Our picks for the Melbourne Fringe

Die Roten PunkteMelbourne’s longest running and most popular independent arts festival has opened for 2013 with over 4000 artists and some 326 events planned from Victoria’s diverse arts scene showcasing new work in a variety of venues across Melbourne.

Arts Review takes a look at some of the performances and events you should checkout over the next couple of weeks!

Barry Morgan: Organ is Not a Dirty Word
The Rhythm of Life’s been great at Barry Morgan’s World of Organs Superstore in Adelaide’s Sunnyside Mall. Until now!. Braden Caden’s just moved in next door with his store Digital DeciBells. They’ll have to pry his Hammond Aurora Classic from his rhine-stoned fingers first! But not before one last serenade from Skyhooks to Lady Gaga. Is this the end of Barry, and the Golden Syrup Sounds of the 70’s? Just watch Barry switch it up an octave! Written by Julianne O’Brien, directed by Ian Pidd. Season: 20 –  29 September

Laika and Wills 
It’s 1957 and a satellite carrying a little dog called Laika streaks across the Russian night. Is it science or propaganda? A memory or fate? A new Australian play about love, destiny, and other convictions adrift in the cosmos. Written by Seanna van Helten and directed by Penny Harpham. Season: 20 – 27 September

Geraldine Quinn – Stranger
A unique modern rise-and-fall rock cabaret. Part Ziggy Stardust zeitgeist, part Icarus and part Sasha Fierce. You will not see another cabaret like this! Featuring Geraldine Quinn ,directed by Scott Brennan. Season: 20 – 27 September

City of Shadows – A Song Cycle of Murder, Misfortune and Forensics
A
n award-winning production bringing to light the vulnerabilities of the forgotten, the danger of our weaknesses and the need for love of our fellow man. This un-missable show pairs an exquisite new voice with a gritty soundscape and a string quartet comprising some of Australia’s best. Inspired by Sydney’s Police and Justice Museum’s photography exhibition of forensic and police photography in early 20th Century. Created by Rachael Dease. Season: 21 September – 5 October

MKA: Kids Killing Kids 
In November 2011, four Australian playwrights travelled to Manila to collaborate on a stage adaptation of Koushun Takami’s notorious Japanese teensploitation pulp thriller Battle Royale. Glossy, hedonistic pulp-violence led to cult idolisation of sadistic mass-murderers. Part-narrative, part-documentary dissection on the qualities of cross-cultural collaboration, contemporary Filipino culture and the nature of onstage violence. Written and Performed by David Finnigan, Sam Burns-Warr, Georgie McAuley, Jordon Prosser and Sipat Lawin Ensemble. Season: 20 September – 3 October

The Sheds
Darren Anderson, the star player for the premiership-winning Fitzroy Fighters AFL team, is young, talented, a household name, and so convinced of his popularity that when he announces that he’s gay, he assumes the news will be readily accepted by everyone – it isn’t! Rife with foul language, stigma, secrets, violence and nudity, examining mateship and masculinity in Australian sport. Written and Directed by James Cunningham. Season: 20 September – 4 October.

A Singer Must Die
Sweet lullabies of lust, disillusion, aspiration, moral turpitude, chocolate covered espresso beans and dwarfism.  Something for the whole family! An astonishing new cabaret from Green Room Award winning cabaret artist Melissa Langton. Season: 24 – 29 September

Live Acts on Stage 
‘What are you doing in my little corner of Hell?’ Acclaimed Australian playwright Michael Gow, drawn to the company’s mantra of confronting entertainment, has adapted the play Live Acts on Stage especially for Four Letter Word Theatre. 13 actors play 35 characters. They create Gods, monsters and men from Greco-Roman mythology to take you, the audience, to hell and back. Directed by Sara Tabitha Catchpole, designed by Robert Alexander Smith. Season: 26 September – 5 October

Die Roten Punkte’s Circus Discotheque
Following sell-out shows in New York, Montreal and Edinburgh, utterly dysfunctional siblings Otto and Astrid Rot return to Melbourne Fringe for one night only. The circus and physical comedy stars of the Fringe will showcase their bendy skills to dance anthems from Fame and Flashdance through to Daft Punk and K-Pop. Performance: 28 September

Elixir
Watch as two enthusiastic and acrobatic scientists attempt to create the elixir of life. The scenes are an eclectic mix of high intensity acrobatics, live music and strong images all blended into one incredible contemporary circus show. Created and Performed by Thomas Gorham and Callan Harris. Season: 1 – 5 October

ArtsBurst
A free, pop-up festival bringing arts to the streets of Stonnington – centered in and around Chapel Street Prahran & Windsor. You will be suprised by unexpected performances and projection art in the most unlikely places. Event: 4 & 5 October

Song Cyclist
A hilarious musical satire inspired by Melbourne’s newest breed of wanker, the ‘MAMIL’ (Middle Aged Man In Lycra). Meet Peter Head, Head of HR at an advertising agency in the Docklands. He cycles 25 km to work every day from his home in Viewbank, toning his calves and saving the planet. He’s a hairless, carb-less, winner; a beacon to all corporate Melbourne men. But today, the company is in trouble and Peter needs to rally all his co-workers together to save it. Today, Peter will shine brighter than ever. Written by David Peake. Season: 4 – 6 October

For more information, visit: www.melbournefringe.com.au for details.

Image: Die Roten Punkte