A lot has changed in Sydney over the last decade. Lockout laws, venue regulation and the increasing cost of living have all combined to change our city’s cultural life. Sydney Fringe has now been riding that roller coaster for ten years, and has come of age over that period.
Fringe is celebrating its tenth anniversary this September with a program that expands the festival’s footprint and continues to invigorate the city with theatre, music, art and performance. Director and CEO Kerri Glasscock says this year feels a little like a homecoming.
“We started in the Inner West in Newtown as a tiny conglomerate of venues wanting to promote that area as an entertainment destination. Well, that job has been done,” Glasscock says.
So while Sydney Fringe is continuing that Inner West focus – much of the festival’s theatre and comedy is in the Inner West, as well as the opening weekend party – it’s also taking over the CBD.
“We’ve always wanted to make a big impact in the CBD but we’ve never had the resources to do it,” Glasscock says. “But now we’re ten years in and we’ve had some really rapid growth over the last few years.”
That puts the festival in the perfect position to highlight what’s happening around the city and attract even more artists from around the country and the world to connect with local audiences in new and exciting ways.
“Sydney has awesome creatives who are operating year round despite, and in spite of, negative narratives that our city is dead. There are great pockets in our city that are thriving.”
