Beat's Guide To The 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival

September 16 – October 4

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Beat Magazine’s Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 Guide

- CONTENTS PAGE 6

Uncommon Places: Instructions From The Fringe Fringe Furniture: Between The Lines Fringe on Film

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Damien Power vs. Anne Edmonds Randy Writes A Novel Stephen K Amos: Welcome To My World

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[The Unholy Body of] Ignatius Grail Big Strong Boy Boys Boys Boys

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Where The Fringe Am I?: Maps of the Fringe

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Bluethumb Pop-up Art Gallery A Touch of Grace: Shadow Warriors 99 Schnitzels (Veal Ain’t One) That’s Showbiz

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Accio Adulthood The Flame and the Rose Folded Together Bits Of Us As If Inflorescence Emma & the House Special An Intimate Evening with The Architects of Sound The Reality Event

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Fractured Gentlemen Of The Road Gruesome Playground Injuries I Don’t Know Yet In The Nudd People Piss In Here Speaking In Tones Top Spot

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A Bee’s Dick Away ARRRR We There Yet Docklands Blues Music Festival Climamania Le Petit Circus The Dirty Cowboy Torte E Mort: Songs of Cake and Death Woody’s World

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A Lady’s Guide to Being a Wingman Wet Cement Battlefield Blues Be A Man Gender Spanner Ich Bin Ein Belinda Pubaret Ah Yes, The Music

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IMPACT Men/Machine Oliver Downes - At The End Performance Management - In Cabaret Shoot From The Hip The Afterglow Working On A Dream

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Still Want More?

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WELCOME TO THE 2015 MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL A quick word with Creative Director & CEO Simon Abrahams

By Liza Dezfoul Simon Abrahams is super-excited to be head honcho at the Melbourne Fringe Festival this year. Abrahams is probably the best person in Melbourne right now to take on the wonderful hairy mammoth that is Fringe – his diverse background as a creative producer, performer and arts consultant means he knows what it’s like to be at either the pointy or blunt end of a show. Beat remembers him in a little back office at Gasworks Arts Park but since then Abrahams has pretty much popped up everywhere. In 2009 he founded Theatre Network, of which he’s Chair, and he is on the Theatre Panel for the Helpmann Awards, and the Contemporary and Experimental Performance Panel for the Green Room Awards. A few years ago he was in service to literature at the Wheeler Centre. In 2014 he was awarded the CHASS Australia Prize for a leader aged under 35 years was named among Arts Hub’s Top Ten Arts Leaders of 2010.

Abrahams says he couldn’t be happier captaining Fringe 2015. “I see a great future for the Melbourne Fringe,” he tells Beat. “I’ve got lots of big plans. My job this year is essentially to deliver the festival that Jayne (Lovelock, last year’s CEO) put together before she left.” Abrahams says he’s asking big questions of the Melbourne Fringe, wondering about things like the actual meaning of ‘Fringe’? “What are we on the Fringe of ?” he asks out loud. “Fringe should be about voices we don’t hear enough of, and I’m keen to increase the diversity of Fringe – to this end we have established a diversity scholarship scheme to hear different viewpoints.” Fringe has come a long way from a festival devoted to performance and Abrahams is keen to see more visual artistic activity taking place in Fringe, preferably involving Melbourne’s more prominent buildings. “My interest is in large-scale public artwork,” Abrahams continues. “What is it to be a citizen of Melbourne? How can we discover and rediscover our city via our public buildings? We can start to answer those questions with an artistic take, with a beautiful art project.”

Fringe has always been a platform for young and emerging artists, Abrahams says, but he wants to see established artists come back to Fringe with more experimental works, with ideas that they want to try out, make art for art’s sake. “Fringe is for independent

artists at all stages of their careers. Fringe is about discovery – audience discovery of artists and artists’ discovery of themselves; we want to see artists discover new aspects to their artistic practices. We want to see established artists come back to Fringe and try something new.” He notes that there is a growing trend, especially amongst very successful comedians, to return to Fringe with a show in preparation for next year’s MICF. “One increase is in well-known comedians putting on shows in Fringe – from my perspective that’s great. You can spend one afternoon or evening and go from seeing a free exhibition of public art to the Fringe Hub, see a show staged in the back seat of a car or something, then see a mainstream comedian, and do all of that in four hours or so – that’s the joy of Melbourne Fringe.”

Abrahams talks about the core values of Fringe as being access, inclusivity, participation and democracy.

“You can get no more democratic than an open access festival. So how can we reflect that?” Beat wonders how much of this year’s Fringe is Abrahams’s doing.

“The structure is all set up,” he answers. “My involvement has been curating within those structures, deciding what goes in them, to have a go at playing and deciding in that space, and meanwhile dream up things for next year. I’ve been lucky, I’ve inherited a strong festival, it shifts and changes…we evolve

what we do, bit by bit.” Has he noticed any particular trends in performances or events this year? “There’s an increase in live art and theatre, and an increase in the breakdown of traditional art forms, we’re seeing a lot more participatory work, of hands on immersive participatory experiences involving sensory overload, these shows are designed with that in mind. There is more and more engagement with participants in shorter works. This is a reflection of our shorter attention spans and our changing cycles of attention.

At Fringe we can see durational works of 17 hours, or something can go on for 23 minutes. Fringe is a process of discovery: we have a pretty dynamic Fringe Hub program this year featuring live-art participatory events, like The Side Part and the Wilin Warriors – they do a beautiful job; there’s Uncommon Places, where we have commissioned artists to make site specific works in 18 spaces – you can see these beautiful interesting artworks across Melbourne, and there are maps you can download, we’ve got artists from 15 different countries, and this year is the first time we’ve had a curated kids’ program at the Fringe Hub.” Abrahams says the first thing he did when he moved into his Fringe office was to go through decades of old Fringe Festival programs from about 1994.

“Everyone who’s anybody has come through Fringe; they’ve all performed in Fringe. It’s astounding. The Melbourne Fringe Festival is such an amazing strong brand. Our philosophy is that anyone can do anything in Fringe.”

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THE MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL will run from Wednesday September 16 - Sunday October 4 in venues across the city. Get flickin’ through the pages of our guide and get out there and see some shows.

Top images - from left to right: 1992-1-OH!, Love, Loss and Lattes, As You Like It, No Punchline, Luminous, Old Tech New Decks, They Say She’s Different, The Dad Show, Rachel By The Stream

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Beat Magazine’s Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 Guide

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Beat Magazine’s Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 Guide

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Beat Magazine’s Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 Guide

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Someone tried to tell me the other day that you seem at peace with yourself. Is that true?

No I’ve just become better at dealing with my har-

Where is Toowoomba exactly?

No one really knows, it’s actually a state of mind more so than a small regional town in Queensland where I grew up. When you’re in the Toowoomba state of mind you are more inclined to watch rugby league and make casually racist/homophobic comments.

DAMIEN INTERVIEWING ANNE: If you didn’t do stand up, what would you do?

I guess I still be working in an office with a daily gnawing feeling that something wasn’t right. I worked in mental health before starting comedy. It was actually alright, I enjoyed it, but I had always a sense I wanted to something else. I’m obsessed with expressing myself, it’s painful. I’ve been doing it at family Christmas for

Y O U K N OW W HAT I ’ M L I K E

VENUE: Fringe Hub - Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne DATES: September 26 - October 2 (except Monday) TIMES: 8pm (Sunday 7pm) TICKETS: $24 - $26 years. I’m pleased to have a formal outlet now.

Why do you like country music?

