With shows ranging from comedy to ballet and everything in between, the Dunedin Fringe Festival is in full swing. Running from the 11th of March to the 22nd, this program is stacked with 93 shows in venues across Ōtepoti. Time to text the flat gc and do a wholesome outing for a change.
Fringe is a grassroots festival that provides the opportunity for any artist to be involved, and there are now over 300 worldwide. This is the 26th year of the Dunedin festival, and it features heavy involvement from Otago students and recent graduates.
‘Brown Sugar’, presented by Migrated Creatives, a group of uni students, is a play inspired by flatting in Dunedin. Basim, a founder of the group, and the writer and director of ‘Brown Sugar’ believes that “Dunedin Fringe is super cool because not only does it fall at such a perfect time, it's also such a great platform for aspiring artists to experiment or showcase their craft, accommodated by the iconic Dunedin Fringe Team.”
That's the awesome thing about Fringe festivals: anyone can register an event, there are no criteria or restrictions. The team at Fringe work hard to keep this registration process affordable and straightforward, and to keep it cheap for the audience as well, with some events only costing a koha. It feels like a rarity these days to have fun without spending way too much money, so soak it up.
As it's an open access kaupapa rather than a curated festival, artists are responsible for their own accommodation and travel costs. Fringe helps out as artists need, and take a small portion of ticket sales, but otherwise all profits go back to the artist.
Hannah also mentioned that there are definitely lots of students who don’t know about all the awesome events going on, but if you see a poster for one of the many festival events, “just take a punt on it! Bring a couple of friends and you might hate it – but you might love it. Experiencing art changes lives.”
Basim believes that “the arts are super important to us as humans, whether it be on or off stage, we all need a creative outlet of some sort. [Fringe] benefits our students in the same manner, especially our artists who study something other than the arts.”
The team at Fringe added that students are sometimes portrayed wrong by the media, and seen as separate to the rest of Dunedin. Volunteer Manager Sahara Pohatu-Trow pointed out that this festival illustrates how students are “not only a part of this community, they are contributing actively to this community.” Festival Producer Vanessa Beck added that “there is so much talent within the student pool. They are so much more than burning couches on the street. Students are incredible and that's what we’re trying to lift up at Fringe.”
According to Marketing and Communications Manager, Alice Cheung, the festival has “something for everyone to get involved with. There are so many different styles of events and you never know what you might like.” She encouraged students to have a flick through the program (also available online at https://www.dunedinfringe.nz/) and try something new!
