Melbourne Fringe Festival 2020

Registrations Open July 1 for ‘Pants On’ Events at Melbourne Fringe Festival COVID Safe for November 12-29 It’s time to finally get out of those pyjamas and put your 'pants on', as registrations for in-person events at Melbourne Fringe Festival open on 1 July. Registrations for digital events opened 1 June.

Melbourne Fringe Festival, Victoria’s biggest celebration of independent arts, will return on 12-29 November 2020 with a diverse program of events to suit whatever COVID-Safe, post-lockdown world we end up in. Registrations for digital events opened 1 June, and now events with audiences and artists in the same, safely-distanced space are opening 1 July.

Melbourne Fringe can’t wait to see artists and culture-makers back in theatres, galleries, bars, backyards and all the other weird and wonderful places they choose to host a show. The Festival will still operate the Trades Hall Festival Hub , ensuring the government physical-distancing requirements are adhered to with flexible room capacities, enhanced hygiene procedures and contactless (and queue-less) bar ordering systems. While in-person audience numbers may be restricted due to physical distancing, the Festival has created projects and systems to relieve the financial stress to artists required to have empty seats. This includes ghost seats – where audiences can buy the seat next to them which has to be kept free for distancing purposes, and selected events will be able to supplement their ‘In Real Life’ work with streaming on the Festival’s digital platform, DigitalFringe. These projects will further support artists who have worked hard to present a show in 2020, the most challenging year that the industry has faced, to engage with a broader audience base and maximise sales.

Every event in this year’s Fringe Festival will have a physical-distance rating, to help audiences to choose a show that suits their personal preference. The festival wants audiences and artists alike to feel comfortable engaging in art while keeping whatever distance works for them. The show must go on – in whatever way possible – and the Fringe team will monitor government regulations and keep all festival participants up to date.

Simon Abrahams , CEO and Creative Director of Melbourne Fringe said: “I think this is going to be the most exciting Melbourne Fringe Festival yet. In all my conversations with artists, they have so much to say, and this November will finally the moment we can all come together so they can be heard. We will be the first major festival to proceed in this new world order, and wanted to be as flexible as possible with the festival’s format this year. We have more grant and support opportunities than ever before, and we’re with artists every step of the way. Art flourishes in times of crisis, and artists are some of the best at responding to the world around them. We can’t wait to see it all come alive in November.”

Melbourne Fringe was established in 1982 and is now Victoria’s leading open access festival that champions cultural democracy and supports anyone to participate in the arts. Their annual festival takes voices from the margins and amplifies them across the city in a range of programs including the annual design exhibition Fringe Furniture, participatory public art commissions, children’s programs as well as its First Nations program Deadly Fringe, disability and Deaf arts programs, mentorships, workshops, residencies, forums, awards and touring support. Melbourne Fringe is proudly supported by City of Melbourne and Creative Victoria.