7 essential tips for Fringe newbies
1. Go to your happy place
There’s more than 750 events in the Festival program so find a comfy chair, a good drink, highlighter or pen, maybe even a notepad then settle down for some quality reading and planning time with your copy of the Festival guide or browse the What's On section.
You can order your copy of the Festival guide here.
2. Use the Favourites function
To help plan your Fringe adventure online, use the handy Favourites function.
Log In to your account then start browsing What’s On. To add shows to your Favourites list, click the heart button on the event.
You can see all of your Favourites here. Share them with your mates via Facebook or email and start planning who you’re going to go on a Fringe adventure with.
3. Visit one of the hubs
There are almost 130 venues in the Fringe including a number of hubs and programs where you can see multiple shows and venues all within close walking distance.
The best place to start your Fringe adventure is FRINGE Central at The Perth Cultural Centre. The central box office near the Ferris Wheel and Urban Orchard is right at the centre of the entire Fringe universe. There are artists roaming around every night ready to tell you about their shows and so many venues close by for you to check out something new on each visit. FRINGE Central is also host to The Shambles, The Gold Digger, The Showman's Fair, and Summer Nights at The Blue Room and State Theatre Centre of Western Australia.
A stone’s throw from The Perth Cultural Centre is the brilliant new Festival hub the Ice Cream Factory, a great new Palace Society program at venues throughout the King and Queen Streets precinct, a huge circus tent landing right next to Yagan Square and a wildly expanded program at The Pleasure Garden.
Image by Jarrad Seng.
4. Get your tickets
You can buy your tickets at the box office directly or purchase them online and then pick them up. Just select FRINGE WORLD Box Office Pick Up when you buy and one of our box office attendants will print it out when you arrive. Just remember to have the booking number and your ID. If you purchase your tickets in advance you can even have them mailed to you - just leave 10 days for postage.
The Pleasure Garden. Image by Daniel James Grant.
5. Get there early
Most shows are around 60 minutes in length and this is also the ideal time to arrive pre-show.
Allow at least 60 minutes to find a park (use the CPP app to help find a spot in the city), collect your tickets from a Box Office, find your venue and grab a pre-show drink. A queue will form outside your venue before show time and most shows have unallocated seating so line up early to get your pick of the seats.
Latecomers may not be admitted so don’t be tardy!
FRINGE WORLD Mermaids. Image by Jarrad Seng.
6. Bring photo ID
Many venues and hubs are licensed 18+ and require valid photo ID as determined by WA laws. Underage audience members are able to attend shows in licensed premised if accompanied by a legal guardian (unless otherwise stated).
Check the venue licensing requirements before booking your tickets. Entry to performance areas is also subject to the event rating.
Click here to browse all Fringe venues and check the venue licensing requirements.
A Simple Space
7. Fringe binge
Fringe shows are great value and roughly an hour long so there’s no reason you can’t get out to see more than one in the same evening.
It’s called a Fringe Binge for a reason – check out the program at each of the hubs and head out for an evening of diverse, and exciting, entertainment!
It’s all about trying something new and experiencing the different flavours of Fringe.
Thanks for visiting!
FRINGE WORLD is a registered charity that is dedicated to creating the best possible festival each year for artists to shine and audiences to enjoy.
You can help us make the Festival happen and support our artists with a donation to the Fringe Fund when you purchase a FRINGE WORLD ticket. Contributions of $2 or more are tax deductible.
Thanks for your support!
Image by Court McAllister.
Feature image: FRINGE Central. Image by Cam Campbell.