Live-streams to boost festival’s ‘fringe factor’

If New Zealand’s fringe artists are not "fringey" enough this year, Dunedin Fringe Festival goers will for the first time be able to watch selected international performers overseas on the internet.

A list of more than 80 acts was announced at the festival launch in Dunedin last night.

Festival director Gareth McMillan said most of the acts were New Zealand-based, but organisers were also delighted to include events from around the world, at a time when international artists were unable to be here in person.

"That should increase the fringe factor."

They would appear in a mixture of online live-streamed and prerecorded shows.

The deadline for New Zealand acts to register with the festival had closed, but overseas performers wanting to perform online could still do so.

"So the event continues to grow.

"We’ve actually got a larger programme this year, even though it’s just domestic."

Some international artists who were here when the pandemic broke out had stayed in the country, so the quality of the festival was still very high, he said.

john.lewis@odt.co.nz