Stop asking me that. It’s OK to like it. I like country music because it’s so simple, beautiful and often sad, which is one of my emotional favourite states. I got into when I lived in the country for a few years and had to drive long distances. It’s appropriate for that activity. I also like the way country music tells someone’s story in a few verses or just gives you a few hints about someone’s life and you can imagine the rest. Gillian Welch does that so well. It’s also very easy to sing and play, often only three chords – I learnt the banjo by playing along to Kasey Chambers, Gillian Welch and Lucinda Williams.

What do you like most about your new washing machine?

Yes! You were staying at my house the day my new washing machine arrived. What a great day. I had been

RANDY WRITES A NOVEL

By Liza Dezfouli Not content with being a comedy god and TV idol, Randy (who doesn’t make distinctions between humans and puppets), is now an author. He’s written a book and is doing a show about it for the Melbourne Fringe Festival, called Randy Writes a Novel.

“It’s a thinly veiled concept,” Randy says. “I read excerpts from the novel to fill out half a show.” And the book? What’s that about? “It’s about a guy who walks from the southern-most border of Scotland to Skye in the far north carrying a dead beaver; the beaver dies about three quarters of the way through the novel, glassed in the face in a horrible local tavern bar room brawl, with a bottle of 12-year-old Ardbeg whisky. In the last quarter of the novel the protagonist carries round the beaver, it represents his character, who is having an existential crisis. But no-one cares about the beaver – they only talk about the waste of whisky. People care more about whisky than cruelty to animals. It’s why we’re in such shit.”

This sounds serious and conceptual. Randy is thoughtful. “It’s so serious. I spent three years in a wooden shack in the far north writing it. But in the

show I get distracted every time I get serious. For me, writing a book is the only way to get conceptual. The theme is legacy, what we leave behind. Is art only art if

somebody pays attention to it? If a man writes a book in a log cabin and no-one knows, is it still art? It’s pretty amazing; it’s an opus.”

Randy has performed the show in Adelaide already.

“It’s very funny – I stripped back, telling the audience what I think, staking my claim as the moral compass of the planet. It takes someone with a real sense of moral corruption to tell people what’s right or wrong.

I’m not going to listen to someone who’s never done drugs tell me not to do drugs. Randy Writes a Novel will be the greatest comedy show ever done at the Melbourne Fringe Festival and the second best piece of spoken word in the southern hemisphere, topped only by Raymond J Bartholomeuz’s mid-’90s exploration of Phillip Island, by Brian Nankervis.

“Every year I do a show revealing the darker, misanthropic aspects of my character, how shit I am, my alcoholism, about the intricacies of having

STEPHEN K AMOS:

WELCOME TO MY WORLD

By Colette Dallimore

We wants more more more of the adorable Stephen K Amos, my preciouses, so the UK comic is bringing his warm and fuzzy show Welcome to my World back to Melbourne for Fringe. Everyone wants more of him: he’s just finished a tour where he was performing two shows a day for a month. Beat does a quick Q&A with Amos, who brought Welcome to my World to MICF earlier this year, to find out what one of the world’s least pretentious comedians thinks of us. We ask him what he thinks are the best and worst things about performing in Australia? “The audiences are always up for it, which is a joy,” he answers. “The travelling from Queensland to Perth, then Adelaide and Alice Springs is a bit of a bitch. I come from a country with one time zone.”

Amos has recently published his memoir, I Used To Say My Mother Was Shirley Bassey. Does she still tell people his mum was Shirley Bassey? “Not since my mum found out. She kissed her teeth and said ‘Stephen! You could have said Diana Ross!’”

We want to know what the best thing is about his PAGE 8

life right now? “Doing a job I love, travelling and finding the funny in every corner of the world,” is his response. What’s the most challenging thing in his life right now? “In my life, hotel room keys clogging up my wallet, especially when I find out that taxi drivers don’t accept them as payment. In the world at large,

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What were you like at school?

I played cricket and football well, so probably a wanker. I was actually bullied a lot because I played up a grade in sport. All the older kids hated me. I always loved comedy and impressions, even during high school. I remember the big thing when I was at school was The 12th Man: the parody of Australian cricket commentators. I remember doing an impression of Max Walker from that show and an older kid threw an apple at my head.

rowing neurosis. Self awareness is the first key. Then anti-depressants. Then getting off them. Then you start listening to Coldplay. That’s the saddest bit.

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Why did you leave rotten food in my fridge last time you stayed?

It was fresh at first, then it started to rot.

VENUE: The Imperial Hotel, Cnr Bourke & Spring St, CBD DATES: September 24 - October 2 (except Monday) TIME: 9.15pm TICKETS: $20 - $24

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DAMIEN POWER ANNE EDMONDS

all the humanitarian issues, with refugees being at the top of the list. It’s disheartening to see and read some people’s ill-informed opinions and the fear mongering that goes on.”

What is Amos sentimental about? “To me, being sentimental is about looking back, and I try not to do that. It’s all about seizing the day, carpe diem, which if I remember from school is Latin for seizing the day, or maybe it’s Greek. I failed them both – you can’t get sentimental about things like that.”

Welcome to my World is a show famous for your interactions with audience members: have you ever had any really hairy moments with anyone in the audience? “There was a couple near the front and, clearly referring to the man, I asked if he had bumfluff as a teenager. He shouted out ‘Don’t ask me. You should see her back. She’s Greek!’ I don’t think they’re together anymore.”

Beat Magazine’s Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 Guide

saving up for it for ages. I had my old one for 15 years and it broke and I knew it was finally time for my first front loader. I love the 30 minute quick wash the most.

I have actually watched it from start to finish. It’s also fun and ok to do an ‘everyday’ wash when you’ve got time (50 minutes). I’m entranced by the spinning of the clothes behind the glass and get genuinely excited when I walk past and see it.

What can we do as stand ups to contribute more positively to society as a community?

Not leave rotting food in each others fridges. No, I often do worry about what I’m contributing to society as stand up. It feels so self indulgent – getting up on stage and talking about yourself for hours on end. But hopefully making people laugh is some sort of small, positive contribution to the world. I guess we can also make a difference by the things we talk about on stage, like pointing out things aren’t fair or right, and getting together and fundraising for causes we believe in. and maintaining relationships – women find that attractive.” The sort of women who write letters to murderers in prison? “Yeah, I’m going for the prison market. No, there’s no Mrs Randy; I am definitely married to my job. I’m nowhere near a relationship.

People can mind their own business. I rant at the audience about the things that give me the shits, what we’re doing as a species – there’s enough poisonous vitriol – maybe it will get through. I don’t really give a shit. I don’t even mind if people don’t come. I’ve just made a show I like doing. It’s a very funny show.

If people want to come and laugh at me saying words out of my mouth, they are more than welcome. If they’d rather sit at home and ponder the awful life they’ve chosen to live, they’re welcome to do that instead.”

Randy says that in the hour her spends on stage he feels most alive. And safest. “You spend your life trying to avoid people who might kill you. We’re a lot more fragile than we think; we’re just bags of water. I spend my life navigating that experience – getting up on stage makes everything else go away.”

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VENUE: Fringe Hub - Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne DATES: September 18 - 25 (except Monday) TIMES: 9.15pm (Sunday 8.15pm) TICKETS: $25 - $28

What is the hairiest moment you’ve experienced in your comedy career to date? “I was unwell and had to leave the stage half way through the show, the audience thought it was part of the show but in fact I had to throw-up backstage – I didn’t reach the toilets so it was in a pint glass. Over the years there have been moments, particularly with drunk people, saying the most outrageous obnoxious things. At a show in South West London, a full on riot broke out when an unfortunate man heckled me with the n-word. Other audience members took umbrage – chaos ensued.”

