Words & Ideas

Fringe Secrets

Stories from the people, about the people. Consensually spilt tea.

FREE EVENT
Sessions & Tickets
A mannequin is wearing a loose white dress with a small bow hanging at the chest, and wearing a piece of lace fabric draped over the head and face. Surrounding the mannequin are white pieces of paper with black illegible writing on them, hung from the roof and stuck on the black walls.
White pieces of paper with black illegible writing on them, hang from the roof and onto the surrounding black walls. A person pictured from behind is grabbing one of the hanging pieces of paper to take a closer look.
White pieces of paper with black illegible writing on them, hang from the roof and onto the surrounding black walls. A group of three people are talking amongst the hanging pieces, and a skeleton with a draped scarf around its neck is situated in the room beside them.

Image Credit: Mason Mo

A mannequin is wearing a loose white dress with a small bow hanging at the chest, and wearing a piece of lace fabric draped over the head and face. Surrounding the mannequin are white pieces of paper with black illegible writing on them, hung from the roof and stuck on the black walls.
White pieces of paper with black illegible writing on them, hang from the roof and onto the surrounding black walls. A person pictured from behind is grabbing one of the hanging pieces of paper to take a closer look.
White pieces of paper with black illegible writing on them, hang from the roof and onto the surrounding black walls. A group of three people are talking amongst the hanging pieces, and a skeleton with a draped scarf around its neck is situated in the room beside them.

  • Created by: Aimee Raitman

  • Created by: Olivia White

Fringe festival-goers have generously spilled the tea for this interactive installation.

You are invited to partake in this social experiment, where secrets submitted anonymously are hung in the most public of places, to be shared with you, the unsuspecting audience member.

Are secrets just as enticing when we don't know who they belong to? Or do the stories of our social fabric lose their meaning as soon as they become untraceable gossip?

  • Duration: Come and go as you please

  • Event Accessibility: Deaf or Hard of Hearing Rating: Fully Accessible

  • Age suitability: PG

  • Event warnings: Mild Coarse Language, Some Infrequent/Low Pressure Audience Interaction.

  • Content warnings: Drug References, Sexual References, Death, Mental Health.

If you would like to submit your own (or someone else's) secret anonymously, you may text it to: 0432361995, adressed to FRINGE SECRETS.

  • Festival Hub: Trades Hall
    Cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton, VIC, 3053

    Wheelchair Access

    Festival Hub: Trades Hall is wheelchair accessible. The venue can be accessed via the front portico where there is a wheelchair lift or via the courtyard entrance both on Lygon St. These events take place in a range of locations, and a Melbourne Fringe representative will direct you to the appropriate location. All events within Trades Hall are wheelchair accessible.

    Get directions See all events at this venue See detailed venue & access information

  • Free Event

*Prices are subject to change without notice. Standard terms and conditions apply.

Sessions: In Person Events

Date Time Venue

Wednesday, 02 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Thursday, 03 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Friday, 04 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Saturday, 05 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Sunday, 06 October 2024

4:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Wednesday, 09 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Thursday, 10 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Friday, 11 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Saturday, 12 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Sunday, 13 October 2024

4:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Wednesday, 16 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Thursday, 17 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Friday, 18 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Saturday, 19 October 2024

5:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

Sunday, 20 October 2024

4:30pm

Festival Hub: Trades Hall

You may also like…

  • Feminist Hall Tours at Trades Hall

    An insightful walking tour of Trades Hall.

    Presented by The Victorian Trades Hall Council
    Dates 03 - 10 Oct (90min)
    Venue Festival Hub: Trades Hall
    more less
    A bronze statue depicting Zelda D'Aprano holding a sign that reads
    Genre: Words & Ideas
    More Information
  • The Beowulf Manuscript: A Performed History

    A history of fire, pillage, and persecution reaching back thousands of years.

    Created and Performed by Felix Nobis
    Dates 06 - 13 Oct (70min)
    Venue Waterside Forge
    more less
    A metal hammer hovers above a glowing metal rod which rests on an anvil. In the background, an ornate metal helmet rests on a pile of rags.
    Genre: Words & Ideas
    More Information
  • 'Women of Fire' presented by Queen Victoria Women's Centre and Mother Tongue

    A night of poetry, performance and stories shared by five incredible artists.

    Presented by Queen Victoria Women's Centre
    Dates 19 Oct (70min)
    Venues Digital Fringe, Queen Victoria Women's Centre - Wayi Djerring
    more less
    A powerful woman with long curly black hair stands fiercely gazing into the viewers eyes, with arms by her sides, and flames surrounding one side of her, framing her face.
    Genre: Words & Ideas
    More Information
  • We the People x Yarra

    A participatory round table discussion about activist legacies then and now.

