The word is out

Japanese clown Sachie is performing at this year’s Dunedin Fringe Festival. Photo supplied.
Japanese clown Sachie is performing at this year’s Dunedin Fringe Festival. Photo supplied.
Yoga instructor and comedian Jess Brien performs her show Coriander.
Yoga instructor and comedian Jess Brien performs her show Coriander.
Comedian Mary Bourke brings her show Straight Outta Dublin.
Comedian Mary Bourke brings her show Straight Outta Dublin.
Japanese street performers Maya and Torakiti, the ninja cats.
Japanese street performers Maya and Torakiti, the ninja cats.

Word is getting around  that the Dunedin Fringe Festival is the place to be for actors, comedians and performers of all types. Festival director Josh Thomas tells Rebecca Fox about fringe’s 2017 line-up.

Gossip is not always a bad thing.

For Dunedin's Fringe Festival it has been word of mouth among British comedians that is seeing increasing numbers come south for the event.

Last night's launch of the 2017 programme - 82 shows over two weeks - unveiled a growing international contingent.

It includes five acts from England, Scotland and Ireland. Comedians Gerard Harris and Bruce Fummey and Vladimir McTavish return and will be joined by self-proclaimed ''housewife comedian'' Mary Bourke and Charmian Hughes.

There are also acts from Japan, India, South Africa, Australia and the United States booked.

Japanese clown Sachie is bringing her bi-lingual solo show featuring a story told through the eyes of a talking fish about an eccentric family, a natural disaster and her grandmother the ghost.

North Indian classical dance will be performed by Nirupama Rajendra, from Bangalore, and local artist Swaroopa Unni.

South African musicians are bringing two shows to the festival, Entsha and Stimela The Gumboot Musical, showcasing a dance-form born in the gold mines of South Africa where slave labourers developed their own language by slapping their gumboots and rattling their ankle chains.

Australian cabaret artist Glitta Supernova, who last year was nominated for Best of Fringe for The Glitta Supernova Experience: Lets get METAphysical, is returning with a new show, Body Map.

Festival director Josh Thomas said it was encouraging to see so many international acts not only returning but also telling others how good the festival is.

''We're really encouraged by that given our limited resources. But we try to make sure the artist experience is the best we can possibly make it.''

It is Fummey's third Dunedin festival and he is friendly with Bourke so that is just one example of word of mouth, says Thomas.

Some of the artists are doing the Auckland and Wellington fringe festivals as well while they are in the country.

''Having the international acts gives the festival a wonderful rich mix of voice from around the world,'' Thomas says.

Added to that was the mix of local shows, which cover just about every genre, from comedy, to experimental music, to theatre, featuring emerging artists as well as more established ones.

The strong local showing has been helped by having an office open all year allowing people to come in and talk about prospective shows. That's important, Thomas says, as there is a long lead-in to creating many works, such as the multi-media theatre show Alive in Berlin presented by Talking House.

''There are those that use the fringe to try more experimental work and new ideas.''

That includes the likes of experimental mini-music festival Lines of Flight , which is returning, and a new edition of the popular comedy show Mothers (in da) Hood.

A new music act this year is Anything Could Happen: Strange Echoes of the Dunedin Sound, which ''reimagines and interrogates'' moments from the early 1980s Dunedin music scene while celebrating the current crop of artists.

In an effort to showcase a forgotten part of Dunedin, the site of the old Odeon cinema, which is now a car park, will be used to show a ''trans-national'' film.

Another encouraging trend is the increased involvement of the health and social wellbeing sector, Thomas says, which is contributing three shows this year.

Artsenta, Studio 2 and Stopping Violence are all producing works. Stopping Violence's Stories to Heal Violence is a verbatim play speaking about the experiences of family violence.

''It's wonderful to have these insightful stories as part of the festival.''

All up there are 72 artist events, plus another 10 festival events this year, which shows the festival is steadily growing, Thomas says.

While some of the shows have ''R16'' or ''R18'' ratings, many are suitable for all ages, including the African Entsha dancers, the puppetry theatre piece Kokako's Song from Nelson and the mysterious busking ''ninja cats''.

Thomas said the festival had hoped to establish a ''kids club'' this year but was unable to secure a sponsor.

''Hopefully it'll happen in the future as we want to lock in the next generation of fringe audiences and performers.''

Having attracted the long list of acts, the challenge remained for the festival team to ensure there were audiences.

''We are really focusing this year, more than ever, on making sure all Dunedinites and visitors know about the events,'' Thomas says.

The festival club and showcase, popular with audiences and performers alike, are returning. It will again be next door to the fringe office and on weekends feature Dunedin's young music talent.

''It's a really reinvigorated scene and we want to showcase some of that as part of the fringe.''

This year the showcase, compered by Oscar Kightley and Tahu Mackenzie and featuring short snippets of 25 acts, is being held at the Dunedin Town Hall instead of the Regent.

The festival
Dunedin Fringe Festival, March 9-19, at various venues around Dunedin. Opening Night Showcase, March 8, Dunedin Town Hall.

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