What’s the first thing you’d change about the world?

“More compassion, honesty, transparency and also I’d clamp down on corruption and injustice. I’d like to make all these multi-billion pound corporations put something meaningful back into society.” What makes you angry? “All the things I want to change in the world.”

What would you be doing if not comedy? “I’d like to think I’d be a barrister. There’s something about the wigs and those gowns that just feels right.” Do your parents secretly wish you were doing something else?

“My parents would like me to be a barrister but not for the same reason as above! My dad still says ‘Become a lawyer; you will never lose. If a man is guilty you’ll be paid, if a man is innocent, you’ll be paid and if a man wants to bribe you, you’ll be paid. Twice!’”

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VENUE: Fringe Hub - Lithuanian Club , 44 Errol St, North Melbourne DATES: September 24 - October 3 (except Sunday& Monday) TIME: 7pm TICKETS: $25 - $30

BOYS BOYS BOYS COMEDY CABERET WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY NICO

SEPT 22-26

LOOKING FOR A GOOD TIME You know the moment ladies. The moment you wake up in a foreign bed. You feel that arm tightly strung around your waist. You squint and slowly open your eyes. You realise where you are. The arm slides away once day has broken. You could just get up, get your slutty tube skirt back on and walk home but you know there is a better option. One that will stick around longer than the guy whose bed you have just woken up in...

You go to the bathroom. Pace around the room a little, whilst you joke with him and flick your bed hair. You pull out that line - 'Oh god, I don’t want to walk home in my outfit from last night…' - he replies - 'I can drive you.' ... 'Oh no it's fine, I actually like walking- but maybe if you lend me a T-shirt…'

He thinks you want to see him again. WRONG, you just want his grey medium sized sloppy joe. It would be perfect for jazz class next week.

1 5 3 G E R T R U D E S T, F I T Z R OY TIX $15 - MELBOURNEFRINGE.COM.AU

Ni brings to life, the trials and tribulations of acquiring the shirts of Tom, Dick and Harry in Nico her cabaret, Boys Boys Boys.

Beat Magazine’s Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 Guide

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[THE UNHOLY BODY OF] IGNATIUS GRAIL

By Liza Dezfouli

“I’ve been writing it for a long time,” says Madeleine Ryan, about her work [The Unholy Body of ] Ignatius Grail, a theatre piece she has written, directs and performs in ‘uniting beauty with the beastly,’ which explores manifestations of power via the body and the lengths one woman will go through to achieve it.

Images from Ryan’s early awareness of popular culture and her experiences of being powerful in her own body inform this collaborative piece, the debut by her new theatre company Ginesthoi. “In a personal sense it’s about the different images of power I’ve tried on,” says Ryan. Are there any particular defining moments or incidents that sparked off her exploration? “I see myself as a six-year-old on the couch watching Grease, transfixed by Sandy’s transformation,” she answers.

“Then myself wanting to be Buffy in the playground at school, as a 15-year-old at parties imitating the move-

ments of the women in Eric Prydz’s Call on Me video, and as an actor in Robert Meldrum’s voice classes working on Cleopatra.”

[The Unholy Body of ] Ignatius Grail challenges the idea of the body as a temple and the notion of perfecting the body being an end unto itself – a radical stance in a culture fixated more than ever on external appearances. “This work sheds light on the idea that we are more than our physical bodies,” Ryan explains.

“The body is a tool for expression, not something to be shaped and controlled; it’s not the outcome of

who we are, we’re not dictated to, or defined by, the body. This work facilitates that.” Inherently, with such themes, the work questions feminine identity, and issues of objectification and body image. “It’s accessible for men and women,” Ryan notes. “But yes, there are things I do feel angry about. I had an eating disorder as a teenager and much of this work is about transcending that.” Is there an element of catharsis involved for Ryan in putting the show together?

“I’m certainly unearthing a degree of anger. But the show is expressing something about power, what it means to have it, what it looks like. Power is neither a benevolent nor a malevolent force. I do believe we all have power, but it’s something we shape for ourselves.

If you underestimate that, it can be dangerous.” Do we witness Ignatius’ power affecting her environment? “There are two other characters who mirror

BIG STRONG BOY

By Avrille Bylok-Collard

Victorian poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning once wrote: “tis not in mere death that men die most”. A century and a half later, this quote still resonates; not just because of its powerful allusions, but because of its poignant application to the current lives of men.

I’m referring to, of course, toxic masculinity.

Toxic masculinity is the idea that males can only exist within their prescribed gender role and its associated traits – men are ‘strong’, they’re not victims, boys don’t cry, etc. These adages of what it means to ‘be a man’ emotional short-change our boys, to the point where being a normal, emotional human being is considered emasculating. Dan Pavatich’s newest production Big Strong Boy, will unravel these maxims and reveal how to actually be a man (spoiler: be human).

“The idea that anyone should be anything other than

who they are is fundamentally flawed,” asserts the former IT specialist, turned comedian. “For me, these examples [of ‘be a man’ or ‘be a big strong boy’] all seem to suggest that you’re not allowed to express how you feel, and that cannot be healthy.”

It’s a discourse that is suffusing our culture, forcing us to reconsider the way we treat our boys, from Buzzfeed’s harrowing piece about male sexual assault, Toxic Masculinity Is Harmful To All Of Us; to articles about Santa Barbara murderer Elliot Rodger and his

deleterious perceptions of manhood; and former Victorian Police Commissioner, Ken Lay, acknowledging that the way we raise boys, in reference to gender, is harmful to everyone.

“The hardest one was getting comfortable with sharing some personal details about my life and family,” tells Pavatich, detailing the challenges he faced creating Big Strong Boy. “I had to have a lot of conversations with my family about things that had happened to us. The challenging part was that we’re a family that doesn’t really talk about our experiences or issues to each other. So breaking that habit with the family was really challenging, but ultimately it has led to some really beautiful moments with my family, and I know more about my family, and have got to know

BOYS BOYS BOYS

By Colette Dallimore Every T-shirt tells a story. Cabaret and musical theatre performer Nico uses her collection of T-shirts left behind by ex-lovers as the basis of her Melbourne Fringe show Boys Boys Boys. “At first glance the overall view is that I sleep with boys just to steal their T-shirts,” she tells Beat. “But a T-shirt is something you keep; it’s got a story attached to it. Everything has a memory.”

Nico got the idea for Boys Boys Boys when she was packing up to move house and rediscovered her collection of trophies, sorry, T-shirts. “As I was cleaning out I thought that this was a good idea for a show. I’m not a hoarder; I’m just sentimental.” The show’s title comes from a song by Sabrina Salerno and the stories of Nico’s sexual history are juxtaposed with different songs from different styles, from ‘80s ballads to jazz numbers to the occasional big Broadway tune. “I sing PAGE 10

Broadway songs, and songs from singers who are ‘on the same page,’ like Kate Nash and Lily Allen,” she tells us. “This is an honest show; I have to play myself so the songs have to stay true to my ideas. I’m trying to be stylistic without being too stylistic. I’ve changed some lyrics and some arrangements. I don’t need to make a mini-musical out of the show. I’ve made choices with the music that relate to my character.”

Boys Boys Boys is a cabaret/comedy and reflects Nico’s

effort to move away from the confines of musical theatre, in which she trained. “The show isn’t a narrative” she explains. “The stories in the show have a narrative but not the show itself.” She’s also keen to not fall into the trap of singing the expected. “I am a fan of the big show time number,” she admits. “But this is a cabaret show and it’s me telling stories in an intimate and entertaining way. I keep my Australian accent when I sing the songs.”