    Artist Katie Sfetkidis
    Dates 12 Oct (2 hours 30 minutes)
    Venue Edinburgh Gardens Community Room
    more less
    A collage of vintage photos of women protesting, each with a unique colour overlay to highlight the different layers. Protest signs held feature messaging such as
    Genre: Words & Ideas
    More Information
  • Inner Demons Poetry Session no. 3

    Jasmine's shadow realm: Sax, puppetry, and immersive verse. Encounter her inner demons.

    Created and Performed by Jasmine Downing
    Dates 11 - 12 Oct (60min)
    Venue Northcote Uniting Church
    more less
    Over a cracked concrete grey background lies a large red circle. In the centre of the circle, is an image of woman draped in a red cloak with her hand pensively resting on her cheek. She has theatrical makeup featuring fake blood on her chin and black cracks under her eyes with fully black irises.
    Genre: Words & Ideas
    More Information
  • The Fellowship Tales

    An energetic emotional performance of original contemporary fables.

    Written and Performed by Letitia Kellion-O'Brien
    Dates 09 - 12 Oct (60min)
    Venue Bard's Apothecary
    more less
    A warm picture of a woman in a Flowing Jacket riding a broken tree like a cowboy in nature.
    Genre: Words & Ideas
    More Information
  • Antigone in the Land of the Dead

    A sizzling new dramatic podcast from Melbourne's most incisive 12 - 18 year olds.

    Created by St Michael's Grammar School / Bloomshed
    Dates 1 Oct - 20 Oct (50min)
    Venue Digital Fringe
    more less
    A pencil sketch illustration of three rows of three prison cells, stacked on top of one another. Looking through the bars, the cells are sparsely furnished with bunk beds, sinks and toilets, and no people in them. We can tell the prison is starting to fall apart because there are cracks in the walls. Water is starting to pool on the floor in the top left cell, and seeps through the walls and floor into each of the others, gathering in volume and flooding the bottom cells. At the bottom on the left hand side we see a door to the 'Lost and Found' cupboard, which is glowing around the edges with a fiery light.
    Genre: Words & Ideas
    More Information
  • Borrow a Brick for Contact Listening

    Re-experience public space through poetic explorations of sound and language.

    Created by Joy Zhou and collaborators
    Dates 10 - 12 Oct (30min)
    Venue Abbotsford Convent
    more less
    A person walks on a sidewalk carrying a bright yellow A-frame caution sign. The sign has a red warning symbol and the text
    Genre: Words & Ideas
    More Information
  • Better Off Said

    An afternoon of words to be aired before it's too late.

    Dates 15 Sep (150min)
    Venue Fringe Common Rooms
    more less
    Two women in funereal costume pose. One is wearing a veil. The other looks off into the distance.
    Genre: Words & Ideas
    Selling Fast
    More Information
  • Stirring the Pot: A Feast of Erotic Storytelling and Performance

    A sizzling lineup of writers and performers share sexy morsels of erotic writing and performance

    Hosted by Zoë Coombs Marr
    Dates 18 Oct (90min)
    Venue The Wheeler Centre - Performance Space
    more less
    A waft of flame swirls
    Genre: Words & Ideas
    More Information
  • "Echoes from the Horn" Poetry Reading

    Experience Mo's struggle from Somalia to a new life, blending personal stories in a hero's journey.

    Presented by Mohamed Sudi
    Dates 02 - 06 Oct (60min)
    Venue Festival Hub: Trades Hall - Music Room
    more less
    A man is standing on stage, holding a microphone close to his mouth. He is wearing a dark vest, a long-sleeved shirt, a black cap, and gloves with skull patterns. The background is dark, emphasizing the spotlight on him.
    Genre: Words & Ideas
    More Information
  • Haus Of Poussay

    The sexiest, silliest, and most scandalous new variety show on the block!

    Presented by The OC Project
    Dates 13 - 20 Oct (60min)
    Venue Upstairs @ Floridia
    more less
    A female-presenting pair of hands, the left hand with red nails and a diamanté ring, holds a box of matches and the right hand has pink long nails and a diamanté' ring, holds a lit match over a pink background with shadows.
    Genre: Cabaret
    More Information

    • Find similar shows

    See All Guides
  • Queer AF
  • Sex, love and dating
  • Nostalgia & Throwbacks
  • Words and Ideas Events
  • SPICY
  • SWEET
  • Free Events