Dunedin Fringe Festival Launches Spectacular 2018 Programme
The Oxford Building was packed last night for the launch of the Dunedin Fringe Festival programme, where details of this
year’s acts, artists, and events were revealed to the public. Tickets are now on sale for the hundred-odd events making
up the eleven day season (8-18 March), which will once again kick off with the hotly anticipated Polson Higgs Opening
Night Showcase at the Dunedin Town Hall on the 7th of March.
Artists, media and other guests were excited to get their hands on copies of the 2018 Fringe Guide which hits the
streets of Dunedin today. With the largest ever line up of international performers, local acts, and emerging talent,
the 2018 programme for the world’s southernmost fringe promises an extraordinary eleven-day extravaganza of art and
performance.
Festival Director Gareth McMillan was thrilled with the response to the programme’s release. “This is my first year as
director of Dunedin Fringe, and I’m absolutely gobsmacked by the quality and quantity of events taking part. It’s great
to finally share the programme and see everyone’s reaction. We’ve put in a lot of hard yards to get to this moment, and
with our programme bigger than ever, it’ll be interesting to see what captures people’s attention and ends up as the
best of the fest. I have a few predictions.” The Fringe Festival is a key event for artists of Ōtepoti, known for
celebrating fresh original work, and nurturing emerging talent. It also provides a fertile ground for the exchange of
ideas, bringing together the work of artists from across Aotearoa and around the world; this year including artists from
Slovenia, Tanzania, Australia, and the UK.
Home-grown artists are front and centre in 2018 with work that covers the spectrum of theatre, art, music, and more.
Prospect Park Productions launch Dark Dunedin: Heaven Looks On – a three-part podcast that invites the audience to indulge their nostalgia for Dunedin and explore the central city’s
flora, fauna, and landmarks. Meanwhile, director Jordan Dickson – winner of the Outstanding Emerging Talent award at the
2017 festival – is back with How to Be a Stripper, a site specific dance theatre piece performed in Stilettos Revue Bar. The programme boasts some great visual art events,
with On the Fringes of Society at Surburbia, a free live graffiti battle in which artists duke it out producing a masterpiece of street art in front
of a live audience, accompanied by beats from local hip-hop performers.
This year’s Fringe will also feature an exciting line up of acts from further afield. A strong contingent of shows from
Christchurch include Jeff Clark’s Gary Starlight, a one man (and musician) improvised musical comedy, while the international acts include Saudade, a Slovenian solo dance work exploring the physical manifestations of loneliness, and the return of stand-out acts from
the 2017 festival such as award-winning performer Ren Lunicke exploring ideas of family in Blood Relative.
In 2018 the Fringe will once more play host to the Emerson’s Festival Club, a bar and performance venue which offers
artist and audiences a unique environment in which to take in a show, enjoy a beverage, and embrace the spirit of
Fringe. With a fantastic array of evening performances, and special curated Festival Club Nights with music til late on
Fridays and Saturdays the venue is the perfect place to finish off an evening of Fringe entertainment.
Heading into its 18th year, Dunedin Fringe’s programme and audience are growing, with 15,000 people attending events in
2017 and the upcoming Festival showing a 30% increase in events compared to last year.
WHAT: DUNEDIN FRINGE FESTIVAL
DATES: 8 - 18 MARCH 2018
TICKETS ON SALE NOW FROM:
FRINGE HQ: 26 PRINCES STREET, DUNEDIN
ONLINE: WWW.DUNEDINFRINGE.NZ
ENDS