The Plus Ones Guide

Fringe gives Melburnians permission to turn into
wide-eyed experience junkies: live art, carbaret, dance, circus, parties. 

It's a wonderland and we're indulging.

LUMINOUS (16 September-3 October)
Glow-in-the-dark circus! What genius came up with an idea this brilliant!? "It is such an odd experience to have hundreds of audience members completely focused on what you are doing, but knowing that they can't see you," says Watson Miller (one of the performers). I can't wait to see this show. -Tomas

Aussie Mixtape (16-25 September)
A retrospective road trip of Australia's favourite songs from the last four decades. Kat and Amanda are charming performers and their enthusiasm for Aussie music is contagious. Jump in the back seat and enjoy the nostalgia as these girls take you on a ride. -Jenny

99 Schnitzels (Veal Ain't One) (16-27 September)
Joshua Glanc does stand-up comedy and 'combines high-wired silliness with subversive social observation and pathos'. -Claudia

Boys Boys Boys (22-26 September)
Nope, not a Magic Mike performance (sorry). Nico takes the audience on a relatable quest to steal the comfy shirts of every attractive man she meets, all in cabaret format. -Jasmin

Tenfingerz presents The Bored Room (Sat. 26 September)
I've almost graduated university, so The Bored Room seems like a pretty good opportunity to learn about the daily grind and what the next 50 odd years of my life might look like. Although I can only hope my workplace will be half as fabulous as whatever Tenfingerz concocts! -Jasmin

CityDash (Sat. 26 September)
Presented by the clever folk at Pop Up Playground, CityDash is an hour-long team game in which players try to locate hidden codes while hiding from guards. Yes - it's a real-life video game of stealth and teamwork. What makes it even more exciting is the use of a special phone app and website to unlock achievements along the way (like not getting caught by the guards). Grab your mates and get training! -Tomas

Uncommon Places (throughout the festival)
What better way to explore Melbourne's secret spaces than on an art-scavenger hunt. Many different artists have created vastly different pieces of work and displayed them in some very unusual spaces around Melbourne's CBD and Chapel Street Prahran. I suggest downloading the free map off the website and going on a day of art adventuring. -Tomas

The Big HOO-HAA! Melbourne's Very Haunted House (28 September)
The Big HOO-HAA take over the entire Butterfly Club for improvisational comedy haunted house madness. I repeat: the entire building. For six hours. Catch a scheduled show or interact with the performers (including TPO's own comedy writer Corey). -Theresa

Why Her? (28 September-4 October)
I'm all for anything with a plot that kicks confined sexuality definitions in the teeth, and I'm really interested to see what W.D. Stephens does with such an unexplored storyline in this performance. -Jasmin

Arrrr we there yet? (28 September-2 October)
An acrobatic performance set on the high seas. These pirates fight for who gets to run the ship in a Spiegeltent circus extravaganza. -Claudia