Festival Club
Festival Club is party central during Fringe. Located in the Festival Hub, the Fringe Club opens and takes out the festival and plays host to all of the good times in between for free every goddamn night. Doors open at 6pm nightly (except for Sundays, where they’re thrown open at 5pm).
Fun times include Noughties by Nature – the dance club brainchild of Talia Wolfgramm (of soul queen, Wolfgramm Sisters fame) and Anna Go-Go (grand dame of Anna’s Go-Go Academy). In previous years the pair have broken festival records and dance floors with their 1992-1-Oh celebration of grunge, flannie and all things ’90s. This year, they turn their attention to the 2000s. Bring your dance shoes and get in early – there’s no pre-booking for this baby.
We’re also loving the chance to hit the Moth StorySLAM for a chance to live our own Girls moment. The Moth concept involves live storytelling by aspiring and established writers – but basically, anyone can have a bash. The theme for the literary throw down is “lost and found” and Moth is looking for tales of departure and redemption. Put pen to paper on the topic, BYO penned piece, stick your name in a hat and if called let rip with a five-minute recitation of your tale. Comedian Cal Wilson will do her best to keep this writers’ riot in check.
Fringe Hub
While Fringe events play out all over Melbourne (yes, even in Doncaster) the heart of festival is located at North Melbourne’s Fringe Hub, taking in the retro-Soviet bloc chic of the Lithuanian Club, Arts House and Errol’s Café. Playing host to over 70 events, three bars and the Festival Club, it’s the place to be.
We’re not necessarily encouraging it, but theoretically you could just live at the Lithuanian Club during Fringe. For a start, hit the main theatre in the Lithuanian Club for some of the bigger scale shows, including Damian Cowell’s Disco Machine. Cowell, the evil mastermind behind TISM, decided he just wanted to have some disco silliness and wrote songs accordingly, which he performs with mates. In the past, he’s roped in Tim Rogers and Shaun Micallef. From the audience’s perspective it’s an all dancing, all laughing good time.
Then, work your way into some of the some of the smaller rooms, like the Loft for a spot of Fringe exploration. Try comedian Laura Davis’ confessional Marco. Polo. for all of the feels.
If you’re on babysitting duties the Kids Club is also in the Hub.
Kids VS Art
Bless their hearts, kids don’t hold back: if they think something is shit, they’ll tell you. With this in mind, Fringe has lit upon the genius idea of unleashing small fry upon this year’s festival, bringing the harshest criticism and some brutal honesty to play in the Kids Vs Art podcast.
Let’s face it, grown-up editorial is skewed by all sorts of subjective factors, but kids play with a straight bat. So if you want the low down on whether or not you should see a show, have a listen to what Fringe’s junior festival-goers have to say. The podcast will feature reviews, interviews with Fringe artists and the kids’ reflections on the festival’s program. We’re looking forward to hearing little peeps put the hard-hitting questions that politeness precludes us from asking – like, why the fuck did you think that was a good idea for a show? Sans swearing, maybe.
For a no-holds barred exposé on Fringe, listen in when new podcasts are released on Thursday September 15, 22 and 29. You can find them on the Fringe site, Soundcloud or at the Fringe Hub.
Families at Fringe
Knowing that there’s nothing worse than being forced to endure a kids’ show that makes you want to kill yourself, this year’s Fringe puts a renewed emphasis on quality family programming, commissioning six shows just for the festival. They’re so goddamn good that you’ll be borrowing kids if you don’t have access to any already.
DJ, comedian and host with the most Andrew McClelland is running a special edition of his Finishing School dance party for kids and their keepers. Knowing that kids can end up with a musical diet of Katie Perry and T-Swift if left to their own devices, McClelland is taking it upon himself to educate little ears with quality tunes, including musical gems from the likes of Prince and misery makers The Smiths.
Another plus is the inclusion of cabaret diva Yana Alana in the program, who’s down for some queer-family fun in Rainbow Cactus. Alana promises to tell some tales and perform some glittering numbers in a colourful celebration of diversity.
The Fringe Footy show is another boon for grownups. In the lead up to the big game, it’s a family-appropriate celebration of footy, circus and cereal (which’ll make sense on the day) and it’ll beat the shit of Eddie McGuire and Sam Newman’s version.
Open Book
In 2008 Melbourne was nominated by UNESCO as a City of Literature. Damn straight, this town loves a good read. So, hip to our bent for books, this year’s Melbourne Fringe has curated a program of lit’ lovin’ events and works for the first time under the banner of Open Books.
Our curiosity levels are running super high with You Must Come Alone to Read the Last Book on Earth. It’s an interactive reflection about the demise of print – what if all the books bar one went online? As the name suggests, you have to experience this work solo.
For fresh views, we’ll be checking out Wild Tongue – a live performance of feminist texts, focusing on the lesser-heard voices of black, queer and underrepresented women.
Triple R host Marian Blythe’s extravaganza is also set to be a ripper. She’s convening an impro panel of some of Melbourne’s favourite musos, comedians, authors and actors to tell a one-minute tale off the cuff in Lose the Plot.
To tick your visual art quotient for the festival, have a gander at artist Anzara Clark’s frock, which she’s fashioned out of words in her work Ex Libris. Unlike the Emperor’s New Clothes, this kit can be seen – Clark has constructed the gown from recycled books.
The Other Film Festival
Inspired by the slogan “nothing about us without us”, this is a film festival consisting of Aussie and international films made by filmmakers who identify in the context of the disability or deaf communities. Held biannually, the program incorporates shorts, docos and talks (which explore topics including authentic casting) and has shit hot access for patrons.
Highlights include Super (a short about superheroes saving the day at North Fitzroy’s iconic supermarket Piedemonte), Autism in Love (a nine-minute doco about a happily married dude with autism, who can behave in a neurotypical fashion only for so long), Bruno Mars ‘The Lazy Song’ (it’s a US sign-language film clip for Mars’ song, made by all deaf cast and crew),The Quiet Ones (a 15-minute thriller about a murder at a deaf school), and Dan and Margot (a 75-minute documentary about a young woman who lost three years of her life to schizophrenia, during which time she was stalked by someone who didn’t exist outside of her head).
Spotlight Stage
Hit the Spotlight Stage at Fed Square on Sunday September 18 to taste test festival favourites. Funny bloke Josh Earl presides over events during this one-day-only affair. The lineup for the free bash includes circus and hula hoop extraordinaire Anna “Pocket Rocket” Lumb, the award-winning Casus circus ensemble from Brisvegas (trust us – it’s circus, but not as you know it), Adam Page’s one-man, bearded band, and Mr. Snot Bottom’s family-friendly, Rik Mayall-esque gross-out: like it or not – farts are funny.
