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Melbourne Fringe respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we live, work, play and hold our Festival and events. We pay our respects to the people of the Kulin Nations and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present.

2026 Festival 29 Sept-18 Oct

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Family Friendly Guide

THE CENSOR


Name: THE CENSOR
Subtitle: Tired of adults being in charge? Welcome to THE CENSOR – where kids call the shots! 12+ years
Tags: Politics,Real Stories
Vibes: Contemporary,Provocative,Witty
Programs: Curated Program,XS
Guides: 
Credits:
Presented by ArtPlay and Melbourne Fringe
Devised by Cassandra Fumi and Vidya Rajan with an ensemble of 10-16 year olds
Produced by Performing Lines VIC
Description:
THE CENSOR has been developed through a child-led practice that prioritises a model of co-devising and decision-making. The works initial enquiry was inspired by the increase in social concern about what children should be allowed to consume. From book banning, to pop culture, to laws that restrict social media, it’s a topic that’s alive and urgent today. It is intended to spark an intergenerational conversation where adults and children see each other more honestly and clearly.


Curated Program

Pre-Teens (10-12 years)

Teenagers (13-17 years)

Pushing the comfort zone

Theatre

Kids

Contemporary

Devised

Tired of adults being in charge? Welcome to THE CENSOR – where kids call the shots! 12+ years

Provocative

Witty

Paradigm


Name: Paradigm
Subtitle: Why fabricate a society saying ‘I’m gonna hold it for a bit’, when thinking ‘I must get out’?
Tags: 
Vibes: Contemplative,Contemporary,Nostalgic
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Choreographed by Indi McQueen
Performed by Indi McQueen and Jake Ware
 
Description:
A multidisciplinary performance by a youth choreographer, with four dancers, two sound designers, a sculptor, costume designer, and lighting designer. ‘Paradigm’ is inspired by published novels told from a child’s perspective, exploring the authenticity of our child minds, in comparison to societal norms our minds adopt in adulthood. Dancers attempt to physicalise these mindsets for the audience, to simply present a perspective/experience.


Open Program

Short & Sweet

Member Discount

Inside the comfort zone

Dance & Physical Theatre

Immersive

Hybrid

Why fabricate a society saying ‘I’m gonna hold it for a bit’, when thinking ‘I must get out’?

Contemplative

Nostalgic

One-Man Show-Off


Name: One-Man Show-Off
Subtitle: One voice, a dozen instruments and a looping pedal. What more could you ask for?
Tags: 
Vibes: Contemplative,Heartfelt,Poetic
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Music by Michael Mildren
Performed by Michael Mildren
Created by Michael Mildren
Description:
The audience will be able to listen to original and traditional songs being performed on a diverse array of (mainly) acoustic instruments as well as witnessing the live creation of a multi-instrument looped soundscape. The artist is highly skilled at creating music as well as singing. The performer will engage in conversational storytelling throughout the show.


Music

Acoustic

Folk

Improv

One voice, a dozen instruments and a looping pedal. What more could you ask for?

Heartfelt

Poetic

Journal of the Forest


Name: Journal of the Forest
Subtitle: A circus adventure through the mystical forest
Tags: Interactive
Vibes: Dynamic,Silly,Vibrant
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Produced by Angel of the Forest Productions
Mentor Robyn Glowacki
Concept by Mia Atkinson-Phillips
Description:
A circus cabaret aimed at families of all ages. You follow the MC through the 'forest' finding different mythical creatures. The Geni does magic tricks.


Circus

Cabaret

Fantasy

A circus adventure through the mystical forest

Dynamic

Silly

Vibrant

Echoes of Descent


Name: Echoes of Descent
Subtitle: Dynamic contemporary dance show by emerging artists, exploring falling as collapse and liberation.
Tags: Original Music,Science
Vibes: Beautiful,Contemporary,Exciting
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Created and Performed by India Stewart-Williams
 
 
Description:
A contemporary dance work exploring the many dimensions of falling: physically, emotionally, and metaphorically. It is inspired by the myth of Icarus, Einstein’s happiest thought, and gravity as a unifying force. The team creating this work is made up of recently graduated artists who developed the choreography through phrases, improvisation, and collaboration. Setting and costuming will add to the experience as the audience lines the walls, and flowing skirts help create the illusion of flight.