Nico’s not going to say what that question was. “I don’t want to give too much away!” Nico reckons she doesn’t hold back with what she reveals. “These things happen to everyone. I don’t need to make up a funny story, people can relate to the stories. The show isn’t melodramatic,” Nico continues. “It’s not one of these shows about a woman who’s had her heart broken.

Beat Magazine’s Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 Guide

back to her different facets of what she’s creating, of highlighting the bigger perspective while she’s facing her demons,” answers Ryan. “They’re like her spirit guides. Is it an abstract piece? It’s a psychological drama. You do get a sense of impact, what happens to her reverberates through the piece.”

Ryan is very keen for the audience to be close to the work. “It’s not like you’re at a safe distance, as if you’re watching TV in your lounge. We’ve picked out all these chairs, so everyone gets a front row seat,” she continues. “But there’s no scary audience participation. We’re not asking anyone to juggle or tell a joke.

We’ve painted all the walls in the space; I want it to feel like entering a kind of temple, a childlike world of make-believe. The space creates another world we create with sound, physical theatre, with costume; the script forms a non-verbal communication. I love the audience – I want to take them with me. The other artists involved, the performers, the designer, the costume maker, the musician and composer, all are completely aligned with it; it’s been a lovely collaborative process.”

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VENUE: Second Story, 159 Sackville St, Collingwood DATE: September 15 - 20, 24 - 27 TIMES: 8pm (Sundays 5pm) TICKETS: $10 - $30

my father better as a result.”

Big Strong Boy will be Pavatich’s second solo production – Please Stay debuted at MICF earlier this year – and it’ll be heavily autobiographical, dealing with trials of family bankruptcy, an absent love life and a dissatisfying career with compassion and wit.

“I was earning six figures working for one of the top four IT consultancies in the world. I had a team of 200 people across Australia and India. I was successful, but incredibly unhappy. I mean crying into your cufflinks sad,” jokes Pavatich. “I decided to take an improv class and fell in love with it. After about a year of classes I decided that the only thing that was making me happy was Improvisation…so I quit and went to Chicago. I trained with iO Chicago and many great teachers. A man I owe my life to who passed away recently was Jason Chin, he showed me what we can achieve with comedy, that we can say big things, and when we do that’s when comedy becomes art. He also told me that to find that we have to be prepared to be honest, and that’s hard, but that’s how people get to know us. After that I was committed to be a comedian. It’s a humanitarian pursuit.”

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VENUE: The Improv Conspiracy, 19 Meyers Pl, CBD DATES: September 18 - September 25 (except Monday) TIME: 8pm (Sunday 7pm) TICKETS: $12 - $16

The stories I tell are delivered in a sharp and punchy and funny way.” Nico admits she’s not shy about naming and shaming but she has tempered some of the details to make them digestible to an audience. Would the men she’s talking about in her show recognise themselves? “Some have code names. There’s Chip Boy, who I met when I stole a chip off his plate in a kebab store. There was one fellow who kept asking the same question over and over again. He was weird and inappropriate; he kept asking me, even the next morning at my front gate when he was leaving. I stay truthful I’ve made him into an inexperienced person, changed his entire character so it’s like he’s a nervous person who asks a bunch of questions rather than asking the same question over and over.”

Nico has had to find a new pianist at the last minute but the girl is undaunted, so much so that she’s given up her day job. “I did a show in the last MICF (I’m Not Creative, I’ve Got Bipolar) and I noticed the difference in my headspace when I was working fulltime and doing a show at night.”

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VENUE: The Wilde, 153 Gertrude St, Fitzroy DATES: September 22 - 26 TIMES: 7pm (Sunday 5pm) TICKETS: $10 - $15

Bits Of Us

Travel into the minds of Ben and Alice as they relive the hazy memories of some of the most signiicant moments of their relationship. Expect nothing.

Sept 26, 27, 29, Oct 1-3 THE IMPROV CONSPIRACY LEVEL 1, 19 MEYERS PL, MELBOURNE

FOR MORE INFO & TIX MELBOURNEFRINGE.COM.AU

Beat Magazine’s Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 Guide

PAGE 11

BLUETHUMB POP-UP ART GALLERY

By Colette Dallimore

Freddy Grant is marketing coordinator of Bluethumb Pop-Up Art Gallery, creating opportunities for visual artists in the Melbourne Fringe, and anywhere else. Beat did a Q&A with Grant and curator Janni Fewster about their first Fringe presence, and their Bluethumb phone app.

So what is Bluethumb? “Our website is a free-to-join open platform for artists to sell their work directly to buyers. This pop-up show will be a curation of some of our favourites. We also have a first of its kind art app which is pretty cool, so people that come to the exhibition can buy the artwork using the app.”

Is this a specifically curated exhibition for Fringe?

“The exhibition is specifically curated to present our broad range of artists and their broad range of styles.

We will exhibit everything from large abstract paintings to small linocut prints. Artists exhibiting will be

both emerging, like Sarah Gosling who does these awesome pieces that explore our relationships with animals, and established artists like Waterhouse prize winner John Graham, an expressionist with years of exhibitions and professional experience under his belt.

Bluethumb is a place where all artists can sell their works.”

How has Bluethumb come to be in Fringe? “This is our first Fringe and we’re so excited to be involved and to see what happens. We are always looking for different ways to get our artists’ work out there. At

last year’s Adelaide Fringe urban Indigenous artist Coby Edgar, transformed the Bluethumb ute (a 1985 Land Cruiser) into a driveable artwork. It’s actually just been listed for sale on Bluethumb to raise funds for our iPad app – in case anyone reading this is looking for a ute with a difference. Since moving to Melbourne, Fringe seemed like a natural step. Being at Gasworks means we will be surrounded by great shows and events bringing lots of people to our artists’ work - especially as our pop-up gallery is conveniently next to the bar.”

How did you choose the artists appearing at the pop-up gallery? “They were chosen from our curated featured artists page, talented and active artists within our community who sell well. We wanted artists with individual style, for example, local artist Annette Spinks. Her works are very popular - she’s a

A TOUCH OF GRACE:

SHADOW WARRIOR

By Colette Dallimore

“I feel this show could touch a lot of people,” says Demi Sorono, about A Touch of Grace: Shadow Warrior, her autobiographical one-woman show featuring physical theatre, dance and song. “Young people, from 16 and over who have struggled with identity, with racism, with sexuality; this show talks about these issues. My journey in dance made me think about lots of different things I’ve been through. I want to create something to inspire people who might be struggling in life; it’s another medium to give people some hope.”

Sorono, who some may remember as a finalist from the 2008 season of TV’s So You Think You Can Dance, is keen to share her personal experiences of migration to the west from a traditional culture: she came from the Philippines to Australia when she was seven and grew up feeling a sense of cultural dislocation which contributed to a struggle to find her sense of

self. “It’s really hard to figure yourself out,” she tells Beat. “When I found hip hop it was a massive thing: I found people and music I could relate to; here was my community, this was my family.” Sorono certainly has found her sense of self – not only is she a single mother, she’s one of Australia’s leading break dancers, a b-girl who’s also now exploring her musical voice,

Beat Magazine’s Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 Guide

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VENUE: Melba Spiegeltent, 35 Johnston St, Collingwood DATES: September 23 - October 4 (except Monday

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VENUE: Fringe Hub - Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne DATES: September 18 - 26 (except Monday) TIMES: 8.15pm (Sunday 7.15pm) TICKETS: $15 - $25

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VENUE: Tuxedo Cat, 293-299 La Trobe Street, CBD DATES: September 16 - 22, 24 - 27 TIME: 8.30pm TICKETS: $15 - $20

Jazz diva Dee Dee Delore (played by Nichaud Fitzgibbon) and her impresario husband (played by Mark Cutler) have devised a stage show based on her life to revive her flagging career. Against his better judgement and at her insistence, he has hired her former musical partner, lover and now struggling blues musician (Doc White) to play himself in the show. She’s trying to make Mark jealous, and it’s working. Doc finds himself caught in the crossfire. The audience picks up the show one week into rehearsal.

it. The show got a standing ovation. It led to a conversation afterwards which is also a good sign.”

