Why you should go to the Adelaide Fringe
The Adelaide Fringe brings such a fun and playful atmosphere to the city. It really is one of the best times of the year to be in Adelaide.
South Australian’s have always supported the Adelaide Fringe and this year should be no different, with different styles of shows happening all across the city and East End Unleashed adding to the vibrance.
Speaking on the Experience Adelaide podcast, Adelaide Fringe Head of Marketing, Ticketing and Digital Ella Huisman explained why you should make sure you book your tickets to the 2022 event.
Ella believes the vastness of the Fringe program is what makes the event stand out and keeps it so exciting.
“You could see a beautiful show in a Black Box Theatre, a really deep, powerful moving event,” Ella said.
“Then you could go ten minutes down the road and watch some of the biggest comedians in the world performing in a tent.
“You can go and eat beautiful food with through the Multicultural Society of South Australia, they put on some beautiful feasts.
“We also have had shows by the knitting guild of South Australia in the past, all the way up to some of the biggest magicians in the world and then incredible theatre and physical theatre.”
That variety and the chance to try something new is what Ella loves about the Fringe.
“The magic of it is, if you’re open to seeing something new, you don’t know what you’re going to see and you don’t know how it’s going to make you feel,” she said.
“The beauty of Fringe is that you can see something that is just completely out of your realm of possibility and it just ignites something in you and that makes you want more.
“I get goosebumps thinking about it, that's Fringe to me.”
It’s not just the performances that make the Fringe so special, but the atmosphere around the entire city during festival season.
That’s especially thanks to events like East End Unleashed where Rundle Street is shut to traffic and restaurants are spilling onto the street.
“I think the other really beautiful thing is that you don't have to be in a Fringe venue, you can just be in the city on the streets,” Ella said.
“It's summer, the weather's beautiful, people are out at the restaurants enjoying street performers.
“People always say Fringe time is the best time to be in Adelaide and because they love Fringe, they want to buy tickets and support the artists and be part of it.”
When people get involved in the Fringe, they love it so much that they often never stop being part of it.
This year will be the 15th consecutive year that Benjamin Maio Mackay, Artistic Director of Preachrs Productions, will be in the Fringe.
Preachrs Productions helps creates new Fringe shows and gives them a platform, while helping with registrations and promotion.
In 2022, Preachrs Productions is running the Producers Hotel on Grenfell Street as a Fringe venue and over the month there will be over 125 performances in the venue.
Preachrs also has events in Gluttony like the [Late Night] Panel Show which is in its sixth consecutive year and Nashville actor Rainee Blake will be in concert at Nexus Arts Venue.
“We’re really proud of the program we have this year and it’s great that people can just wander up to the Producers see one of the many great shows we’ve got,” Benjamin said.
“For me, Fringe feels like its through the whole city and it is such a great place to be during Fringe time.”
Hear more about the magic of the Adelaide Fringe by listening to Ella’s Experience Adelaide podcast episode here.