Sydney Fringe Festival Announces 2014 Program

They call it the Sydney Fringe Festival, but there’s very little fringe-sized about this year’s mammoth month-long program, the 2014 iteration of which was revealed in full today by the annual celebration of theatre, music, comedy, visual art, film, cabaret and myriad other creative pursuits.

Proudly presented by The Music, the 2014 Sydney Fringe Festival takes place from September 1 to September 30 across 60 venues throughout Sydney, taking in public forums, a picnic day, artist talks, a short film competition, and several “creative villages” in locales such as Darlinghurst, Chippendale, Surry Hills, Redfern, Marrickville, Sydenham and St Peters.

Fans of all things rhythmic, melodious and harmonious are certainly well catered for, with the year’s music program including performances from The Vampires and Jann Rutherford at the Seymour Centre and The Strides at Venue 505, which will also host bankable jazz/soul/pop two-piece Sun Rei and Ben Vanderwal.

In addition, there will be spotlight performances from some of the country’s premier Indigenous artists, such as Ursula Yovich, Benny Walker and Leah Flanagan.

Before you get to that, though, Sydney will see the Fringe Ignite Launch Party take over Crown Street on Sunday, August 31, from 4pm-8pm. The event, curated by Potbelleez lead vocalist Ilan Kidron, features pop-up makeovers for shops, bars and cafes in the Devonshire-to-Foveaux-Street area, in which Trinty Bar will act as the festival’s hub.

“The festival is about discovering and experiencing new places, sounds, people and genres,” Fringe director Kerri Glasscock said in a statement. “We are excited to collaborate with APRA, the National Live Music Office, the City of Sydney and the Surry Hills community for this opening-night extravaganza.”

It’s not just the opening night that is set at “extravaganza” levels, howver – firstly, Glasscock has curated this year’s festival with a different focus each week – the Inner City in week one, ‘Community, Ideas and Laughs’, in week two, family events in week three, and ‘The Final Frontier’ for week four.

Aside from the musical program, the festival boasts an extensive visual arts selection, including Art Pharmacy at The LAB, a collaborative pop-up gallery for artists, designers, interior craftspeople and musicians, and One Drop Of Blood (pictured), a 21,000-ceramic-ball installation at Home@375 that has thematic ties to its partner the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

For cabaret and musical theatre lovers, there’s a whole raft of performances on offer from the likes of renowned Sydney burlesque identity Rosie Rivette and ex-child star Gigi Fontaine; Film buffs, gig-o-philes, wine lovers, foodies and shopaholics are also looked after in style, with three laneway hubs around the city going up in Foley Street, Burton Street and Newtown’s King Street as well as the introduction of the festival’s brand new short-film festival (for which submissions are due by 5pm, September 15).

With the festival's HQ at 5 Eliza Street, Newtown, being transformed into an indoor shelter for festival-goers to swap stories, ideas and experiences, and Faversham Street laneway lined up for a two-day closing-event spectacular of bowling, street golf, fire dancers and music, it’s fair to say that 2014 will comfortably eclipse last year’s event with such significant steps towards the hallowed halls of city history.

Tickets for the 2014 Sydney Fringe Festival are available now. For the full program and artist list, check the event’s website; for your ticketing needs and queries, check the Gig Guide or see The Music App.