Melbourne Fringe takes over Geelong

THE Melbourne Fringe Festival will be back in Geelong next month, with three nights of eclectic performances at Westend Geelong.

For the festival’s 40th year and second consecutive in Geelong, the Geelong Arts Centre is welcoming back six curated shows running over three nights.

Geelong Arts Centre head of programming Penny McCabe said the festival takeover is just a taste of what’s to come in the future.

“We are so excited to host the return of the Melbourne Fringe Festival to Geelong in 2022,” she said.

“By Incorporating a unique catalogue of the industry’s most daring acts, we hope to provide the community with a tantalising preview of what’s to come for creative city in the near future.”

The festival will begin at 6pm on October 20, with a unique musical comedy, The Very Model of A Modern Major Musical, opening the night with the exuberant hour of creative, melodic comedy written for a cast of 90 but performed by a cast of two.

Following this at 7.30pm another musical comedy will fill the spotlight: Bleep Bloop, performed by Lou Wall, a show which speaks for itself after a sold-out season at Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

At 9pm, Net Worth, a performance created and performed by Nicolette Minster and directed by Sammy J, hits the stage with a dramatic bang, telling the story of online egos and bot-generated lives.

On October 21 and 22, join AJ Lamarque at 6pm in an uplifting and sentimental comedy show, English Breakfast, figuring out how to make tea, and what it means to be perfect in an imperfect world.

At 7.30pm on October 21 and 22, for the first time ever, Melbourne-based legend and Fringe favourite Scout Boxall will bring their trademark energy to Geelong with their critically acclaimed Buck Wild. Directed by Michelle Braiser, the immersive show with original songs peeks inside the bipolar brain.

To finish the festival with a bang, Green Room Award Winner Miss Cairo is bringing her first ever solo show, Breasts Become Her, to the stage at 9pm.

The play explores the relationships between Miss Cairo and her newly formed boobs as she transitions from a UK drag superstar to an Aussie cabaret trans icon, singing a mix of original songs and classics.

The shows will be presented at Westend Geelong, 98 Little Malop Street, Geelong.

To find out more, or purchase tickets, head to geelongartscentre.org.au/melbourne-fringe-2022