In 2016 the Sydney Fringe is pushing back against lock-out laws, with a "call to party" – and a plan to create a new pop-up cultural precinct called 'Off Broadway', centring around the section of Parramatta Road between Catherine Street and Pyrmont Bridge Road. The precinct, which according to festival director Kerri Glassock will include "old haunts", will launch on the weekend of September 10-11, with a program of events taking place in abandoned shopfronts.
"We are focussing at the moment on the section between Pyrmont Bridge Road and Catherine Street, but [the precinct] also includes existing creative spaces beyond those boundaries," says Glassock, "and will in the future organically expand beyond that section of Parramatta Road."
Among the venues taking part in Sydney Fringe's Off Broadway precinct are the Bald Faced Stag, the Annandale Hotel, Black Wire Records and the Empire Hotel. The Fringe will also be running a pop-up festival hub in the area, with the location still TBA.
This year's Fringe program will also be the biggest to date, encompassing around 300 events at around 50 venues.
Read more about the 2016 Sydney Fringe dates and program.