Melbourne Fringe Festival continues to champion First Nations artists through its curated Deadly Fringe program. Deadly Fringe is committed to showcasing pioneering and thought-provoking artworks, and reinforcing First Nations voices and perspectives on stage. Some of the highlights in the Deadly Fringe program include:
Na Djinang Circus, in collaboration with Circa Cairns, presents the world premiere of In Place, a contemporary circus work that delves into connections with humanity, culture and place. In a society turned upside down, who will lead us?
In Place will erupt into Footscray Community Arts outdoor amphitheatre with a subversive and challenging First Nations led circus, that demonstrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s complex understanding of plants and the environment, a knowledge passed down through stories and tradition.
For the past year, local participants have tended to a native plant, fostering a deep connection with the land, their work and themselves. This journey will be interwoven into the performance of In Place, merging artistic expression with nature to examine society’s impact on the environment and its profound resonance within us all. In Place is an unmissable performance of acrobatic skill and sophisticated storytelling.
Na Djinang Circus is a Melbourne-based contemporary circus company, their work explores fundamental human characteristics from an Indigenous perspective, using the body to demonstrate complex human experiences of trust, connection, vulnerability, and joy. Circa Cairns is a Circa initiative supported by the Queensland Government and the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation. It is dedicated to creating bold art from the nexus of place and culture.
In Place is showing at Footscray Community Arts from 17 – 20 October.
Another Festival highlight is Digital Echoes, by Aaron Wyatt, Eugene Ughetti and Speak Percussion, who will present an innovative exploration of the transformation of sound, messages and meaning displaced by time and space. Inviting reflection about the history and future of internet and interstellar communication, this new work combines remarkable technology, contemporary classical music and percussive art to create an enthralling and otherworldly score.
Melodic fragments of a viola are sent via internet connection to five different locations around. The captured sound and digital resonance is then sent back to the performance space where it resonates with percussion instruments, blending into the live soundscape. As the viola echoes, bouncing around the country and in and out of the live performance, its journeys create unpredictable timings, mapping the unseeable landscapes of our information highways.
Aaron Wyatt is an accomplished violist who has performed regularly with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. He was nominated for a Helpmann Award for his role as musical director of the premiere season of Cat Hope’s new opera, Speechless, at the 2019 Perth International Arts Festival. In 2022, Wyatt became the first Indigenous Australian to conduct a state symphony orchestra in concert. Speak Percussion engages in world-class, risk-taking and innovative projects with many of the world’s leading exponents of experimental and new music.
Digital Echoes is showing at Arts House from 17 – 20 October.
Gikilangangu Wergaia is set to be a powerful performance promising to keep the Wergaia language and culture alive through creative expression. The performance brings together Wergaia and Wemba Wemba songwriter Alice Skye, Jaadwa composer James Howard and Koori musician Michael Julian.
Each artist weaves their personal histories into the performance, blending storytelling with a mix of songwriting, sound art, and improvised music. Delivered in Wergaia, the songs tell tales of family, ancestors, community, and dreaming, painting a journey back to their Country and forward into the future.
Alice Skye has been steadily gaining a reputation as one of Australia’s brightest new talents since releasing debut single “You Are The Mountains.” She has toured with Emily Wurramara and Midnight Oil, and she has opened for The Avalanches.
James Howard is driven by the spiritual potential of electronic instrumentation and reconnecting to his Indigenous heritage through his arts practice.
Michael Julian is a proud Koori of the greater Kulin, musician, educator and alumni of Wilin. He is passionate about collaborating with First Nations artists to amplify the diversity of First Nations voice across multiple platforms and communities.
This debut show will take place at the Festival Hub – Trades Hall from 2 – 3 October.
The curated Deadly Fringe program continues to add to the creation of exceptional bodies of works by First Nations artists that have reached thousands of audiences, toured the country and won multiple Melbourne Fringe and Green Room awards.
For two-and-a-half weeks each year, the Melbourne Fringe Festival invites audiences to discover the unexpected with a bold and audacious program of art and performance across the city in theatres, galleries, venues, public spaces, homes, studios and everywhere in between. Featuring a curated program of large scale public events and risk taking art, and an open access program with over 400 events, it is one of the largest multi-arts festivals in the country.
The open access framework means that anyone can register to be part of the Festival, bringing voices from the margins and amplifying them across the city. Melbourne Fringe keeps access and inclusion at its heart, actively working to remove barriers to participation and develop artists skills through First Nations commissioning program Deadly Fringe, Deaf and Disability arts programs, mentorships, workshops, residencies, forums, awards and touring support.
The Melbourne Fringe Festival 2024 runs from 1 – 20 October. For more information, visit melbournefringe.com.au.
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