Top 10 Events to Watch in NZ Fringe Festival 2024

The largest open-access arts festival is back! If you’re excited to catch the performances but are unsure of which event to go for, we have curated a list of top 10 events to watch in NZ Fringe Festival 2024! 

Photo source: Inside Outside Dance

1. Embrace

Performed by students with varying disabilities, including ASD, Turner syndrome, intellectual disability, Down syndrome and the legally blind, Embrace gives you a peak into their lives as they navigate around the challenges in the real world. 

Follow them as they uncover the sweet and sour in their journey to understand the world around them in this thought-provoking dance piece.

Photo source: @hannahplayhouse NZ Fringe Festival

2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show Shadowcast

An adaptation of the classic 1975 horror film of the same name, The Rocky Horror Picture Show Shadowcast brings you along the journey of a newly engaged couple as they enter a castle for help after their car breaks down.

Watch the story unfold as they meet strange encounters in an electrifying, unforgettable experience. With dazzling performances, songs from the film’s iconic soundtrack and interactive components, you can look forward to an extraordinary night of fun and entertainment.

Photo source: @nicolamacri

3. The Hilary Duff Film Re-enactment Festival

This award-winning performance is a tribute to some of the most popular Hilary Duff films in the 2000s, including The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Raise Your Voice, A Cinderella Story and Cadet Kelly.

Re-told in a comedic fashion, Nicola will have you reliving the best moments of the films in tears and laughter through audience interactions, singalongs, quizzes and more.

Photo source: Topic Images/James Ensing-Trussell

4. The New Blue – A Portrait of Pixie Williams 

If you’ve heard of the song, ‘Blue Smoke’, you’ll most likely have heard of Pixie Williams. The New Blue is a tribute to New Zealand’s first recording pop star and music sensation in the 1940s.

Expect replays of some of her best hits interpreted by all-star musicians and vocalists Rachel Fraser, Kirsten Te Rito and Lisa Tomlins in a nostalgic performance of Pixie Williams’ story. 

Photo source: @kirstenterito NZ Fringe Festival

5. Māreikura Lumina 

Māreikura Lumina is a transformative musical and visual art experience combining music, light projections and artwork. 

Featuring a line of distinguished musicians including Kirsten Te Rito, James Illingworth, Darren Mathiassen and more, expect to be mindblown by this extraordinary multi-sensory cultural performance. 

Photo source: @annnadooley

6. Endhoe

In a hilarious and enticing act, Anna tells her story of living with one of the most excruciating diseases in the world—endometriosis. Join her as she takes on the persona of the disease itself attempting to wreak havoc in her body as it battles with her system.

Having won the Hollywood and NZ Tour Ready Awards at Sydney Fringe Festival, don’t miss your chance to catch this critically acclaimed performance by Anna Dooley. 

Photo source: @greg.feiner @mark_vigeant

7. Mark Pleases You

What does it really mean to be a people pleaser and a good person? Follow Mark as he embarks on a deeply-personal journey of self-discovery in a story full of twists and turns.

Told in a light-hearted, comedic manner, Mark Pleases You has won multiple awards across San Diego and Hollywood Fringe Festival. Don’t miss him in action in Wellington this February!

Photo source: @redbulldance @j.happyfeet_

8. Loose Change Wellington Qualifier

Watch some of Wellington’s best hip hop and street dancers battle it out for a pot of loose change at the Loose Change Wellington Qualifier, with the Champion of the night being able to qualify for the National Finals in Auckland.

If you think you can dance and would like to join in the fun, bring a gold coin and get ready to show off your killer moves in the open cyphers during the night!

Photo source: @wethecollateral

9. The People’s Oracle – Free Life Lessons 

If an old-school television spewing out life advice sounds appealing to you, drop over to The People’s Oracle, an interactive art installation made up of first-generation TVs. Give and get life lessons from this interesting art piece and get answers to some of your most pressing life questions!

Photo source: NZ Fringe Festival

10. Verbs 

Verbs is a music and dance performance by guitar and dance duo Jake and Anita. Stretching from classic and abstract to folk and rock, the duo is fluent in multiple genres and their upcoming performance Verbs will let them dig deeper into an item combining music, dance, poetry and light.

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