independent artists. The open access framework remains a cornerstone of the festival, allowing anyone to register and participate, ensuring a democratic and inclusive celebration of the arts.
Melbourne Fringe Festival 2024
- Tuesday 1 October – Sunday 20 October 2024
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COOKED: A public dining meets performance space
COOKED is one of the festival’s standout features, transforming Federation Square into a public dining meets performance space. This year’s Melbourne Fringe Civic Commission project, COOKED will see an architect-designed hot plate stage serve as the centrepiece for a series of events. With culinary mavericks Long Prawn at the helm, the installation will host pop-up performances, free food distributions, and lively discussions throughout the festival.
Seasoning the Grill: A First Nations-led event
The festival will kick off with Seasoning the Grill on 1 October, a First Nations-led event featuring a blend of traditional and contemporary performance art, smoke, dance, DJs, and food. This event marks the beginning of a series of engaging experiences at COOKED.
COOKED: Hot Nights
In the evenings, COOKED: Hot Nights will see artists and chefs collaborate on a series of performances and dinners. Highlights include Indecisive Cinema – Steak & Sausages, where South Korean film collective STEAK will present underground cinema paired with culinary delights from Long Prawn.
Fringe Focus Taiwan: Contemporary dance works
The Fringe Focus Taiwan program will return with contemporary dance works that explore the body. Noteworthy performances include TOMATO, a rib-tickling work of sex, lust, and a box of tomatoes, and Girl’s Notes, which reimagines an anonymous 90s book instructing women on how to behave.
FEAST by Pony Cam
The culinary theme continues with Pony Cam’s FEAST at The Substation, an intimate dinner party where food and performance converge across a multi-course degustation. Audiences can expect an immersive experience as they partake in this unique blend of theatre and dining.
Opening Night Gala at the Capitol Theatre
The Opening Night Gala at the Capitol Theatre promises a bold and vibrant showcase of festival highlights, featuring a variety of performances that set the tone for the festival. Guests are encouraged to dress in their best food-themed attire, adding a playful twist to the festivities.
Fringe Flavours Night Market at Queen Victoria Market
In partnership with Queen Victoria Market, the festival will present the Fringe Flavours Night Market, a five-week takeover of the popular night market starting in September. This event will feature a smorgasbord of Fringe artists, offering a taste of the diverse talents in this year’s program.
Deadly Fringe: Indigenous voices and perspectives
The Deadly Fringe program will once again highlight Indigenous voices, with Digital Echoes exploring translation through technology and music. This new work by Aaron Wyatt and Speak Percussion will take place at Arts House, combining contemporary classical music with percussive art.
Nocturnal: Food for Thought at Melbourne Museum
The Melbourne Museum will join in the festival with Nocturnal: Food for Thought, offering after-hours performances, talks, tours, and access to the museum’s exhibits, including Victoria the T. rex. This event pairs bite-sized performances with a thought-provoking exploration of food and culture.
Pulse program: Exploring consent and gender
The Pulse program will feature works that delve into themes of consent and gender, with notable performances including Flames Danced in Their Hair But Did Not Burn Them by Fraught Outfit, and Body of Knowledge – an intimate and playful work performed by teenagers calling into the theatre on mobile phones.
XS program: Bold and contemporary work for children
For younger audiences, the XS program will present innovative and contemporary work, such as Dream Swamp by choreographer Melanie Lane. This whimsical performance transports young viewers into an absurd and uncanny universe of magic, adventure, and transformation.
Festival Hub at Trades Hall
Ever the beating heart of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, the Festival Hub at Trades Hall will host over 100 events throughout the festival. A must-see highlight is Finucane & Smith’s Global Smash Club, celebrating 20 years of the international smash-hit Burlesque Hour with an outrageous club spectacular.
The full program is out now, inviting audiences to explore the wild, wonderful, and spectacular events on offer. For more information, visit melbournefringe.com.au.
