Festival Info

When is the Melbourne Fringe Festival?

The 2021 festival is happening 30 September to 17 October 2021. These dates will not change due to COVID-19 – the Festival will go ahead in whatever capacity is possible at the time.

How do I buy tickets?

Right here, on this website. Head to the what’s on page to browse the full program, or give us a call on 03 9660 9666.

Yeah but… What about the pandemic?

We can’t ignore the COVID-sized elephant in the room, as it stands we’re planning a beautiful Festival with a program full of digital and socially distant events. We anticipate that in-venue events no got ahead this year in line with the Victorian Government’s COVID-19 restrictions.

For more information you can read our most recent update here.

Please adhere to Melbourne Fringe’s detailed COVID-Safe plan to ensure the safety of audiences, artists and staff. For more information on our plan, see our Covid Safety page.

What if an event is cancelled due to COVID restrictions?

If we need to reschedule, cancel or reduce the capacity of an event due to COVID-19, ticket holders will be contacted directly with instructions and options. We’ll do our best to accommodate everyone as quickly as possible.

What if I can’t come to an event due to border closures, COVID-related illness, or I have been to an exposure site?

Don’t worry, we won’t hold your money ransom! Things are more uncertain this year than usual, we get that, and we want you to feel confident booking your tickets.

If you can no longer attend an event due to COVID malarkey of one kind or another, get in touch with us as soon as you can and we will talk you through your refund and exchange options.

Our full refund and exchange policy is available in our terms and conditions.

I’m having trouble creating an account.

If you’ve booked tickets for events at past Festivals or at Fringe Common Rooms you may already have an account. Try resetting your password here, or contact the ticketing team on boxoffice@melbournefringe.com.au or (03) 9660 9666.

I’ve purchased tickets but I can’t find them. Where are they?

Your tickets will have been emailed to the address you used to login. Double check your junk/spam. You can also access your tickets on your account by clicking My Orders and Tickets when you are logged in.

Are there any free events?

Yes! There are always heaps of quality free events in the Festival program. Check out all this year’s free events here.

What is Flexible Pricing?

It’s our new ticketing initiative to help get money into artists’ pockets while reducing price barriers for audiences. Flexible Pricing allows you to see shows at a price you can afford – whether that’s full price, a little less, or a little more.

• Less Than Full: Times have been pretty tough. If you can’t afford full price, choose this option.
• Full: This is the standard ticket price that the artist is asking for their show.
• Overflowing: If you’ve got a little extra cash and want to pass it on to artists, this is the price point for you.

What is Digital Fringe?

We developed a bespoke platform for hosting a wide variety of digital events. Digital Fringe had its first outing at VCR Fest in July-Aug 2020, and then at the 2020 Melbourne Fringe Festival. It’s back in 2021 with a range of on demand and scheduled events. Check ’em out here.

Can I attend digital events whenever I like?

Digital events are either scheduled, meaning they’re only available at the advertised date(s) and time(s) or on demand, meaning you can attend at any time during the advertised date range. You can filter the what’s on page and check event listings to find out what’s what.

Can I attend from outside Australia?

Unless otherwise specified events as part of Digital Fringe are viewable from anywhere in the world. All advertised times until 2 October are in AEST, and from 2-17 October advertised times are in AEDT.

Okay, I’ve booked my ticket, now how do I get to my digital event?

You will be sent a unique URL and instructions in your E-ticket. You can also access your digital events from your Fringe Account.

Is your Festival accessible for audiences?

Melbourne Fringe is committed to access and inclusion for all people. We believe in the Social Model of Disability, where disability is caused by a society and environment with physical, attitudinal, communication and social barriers. It’s our responsibility to create a Festival that reduces these barriers to enable full participation by all people.

We endeavour to make our Fringe produced and Signature events as accessible as possible, and we’ve also educated our independent artists in the open access program around accessibility through resources, info sessions and one-on-one meetings, and have asked them to provide accurate and up to date accessibility information.

You can filter the program by whether a performance is captioned, Auslan interpreted, audio described, relaxed or sensory friendly, has assistive listening available, has tactile tours available, as well as their level of visual and aural content.

We recognise that the experience of disability and accessibility is diverse and unique to individuals, and that artists and audience members still face barriers to access, and we strive to remove as many of these as we can. We understand that we won’t always get it right, and we always love to receive feedback about how we can improve as well as what we did well.

Click here to learn more about the Festival’s access, including a key of all our access icons.

I’m an Artist, how can I get involved?

The Melbourne Fringe Festival is an open-access Festival, which means that everyone is welcome and anyone can participate. Registrations are closed for 2021. Head over to our Artist Registration page for more info.

What’s an Open Access Festival?

An Open Access festival means anyone can be a part of it, and all work is presented by the artists or their independent producers.

 Can I volunteer for Fringe?

Yes! Check out the Jobs and Volunteers page for all the information. Applications close on Sunday 29 August.

When does Melbourne Fringe recruit staff?

Each year, Melbourne Fringe offer a range of highly sought-after roles in the independent arts, as well as structured learning opportunities in the form of internships (unpaid). The majority of our recruitment occurs from June onwards in preparation for the Festival. Opportunities appear on this website in our Jobs and Volunteers section. To be the first to hear about the opportunities we offer, sign up to our eNews.

I’m from the media and have a question.

For all media enquiries, please contact our publicist, Adam Valentine, on adam@melbournefringe.com.au or 0411 302 769.

Can I advertise on your website?

Email marketing@melbournefringe.com.au to enquire.