Free Events

Dynamic contemporary dance show by emerging artists, exploring falling as collapse and liberation.

Beautiful

Exciting

Alpaca Poco Digital Art Exhibition, Live Drawing and Q&A


Name: Alpaca Poco Digital Art Exhibition, Live Drawing and Q&A
Subtitle: What is digital art? And how can I do it? Join us at our live drawing and Q&A sessions for free!
Tags: 
Vibes: Beautiful,Contemporary,Vibrant
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Created by Jethro Pitcher of Alpaca Poco Art
Supported by Jennifer Pitcher
 
Description:
An art exhibition with live drawing and Q and A sessions.


Visual Arts & Film

Drawing

Digital

Exhibition

What is digital art? And how can I do it? Join us at our live drawing and Q&A sessions for free!

A Monty Python Cabaret Singalong Circus


Name: A Monty Python Cabaret Singalong Circus
Subtitle: Join the hilarious fun as ‘Dr H’ revives the great satirical songs from the Monty Python era.
Tags: Artists 55+,Pop Culture,Real Stories
Vibes: Absurd,Nostalgic,Silly
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Produced and Performed by Antony (Dr H) Hubmayer
 
 
Description:
All my shows are high-energy piano cabaret structured around me singing and accompanying myself on a piano keyboard while storytelling and engaging the audience through interactive patter, singalong and physical movement.


Comedy

Interactive

Join the hilarious fun as ‘Dr H’ revives the great satirical songs from the Monty Python era.

Absurd

PHANTOM PANDA POWER WIZARD MASTER SMASHER


Name: PHANTOM PANDA POWER WIZARD MASTER SMASHER
Subtitle: A hilarious psychedelic meltdown of aliens, lasers, metal, jazz, cartoons and robotic spider drummer
Tags: Feminism,Queer Culture,Sex Love & Dating,Original Music,Pop Culture,Horror
Vibes: Absurd,Epic,Outrageous
Programs: Festival Hub
Guides: 
Credits:
Created and Performed by Phantom Panda Power Wizard Master Smasher
Composed and Produced by Luke Bacci
In Collaboration with Kellie-Anne Kimber and Emily Edwards
Description:
A multimedia performance featuring musicians dressed as alien characters performing intricate, genre-spanning and comedic music (metal, jazz, techno, psychedelic), tightly synchronized to projected old cartoons. The performance incorporates meticulously programmed lighting, lasers, costume lights, and props including inflatable tentacles. A new addition is a pneumatic robotic spider drummer, fully integrated into the show.


Outside the comfort zone

Festival Hub

Experimental

Rock

A hilarious psychedelic meltdown of aliens, lasers, metal, jazz, cartoons and robotic spider drummer

Epic

Outrageous

Another Unwasted Evening- the Genius of Tom Lehrer


Name: Another Unwasted Evening - the Genius of Tom Lehrer
Subtitle: Enjoy musical satire at its finest as DrH celebrates the mischievous wit of Tom Lehrer.
Tags: Artists 55+,Pop Culture,Real Stories
Vibes: Cheeky,Nostalgic,Witty
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Produced and Performed by Antony (Dr H) Hubmayer
 
 
Description:
All my shows are high-energy piano cabaret structured around me singing and accompanying myself on a piano keyboard while storytelling and engaging the audience through interactive patter, singalong and physical movement.


Satire

Enjoy musical satire at its finest as DrH celebrates the mischievous wit of Tom Lehrer.

Cheeky

Bremen!


Name: Bremen!
Subtitle: Bremen! - Twisted fables and cabaret flair—this isn’t the fairy tale you remember.
Tags: Feminism,Original Music,Pop Culture
Vibes: Cheeky,Nostalgic,Subversive
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Written and Directed by Emma Sproule
Written by Naomi Woodward
Composer Sheridan Killingback
Description:
A cabaret-style theatre performance set in a jazz club, featuring four performers playing the Donkey, Dog, Cat and Rooster from The Town Musicians of Bremen. Through monologues, song, movement and ensemble work, they recount their own stories and retell various fairy tales and nursery rhymes involving animals (e.g. The Three Little Pigs, The Billy Goats Gruff, Goldilocks). The show uses elements of comedy, pathos, Greek Chorus, and spoken word to explore the oral tradition of storytelling and th


New Writing

Drama

Bremen! - Twisted fables and cabaret flair—this isn’t the fairy tale you remember.

