Fringe World Festival

The Fringe Festival is amazing. On this visit we saw The Coin Operated Girl and it was an ex-​escort telling plenty of funny stories about her years as a prostitute in London. It was a funny show and we really enjoyed it. Not for the faint-​hearted though!

Last night I went to watch la soirée — a show that has been rated 5 stars and Perths best fringe show
Oh my I really talked it up to my friends and was grossly disappointed.
Standing seats which cost a whooping 36 bucks (46 per seat for limbo) require waiting until everyone is seated. So don’t bother arriving early. People are still allowed in after show has started so they can walk in and block your view or sneak up behind you and perhaps even spill a drink on you.
Oh what you should know about this show is that people can get up anytime and grab a drink from the bar. So expect a half drunk audience cheering at all the rude acts and yelling out crude comments.
I walked into a very hazy smoky museum garden set up for la soirée. With my standing seat I stood on a platform with some awfully foul mouthed women standing behind me.
Unlike limbo, music is not live. It includes trashy old tunes. The starting act is a woman who has a fake bosom which she waves in the audience face while she sings a horribly rude song. Subsequent acts do not exceed this level of calibre.
Acts include:
1. Two acrobats in their British flag undies balancing on top of each other
2. A man who claims to be disjointed that spends fifteen minutes trying to contort his body through two tennis racquets. What makes it cringe worthy is that he has a fake Scandinavian accent and dislocates his arm
3. A man meant to resemble mario with yet again a fake Italian accent that juggles
4. A thespian woman who brings a member of the audience onto the stage to sing a duet with her
5. A very skilled acrobat who dazzled the audience with 5 hula hoops
6. A man who blows bubbles that are attached to each other, resemble a carousel, resemble a tornado, and have smoke circles in them. Amazing
7. Awful opera like singing
8. Sexy woman who uses straps to do acrobatics
9. Sexy man who uses hoops and straps to do acrobatics
10. Awful Italian man comes back and balances a woman on his shoulders for less than 30 seconds while on a unicycle.
11. An awful song about woman genitalia
12. Lots more crude acts
Expect sexual references, full nudity, adult themes, rowdy audience
Expect a two hours experience with perhaps 4 out of 16 acts (so only 25%) being non cringe worthy.
Do not pay 79 bucks for the seats. If you really want to go get the standing seat and see for yourself.

So I went to see «Englishman Scottish man and a Irishman» @ the Charles hotel in north Perth as part of the fringe festival. They were all funny and I enjoyed the night. 35 dollars a ticket was a bargain I thought.
Good to get a group of friends together for the 7 pm show and grab food there too (not really any gluten free options under the pub snacks but I knew that before heading there so I ate prior)
I literally had tears rolling down my face at the English guy

Fringe festival a must! Love love love the unexpected variety show. So much fun. Very entertaining.

I love the fringe festival. Whats not to love about it?!? It livens up our city in so many different ways and gets people out and about a lot more often, during the week and the weekends. I love all the pop up bars and gardens they have throughout Northbridge as its something different to do and not the same bars you can go to all year round.
I went to a couple of shows this year, a comedy show and a burlesque show– both were really good fun and reasonably priced. I aim to get to more shows next year, just so much to chose from! What I went to isn’t even a smidge of what you can see!
Fringe will always be a great asset to the Perth cultural and they should continue it each and every year where I am sure it will just get better and better!

Fringe is such a great series of events and something I look forward to each year! I love that each year it grows more and more and helps put the spotlight on local businesses in the area. I’m already counting down to next year’s lineup!

Perth during Fringe World is the absolute best! This is a time where even the burgeoning explorer of the arts can peek their heads out and sample some weird and wonderful shows. In terms of food and drink, Fringe has a variety of offerings including juicy decadent burgers, refreshing and light san choy bau in the Urban Orchard, hearty bbq meals and delicate pancakes and crepes in the Pleasure Garden.
In addition to the treats for the eyes and your tastebuds, Fringe World offers something much more intangible; a vivacious and friendly change in the air in Northrbridge. I wish it would stick around all year around but that would probably remove some of it’s specialness, like having your birthday all year round.

The atmosphere in Perth was exciting. It was like walking around St Kilda in Melbourne. The weather was perfect balmy evenings no flies and didn’t have a mozzie. There was so much to experience and there was something for all ages.

