The Melbourne Fringe Festival has been a vibrant celebration of independent arts since 1982. The 2024 theme, “Eat Your Art Out,” invites you to explore the delightful intersection of food and art, uniting the community through shared experiences. The festival runs from October 1 to October 20, 2024. 

Alongside Nandita Chaktraborty's s Two Worlds Collide, the festival features many shows, comedy, dance, and events, showcasing exceptional work from numerous South Asian artists.

Here's our roundup of South Asian Australians at the festival and the must-see shows you won’t want to miss.

If You're in the Mood for Some Laughs:

Confetti Confessions
03 - 19 Oct | 9:00 pm, 7:00 pm | Fossey's Distillery Lygon

Aaqib Merchant (RAW Comedy National Finalist 2024) sheds like a snake and tells you everything about himself (you will, too, hopefully?) in this work-in-progress show. Like peeling the layers of cabbage, in the show, Merchant will reveal ‘his deepest, oddest secrets.’ What could that mean? Probably something mischievous?

There’s a World Where My Head Ought Be
15 - 20 Oct | 7:00 pm, 6:00 pm |The Provincial Hotel

Suren Jayemanne writes for Question Everything (ABC) and The Project (TEN), was the creator and host of Good Tucker (SBS), and has appeared on The Weekly, Question Everything, Celebrity Letters and Numbers, The Cook Up, and was even seen in the background of a Thor movie. In an irreverent yet affable style, he will tell silly jokes and contemplate ancient Eastern philosophies in modern life. He decided to look back 5000 years at ancient Eastern philosophies for the show.

Why am I still talking?
16 - 20 Oct | 5:45 pm, 4:45 pm | Theory Bar

Rao Morusupalli has a lot of thoughts and feelings he would like to share. Come watch and listen as he gets it off his chest. A scientist turned comedian, he is increasingly unsure if he has made the right choices, but he is doing his best, and that's all we can ask of him. The jokes will be good if you are lucky, and he may sprinkle some fun astronomy facts. You will laugh and learn, but more likely, think, wow, can anyone do an astrophysics degree?

7/11 Attack
11 - 19 Oct | 10:10 pm | Fossey's Distillery Lygon

Crikey, mate, the kangaroos have some competition down under as they anxiously await a flavourful makeover. RAW Comedy SA Winner/Nationals runner-up Chetan Singh, aka Delhi Buoy (along with guest comics), is set to bring his hilarious show as he plans the great Australian takeover using a strategy he calls – The 7/11 Attack! 

The Unskilled Immigrant
04 - 06 Oct | 8:00 pm, 5:00 pm | Fossey's Distillery Lygon

Aditya Gautam is an Author, comedian, and the founder of MC Comedy. His shows have received rave reviews at the Perth Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, and Melbourne Comedy Festival. He has been producing award-winning shows since 2019.

Suma Iyer & Felix McCarthy - The Burden of Excellence
07 - 11 Oct | 6:00 pm | Club Voltaire

Felix McCarthy and Suma Iyer are more than capable of life’s greatest tasks. They can make chocolate crackles, stack a dishwasher, and lodge tax returns. Most people can only do two things, but Felix and Suma? Being above-average at-average things is what true success is. See them finally solve the everyday life matters, the small questions, complete with unnecessary financial advice and their best recipes from the side of the cereal box.

The Racist Immigrants
11 - 19 Oct | 8:00 pm, 6:00 pm | Fossey's Distillery Lygon, The Black Prince

An hour of unabashed comedy that will leave you crying with laughter and questioning everything you know about immigrants and cultures as it attempts to break all stereotypes. Food, culture, taxis, boats, n*de beaches, Chinese bat soup. Nothing is off limit. South Asian Indian comedians Aditya Gautam and Chetan Singh aka Delhi Buoy will surely have you bursting into laughter!