Subversive

Jane Austen Improvised


Name: Jane Austen Improvised
Subtitle: Step into Regency England for an evening of wit, romance, and delightful chaos!
Tags: Sex Love & Dating
Vibes: Joyful,Unpredictable,Witty
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Presented by Impro Melbourne
Created by Paul Rogan and Dan O’Connor with Impro Theatre in Los Angeles.
Image Credit Panfred Reed
Description:
An improvised play based on the books by Jane Austen cast of 9 each night.
The evening starts with free tea and a snack in our foyer


Step into Regency England for an evening of wit, romance, and delightful chaos!

Joyful

Unpredictable

I'm Autistic plus also I had Cancer


Name: I'm Autistic plus also I had Cancer
Subtitle: Sean Bedlam was diagnosed with Autism, which was helpful. Then he got cancer, which was hilarious.
Tags: Disability Stories,Artists 55+,Politics,Global Affairs,Real Stories
Vibes: Cheeky,Joyful,Silly
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Created and Performed by Sean Bedlam
Produced by Jo Bain
 
Description:
The diagnosis of autism was absolutely liberating and transformative for Sean personally and as a performer. He's embraced it as material and allows himself to 'be autistic' on stage. He's loving life rather than masking and wondering what was wrong. The cancer element it is less explicit because it's more private but illustrates some points. These are not the only themes of the show. Sean is an activist and refuses to avoid difficult topics but it's all done with humour and grace.


Stand Up

Storytelling

Sean Bedlam was diagnosed with Autism, which was helpful. Then he got cancer, which was hilarious.

Mother and Baby


Name: Mother and Baby
Subtitle: An unconventional, amphibious, and gender capsizing puppet show on a lake in Carlton Gardens.
Tags: Feminism,Gender Diversity,Queer Culture,Unusual Location,Original Music
Vibes: Joyful,Off-beat,Unpredictable
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Created and Directed by sausage woman
In Collaboration with Liam Berg
Supported by City of Melbourne
Description:
Not following a conventional story line, the show will be an interaction between Mother and her giant Baby on a lake in Carlton Gardens. Throughout, the puppets will fall apart and no longer resemble what they did initially in our effort to question gender roles. Mother will also be able to go inside Baby and control him. Experimental movement and sound will additionally be used. The audience and passersby can view the work from the lake's bank where there will be some interaction from Mother.


Site Specific

Public Art

An unconventional, amphibious, and gender capsizing puppet show on a lake in Carlton Gardens.

Off-beat

Women in Red


Name: Women in Red
Subtitle: A celebration of womanhood & spirit of listening through solo theatre sharing women’s true stories.
Tags: Feminism,Interactive,Real Stories
Vibes: Heartfelt,Intimate,Vulnerable
Programs: Festival Hub
Guides: 
Credits:
Created and Performed by Mo, Yan Chi Lai
In Collaboration with Curatorial Ensemble
Produced by Lui Ka Ki David
Description:
"Women in Red" (女兒紅) is a solo theatrical performance that explores the female experience in contemporary society through a mix of storytelling, character work, and audiovisual elements. Originally performed in Hong Kong, this production will be adapted for the 2025 Melbourne Fringe Festival with an English-language script while preserving key Cantonese cultural elements.


Community

A celebration of womanhood & spirit of listening through solo theatre sharing women’s true stories.

Self Harm or Suicide,Sexual Assault or Abuse,Emotional Abuse,Sexual Harassment,Violence Against Women,Death

Intimate

Vulnerable

Spice Up Your Night


Name: Spice Up Your Night
Subtitle: Join us for a high energy, interactive experience for fans of The Spice Girls and the amazing 90s.
Tags: Eat & Drink,Interactive,Millennial Culture,Pop Culture
Vibes: Feel-good,Joyful,Vibrant
Programs: 
Guides: 
Credits:
Artists Sarah, Delaney, Rhianna, Rachel, Nicole, Louise
 
 
Description:
Show is a Spice Girls/nineties tribute including singing, dancing, blocking, costumes and audience led dialogue. It is an interactive show with peformers spending some time on stage and also some time amongst the audience encouraging them to sing/dance along. There are some audience participation competitions. Spice girls classics plus some nineties favourites.