For her Fringe debut Sorono has teamed up with music producer MC Julez to present her original music. “These songs come from the heart,” she says.

“They’re related to my personal journey. One song is called Spice in Her, about how there’s spice and flavour in this girl, you gotta watch out cos you might fall in love with her.”

Beat asks Sorono how she came to hip hop in the first place. “I saw this crazy film clip when I was very young and I was inspired by this girl in this video – she was amazing, doing all these crazy moves, headstands, power moves, windmills, and I wanted to be her. So me and my brothers started practising, started doing their moves, doing the robot dance.”

Sorono admits that the hip hop dance scene can still be male dominated but she doesn’t let that hold her back. “It can be intimidating for women. You tell yourself you’re just as good and build up your skills, strengths and confidence. You have to have a ‘just do it’ attitude.” Sorono says she’d love to tour this show and there are already nibbles of interest in her taking it to the Philippines to start with. Who does she like to see perform? “Janet Jackson.”

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After a sell-out season at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Josh Glanc brings his cult-hit and critically acclaimed show to Melbourne Fringe. See Glanc inhabit a variety of characters in this masterful melding of sketch, clown and physical comedy.

Through music and song, Glanc interweaves moments of pathos and subversive social observation in amongst his silliness, building something unique and incredibly exhilarating.

Featuring lactating breasts, a taxidermy cat and a South American pop star. If you love the ridiculous, you’ll love this show.

THAT’S SHOWBIZ

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VENUE: Gasworks, 21 Graham St, Albert Park DATES: September 22 - 26 TIME: Tuesday 7pm, Wednesday & Thursday 5pm, Friday & Saturday 12pm TICKETS: Free

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writing original songs for her one-woman show for the Melbourne Fringe. “I count my blessings that I can use dance as my career path,” she says. Sorono’s forged a successful career as a self-taught dancer, performer and teacher of hip hop but says she’s nervous about performing in Fringe.

Gerard Veltre, Artistic Director of Phunktional Limited, producers of the show, sings her praises. “Demi’s a beautiful dancer,” he says. “This show is a great opportunity for her to use those skills and perform her original songs. She has a lovely interesting voice which is sometimes folk-sounding, a bit ballad, bit jazz-sounding, so she’s an amazing combination of world class dancer and singer. This show has been eight months in development and has already been performed, at the Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Coalition’s Mosaic Festival, and they loved

bestseller for sure.”

What gave you the idea for the Bluethumb app?

“The trend of people spending more time on mobile devices than on laptops or PCs gave us an opportunity. Technology and innovation has always been part of the Bluethumb ethos. We knew a couple of years ago if we did something no other art gallery was doing, it would make an impact. We’ve had a great response from artists who use the app: it allows them to have a responsive portfolio of their work wherever they are and on whatever screen is available. We make it easier to be an artist, leaving our artists to focus on what they do best. We also make it easier to be an art lover: we only accept original art; we offer secure SSL credit card transactions and PayPal, a seven-day money back guarantee and we ship free to any part of Australia. It’s an art gallery on the go. All through the day, new art is uploaded by our 1,200+ community of artists meaning there’s always something fresh on the home screen. You can ‘heart’ your favourite pieces, which curates your own collection of artworks on your favourites page. I use it all the time to keep up with the new art and artists on Bluethumb.”

PROJECTS LEFT UNFINISHED, FOOD HALF EATEN, DOT-TO-DOTS IN WHICH NUMBERS ARE SKIPPED, ALPHABETISED DVD COLLECTIONS THAT STOP AT F; THE TAPESTRY OF AN INCOMPLETE LIFE

24TH-26TH OF SEPT & 1ST-3RD OF OCT at TUXEDO CAT 293 LA TROBE ST, MELBOURNE. TIX FROM MELBOURNEFRINGE.COM.AU

When is the right time to leave your childhood dreams behind? How does one "adult" anyway?

20th, 23rd, 27th, & 30th of September

THE 86 CABARET BAR 8pm, Tickets: $14, $12 (groups 6+). 185 SMITH ST, FITZROY melbournefringe.com.au

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VENUE: Scratch Warehouse, 271-273 Macaulay Rd, North Melbourne DATES: September 17 - 19, 24 - 26, October 1 & 2 TIMES: 8.50pm TICKETS: $20 - $25

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VENUE: Tuxedo Cat, 293-299 La Trobe Street, CBD DATES: September 24 - 29 TIMES: 7.15pm TICKETS: $18 - $26

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The Reality Event is an immersive performance experiment; a tense and extremely visceral exploration of the ever blurring line between reality and construction. The Suicide Ensemble invites you to indulge in competition and witness grisly acts of violence in two back-to- back theatre events Led by Daniel Gough, The Suicide Ensemble are presenting this performance experiment as the culmination of over a year’s work. Together these seven artists make work which obliterates the boundaries between theatre and its audience with astounding results, from devastating to uplifting.

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Emma & The House Special is a fresh kitchen sink comedy about the strange transitions from your mid-20s into adulthood. Emma is 25, feeling dissatisfied with her couch-lifestyle in a rank share house. It seems that her thoughts have been answered when she receives a surreal visit from the real estate man, who offers her an opportunity of a life time to live in a perfect house, rent free. In exchange she must share the house with a mysterious man from parts unknown; who has bought with his life savings a chance to live “the Australian dream”. Audiences are encouraged to bring snuggies and blankets and make themselves at home.

AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH THE ARCHITECTS OF SOUND THE REALITY EVENT

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VENUE: Bluestone Church Arts Space, 10A Hyde St, Footscray DATES: September 18 - 22 TIMES: 7pm (Sunday 2.30pm) TICKETS: $26 - $35

EMMA & THE HOUSE SPECIAL

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VENUE: Trades Hall, Cnr Lygon & Victoria St, Carlton DATES: September 17 - 19, 24 - 26 TIME: 7.15pm TICKETS: $16 - $20

VENUE: The 86, 185 Smith St, Fitzroy DATES: September 17 - 22 (except Monday) TIMES: 6.45pm (extra show Sunday 9.30pm) TICKETS: $10 - $20

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VENUE: Various venues across Melbourne, visit melbournefringe.com.au for more details DATES: September 17 - October 4 TIMES: Various TICKETS: Free

An Intimate Evening with The Architects of Sound is a collision of original electronic music, absurd anecdotes spontaneous choreographed dance sequences, and black turtlenecks. Designed as a hard hitting provocation of the current pop culture climate built on the delicate foundation of reinvention, repetition and celebrity, the audience are invited in on the parody and in on the joke that The Architects of Sound cleverly unfold. The audience are allowed an opportunity to openly view their relationship with popular culture as The Architects of Sound present a ridiculous and an absurdly truthful representation of what dominates our social media feeds, and effectively, our lives.

