Over 100 performances held across CBD & metro venues from 24 May – 2 June on Kaurna Land – Tickets on sale now!
After a bumper 2023 season featuring a slew of sold-out shows, Adelaide’s Cabaret Fringe Festival is back to warm up audiences for South Australia’s winter festival season with over 100 performances across 10 nights in shows for audiences of all ages. With shows to suit all pocket sizes including free pop up street shows and open mic nights, audiences can enjoy guest spots by cabaret artists from within the festival and the wider community, or even join in.
Held in CBD and metropolitan venues across Adelaide between 24 May – 2 June, the 2024 program for
locally-loved Cab Fringe has been unleashed and is now on sale through cabaretfringefestival.com
Cab Fringe’s Chair, Mark de Raad, is thrilled at today’s reveal of the 2024 Cabaret Fringe program.
He states:
“The 2024 Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival covers a variety of international, award-winning and local cabaret talent with 40+ independently-produced cabaret shows at a record number of registered venues on Kaurna Land and for the first time: regional areas.”
After four years at the helm, Lauren Thiel this year passes the baton to local Creative Producer, Arts Educator and Storyteller Simone DiSisto who is proud to reveal the festival’s most thrilling program yet:
“Cabarets have always been places where performers, poets, storytellers, musicians and artists of all genres can find each other, where innovative ideas are incubated and live performance venues come alive with audiences, sustaining and celebrating the arts”
“This years program demonstrates the diversity of what Cabaret can be beyond stereotypes of sequins and show tunes, as well as showcasing and empowering artists and venues to create cabaret that represents them, their artforms and authentic voices”
Arthur’s Art Bar is home to 2024’s CabLive, CabFringe’s piano bar/artist and audience playground hosted by vocal impressionist, Leather Lungs, described by The Advertiser as, “One of the most phenomenal voices you’re ever likely to hear live.”
Featuring established and emerging musicians with highlights of the CabFringe program every
night of the festival, this performer playspace is the place to be. No night will be the same and you’ll have to be there to see what is revealed. Jay Chasland, aka Leather Lung states,
“I am beyond excited to come back to my second home Adelaide for CabFringe. The program has such a
wonderful and diverse range of artists skills and shows and is set to be a festival of magic and mayhem and madness! I can’t wait to add to the mayhem and bring some creative comedy and cheek hosting CabLive every night!”
Other highlights of the 2024 program include Cowardy Cowardy Custard, two hilarious one-act plays by the great Nöel Coward at Holden St Theatres starring Martha Lott and Geoff Revel, directed by Peter Goers.
Green Room Award 2024 nominee and CabFringe Frank Ford award winner, Frankly, returns with razor sharp wit and bewitching vocals with her brand new cabaret ‘experiment’, FRANKLY: FULLY SPREAD in her last Adelaide appearance for 2024. (“Like Regina Spektor, but funnier” – HiFi Way ★★★★★) Celebrating 60 years since Beatlemania hit Adelaide, Beating up the Beatles star Charlee Watts is “One to watch” (Peter Burdon, Advertiser).
All-female acts from Virago Circus soar in Club Flight at Pirate Life Brewery in the Port while a sold out 2023 CabFringe show and 2024 weekly cabaret winner, Burlesque Blues will dazzle Port Vincent audiences.
Award winning acts return alongside brand new shows to enthral audiences at East End hubs, the Howling Owl and Prompt Creative Centre including Freida Commitment’s Thank You I’m Single, She Shanties and local bands for Guitar Cab. The West End will come alive every night of the festival with interactive and special edition open mic shows at iconic local venues including The Grace Emily, Nineteen Ten and Arthur’s including Trivia Tease, Billy Bob’s BBQ Jam and Afters at Arthurs.
Audiences can enjoy sumptuous bouquets of crisp cabaret characters, featuring delicate notes, rich textures and full bodied goodness as well as a glass from Forage Supply Co at Cabaret Uncorked, or high tea, hijinks and bluesy burlesque at High Tea, High Tease. Diverse-city is serving shows and meals at Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad and CabFringe 2023 award winning show, Have you Met My Grief.
Burlesque fans will be thrilled with a full and fiery lineup at Nineteen Ten including Inferno, Pop Culture
Cabaret, Cinematic Sinners presents Burlesque the movie among many more. Record high priced tickets for sale at Winston Goldsteins, An Ode to the 1% at $2475, find out more in the daring and delightful 2024 program.
Cab Fringe is dedicated to providing an annual platform for emerging and independent talent to perform to live audiences each year. In contrast to the mainstage Adelaide Cabaret Festival (the biggest cabaret festival in the world) the Cabaret Fringe Festival is an open-access festival where anyone within the cabaret artform can register to participate.
With beginnings in France in the 1880s, the cabaret artform continues to evolve over time and is characterised differently in countries around the world. Over time, cabaret has included much overlap with other genres and performance styles from poetry, to comedy, burlesque, political satire, and many music styles. Cabarets have frequently been the gathering places for writers, actors, musicians and artists. Places and spaces where rules were broken, status quo questioned, and no topics too taboo.
Often performed in smaller spaces like bars, restaurants and intimate theatres, this is not a specific prerequisite of the genre, and we’ve had cabaret performed in train stations, on bridges and breweries.CabFringe embraces the whimsical alongside the weird and is proud to partner with South Australian live music and entertainment venues and organisations to cultivate the continual evolution of cabaret as an artform and celebrate a community that is diverse, daring and delightful.
The Cab Fringe is generously supported by The City of Adelaide and Adelaide Economic Development Agency (AEDA), ArtFuel, i-Nex,The Real Thiel, and The Late, Great Frank Ford (AM).
Tickets for the 2024 Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival are on sale now at www.cabaretfringefestival.com