Standout Shows And Performances at the Festival:

LOCUS
10 - 20 Oct | 8:00pm | Meeting point for LOCUS

Are you ready to challenge your reality and uncover the illusions that shape your world? Experienced a groundbreaking immersive adventure in a secret location filled with wondrous spaces, uncanny moments, and mind-bending experiences. Make choices, reveal hidden truths, and challenge your perceptions of luck, decisions, the unknown, loss, and time. Featuring Lawrence Leung, Vyom Sharma, and Dom Chambers, this project received Cash to Create through the Fringe Fund. Step into the mesmerizing world of LOCUS, where reality bends as your senses are tested.

The Good Immigrant
09 - 13 Oct | 7:30 pm, 6:30 pm | Festival Hub: Trades Hall - The Square

Newly immigrated to Australia and looking for acceptance, Happy will do most things to fit in... but what happens when the tables are turned? Happy is a young man whose oblivious actions will have consequences, and it's not the racism that he fears. Written and Performed by CeeJay Singh, it is a touring production from Adelaide, where it won ‘Spirit of the Fringe’ and ‘Community Event of the Year’ from the Australia Day council.

The Axe in the Ceiling
12 - 20 Oct | 2:00pm | The Motley Bauhaus - Theatrette

Chhaya is a playful, imaginative woman who has always lovingly walked the path she’s been taught to walk. Hunar is a responsible, self-reliant man who has always provided well for himself and made good decisions. Their journey together rocks their stability and reveals gaps in their self-image, compelling them to reflect on what they truly want and whether they have what it takes to get it. Written and Directed by Jaya Berged, the Axe in the Ceiling is a story about a newly married couple on a journey of self-discovery through a series of absurd events.

Unpacking Black and White
1 Oct - 20 Oct | Time Available On-Demand | Digital Fringe

Dr Puvaneswari (Puva) P Arumugam is a Singaporean Indian woman who migrated to Australia nearly two and half decades ago. The multilingual migrant playwright/poet is inviting you to join her on an online journey where you get to listen, watch, and feel her emotions as she captures real scenarios that happened in her life via enactments and installation art depicting cultural context. Her poems will bring topics such as migrant guilt, loneliness, mental health, and well-being to the fore.

Captivating Dance Shows And Performance:

Echoes of Her: A Kathak Celebration
13 Oct, 5:00 pm, The MC Showroom - The Showroom



Experience the elegance and storytelling of Kathak as it echoes the voices and tales of women, creating a powerful and moving tribute to feminine strength and grace. This unique duet reflects and resonates with the diverse experiences, emotions, and strengths of women, expressed through the classical Indian dance form of Kathak. Two best friends Aishwarya and Sharvari creates exceptional content that showcases a fusion of French and German languages with the traditional Indian classical dance form, Kathak.

Dancing in Infinite Worlds
16 - 20 Oct | 8:00 pm, 5:00 pm, 6:30 pm | Theatre Works - Explosives Factory

A solo intercultural dance theatre work, developed through a PhD research. It is a celebration of identity, discarding labels imposed by culture and society, emphasizing connection. Dance and oral storytelling is weaved together, traversing stories of lived experience in India, Nigeria, Australia and Pakistan. It is an uplifting and joyous show, with a feminist lens of redefining meaning by a South Asian artist Joshinder Chaggar.

Temple of Desire
04 - 05 Oct | Time 7:30pm, 2:00pm | Malthouse - Beckett Theatre

A celebration of spirituality and sensuality through the beauty of classical Indian dance. Directed by Govind Pillai, Temple of Desire is Karma Dance’s new full-length ensemble work, following a decade of acclaimed and award-winning duet and solo works by both Govind Pillai and Raina Peterson. Karma Dance Inc. is one of Australia’s most critically acclaimed classical and contemporary Indian dance companies.

To explore the complete Melbourne Fringe 2024 program and know more about these shows, visit the Melbourne Fringe Festival website.
 

Radha Mishra is a seasoned journalist with over a decade of experience in newsrooms. Now practising independently, she is passionate about covering issues that matter. She strives to deliver accurate and impactful stories to audiences globally.