Melbourne Fringe Festival (MFF) is returning in 2024 with more than 470 events spanning cabaret, theatre, comedy, music, circus and more. But this year, food will also take centrestage. The festival theme is Eat Your Art Out, and an architect-designed hotplate stage will be installed in Federation Square, turning the public plaza into one big playground of food and performance.

Today, MFF has dropped its 2024 “curated” line-up (there’s also an open-access stream that invites independent artists to register their participation) and it’s a cornucopia of creativity that’ll spread across the city. Here, we pick our top five events, from a Tawainese dance performance involving a box of 50 tomatoes to The Huxleys leading a queer takeover of the world of sports and more.

Cooked

Cooked is a series of events taking over Federation Square, centring around a specially installed hotplate stage that will help turn the plaza into a large-scale open-air dining room. The Cooked program kicks off with Seasoning the Grill, a First Nations-led night involving DJs, dancing, art and barbequing. Another highlight is Indecisive Cinema – Steak & Sausages; underground South Korean film and culture collective Steak Film will host an interactive cinema experience, splicing together bits of films and TV shows at the whim of the audience. Artistic food practice Long Prawn will be dishing up the cinema snacks. Other events include an absurdist sit-down dinner hosted by UK cooks Ecstasy Cookbook; an opening-night gala themed as "Culinary Couture"; and a dinner party where performance intersects with food and classical music.
Cooked runs for the entirety of the festival.

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Creatures of the Blak Lagoon

Ever been to a swamp-themed party? Now’s your chance. Creatures of the Blak Lagoon is hosted by First Nations drag group The Motherless Collective, which has created a marshy swamp for punters to dance in – dressed in their swampiest finery (“Southern Corroboree frog, deadly snakes, Old Gregg, spooky sequins, Babadook, Shrek” are offered as costume suggestions) – packed with art, pop-up performances and DJs.
October 4.

The Winner Takes It All

Performance artists The Huxleys are hosting this project, which is aimed at anyone who’s ever felt sidelined by Australia’s sports-obsessed culture. They’re inviting the public – in particular the LGBTQI+ community – to come, dress up and be part of a massive photography project, while being entertained by artists and cosplaying as referees, sports stars, mascots and anything else sports-related. Every attendee will get a copy of one of the resulting artworks.
October 6 and 12.

Tomato

MFF promises that after witnessing this performance you’ll “never look at tomatoes the same way again”. Taiwanese dancer and choreographer Chou Kuan-Jou and her collaborators will articulate Kuan-Jou’s focus on sexualised bodies from a feminist perspective in a work melding live performance and live-camera documentation. A box of 50 tomatoes is also involved.
October 2–5.

The Big Sing Your Heart Out

Even the most cynical among us can admit how good it feels to belt out a tune, whether you’re in the shower, a sweaty karaoke room or a sell-out stadium concert. This event does what it says on the tin: a big bunch of people gathering together to raise their voices to around 20 well-known songs. The words will be displayed on a big screen – and organisers say it’s all about singing yourself, not watching other people sing, so it’ll be a self-consciousness-free zone.
October 13.

Melbourne Fringe Festival runs from October 1–20, 2024, at various venues around Melbourne.

melbournefringe.com.au