This year, the festival calls on everyday citizens to become action heroes. Not the caped kind. . . The ones that participate in shaping the kind of world we want to live in. The Fringe will bring its audiences three weeks of exciting, boundary-pushing art, asking Melburnians to step up, dance, make, move, play, and take action.
“This year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival is a rallying cry for creativity in motion. It’s about doing something – moving your body, participating in whatever way you can,” Melbourne Fringe Creative Director and CEO Simon Abrahams says. “Because action isn’t just about activism; it’s about participation. This year’s programme is full of works that invite audiences to respond, to get involved, to step into the art. It’s a festival of art that reminds us that culture is something we all shape together.”
In 2025, Melbourne Fringe will present more than 20 trans and gender diverse works, including Krishna Isthica's quest for a sperm donor in their first show 'First Trimester'. Plus, from theatre and musicals to visual art and comedy, the event continues to celebrate and elevate LGBTQIA+ voices on its vibrant, inclusive stage.
There's the Berlin-born stars, Hans, finally revealing (almost) all in 'Young Fun & 21'. . . And 'Power Move: Mulan's Tea Party', a 20-minute outdoor performance blending original music by Dyan Tai, with choreography by Charlie Wan, which uses 'Mulan' as a thematic base to explore queer Asian identity.
'jks: a comedy(?)', from comedian Tom Ballard, is a funny new play about what it means to be funny, and Australia's Queen Of Burlesque is presenting 'The Fuppets', a riotous new spectacle of chaos, puppet carnage, and vaudeville misfits. Plus. . . Eddie Pattison presents 'Dad Genes', an hour of stand-up about losing a father while sort of (kind of) becoming a man.
'No Seasons' is a new experimental work, by Oliver Ayres. It explores gender, IVF, disability, and parenthood. . . Using silent disco headphones to split an audience into three groups. Finally, HRTthrob is the all-trans boy band of your dreams. . . Featuring DJs and drag kings.
Check out the full programme.
Melbourne Fringe Festival is on from 30 September-19 October.
