One week isn't long enough, as Melbourne International Games Week extends its program with a series of collaborations with Melbourne Fringe Festival.
I recently met someone from Edinburgh who lives in Melbourne. The Edinburgh Fringe has a reputation as the world’s biggest performing arts festival. “I love Edinburgh during Fringe,” she said, “but that’s what Melbourne’s like all year round.”
She had a point: we’re spoiled when it comes to arts and culture festivals here. In fact, there’s such a generous supply of festival programs that it’s not uncommon for events to often overlap. Case in point is Melbourne International Games Week, which is on from Saturday 4 to Sunday 12 October, and Melbourne Fringe Festival, which is on from Tuesday 30 September to Sunday 19 October.
Some clever people behind the scenes noticed the overlap and decided, why not band together? Here are the highlights of Melbourne Fringe Festival and MIGW’s co-programmed events.
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
Love Machine
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- Where: Festival Hub: Trades Hall – The Temple
- When: Wednesday 8 to Sunday 12 October
- Cost: FREE
Once upon time, the idea of finding love through a computer would’ve seemed absurd, the sort of thing you’d only come across in science fiction. But these days, computers play a major role in countless love stories. And that’s to say nothing of people falling in love with AI chatbots.
In Love Machine, a free installation at Trades Hall, each visitor can sit down, one-on-one, with the titular computer, which has just one motive: to learn about human connection. Love Machine isn’t a state-of-the-art computer, but an archaic “click clack front and back” computer. The endearing sort. Lovable, perhaps.
We Have Been Called Many Things
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- Where: Footscray Community Arts Centre
- When: Until Saturday 13 December
- Cost: FREE
Four art projects make up the interactive exhibition We Have Been Called Many Things, which explore the experiences, memories and identities of Chinese-speaking Australians. It’s on at Footscray Community Arts Centre until mid December.
Helen Kwok’s Traces of Play celebrates and recreates the games her parents and grandparents used to play on the streets of Hong Kong. The Making of Fried Rice is a VR gaming installation that invites visitors to cook with ingredients reflecting themes of history, culture, and belonging within the Chinese diaspora.
Ming Liew presents the video essay Questions About a Word, blending history and personal narrative while exploring how Chinese gold miners learned English by writing it out with Chinese characters. And Yajuan Cheng dances with the environment of inner city Melbourne wearing a hand-woven circular frame.
Mel McGlensey is NORMAL
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- Where: Festival Hub: Trades Hall
- When: Wednesday 8 to Sunday 12 October
- Cost: $10-$28
The title of comedian Mel McGlensey’s one hour comedy show is a resolution of sorts. McGlensey – a Melbourne/Naarm-based comedian and a Golden Gibbo nominee at last year’s MICF – is adamant she’s a normal person. But her shows always seem to contradict this, with each performance veering off into weird terrain.
So, for this show, McGlensey has handed responsibility over to the audience. It’s up to you, says McGlensey, to stop the clown from being weird. It’ll be highly interactive and inherently unpredictable, with crowd members given the task of deciding what path the show will take. “Delightfully weird,” said one reviewer.
Holographic Charizard
- Where: Trainscendence, Collingwood
- When: Tuesday 7 to Saturday 18 October
- Cost: $10-$30
When I was in primary school, owning a holographic Charizard would’ve made you the coolest kid in the playground. Not only is this show named after the holy grail of Pokémon cards, but it’s a comical music show where every song is about Charizard (i.e. the final evolution of Charmander).
Song titles include A song about Charizard, I choose you Charizard, and Why did you have to leave me Charizard. If Pokémon’s not your bag, there’ll still be plenty to grab onto, with the between-song patter delving into love, betrayal and hardship, with a healthy splicing of humour.
Plus, everyone who attends receives a random Pokémon card, so you could leave as the coolest kid in the playground.
MAFIA The Game: The Show
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- Where: Solidarity Hall, Trades Hall
- When: Friday 10 & Friday 17 October
- Cost: $10-$29
The Mafia will infiltrate Trades Hall for two consecutive Friday nights – and no, we’re not talking about union leaders. This branch of the Mafia has been killing civilians on a nightly basis, and the only resistance is a troupe of six comedians.
The likes of Alex Hines, Charlie Lewin, Sophie Power, Han Arbuthnott and Tina Del Twist will try to hunt down the murderous mob on October 10. Rowan Thambar, Taylor Griffiths, Andy Balloch, Matt Jenner and Randy Adeva will be in pursuit on October 17.
The Mafia couldn’t possibly stand a chance against such a quantity of professional funny people, right? Well, the problem is, there are moles among the civilian investigation, and no one knows who’s who.
Expect lying on a pathological scale, double-dealing, collusion – all that good stuff. And plenty of laughs too.
Power Move
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- Where: Fed Square
- When: Tuesday 30 September to Sunday 19 October
- Cost: FREE
Power Move turns Fed Square into a kinetic dancefloor for three weeks. The concept is inspired by underground Berlin clubs, but it’s taking place outdoors in the clear light of day. People of all ages and abilities are invited to join in, and there’s even a request component, removing gatekeepers and placing soundtrack duties in the hands of the public.
The square will be lit up in bright colours and the vibrations caused by the dancers will generate clean, green energy that’ll be used to power the party. There’ll also be breakdancing duels and community dance sessions. And at 5.30 pm every day, local emerging DJs will go head-to-head, vying to whip up the most dancefloor energy.
RPG-IRL
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- Where: Queen Victoria Women’s Centre
- When: Sunday 5, 12 & 19 October
- Cost: $10-$30
If, like me, you only recently learned that LARP isn’t a spicy Loatian meat salad but an acronym for live action role-playing, it may help to have the meaning of RPG-IRL spelled out for you. RPG means role-playing game, while IRL, of course, means in real life (as opposed to online). But in this instance, RPG-IRL is an interactive role-playing game where ticket holders will form teams and compete for power, status and the survival of the planet.
It’s happening over three consecutive Sundays, and there’ll be a different scenario for participants to tackle each week. In one, the planet is dying and opposing factions must learn to cooperate to avoid total collapse. In another, resources are scarce and the universe is heading towards war. And in the other, it’s 2030 and cryptocurrency reigns supreme. So, all pretty relatable and terrifying.
Find out more here.
