Blindfolds, Country Music Comedians, Rockabilly Gypsy Punk and Tape Artists.... Dunedin showcases art, innovation and experimentation in the South Island’s only Fringe Festival.
15-25 March, 2012
The 2012 Dunedin Fringe Festival, 15-25 March, will present 50 events incorporating 300 artists from throughout New Zealand as well as international guests. The Festival’s diverse programme showcases innovative art by emerging and established artists in all art forms from comedy to digital art.
In 2012 the Festival has a special focus on experimentation and this is reflected in the programme with some truly extra-ordinary acts (see below) but also in a new audience development campaign encouraging people to “Experiment with Your Entertainment”. Festival Director, Paul Smith, says thinking outside the square is fundamental to good art but it is also an important element in audience satisfaction.
“As audiences we want to be surprised, intrigued, and entertained, and sometimes to achieve that you have to take a wee risk, step outside your comfort zone and go and see a show or an artist you know very little about. The Fringe is the place where new ideas emerge and new talent is discovered, and we encourage audiences to share in the discovery.”
The Festival’s open-access artist policy and strong reputation ensures a high level of participation from artists with 25 world premieres at the 2012 Dunedin Fringe Festival. Nineteen artists have received an additional boost with $22,500 in funding from Creative New Zealand distributed to support the development of new work for the Festival. Festival Director, Paul Smith, says this is an important investment in New Zealand artists and will result in a high quality programme being presented to audiences.
“The Dunedin Fringe has built a reputation as a launching platform for emerging artists, many of whom have gone on to perform at Festivals throughout the world.”
The 2012 Dunedin Fringe Festival will be the ninth festival held in Dunedin since it was founded in 2000. Run by an independent charitable trust, the Dunedin Fringe Festival is the only Fringe Festival in the South Island and part of a growing circuit of fringe festivals world wide.
“The Dunedin Fringe is now part of a circuit of fringe festivals with our dates following the Wellington, Auckland and Adeliade Fringe Festivals. This is great for artists as it makes touring more viable and it’s great for our audiences as it means they get to see some outstanding events that would otherwise never make it to Dunedin.”
The full Festival programme will be launched on 16 February.
Zomburlesque: Burleque zombie show from Wellington
15-17 March, Sammy's
You are invited to a night of terror and titillation. Fresh from a sell-out season in Wellington, Samuel S. Snake-Eyes is proud to present for your devilish diversion his traveling troupe, The Mortuary Dolls, the sweetest pack of undead lovelies you'll ever lay eyes on.
Canker: Audrey Baldwin eats her way out of sculpture
22 March, Blue Oyster Gallery
The clean measured angles of a sculpture made of toffee are gradually breached by tongue, touch and the exhaled breath of the artist encased within. Tooth rot and sugar crashes, leg cramps and lock jaw. Witness this labour of lunacy as the artist literally eats away at her sculpture from the inside out!.
Sex*Death*Magic: Renaissance Poetry Unbound
20-21 March, Vertical Aerial Dance Studio
Before reality TV, there was poetry, illicit sex and thwarted desire, queer romance and cross-dressing, witchcraft, suicide, and bloody murder – Renaissance poets saw it all. Celebrate International Poetry Day with the verse of Spenser, Wyatt, Marlowe, and Shakespeare as you’ve never quite heard it before.
Mind Reader
21-24 March, Globe Theatre
Robert Haley is a Mentalist and uses the term ‘mind reader’ with tongue in cheek. He is not psychic but employs devious techniques from various fields to reveal your thoughts.
On Your Bike: Frocks on Bikes
16 February, Octagon
Don your favourite frock for a mass ride from Woodhaugh Gardens to the Octagon where we will have a BYO picnic, local bands and a frockolicious runway show of Dunedin's most fashionable riders!
Faux Pas: Random acts of dance with your latté
22-24 March, Green Acorn Cafe, Ironic Cafe & Bar, and Ra Bar
Faux Pas is a series of short dance-theatre works performed in Dunedin cafes and bars to unsuspecting diners. It presents a light hearted and comedic commentary on how people behave in public, specifically in the situation of eating or drinking out.
Comedy Club and Festival Club
15-17 March & 22-24 March, Ironic Bar & Cafe
The Comedy Club and Festival Club form the hub of the Festival with artists and audiences celebrating the incredible talent that the Fringe Festival encompasses.