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VENUE: The Improv Conspiracy, 19 Meyers Pl, CBD DATES: September 26 - October 3 (except Monday) TIMES: 9.15pm (Sunday 8.15pm) TICKETS: $12 - $15

Conceived by pianist Danaë Killian in intimate collaboration with her husband, cellist and flautist Gotthard Killian, The Flame and the Rose Folded Together burns toward the marriage of yin and yang in a creative epistemology of truth and trust, kissing and betrayal, freedom and passion, and the Dao. A performance in music and poetry, The Flame and the Rose Folded Together is an alchemical initiation journey from the I Ching of China toward the Rosicrucian embrace of Beethoven’s distant beloved, inspired by the poetic life-and-death partnership of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath.

In the garden four seeds are planted. With some sunlight, water, and time these seeds bloom into beautiful flowers. Inflorescence bloom an improvised theatrical experience full of massive characters, relatable scenarios and bold risks. Inflorescence is made up of six performers: James Brennan, Mike Brown, Megan Budge, Cat Commander, Brittney Crellin and Tim Quabba. Each night Inflorescence will create and perform a show entirely from scratch, featuring short comedic scenes between pairs and the group as a whole. No pre-defined characters.

No scripts. No idea what it is until it’s over they discover at the same time as you do.

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Over October 2015, the Women’s Art Register, a dynamic slide library holding over 20,000 images and representing over 5,000 artists, celebrates 40 years of persisting and insisting that women’s art matters. To honour this remarkable achievement, the Women’s Art Register will host a curated mini-festival of women’s artmaking, showcasing a dazzling array of women’s artistic contributions to the cultural landscape. All 13 events are free.

INFLORESCENCE

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VENUE: The 86, 185 Smith St, Fitzroy DATES: September 20, 23, 27 & 30 TIMES: 8pm TICKETS: $12 - $14

AS IF: 40 YEARS AND BEYOND – CELEBRATING THE WOMEN’S ART REGISTER THE FLAME AND THE ROSE FOLDED TOGETHER

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Our memories aren’t always flawless, detailed imagery; we often remember events as blurred impressions and gut feelings, and over time those imprints become dull and faded. Travel into the minds of Ben and Alice as they relive the hazy memories of some of the most significant moments of their relationship.

Expect nothing.

Fresh out of university with a nifty degree in music theatre, Melbourne-based actor Darcy Dann still dreams of attending Hogwarts.

In her Fringe Festival debut, Dann demonstrates not only her immense adoration for the Harry Potter series, but also the pressure of growing up, and what the bloody hell that even means. When is the right time to leave your childhood dreams behind? How does one ‘adult’ anyway? Join her for wizardy tunes, laughs, and who knows, you may even score yourself a wicked temporary tattoo.

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ACCIO ADULTHOOD

A Bees Dick Away

“A BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED SERIES OF

Wriien & performed by Lisa Harper Campbell

COMPOSITIONS IN WHICH HIGHLY

22-26 Sept -

SOPHISTICATED INSTRUMEN TATION, ARRANGEMEN T AND RECORDING VALUES

GASWORKS -

DIRECTLY ADDRESS T HE STATE OF T HE

e Boardwalk Republic

E CLOVER CLUB - 21 GRAHAM STREET, ALBEE PARK

N ATURAL WORLD” PAUL COSGROVE R ADIO BLUE MOUN TAINS, 89.1 FM

Oliver Downes - AT THE END -

How close did you come to not bee-ing here at all?

SEPT 18-19, 25-26, OCT 2 -3 RUBY’S MUSIC ROOM

is biting comedy lays bare a the agony of being passionately pro-choice but fearfully anti-mistake.

132 LIT TLE LONSDALE ST. MELBOURNE CBD. TICKETS FROM MELBOURNEFRINGE.COM.AU OLIVERDOWNES.COM FACEBOOK.COM/OLIVERDOWNESMUZAK

TICKETS FROM MELBOURNEFRINGE.COM.AU

THAT’S SHOWBIZ

Hot Blues & Jazz Bodacious Babes

‘A Brilliant Way To Spend an Hour’ Clothesline magazine

23RD SEPT - 4TH OCT THE MELBA SPIEGELTENT 35 Johnston St, Collingwood - tickets from melbournefringe.com.au

Beat Magazine’s Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 Guide

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VENUE: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Pl, CBD DATE: September 29 - October 4 TIME: 10pm TICKETS: $25 - $32

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People Piss in Here is a surreal comedy about mental illness that takes place in a windowless women’s toilets on the third floor of an office block. Jo is having a panic attack, and they’ve run out of toilet paper. The play tackles the rarely discussed subject of mental illness, and approaches the taboo topic as a comedy.

Jo and Sam (bipolar and schizophrenic, respectively) are both able to see and embrace the humorous side to their illnesses whilst acknowledging the deep seated fears that threaten to engulf them at any moment. It veers from the mundane to the surreal and possibly divine, all the while laughing the sheer insanity that is mental illness.

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VENUE: Courthouse Hotel, Cnr Errol & Queensberry St, North Melbourne DATES: September 26 - October 4 TIMES: 7.10pm (Sundays 6.10pm) TICKETS: $20 - $25

PEOPLE PISS IN HERE

VENUE: Hares and Hyenas, 63 Johnston Street, Fitzroy DATES: September 18 & 19 TIME: 7pm TICKETS: $20 - $25

VENUE: 75 Reid St, North Fitzroy DATE: September 24 TIME: 7.30pm TICKETS:$15 - $25

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VENUE: L1 Studios, 1/377 Little Bourke St, CBD DATES: September 21 - 25 TIME: 8pm TICKETS: $20 - $25

In the Nudd is a very silly comedy about a nudist beach. The show pokes fun at hippies, greenies, bookworms and just about everyone else. There are plenty of bad jokes about the human anatony, so come along and have a cheeky giggle.

Speaking In Tones is the latest cross-platform project from filmmaker and musician Agatha Yim. From whale songs to a London parking lot, this mishmash of contemporary music, theatre, and film, explores the possibilities of communication beyond words, and the processes of the creative mind. Featuring the haunting theatrics of George Crumb’s Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale), the world premiere of Michael Slayton’s Mirórs inspired by the paintings of Miró, and an Australian premiere of Yim’s own experimental crossplatform radio play Speaking in Tones.

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So much potential, so little work or grants. Their money went on rent, bills, seeing other shows, head shots, taxis, planes and coffees, therapy, yoga, casting workshops, acting classes and dinner. How will these aspiring artists get the funds to put on the best play ever? How can they write it when there’s no budget and too many ideas?

Why don’t I just sell out and get a sugar daddy?

So I can focus on my genius self? I don’t know yet but I need to write a play and it’s going to be amazing. I want it to be about love and Britain and other places. Heartache and black panthers.

Really physical? Yep I gotta go write now. OK I love you. OK bye.

IN THE NUDD

SPEAKING IN TONES

VENUE: Melba Spiegeltent, 35 Johnston Street, Collingwood DATES: September 17 - 22 (except Monday) TIMES:4.45pm (extra 2pm show on Saturday & Sunday) TICKETS: $14 - $22

I DON’T KNOW YET

as they collect and compare scars of lives in which true love and connection is hard to come by. This is the tale of two small town kids, desperate for each other, but destined only for tragedy.

