The Ten Best Things to See at the Sydney Fringe Festival 2014

One does not simply walk into Sydney Fringe. With more than 300 events spanning comedy, theatre, visual art, circus, music, picnics, crafternoons and gender critiques set to Beyonce, the whole thing requires some research and recommendations. Here are the main events we'll be seeking out during the Fringe's takeover of September.

Laneway Hubs: Foley Lane as Montmartre

Last year the Fringe had Emerald City garden hub, and we thought that was pretty good. This year the Fringe’s ambitions stretch to taking over three Sydney neighbourhoods for three separate laneway hubs over three weekends in Darlinghurst, Newtown and Sydenham. The first (and probably our most highly anticipated) is at Darlinghurst's Foley Lane, which will be decked out in Montmartre style with street performers, swing bands, Parisian crepe stands and tiny cinema screenings. Newtown’s weekend promises night markets, music, talks and an abundance of local artists, while the Fringe’s final weekend will be set in Sydenham.

Foley Street will be decked out September 5–7, 6pm–12am Fri & Sat, 4–10pm Sun. The Newtown night market sets up for September 20–21, 12pm-midnight Sat & 12pm–10pm Sun. Faversham Street’s party runs September 27–28, 6pm to midnight Sat & 12pm–10pm Sun.

Fast Times at FilChil High

Fast Times at FilChil High is brought to you by The Filthy Children Collective, a homegrown electronic outfit. Think of Fast Times as an all-inclusive party for the senses — we're talking a mix of music, visual art, retro video games and dancing. Basically, if teen-you were jigging school, this is where they'd go.

Saturday, September 13, from 4pm at Freda's (107-109 Regent Street, Chippendale). Free.

The Campground

The Fringe is making over its own headquarters at 5 Eliza Street into a key venue — and a vertiginous one at that. The three-level hub has been moulded around a campground theme. You can drop by here anytime; downstairs ('the Tent') plays host to traditional hub activities, like a bar and the odd exhibition, while the upstairs 'Campfire' offers up a program of talks and crafternoons (crochet and knitting Mondays, sketching Tuesdays and snow globe making Wednesdays). The ballroom has been transformed into the Emerging Artist Annex, a 60-seat, friendlier theatre space for the Fringe's newest artists.

5 Eliza Street, Newtown

All the Single Lad(ie)s at PACT

You love Beyonce. You love a spot of gender critique. Then you are also most definitely the target audience for All the Single Lad(ie)s, a work that juxtaposes the music of proudly feminist Queen Bey with surreal scenes laying bare various conundrums of gender and sexuality. From experimental Perthians The Cutting Room Floor, All the Single Lad(ie)s premiered at the Perth Fringe World Festival, where it won much adoration but also prompted the West Australian to say, "We were warned that All the Single Lad(ie)s was 'grotesque', but that was probably not enough of a warning for what we witnessed." Sounds like perfect Fringe material.

September 24-27, 6.30pm at PACT Centre for Emerging Artists (107 Railway Parade, Erskinville). $15.

The Lab

Art Pharmacy is all about getting emerging artists’ works on sale at affordable prices. They’ve done a number of pop-ups over the last couple of years and for this year’s fringe they’re throwing up the Lab for two weeks on the edge of Oxford Square. The Lab will feature free artist talks and an introduction to starting your own art collection, but the highlight of the Lab is likely to be the art itself. The Fringe selection includes work from Mulga the Artist and Will Coles, probably best known for his ambulant, grey mobile phone sculptures.

September 5–14 from 11am – 7pm most days at 20 Oxford Square, Darlinghurst. Opening night is Thursday, September 4 from 6pm. RSVP here.

Free the Beats

The Free the Beats project aims to give electronic enthusiasts an opportunity to release their beats for free in what is a very community approach to creating music. The result is experimental, imperfect and always refreshingly different to thudding techno beats. In time for the release of volume 12, this Fringe event is about music in all its varied, experimental glory. Musical selections will include soul vocals, live drummers, analogue synths, laptops and gadgets galore.

Thursday, September 14, 6pm at Venue 505 (280 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills). Free.

In the Night Garden: Vespertine

‘Vespertine’, it’s a fancy word for saying “things that happen at night”. Since its first appearance in 2011, In the Night Garden has consistently been one of the Fringe’s nicest little nights out. It's an evening that sees a collaboration from a bunch of back-lane, St Peters’ artistic residents, tied together by local artmakers Tortuga Studios. This year will bring more of the same. And for this night of light art, more of the same is a pretty good thing. For a single night, from sunset the back lanes behind Tortuga light up with projections, strange light art and music, as local artists collaborate to create their annual odd-lit, nocturnal wonderland.

September 26, 6.30pm at Applebee and Hutchinson Streets, St Peters. Free.

The Bookbinder

This is an adult and kid-friendly show, but just elbow the little tykes out of the way and you'll be privy to a magical little work that unfolds in a dimly lit bookshop (specifically: Better Read Than Dead on King Street). From New Zealand company Trick of the Light Theatre, The Bookbinder is an amalgamation of forms and DIY special effects — you'll find shadowplay, paper art, puppetry and musical interludes intertwined in a mystery and cautionary tale of what happened to the bookbinder's last, overly cocksure apprentice.

September 11-13, 7pm at Better Read Than Dead (265 King Street, Newtown). $25/20.

Yes Dance

Dance choreographer Rennie McDougall starts off with the jazz ballet moves of the '90s, but by the end of these 45 minutes, you won't be able to look at a grapevine the same way again. Here, the Chunky Move and Conversation Piece performer presents a dance routine that goes past the aesthetic beauty of dance to explore the human body and its capacity for individuality, impulse and error within a choreography. He has performed many times in Sydney, but yes dance is McDougall's much-anticipated choreographic debut.

September 16-20, 8pm at Dickson Street Space (35–39 Dickson Street, Newtown). $20/16.

Genevieve Fricker – Trying

Comedy is probably the Sydney Fringe's strongest suit. Australian comics emerging and established each seem to take their turn on stage, so you're bound to stumble into someone who makes the corners of your mouth lift. And don't just see your friends and friends of friends; see our friend of a friend Genevieve Fricker. The comedian, writer and occasional singer has featured in The Roast and Spicks and Specks. Her new show, Trying, blends songs and funnies — not limited to unexpected breakouts in song, weird impressions and occasional sentence deconstructions.

September 10 at 8.15pm and September 24 and 26 at 6.45pm at the Factory Theatre (105 Victoria Road, Marrickville). $14/9.

By the Concrete Playground team.