Get the kids together, and come and join the magic, mayhem and hilariousness that is your Newy Fringe. The Newcastle Fringe takes over the city from March 20 to 30 with their 10th anniversary celebration festival.
In keeping with the organisation’s mission to deliver an arts experience for everyone, there are plenty of fantastic kids’ shows in this year’s program so that all the family can join in the fun!
FRINGE FEAST (Free Event)
The first family friendly event is the official launch of the festival, taking place in the heart of Hamilton the weekend before, on March 15 between 5pm and 9pm. FRINGE FEAST is a community block party or giant banquet where you can ‘unleash your appetite’, feast on local dining options and taste tantalising FREE Fringe performances on the two stages set up on Beaumont Street.
As families who attended last year’s Park After Dark event would know, Newy Fringe knows how to put on a party with pizzazz and this year will be even better with two stages of performances, roving artists and the giant community banquet table where you can feast on all the deliciousness that Hamilton is known for.
Expect to see artists including MC SugarGob, The Pretty Amazing Jono, The Alchemy of Arts, Samba Frog, Les Divine Folles à Newy, Eliane Morel: Love, Drinking and Fairy Tales and Ruffians.
With everything from cabaret to opera, circus to music, there will be something for everyone to enjoy. This event is only possible due to the support of Hello Hamilton and the City of Newcastle.
Newcastle Fringe Family-Friendly Shows
On March 20, the festival itself kicks off for ten days of extraordinary performances. Children, teenagers and families have multiple opportunities to come along and support our own Newy Fringe and experience the magic of live shows.
Don’t miss The Creative Creatures Kids Show, an interactive, intergalactic adventure that will captivate your imagination with whimsical scenery, extravagant UV glow costumes, magical props, and catchy songs.
The Giant Balloon Show promises to be a family favourite. Winning multiple international awards, this hilarious spectacle delivers feverous balloon sculptures, high-energy comic performance and a banging 80s soundtrack that delivers ‘a frenzy of controlled chaos’.
Then there’s Bubble Show in Space. Combining an outer space adventure with the best bubble tricks, amazing puppetry and laugh out loud slapstick, these multi award-winning performers have featured on Australia’s, China’s, Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Got Talent shows!
If your kids love science, don’t miss Evolution Revolution all the way from the UK, it’s an interactive games show about evolution that will test the whole family’s knowledge. If you like your science with a dash of magic, try The Magical World of Crazy Science with award-winning entertainer Richard Scholes who will have everyone laughing and getting involved. Then there’s The Pretty Amazing Show which is straight out magic coupled with circus stunts and inventive robots!
If you have a little performer or two on your hands, they might like to sing along at Spaghetti Confetti – Lettuce Dance. This high-energy pun-filled rock n roll show with pro-vegetable messaging will have everyone jamming.
At Young People’s Theatre, you’ll find A Pocketful of Stories: Tales of the Sea where the audience will also have a chance to dance and sing along with the young cast.
Or perhaps puppets are more your thing and if so, don’t miss the chance to see the incredibly talented Natalie May Ventriloquist – Take Me to Wonderland with her fun twist on the classic Alice story. If you have a wanna-be mermaid in the family, come along to Mermaid Dreams to explore an ocean of dreams and adventure.
Then there’s the opportunity to be inspired by our own local young people with Newcastle Next: Emerging Artists – an inaugural event to celebrate Newcastle’s young musicians, featuring soloists and bands from local schools performing 20-minute sets or Echoes of Expression which is the theatrical equivalent. A captivating new work that showcases a curated collection of monologues, performed by a selection of Newcastle’s most talented Class of 2024 drama students.
Even the popular choir day held at the Hamilton Uniting Church on Saturday the 29th of March features the sensational talents of the Hunter Singers aged 12 to 21 and is a wonderful way to inspire your young singer!
Rated PG and G respectively and perhaps best for kids a little older, are two science-based shows at Newcastle Museum. Future Science Talks: Comedy Edition and True or False: The Science Comedy Gameshow.
There are also quite a number of other shows throughout the program that are rated PG or G (an additional 32 in fact!) So, depending on what your family is interested in, it’s worth taking a good look at the program which is downloadable from the Newcastle Fringe Festival website. Buy your tickets early because some of these shows will definitely sellout.