Strange, familiar, free: Your guide to choosing the perfect Fringe show

Melbourne Fringe kicks off next week and, at last count, there were 468 shows to choose from. It’s understandable if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by choice.

Simon Abrahams, creative director and CEO of Melbourne Fringe, suggests following three rules when approaching the festival. One: “See something by an artist you’ve heard of, or something that just piques your interest”. Two: pick something at random. Three: see something for free. “A third of the festival is free!” he adds.

This year’s Melbourne Fringe has shows to suit all tastes. L-R: Margot Morales, Hugo Williams, Dominic Weintraub, Simon Abrahams, Ari Angkasa, Claire Bird, Peta Duncan. Credit: Justin McManus

To help you out, I’ve spent the last week digging through every nook and cranny of the program and have come up with a (non-exhaustive) list of the most interesting work on the horizon. These are shows that made me think everything from “Oh, so that’s what they’ve been working on!” to “Excuse me, there’s an event about what now?” It is exactly the spectrum of responses a festival like Fringe should provoke.

Werewolf | Arts Centre Melbourne, October 16-26
In her latest work, playwright and author Van Badham weaves together social commentary, humour and noir. “This is a work about fascism – it’s a work that basically looks at how our culture is moving to extreme radicalism both on the left and the right, and it’s looking at how we can have civil conversations in the centre,” explains Abrahams. “It’s got this tension and violence under the surface, but it’s quite funny and it’s very dark.”

Locus | Secret location, October 10-20
The extremely mysterious Locus brings together three of Melbourne’s most interesting and creative illusion designers – Lawrence Leung, Vyom Sharma and Dom Chambers – for an immersive and thought-provoking experience. The location is a secret; actually most things about Locus are. After purchasing a ticket you’re sent the address of a meeting spot. From there, the performers collect you. “I’m trying to think about what I can say,” Abrahams reflects, finally settling on: “It’s about choice”.

A prop from Locus, a show taking place in a secret location at this year’s festival. Credit: Darkcube productions

FEAST | The Substation, October 9-19
The first thing to know about FEAST is that it has three different price points. Sale Price ($5), Market Price ($55) and Cost Price ($100). The second thing to know is every audience member is asked to bring their own bottle of red wine. Created by cult-favourite theatre group Pony Cam, this event is a dinner party with a difference – and the price you pay informs your experience. “They’re trying to invert class-based structures,” explains Abrahams. Like other Pony Cam shows, there is a degree of participation, but “in a beautiful, consensual, supportive way”, Abrahams emphasises. “You’re essentially taking part in a dinner-party conversation where unexpected things will take place.”

I Watched Someone Die on TikTok | La Mama HQ, October 15-20
This work by Charlotte Otton was inspired by a true story. “[She] was watching TikTok and saw this terrible thing,” says Abrahams. What she saw was immediately followed up by the mundane: ads, innocuous videos, dances. Digging into the way social media fits into modern life, I Watched Someone Die on TikTok probes some uncomfortable – and uncomfortably relatable – truths.

Apocrypha | Darebin Arts Centre, October 11-19
Abrahams points to Apocrypha as one of the many works in the program that showcase established artists at the top of their game. Created by Mitch Jones, it’s classified as circus but also dips a toe into physical theatre. “It will be very queer, very dark,” says Abrahams. “It’s looking at what it is to celebrate those who are in the margins – who don’t quite fit into our culture – rather than trampling them down, which is often what our society tends to do.”

Marg Is All Ears | Cyrus Art Lounge, October 1-17
If you’re looking for something short, charming and unusual, Marg Is All Ears has you covered. Here, you won’t sit in an audience, you’ll spend one-on-one time with Marg. “She asks a series of questions, you have a conversation, she gives you a cup of tea,” says Abrahams. “It’s like a big, warm, gentle hug.”

Apocrypha is on at Darebin Arts Centre, October 11-19.

Speed: The Movie, The Play | Prahran Town Hall car park, October 9-20
This one is exactly what it sounds like. Remember Speed, the movie? Well, now it’s a play and you can watch it, and take part in it, on a bus parked in a town hall car park. Returning after a sold-out season at last year’s festival, this one is quite interactive. “Someone is cast as Sandra Bullock, someone’s cast as Keanu … it’s a rollicking, wild adventure and it’s very silly.”

Gikilangangu Wergaia | Trades Hall Common Rooms, October 2-3
Performed by Alice Skye, James Howard and Michael Julian, Gikilangangu Wergaia is a night of music and stories performed in Wergaia. “It’s a kind of language revitalisation project,” says Abrahams. Ahead of the event, Howard “recorded the stories and sound of Country itself”. With Julian on percussion and Skye on vocals, the ensemble is coming together for two nights only.

Beowulf: Reforged Waterside Forge, October 2-12
It’s exactly what the title promises: Beowulf performed at a functioning forge. In this unusual and site-specific take, actor, poet and Beowulf scholar Felix Nobis performs his translation of the epic poem.

COOKED: Hot Nights – Ari Angkasa’s Suspicious Fish Federation Square, Oct 3 and 17
At the heart of this year’s Fringe is a series called COOKED, which centres on a public barbecue. “The whole premise of the COOKED program is that it’s the intersection of food and art,” explains Abrahams. Food forms a major theme of this year’s festival because it “brings people together to celebrate difference”. Every hour on the hour from noon a selection of free food is made available, and on different days and evenings performances take place. One of these is Hot Nights – Ari Angkasa’s Suspicious Fish, in which a soap opera is performed in real time. “There’s live music, there’s live performance, and there’s food.”

Melbourne Fringe runs from October 1 to 20.

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