Love love love Fringe World Festival in Perth!!!
So much to do when the Fringe festival is on from watching cabaret, burlesque to watching a comedy show, bogan bingo and many more!
Fringe World Festival is an amazing concept which over 31 days of Perthect running from Jan 23^rd to Feb 22^nd.
There are quite a few venues for the shows all around Perth and all have an amazing vibe and everyone is in good spirits all around.
Even just hanging out at the Urban Orchard and Pleasure Gardens for a few drinks and a bite to eat with friends is fantastic!
Fringe World is awesome! Such an amazing asset to Perth!

Went to Lords of Strut, two Irish guys basically dancing their way through Fringe.
Very funny show & really glad I went. They were very entertaining & the ending was not what I expected.
The poor guy that got dragged up from the crowd I did feel really sorry for but he was hilarious taking his part very seriously in a very funny way. Well done to him.

Fringe is a wealth of entertainment! A full month jam packed with circus, comedy, music, and burlesque. Every night I go, I see something different and fun! Most shows are bite-​sized, running around 1 hour, meaning you can easily see multiple different shows in one night. Definitely check out rush tickets at the box office for discounts on day-​of tickets! The main centers of the festival are in Northbridge, but shows spill out into other venues all around Perth. There is huge variety of content and quality of acts from all over Australia and the world, so bring your sense of humor and try as many shows as you can squeeze in. :-) Totally date-​worthy.
A bit of behind-​the-​scenes info: If you want to get more involved with Fringe, they need volunteers to help with front-​of-​house duties. While you’re volunteering, you have the opportunity to watch the shows you are working and get access to see shows for free in your off time. Volunteer shifts range from 3 – 8 hours long, so it is a committment, but one I am greatly enjoying. To sign up for next year, apply to be a volunteer on the Fringe website before new year’s.

I look forward to this event! Coming from the festival state of Australia I really miss all the goings on from back home but the last few years have changed with all the excitement that goes on at fringe! Even if you arent into shows (unsure why you wouldn’t be) its still a great place to come down to, grab a beer, meet up with friends or make new ones. It’s great to see the support its getting from all the locals and from talking to people it’s getting tourists in as well.

This is the best time of year in Perth. So much going on!
There are two main hubs of Fringe World, The Pleasure Garden in Russel Square and the Perth Cultural Centre — both these areas have exceptional atmosphere.
The Pleasure Garden this year contains 6 pop up venues which showcase a range of shows from comedy to burlesque. One of the larger shows this year is La Soirée which is a circus from America. This is on throughout the festival and is a must see.
A good things to know is all the bars and food are cash only so be sure to get cash out before you arrive to avoid being stung with the ATM charges.
The box office staff are great at assisting if you are not sure what to see and Rush Tix which are cheaper tickets for that evenings performances are a good way to take a bit of a gamble and check out something you might not normally see.

I’ve said it before but Northbridge just shines when the Fringe Festival comes to town. What I love about the Fringe Festival is its affordability especially with the daily Rush tickets. The pleasure garden is free (with a ticket) and is a great way to start or end the evening at the Fringe Festival.
Last night we took the parents to see Le Gâteau Chocolat, their first Fringe Festival experience! We had seen his performance two years and loved his voice and happy personality that we had to see him again this year. His show was amazing and that voice!
We started the evening with dinner and drinks at Northbridge Brewery and wandered to the cultural centre walking under the awesomely lit Fringe sign. The line for the show was snaking out of the Pleasure Garden but the staff are impressively efficient and we were even loaned hand fans for inside the tent.
The De Parel Spiegeltent was airconditioned and an experience in itself and the perfect venue for a Fringe show, its a dutch tent built in 1905!

One star. Yes. One. Star. For the crappiest burger ever, delivered by Burgerlesque. On the tickle-​scale, not even a breath of wind of tickle attempting to go for it. Blergh. Had the cheeseburger and the wagyu beef and no — just no. Improving the choice of bread would have been helpful but also high piling with pickles dear help. Being ‘burger’lesque — there should be a level of fun and tastiness, yet not received. Choose elsewhere.

