What’s as weird as it is wonderful, as bold as it is boisterous? It can only ever be the inimitable Melbourne Fringe Festival (MFF). This October, you can expect the city and its suburbs to morph into an interactive playground where mischief and mayhem run amok.
This year’s MFF is an invitation to ‘Play Up!’ where all Victorians can explore the city with playful curiosity. For three weeks, you can expect groundbreaking, daring and cutting-edge art to take over the streets, including a colossal eight-metre-tall bright gold, fully accessible playground swing at the State Library of Victoria that anyone can ride for free.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Melbourne Fringe Festival 2023:
What is Melbourne Fringe?
Running since 1982, the Melbourne Fringe Festival is an annual independent arts festival that aims to raise public awareness of alternative arts in Melbourne. For 41 years, MFF has platformed and celebrated an eclectic mix of theatre, comedy, music, performance art, design, cabaret, circus and digital art.
MFF 2023 will be the biggest program in the festival’s history, with 475 events scheduled across Melbourne and its suburbs.
When is the Melbourne Fringe?
The Melbourne Fringe Festival will run from October 3 until October 22, 2023.
What are the Melbourne Fringe program highlights?
The 2023 program features artists, comedians and performers, including the likes of Sammy J, Betty Grumble, Joel Bray, Bloomshed Theatre, Tom Ballard, Spankie Jackson, Jason Tamiru, Aiden Willcox, Karen from Finance, Casus and Ridiculusmus.
With more than 400 events planned, there are plenty of free, family-friendly, and staple 'Fringey' shows to see. To name just a few, Shower Thots is a new music concert event held at Melbourne City Baths where the audience is encouraged to get in the pool with an aquatic choir; A Dodgeball Named Desire will see Tennessee Williams’ play his life out on a dodgeball court; Sky Symphony will be a free laser light show on the Yarra River; Nick-Knacks is an open mic show-and-tell – for adults; She’s Crowning is a satirical cabaret tearing into Netflix’s The Crown; and Le Freak will see a circus 'freak show' from the best queer drag, d/Deaf and disabled, and sex worker cabaret artists in the country.
This is a mere sample of what you can expect from MFF 2023; the full program is now available via the website here.
How much are tickets for the Melbourne Fringe?
All events are ticketed individually and have varying prices, but you can buy them on the MFF website here. There is a flexible pricing policy where you can choose between paying a little less, full price or a little extra should you want to.
There are also always heaps of quality free events in the Festival program. Check out all this year’s free events here.