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GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES

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The Chipolatas are set to perform a rare season of their unique and universally acclaimed show ‘Gentlemen of the Road. Finding inspiration in timeless tradition this long-standing troupe use rhythmic squeezebox, break beats and ballads together with spoken word and samples to produce moments of theatrical stillness, physicality and dynamism. The Chipolatas, ambassadors of an evolving tradition bring a show of circus, music and story telling that is suitable for all ages. If you are looking for a show that will hold the attention of the youngest in the crowd whilst thrilling the oldest, you should look no further.

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VENUE: Club Voltaire, 14 Raglan St, North Melbourne DATES: September 15 – 20 TIMES: 7.30pm TICKETS: $20 - $25

Rajiv Joseph’s spellbinding play Gruesome Playground Injuries will make its Melbourne premiere at this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival, marking the theatrical debut of NewCharacter Productions featuring Katarina Viva Schøller and Nicholas Jaquinot, with direction by David Ward. Sometimes comical and often dark, Rajiv Joseph guides us through events over a 30-year period.

It’s the story of Kayleen and Doug, two best friends who often separate, but always find their way back to each other, often in the most bizarre of circumstances,

GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD

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Verve Studios returns to the Melbourne Fringe Festival with a visually stunning new work written by Adam J.A. Cass and directed by Peta Hanrahan. This multi-award winning team are delighted to be bringing the powerful work to Gallery Voltaire in the first week of the festival.

With over a decade as one of Melbourne’s most respected actor training centres, Verve Studios prides itself on preparing actors to be ready to work in Melbourne’s vibrant arts industry.

The Melbourne Fringe Festival provides one of many opportunities for Verve Studios’ students to showcase their talents to the public and the industry. Fractured promises to be a dark comedy of broken heroes and unlikely courage.

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Step right up to the chopping block as two very sparkly showgirls vie for your adoration, or die trying.

Realising that their ‘one woman show’ is now a double bill, these divas are on a mission to prove there is only one lead role. Cue decadent costumes, hilarious banter, high end choreography and an ‘oh so terrible’ magic show. After sell out shows at Adelaide Fringe, Top Spot, featuring Green Room award nominee Elizabeth Dawson-Smith and New Zealand talent Stephanie Marion Wood, has been re-developed for

Beat Magazine’s Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 Guide

a season at Ruby’s Music Room. Audiences are invited to join in the revelry that is Top Spot, a fun and highly engaging work set to bring out the competitive scallywag in all of us.

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VENUE: Ruby’s Music Room, 132 Little Lonsdale St, CBD DATES: September 17 - October 4 (except Wednesdays) TIMES: 7.30pm (Sundays 2pm) TICKETS: $15 - $25

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A man, a bottle of whiskey, a guitar and a memory of love. In the spirit of Johnny Cash, original country and western songs combine with storytelling to give a blunt, raw and honest account of how greed tears up a town... and one man’s heart. The songs will shake you to your core and break your heart. The story will make you question how much you would risk for love.

VENUE: Fringe Hub - Errol’s Upstairs, 69-71 Errol St, North Melbourne DATES: September 18 - October 3 (except Mondays) TIMES: 9.15pm (Sundays 8.15pm) TICKETS: $20 - $25

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Woody’s World is a place where alley cats sing and dance, mice invite you in for a cup of tea and farm animals gather together for a bush dance.

Children and adults alike will be delighted by fabulous songs, captivating stories and puppets.

The Woody’s World show is a special one and features a host of interesting guests, with Woody at the helm. Woody – named after one of his parents’ folk heroes Woody Guthrie – was brought up in a musical family, so it is no surprise to find that he has passed on that music gene to his own children. In fact, Woody’s children also join him as part of his show.

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TORTE E MORT: SONGS OF CAKE AND DEATH

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VENUE: Wonderland Spiegeltent, 120 Pearl River Rd, Docklands DATES: September 22 - October 2 TIME: 1.30pm TICKETS: $16

VENUE: Wonderland Spiegeltent, 120 Pearl River Rd, Docklands DATE: October 4 TIME: 11am TICKETS: Free

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Le Petit Circus fuses acrobatics, hooping, plate spinning, juggling, stunts and dazzling aesthetics.

Already a household name on the circus scene, Highwire has produced and toured various multi art form events, both nationally and internationally. Le Petit Circus is their latest offering and is a show for the whole family. Undeniably Australian, complete with familiar colloquialism and humour, the production has been described as a real laugh out loud spectacle. Le Petit Circus been making its way around the country, including coveted performance spots at Adelaide Fringe Festival and The Village. The 40-minute show is recommended for children aged three and over.

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VENUE: The Melba Spiegeltent, 35 Johnston St, Collingwood DATES: September 16 - 20 TIMES: 8.30pm (Wednesday 7.45pm) TICKETS: $15 - $25

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The renowned Docklands Blues Music Festival returns in 2015 with a massive event. The impressive festival brings 12-hours of nonstop music featuring 23 bands across four stages. International headliner Chris Cain and a host of Australia’s most revered blues talents, as well as some incredible local Melbourne performers, will ensure there is something for all music lovers. The 2015 festival will not only feature four indoor and outdoor stages within some licenced seated venues, but there will also be good ole Southern style cuisine.

Add to that carnival rides and attractions, thanks to the Wonderland Fun Park, the Docklands Blues Music Festival is truly an event for all ages.

VENUE: Metanoia at The Mechanics Institute, 270 Sydney Rd, Brunswick DATES: September 29 - October 4 TIME: 6.30pm TICKETS: $20 - $25

Black-humoured, visually opulent, and dripping with satire, this Spiegeltent cabaret will tempt your sweet tooth and traumatise your funny bone. Anya Anastasia is accompanied by Bec Matthews on percussion to present an electrifying live performance. Witness Anya’s transformation through exaggerated iconic archetypes in the feminine form, deftly evolving through characters from Marie Antoinette to a feisty she-devil. Though darkly satirical, Torte E Mort unashamedly celebrates all these extremes of the psyche and humanity, leaving the audience to work out was a warning, and which was an invitation to indulge in extreme behaviour.

VENUE: Wonderland Spiegeltent, 120 Pearl River Rd, Docklands DATES: September 28 - October 2 TIME: 3.30pm TICKETS: $15

DOCKLANDS BLUES MUSIC FESTIVAL

Soul Theatre will present a mini festival of theatre, poetry, comedy and music about the climate change crisis and what we’re not doing about it. Soul have performing rights to 25 short plays on the climate change crisis, a selection of these: Polarised by Gerald Frape, Hot Hot Pluto Rocks by Jackie Greenland, Climate Change by Mark Andrews and The Last Angel by Craig Delahoy will be presented at Fringe. Join Australian jazz icon Bob Sedergreen, comic master Rod Quantock and the Soul Theatre ensemble as they put a carbon-neutral rocket under our entrenched complacency.

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For parents and carers looking for somewhere to take your kids the next school holidays, this acrobatic circus is guaranteed to delight. Don’t have kids? That’s cool – you don’t have to be a child to enjoy this all-ages event. The slapstick acrobatic comedy event is perfect for the whole family. The brainchild of Head First Acrobats, the show follows three sailors in pursuit of treasure, love and the perfect cream pie. Turning ship-life upside down, these three characters make for a hopeless crew, fighting one another for captainship.

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VENUE: Gasworks, 21 Graham St, Albert Park DATES: September 22 - 26 TIMES: 7pm (extra show at 3pm on Saturday) TICKETS: $22 - $25

CLIMAMANIA

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How close did you come to not bee-ing here at all? The agony of being passionately prochoice but fearfully anti-mistake is laid bare in A Bee’s Dick Away. This biting comedy, written and performed by Lisa Harper Campbell (a recent graduate of Flinders University Drama Centre), touches on lots of fertile fodder for ‘funny’ - abortion, disability, parenting, gay marriage, any kind of marriage, surrogacy, adoption, private schooling, religion, economic theory, gender politics, climate change and tomato sauce.

