Dancing to power the future, sperm donor interviews live on stage, and a show in a box – the 2025 Melbourne Fringe Festival invites the people of Melbourne to take part, take risks, and take action.
This year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival calls on everyday citizens to become Action Heroes – not caped crusaders, but powerful participants in shaping the kind of world we want to live in. Across three weeks of exciting and boundary-pushing art, the Festival asks Melburnians to step up, to dance, to make, to move, to play – to take action. Whether you’re two-stepping or stepping out of your comfort zone, this year’s Festival celebrates creative courage in all its forms.
The Curated Program features leading Australian independent artists including THE RABBLE, Pulsing Heart, Fast Fashun and Snuff Puppets, A Daylight Connection, Polyglot Theatre, Harrison Ritchie-Jones and Rawcus, alongside international artists Ontroerend Goed (Belgium), Krishna Istha (UK), Mammalian Diving Reflex (Canada), and HORSE (Taiwan). The Curated Program – a handpicked selection of groundbreaking new work – sits alongside the Festival’s cornerstone open Program which welcomes anyone to register and present work, resulting in hundreds of artist-led events across the city.
Melbourne Fringe Creative Director and CEO Simon Abrahams says “This Year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival is a rallying cry for creativity in motion. It’s about doing something – moving your body, participating in whatever way you can. Because action isn’t just about activism; it’s about participation. This year’s program is full of works that invite audiences to respond, to get involved, to step into the art. It’s a festival of art that reminds us that culture is something we all shape together.”
Leading the charge is the Festival’s major public artwork and 2025 Civic Commission, Power Move by Quiet Riot. Power Move is a free, kinetic dancefloor that captures and stores energy generated by Melburnians’ movement. Every day of the festival, Fed Square will see cutting-edge technology embedded in a public dancefloor, celebrating the potential of human-powered energy through a program of daily dance activities, live music, DJs, cultural performances, and interactive arts. Real-time data will track how much energy is produced, with features including a public leaderboard and daily dance challenges.
The Melbourne Fringe Festival, Victoria’s longest-running multi-arts festival, returns from 30 September to 19 October 2025 with over 500 boundary-pushing events. For 43 years, this vibrant festival has championed bold voices, spotlighting First Nations artists, d/Deaf and Disabled creatives, queer storytellers, emerging youth, and international innovators. Its Curated Program delivers ambitious, risk-taking performances, including a thrilling international lineup and genre-defying participatory works for all audiences.
The festival opens with the Opening Night Gala at the Capitol Theatre on Tuesday, 30 September, hosted by Sammy J. This one-night-only extravaganza is a high-energy showcase of comedy, cabaret, circus, and surprises, featuring the festival’s boldest acts. Audiences are invited to come dressed as their childhood hero for an unforgettable evening.
Dance and performance highlights include Swinging Years by Su Wei-Chia, an intergenerational dance work with up to 100 local participants aged 65 and older, exploring memory and movement. Su Wei-Chia’s Grand Canyon is a solo dance performed with a giant roll of paper in unconventional spaces. Flesh Mirror by Weave Theatre blends choreography and mockumentary theatre to probe embodiment and perception.
Another standout is Ngambaa (Gamilaraay for “mother”) by Amelia Jean O’Leary, a contemporary dance telling the story of two emu sisters who birth the world, fracture, and return as spirits, celebrating Aboriginal women’s resilience through movement and visual design. For younger audiences, Whirlwind by Polyglot Theatre offers a dynamic playspace where children engage with paper, fans, and sensory play to spark creative chaos in a safe environment.
The full program is available at www.melbournefringe.com.au
