The Fringe heads east this festival season

The Fringe Heads East This Festival Season

As summer slowly fades into autumn, most of the country is settling down for 2025. But here in Adelaide the party is just about to begin. With 1,300 shows at 500 venues spread throughout South Australia, the Adelaide Fringe now takes over the entire state. And this year you don't need to leave your neighbourhood to get a taste of the magic.

Hundreds of performers in a wide range of genres are bringing their shows to the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters for the 2025 Adelaide Fringe. So whether you want to team up with a hundred-piece choir for a karaoke night with a difference, join in the laughter at a classic pub comedy night or lose yourself in a world of pure imagination at a musical version of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, here are the shows to catch this year.

Music

Bigger is definitely better at the historic Norwood Concert Hall this year. A 40-piece orchestra will put a classical spin on everything from Beatlemania to Britpop in British Icons presented by Fusion Pops Orchestra, while Bangers and Mash-Ups sees the audience joined by a 100-person choir for a high-energy mass karaoke night.

Norwood Hotel hosts half a dozen shows paying tribute to everything from Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Easybeats to house music anthems and a French cabaret re-imagining of The Tempest. Or you can head to The  Alley on Magill Road to find last year's Best Music Award winner World Rock Arena diving headlong into the trippy world of 1970s rock, politics and fashion.

Just down the road at Ern Malley, Me 'N Me Mates transports audiences to the heart of the outback with an evening of tall tales and classic Australian bush ballads, and the Russian Community Centre celebrates a very different cultural heritage with a performance of traditional Russian Folk Tunes.

Comedy

Brandan Alvaro's debut show at Ern Malley might be called Laughs Not Guaranteed, but there are no such promises at the Royal Coach's Confetti and Chaos, which thrusts the audience into the middle of a surprise wedding where chaos and hilarity are both in abundance.

Mockin The Suburbs brings the laughs to a range of suburban pubs including Payneham Tavern and The Alma, which will serve as the home of comedy this Fringe. Pop by to see everything from stand-up comedy galas and classic larrikin yarns to a breakneck tour through the fast-paced world of startup culture and Haitian-born Ash Fils-Aime's story of his journey from being deported from this country to becoming an Australian citizen in Coming To Australia.

Family

A huge season of family-friendly shows is headlined by Norwood Concert Hall's magical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a musical theatre sensation that will fill children of every age with wonder. Family Fun - Dance, Theatre and Craft! at Studio Feeling Good invites audiences to be part of the action with a series of workshops allowing them to dress up in colourful fabrics and dance to traditional African rhythms, join interactive theatre games and make their own bracelets to take home.

Those with a creative side will love visual artist Christopher Boha's Future Relics Workshop, which teaches budding artists of all skill levels how to create a 3D artwork by layering and arranging found objects and materials. And if you've worked up a hunger after all that, head to Linde Reserve on Sun March 2 for an all-day celebration of music, dance, crafts and (most importantly) pancakes at the Folk Pancake Festival Maslenitsa.

Visit: Adelaide Fringe