They’re tough down in Dunners. Despite funding cuts and COVID, the Fringe Festival show must go on.

The annual festival is open to anyone, any form of creative expression and any level of experience. This year’s programme features stand-up comedy, theatre, live music and interactive installations.

The internationals are back, with artists from Scotland, Switzerland, Canada and Australia joining Aotearoa’s zaniest in presenting over 60 events from 16 – 26 March.

Events take place in everything from theatres to bars, museums to churches, cycleways to shop windows across Dunedin and its suburbs.

Launched in 2000, the festival has been embraced by locals and visitors alike. Over 27,000 people attended events in 2021. Last year the festival went ahead, although with cancellations due to pandemic restrictions.

The viability of the 2023 festival was threatened by a funding cut that left a $150,000 hole in the budget, including money to pay the artists. Undaunted, supporters kicked off a fundraising campaign that successfully plugged the gap.

So what are some highlights this year?

• Guy Williams introduces Comedy Plus Time Equals Tragedy, a stand-up show that explores colonisation, racism and misogyny.
• 愛, 媽媽 (Love, Mum) is an autobiographical one-woman show by Cynthia Hiu Ying Lam that explores the lives and relationships between herself, her mother and two grandmothers.
• Past ‘Best of Fringe’ winner afterburner (Dark Matter) returns with Dark Radio, an immersive installation paying homage to the Cold War.
• Emerson’s Late Night Line Up will feature comedians Eli Mathewson, David Correos, Justine Smith, Donna Broobanks, Jack Ansett and James Mustapic.
• The Flying Femmes is an all-women circus troupe that explores the history and progression of circus as an art form, paying tribute to its roots but with a modern twist.

This year’s Fringe is also collaborating with Dunedin Pride. From 12 – 26 March, the Community Gallery will transform into the Dunedin Pride x Fringe Hub, providing an all-ages venue for collaborative programming.

Dunedin Fringe Festival, various venues, 16 – 26 March
dunedinfringe.nz