First time to a fringe festival.
I had not planned to see anything in particular rather grabbing a ticket to a random show. The staff in the box office were extremely helpful with sorting me out with a ticket.
I went comedy and loved it, had a great laugh and really enjoyed the show.
There are a few large garden areas set up for food and drinks.
Great crowd there, all ages

The Fringe Festival is, quite frankly, shit hot. Am I allowed to say that in a Unilocal review?
Well, that’s the best way I can describe this Fringe Festival and it’s accompanying Fringe World bar areas.
The number of acts included in the program has literally EXPLODED since it began a few years ago. I actually remember seeing discussions about whether Perth had the ability to support a fringe festival, when the idea was first seeded. I think little old Perth has well and truly proved just how much we needed something like this and want it. Yep we wanted this festival bad.
The program covers everything (comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret, music and more) in a myriad of venues and locations. The Perth Cultural Centre becomes a speigeltent wonderland for a month each summer.
Rush tix each day, available on the Fringe website, give you the chance to make a lucky dip decision on shows. You might find an absolute winner of a show or one that fails miserably and painfully. But hey, that’s all part of it!
My favourite addition this year is the silent disco at the Fringe World in the Urban Orchard. Jump in, get sweaty, sing your heart out and get your boogie on!

I love Fringe, I really do.
I went along on opening night after purchasing some last minute Rushtix to see comedian Harley Breen (who was hilarious).
Now, I understand it was opening night and there are bound to be teething problems but there were a lot of frustrated people around. Mainly the box office queue. Two lines — pick up and purchases. We were picking up tickets and stupidly didn’t think we needed much longer than 10 minutes to collect tickets and get to the show.
After waiting about 10 minutes in a line that didn’t appear to be moving at all, an event staff member called asking for anyone picking up tickets for 8pm/8:30pm shows. We were then moved to the front of the line but it still seemed to take an eternity to get tickets. I hope this system improves.
Then… there was a line to get into the Urban Orchard. That’s fine, but there was no communication about people with tickets to the show in the Spiegeltent so we waited in line (again) and eventually got close enough to a bouncer to flash our tickets and move through.
All that aside, I can’t really fault the quality of the Fringe events or layout. Even the prices for drinks and tickets are reasonable.
If it weren’t for these couple of hiccups, would definitely be five stars.

This event breaths so much life into the city, the urban orchid is full of people young and old enjoying themselves.
You can watch interesting acts from across the globe coving; comedy, cabaret, music, theature, dance, circus and more or ALL.
The performers and volunteers really put on a great event; and whilst not every act act is great, most shows are an hour and tickets under $ 25 or less for ‘rushtix’ so do yourselves a favour and check out something new!

Sharron: The Fame Game
I went to opening night last night of this show in the Sun House Tent opposite the WA Museum. Sharron [a character played by Bonnie Davies] is an housewife and mum of four children who has a theory about being famous and is putting on a show to share it with her friends and fans. During the series of the show, running from now until 22 Feb, Sharron interviews ‘Perthonalities’ and Fringe participants. Last night was completely dedicated to other Fringe performers and was a riot. Her guests were Jon Bennett — his show is Pretending Things Are a Cock; Morgan and West — The Travelling Magicians (UK); Marcel Lucont — Gallic Symbol (French comedian) and Tomas Ford whose self titled show involves lots of song and action.
All the guests participated showing a glimpse of their acts, or just explaining what it is they do and how they got to be. It’s improv for the most part, so expect things to go wrong. Marcel Lucont’s sofa collapse last night was freakin’ hilarious and almost stole the show. Sharron and he handled it with absolute aplomb.
Sharron gives away the secret of her success, but you’ll have to go to the show to find out what it is. Note: wear comfortable clothes. There *may* be audience participation involved.
Tip: If you get there a little earlier, you can buy a beverage from the Lil Creatures tent and take it in with you.
OK, I tried to write a separate review for other shows, but seems I have to include them all in to one review only. Last year, I caught two fantastic shows. Briefs, showing at the Idolize Spiegeltent ’till Feb 11 is a circus /​comedy /​cabaret with drag, penises, some spectacular bodies and all sorts of surprises. The Faulty Towers Dining Experience at Rigby’s Bar is dinner and a show with actors faultlessly performing some of the best scenes from the series in impeccable style. If you loved Faulty Towers, it’s a great Valentine’s Day option! Fringe and enjoy, everyone.