New Zealand Fringe Festival, the country's largest open access arts festival, lands in 2021 with the largest program of events in its 30-year history. The 2021 edition will take place from 26 February to 20 March, with 156 independent events and over 470 individual presentations, spanning 25 genres of art.

Gender binary is explored and rejected in ​Them Fatale​ by non-binary comedian ​James Hilary Penwarden​. An entire family from the Philippines brings their story to life in ​Potluck​ as part of ​FATG​ (Fringe at the Gryphon). Wellington actors ​Alex Greig​, ​Paul Waggot​ and ​Jonny Potts​ return with an immersive new show called ​Razor Boys​ staged inside an inner city flat. Kiwi Circus troupe ​Colossal​ dock a chaotic cargo ship circus at ​Te Auaha​ in ​Fool Steam Ahead,​ and 'Best of Fringe 2017' winner ​Dark Matter VR​ returns with a part-virtual reality, part-live arts fusion.

Festival Director Sasha Tilly says, "​With our international program hit hardest by COVID-19, this is our chance to shine the light on homegrown talent. We're so excited to see so many new works emerge from our New Zealand artists with many emerging artists making their Fringe Festival debut or professional artists playing with new concepts, ideas and reimagining the space in some classic Wellington venues."

Image: Carissa Corlett.