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VENUE: Wonderland Spiegeltent, 120 Pearl River Rd, Docklands DATES: September 19 - 27 TIME: 11.30am TICKETS: $15

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VENUE: Caz Reitop’s Dirty Secrets, 80 Smith St, Collingwood DATES: September 19, 20, 24, 26, 27 & October 1 TIMES: 8pm (Saturdays 6.30pm) TICKETS: $10 - $12

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Are you more than the sum of your parts? Belinda Hanne Reid certainly isn’t. In Ich Bin Ein Belinda she invites you to take a peek through the window of the share house inside her head. Serving up the different parts of her personality, raw and uncensored, Belinda will introduce you to the drunken hedonist, the repressed nice girl, the misogynistic man and more as she exposes all in this tell-all hilarious psychological exposé. This dark, clever cabaret brings to life a hugely diverse array of music, helmed by Jamie Burgess at the keyboard.

From Nine Inch Nails to Broadway, from pop to dirty blues, all with a delicious twist, the music is gilded by Belinda’s voice with a brilliant effortlessness, leaving audiences sure to beg for more.

VENUE: Dr Sugar, Cnr King & Clifton St, Prahran DATES: September 17 - 20 TIMES: 8pm TICKETS: $18- $22

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VENUE: Tree House, 27 Moore Street, Elwood (Long Play Bar, 318 St Georges Rd, North Fitzroy September 26 & 27) DATES: September 17 - October 3 (except Mondays) TIMES: 7pm (Sundays 5pm, September 26 8pm) TICKETS: $10 - $15

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Ah Yes, The Music is a stand-up show about love, the cracks of the heart and the nectar point in the middle of giggles and delight.

Joseph loves stories and jokes, whether he’s telling them or listening to them being told, he’s delighted to be a part of the equation.

You’re cordially invited to attend. Come along, you’ll likely be glad.

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Have you ever been told to ‘be a man’? Have you told someone else to ‘be a man’? Well, let’s be more specific. Join James Rankin and Mark McConnell for an evening of tales and laughs as they try to break down what it is to Be A Man, whilst weaving in their own failed attempts at becoming just that.

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VENUE: Dr Sugar, Cnr King & Clifton St, Prahran DATES: September 25 & 26 TIME: 9.30pm TICKETS: $25 - $29

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A tradesman panting houses by day. Dad by night.

Songwriter in the wee hours. Pub gigger on the weekends. Ballroom dancer and keen thespian at any opportunity – Stephen Dorrington somehow manages to pull all this together into a manageable life. And where can one perform original rock ballads and tap dance simultaneously? The answer is in Pubaret – Stephens unique blend of pub rock and cabaret. Using anecdote and song, Stephen invites the audience to join him on the rollercoaster ride of emotions and situations that have inspired his songs. Parenting, car troubles, dating, dancing, sexuality, homelessness and hope all delivered by the quintessential ‘guy next door’.

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VENUE: Scratch Warehouse, 271-273 Macaulay Rd, North Melbourne DATES: September 22 - 27 TIME: 6.30pm TICKETS: $20 - $27.50

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Gender Spanner is a joyous and empowering hour of burlesque, cabaret and labels that just don’t stick. Jessica McKerlie smashed her way into your hearts earlier this year with Gender Spanner’s tidy debut at the Melbourne Cabaret Festival, now in its filthy pubescence, Gender Spanner is bigger, louder and messier.

Armed with a ukulele, spinning plates and an array of costumes that traverse gender stereotypes, McKerlie presents a smorgasboard of original music, burlesque and poetry all with the common thread: are you a man? Are you a woman? Are you sure?

VENUE: Tuxedo Cat, 293-299 La Trobe St, CBD DATES: September 24 - 26, October 1 - 3 TIME: 8.30pm TICKETS: $15 - $20

BE A MAN

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VENUE: Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers St, Abbotsford DATES: September 22 - October 3 (except Sunday and Mondays) TIMES: 4pm (extra show at 2pm on Wednesday and Saturdays) TICKETS:$12.50 - $20

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A chessboard in peril. A queen missing. A king who just feels like a nap. Battlefield Blues is an interactive, outdoor, roving, comedy adventure show about chess pieces that are alive (yes, alive) for all ages at the Abbotsford Convent these school holidays. Presented in the style of Monty Python with a twist of Horrible Histories and a dash of medieval warfare – you’ve never seen a game of chess quite like this. Using the natural surroundings of the Abbotsford Convent grounds to create an immersive outdoor experience- this will be an hour of fun and intrigue. A family friendly show for 8+ years.

GENDER SPANNER

This wonderfully quirky and relatable show is about Stephanie Teitelbaum’s elaborate plans for her brilliant ideas and how they rarely, if ever, come to fruition. Projects left unfinished, food half eaten, dot-to-dots in which numbers were skipped, alphabetized DVD collections that stop at F; the tapestry of an incomplete life revealed itself. In the show she endeavours to find out who did this to her and how she can live with this impediment, she goes through the traditional waves of grief in a truly erratic fashion. Just under an hour of laughter, songs and an insight into her mind, which is frighteningly much like everyone else’s.

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VENUE: Dr Sugar, Cnr King & Clifton St, Prahran DATES: October 1 - 4 TIME: 8pm TICKETS: $18 - $24

BATTLEFIELD BLUES

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Girls dressed as boys, using techniques for picking up women to pick up men…while wearing pink beehives - got it? If not, perhaps you’d better consult Melbourne’s hottest cabaret trio The Desperettes in their show A Lady’s Guide to the Art of being a Wingman.

Their show will take you on a hilarious and eye-opening night out which includes pickup lines, daggy dancing and that all important first move. In this hilarious show these girls defy gender as they highlight not only how ridiculous the world of dating has become, but also the gender stereotypes associated with it.

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A LADY’S GUIDE TO THE ART OF BEING A WINGMAN WET CEMENT

“ e illian duos superb collaboration deli ered a thrilling performance.”

Basler Zeitung

“Forget commercial comedy and half- baked theatrics. is is Fringe at its wild and spunky best” SUNDAY MAIL

Black humoured, visually opulent opulent, and dripping with satire, this Melba Spiegeltent show is going to tempt your sweet tooth and traumatise your funny bone.

Anya Anastasia is accompanied by Bec Matthews on percussion to present an electrifying live performance.

Directed by Sue Broadway and Sarah Ward (Yana Alana)

Melba Spiegeltent

CIRCUS OZ

September 16th - 20th CNR JOHNSTON JO & WELLINGTON ST, FITZROY. tix: melbournefringe.com.au ON SALE NOW www.anyaanastasia.com

THE FL A ME & THE ROSE FOLDED TOGETHER Concei ed by pianist Dana illian in intimate collaboration with her husband, cellist and autist Gotthard illian, e Flame and the ose Folded ogether burns toward the eudemonial marriage of yin and yang in a creati e epistemology of truth and trust, issing and betrayal, freedom and passion, and the Dao. A performance in music and poetry, e Flame and the ose Folded ogether is an alchemical initiation ourney from the hing of China toward the Rosicrucian embrace of Beetho ens distant belo ed, inspired by the poetic life-and-death partnership of Ted Hughes and Syl ia lath.

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22 September

Bluestone Church Arts Space 10A Hyde St, Footscray tickets from melbournefringe.com.au