The Best Shows, Parties and Gigs to Get Amongst at Sydney Fringe Festival 2018

Hoping The Ditch from New Zealand, this absurdist three-woman show by Scungebags Theatre stars unsuccessful 90s pop act The Baby Girls and their many friends, who include mischievous elves, friendly cowboys and hungry rabbits. Maggot lands in Sydney after selling out seasons in Auckland and Adelaide, as well as nabbing a bunch of awards, including the Adelaide Tour Ready Award 2017 for Outstanding Ensemble and the New Zealand Fringe 2018’s Sydney Tour Ready Award. Expect clowning, masks and impressive circus tricks from Freya Boyle, Elle Wootten and Angela Fouhy, who’ve all trained with French master clown Philippe Gaulier and Melbourne’s world-famous John Bolton.

Sydney Fringe Festival is setting a new precedent for a rooftop’s potential with their ambitious program’s newest addition — a rooftop roller skating rink. From September 5 through 30, the massive arts and culture festival will take over the openair rooftop of the Broadway shopping centre (which apparently is a thing) and install a roller rink for the masses. Cue the 80s dance moves and big ol’ hairdos.

The rink will be open Wednesdays through Sundays (weekdays 5–10pm; weekends 9am–10pm) and entry tickets are available at the rink only. In an upside-down-world change of norms, weekend tickets will actually be on the cheap — from 9am–5pm you can nab entry tickets for just five bucks a pop. All other operating times will cost you $15, with rental roller skates included. A DJ will be on hand each night too, with a playlist of tunes you can skate along to.

Presented by Casus, Australia’s only Indigenous contemporary circus ensemble, The Women of Chasing Smoke, explores the world’s oldest living culture, delving into 40,000 years of history and covering family, art and the power of women. It’s an honest, evocative, playful and triumphant quest for identity that reflects on what has been — and what might yet be. Directed by Samoan-Australian Natano Fa’anana, the show stars traditional dancer Pearl Thompson; Gudjala Kabulba woman Lara Croydon, a trapeze artist, juggler and storyteller; and Wakka Wakka woman Ally Humphris, a dancer, gymnast and circus artist who specialises in flying, hand balance and ground acrobatics.

Get your laughs at Marrickville’s Factory Theatre when Sydney Fringe Comedy takes over from Tuesday, August 28 to Sunday, September 30. More than 100 Australian and international acts will appear, with five venues hosting up to 20 shows every night. Watch out for Aaron Chen in The Crushing Defeat and Public Humiliation of Aaron and Cassy Workman in Giantess, a fable about a kidnapped six-year-old whose only hope of salvation is a giant – which happens to double as an exploration of struggling with gender identity. Meanwhile, Break Out NZ will bring together accomplished Kiwi comics David Corroes, Donna Brookbanks and Jamie Bowen. These funny guys are just the tip of the iceberg; check out the rest of the massive program over here — most tickets are a steal at $10–$15.

Every Friday throughout September, Sydney Fringe will bring free gigs to pop-up spaces in Parramatta’s CBD. Listen out for a mix of beats, bands, solo artists, duos and surprise collaborations. The event will take over Victoria Road’s Information and Cultural Exchange from 6–10pm and Church Street’s Studio 404 from 8–11pm. The events curated by fierce guitarist Serwah Attafuah who plays with politically-driven heavy metal band Dispossessed; the Bodega Collective, a group of young, ambitious producers and DJs; and Beatdisc Records, Western Sydney’s last independent record shop. Also in the mix is an intimate evening with Darug artist Jacinta Tobin, who collaborated with The Preatures on song ‘Yanada’.

Defying the notion that, post-lockouts, most Sydneysiders are tucked up in bed by 10pm will be Sydney Fringe‘s 2018 Fringe Club. From 10.30pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights throughout the month-long festival, level three of the Kings Cross Hotel will be buzzing with live performance, comedy and DJs — all free. Arrive on time and on Thursdays you’ll catch Andy Dexterity’s physical theatre, while on Fridays you’ll get a showcase of show from the Fringe program. On Saturdays, grab a cheap pint of Young Henrys during happy hour (10.30–11.30pm) before DJ Glamour Toads start spinning non-stop hits from the nineties and noughties from midnight, taking inspiration from Video Hits, So Fresh and Hit Machine. Plus, from 11.30pm each night, potential comedians will take the stage when the mic opens to amateurs.