20 January – 14 February

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This show belongs to the FRINGE WORLD Festival 2026 season. This season is now over.

Vintage street scene showing a camel-drawn cart in front of early 20th-century shopfronts. A driver wearing a white shirt and hat sits on the cart, with two camels harnessed to the front. People in period clothing watch from the footpath, capturing a moment from Australia’s historic camel transport era.
Historic photograph of a bustling city street lined with ornate late-19th-century buildings. Pedestrians walk and cyclists ride along the footpath while several horse-drawn carriages travel the road. Signs for businesses like “Mutual Life” and “Boarding House” appear on the buildings, capturing a lively urban scene from the era.
Early logging train in a forested area, hauling massive felled tree trunks. Several workers stand on and around the steam locomotive and flatbed cars, dressed in rugged work clothes. Steam rises from the engine, and cut timber debris covers the ground, illustrating a scene from historical timber operations.
FRINGE WORLD Festival 2026

Australia in Photographs and Songs

A musical and visual journey around Australia!

Building on the success of "Western Australia in Pictures and Songs" performed at FRINGE WORLD 2024 and 2025, this new show now encompasses the whole of Australia, whilst still incorporating several visits to the home state of FRINGE WORLD 2026.

Historic photographs from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, along with contemporary images, will be projected to accompany original acoustic songs composed by the performers.

Feedback from "Western Australia in Pictures and Songs":

“FEEL-GOOD. UNMISSABLE!” - MARNIE S, FRINGEFEED 2024

"GREAT SINGING & GREAT STORYTELLING" - PAULA J, FRINGEFEED, 2025

"AMAZING PHOTOS, GREAT ORIGINAL SONGS" - DEIDRE W, FRINGEFEED 2025

All photographs shown here are courtesy of the State Library of Western Australia

Presented by: Peter Barry

A few years ago, after years of working in the WA mining industry, Gudgeon Pinn wrote a song about a mining company deliberately crashing a train to save a town in WA. This effectively opened the floodgates, and dozens more songs with Australian themes have poured out of him in a continuous torrent ever since. He hopes performing a few of them for FRINGE WORLD will bring him some respite from the ongoing creative turmoil. He will be accompanied by WAAPA star Bethany O'Brien, an extremely talented Boorloo/Perth-based singer and songwriter with a hauntingly beautiful voice. Her angelic vocals will be a highlight throughout the show, including performances of some of her own stunning compositions.
Music & Musicals • Acoustic
Western Australia • World Premiere
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Suitability & warnings

Content rating: PG
Family friendly: Yes
Audience Participation: Occasional

Please note

The show contains images of persons now deceased and refers to death in a historic context.

Presenter

Presented by: Peter Barry

A few years ago, after years of working in the WA mining industry, Gudgeon Pinn wrote a song about a mining company deliberately crashing a train to save a town in WA. This effectively opened the floodgates, and dozens more songs with Australian themes have poured out of him in a continuous torrent ever since. He hopes performing a few of them for FRINGE WORLD will bring him some respite from the ongoing creative turmoil. He will be accompanied by WAAPA star Bethany O'Brien, an extremely talented Boorloo/Perth-based singer and songwriter with a hauntingly beautiful voice. Her angelic vocals will be a highlight throughout the show, including performances of some of her own stunning compositions.