Dance

Join us for a high energy, interactive experience for fans of The Spice Girls and the amazing 90s.

Feel-good

Power Move


Name: Power Move
Subtitle: Move your body, power the party. This dancefloor turns your groove into green energy.
Tags: Games or Gamified Performance
Vibes: Dynamic,Joyful,Uplifting
Programs: Curated Program,Civic
Guides: 
Credits:
Presented by Melbourne Fringe and Fed Square
Concept by Linda Catalano for Quiet RIOT
 
Description:
Dance floor in Fed Square.


Parties & Social Events

Civic

Participatory

Move your body, power the party. This dancefloor turns your groove into green energy.

Uplifting

Voices


Name: VOICES
Subtitle: Let the choir sing! VOICES celebrates connection through music and play.
Tags: Interactive
Vibes: Epic,Joyful,Vibrant
Programs: Curated Program,Civic
Guides: 
Credits:
Presented by Melbourne Fringe, Hobsons Bay City Council and Maribyrnong City Council with support from Arts Centre Melbourne
Artist Pulsing Heart
Music by Ekrem Eli Phoenix 
Description:
A public art installation. Spinning light tubes affixed in an oval around a shipping container. When you spin a tube, a voice is activated. The more tubes you spin, the more voices you hear, and the sound of a choir comes to life. Active in the day and evenings.


Installation

Let the choir sing! VOICES celebrates connection through music and play.

There's a song in that


Name: There's a song in that
Subtitle: Turning the everyday ridiculous into musical gold—because there’s always a song in that.
Tags: Interactive,Original Music
Vibes: Feel-good,Joyful,Witty
Programs: Festival Hub
Guides: 
Credits:
Performed by Tuck Shop Ladies
 
 
Description:
We'll get people to give us a bunch of suggestions at the start of each show and we'll write the songs then and there, on the stage, with some help from the audience. We'll have a scribe up on stage with us, writing out the lyrics as we go, and we'll get at least one finished song out of the process. We'll also tell stories, we'll digress massively, and we'll play a song here or there that we've already prepared, but the main vibe will be to make the songs up on the spot.


Turning the everyday ridiculous into musical gold—because there’s always a song in that.

Democracy Repair Services


Name: Democracy Repair Services
Subtitle: A play against hopelessness: democracy in action & how young people fight when the world is on fire
Tags: Feminism,Climate Change,Politics,Global Affairs
Vibes: Exhilarating,Joyful,Off-beat
Programs: Meat Market
Guides: 
Credits:
Written by Noemie Huttner-Koros
Performed by Gabrielle Fallen, Jess Lu, Michelle Rupert, Oriana Morris-Johnson
Design by Dylan Lumsden, Sophie Ness, Nick Rinaldi
Description:
A play with small amounts of audience interaction, written for young people about the climate crisis, democracy, climate anxiety and fucking shit up to try change the world.


Meat Market

Political

A play against hopelessness: democracy in action & how young people fight when the world is on fire

Exhilarating

Masterpiece


Name: Masterpiece
Subtitle: No words. One task. Two clowns.
Tags: Interactive,Original Music
Vibes: Joyful,Silly,Timeless
Programs: Meat Market
Guides: 
Credits:
Presented by raeandwill
Created and Performed by Rae Colquhoun-Fairweather
Created and Performed by Will Bartolo
Description:
Masterpiece is a wordless physical theatre/mime/clowning piece that sees two silent art installers attempt to hang a singular piece of art for its entire duration. Their every move is live scored by a grumpy classical musician on violin, keyboard and computer. The nails are already on the wall and there are two comically large arrows pointing to exactly where it needs to go. Suitable for age 8 - 108, it uplifts and spreads joy amongst its audience, and has audience participation.


Clowning

Physical Theatre

No words. One task. Two clowns.

Timeless