FRINGE WORLD AWARDS CLOSE 2023 FESTIVAL

The 2023 FRINGE WORLD Festival celebrated the return of the world to Perth, and the Awards Ceremony held today celebrated the best performances and the conclusion of the Festival.

After years of border closures and other COVID-19 restrictions, 2023 marked the reunion of our local, national and international artist community who were thrilled to be back in Perth to present a wonderful season. The Festival’s trademark mass-market and broad audiences also returned in droves, proving that there’s no stopping FRINGE WORLD!

The Festival is on track to achieve ticketed attendance of almost 300,000, and free and ticketed attendance of more than 615,000. More than $8.7 Million will be spent at the box office in 2023, which is a 31% increase from the previous year and only 17% difference from the pre-COVID results of the 2020 Festival.

ARTRAGE CEO Sharon Burgess said that the rebound that the Festival had achieved was a testament to the power of Fringe.

“Artists from around the world were keen to return to Perth, and they were rewarded by the warm and eager audiences who put their hard-earned cash towards live arts performances.” Ms Burgess said.

“FRINGE WORLD proved once-again to be our state’s feel-good festival, providing more than 2,000 independent artists with a vital performance platform, connecting diverse non-traditional arts audiences with entertainment that they love, and delivering value to the social fabric of our community.”

With the hundreds of thousands of arts patrons visiting the 115 venues spread all over the Perth metro area, the Festival looks set to outstrip it’s economic impact from 2022 where it was the primary contributor towards ARTRAGE’s $33.6 Million Direct Economic Impact, as calculated by Culture Counts.

The FRINGE WORLD Awards were presented at an afternoon ceremony held today in The Lotterywest De Parel Spiegeltent at The Perth Cultural Centre. Awards go to the best shows in each genre category in addition to special awards that are unique to FRINGE WORLD.

The Martin Sims Award is the top prize of the Festival, recognising the best new Western Australian work in the Festival that is destined to succeed on the world’s stage.

The 2023 Festival Martin Sims Award goes to VEHICLE presented by Weeping Spoon Productions, which will receive up to $10,000 support towards international touring.

Tickets are still available for the final FRINGE WORLD shows performing tonight. Get tickets now at fringeworld.com.au or download the FRINGE WORLD app.

FRINGE WORLD gratefully recognises the support of its partners including Principal Supporter: Lotterywest; and Government Partners: The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and The City of Perth.

 

2023 FRINGE WORLD Award Winners

Martin Sims Award

Presented by FRINGE WORLD

Winner: VEHICLE Presented by Weeping Spoon Productions

Shortlisted:

HE HIM HOMME presented by Matt Papa

Morgan James' Pocket Sized Circus! by Ricochet Circus and Entertainment

Funny Stories To Tell In The Closet by Aves Robins and Kate Sophia Willoughby

 

The Blaz Award

Presented by FRINGE WORLD

Presented to the best writing for performance by a WA writer. The Award is named in honour of Perth playwright George Blazevich.

Winner: Skye Scraper: The Life and Times of a Drag Queen presented by Skye Scraper Entertainment

 

Cabaret & Variety Award

Presented by JCDecaux

Winner: Dolly Parton: Backwoods Barbie presented by BarbieQ

 

Children's Event Award

Presented by City of Perth

Overall Winner: Strictly Barking presented by Jon and Ollie

WA Winner: Morgan James' Pocket Sized Circus! presented by Ricochet Circus and Entertainment

 

Circus Award

Presented by MadFish Wines

Overall Winner: Laser Kiwi - Rise of the Olive presented by COLOSSAL

WA Winner: Sinsuality: Heaven & Hell presented by BarbieQ & Kinetica

 

Comedy Award

Presented by Gage Roads Brewing Co.

Overall Winner: Amy Hetherington: Juggle presented by Amy Hetherington

WA Winner: Improv DnD Presents: Call of Cthulhu presented by BS Productions

 

Dance & Physical Theatre Award

Presented by ABC Radio Perth

Winner: HE HIM HOMME presented by Matt Papa

 

Visual Arts & Film Award

Presented by FRINGE WORLD

Winner: Distance and Displacement presented by ECU Galleries

 

Community & Special Events Event Award

Presented by Lotterywest

Winner: DIVAS - The Drag Brunch presented by Proud Entertainment Group

 

Music & Musicals Award

Presented by Nova 93.7

Winner: A Salama Odyssey: Creole Music and Dance Celebration presented by Salama

 

Theatre & Performance Award

Presented by Kleenheat

Overall Winner: Colossal presented by Indigo Productions

WA Winner: VEHICLE presented by Weeping Spoon Productions

 

Spirit of the Fringe Award

Presented by FRINGE WORLD

Winner: Nikki 'Feisty' Mauri

 

Perth Now Critic’s Choice Award

Presented by Perth Now

Winner: Pear presented by Indigo Productions

 

Venue Award

Presented by K&L Gates

Winner: Connections Nightclub

 

Melbourne Fringe Tour Ready Award

Presented by Melbourne Fringe

Winner: Split Lip presented by Gendermess Productions

 

Adelaide Fringe Tour Ready Award

Presented by Adelaide Fringe

Winner: An Utterly Rubbish Adventure presented by James Hancox

 

Sydney Fringe Tour Ready Award

Presented by Sydney Fringe

Winner: Morgan James' Pocket Sized Circus! presented by Ricochet Circus and Entertainment