The inaugural Rotorua Fringe Festival run from April 6 to 13
. Photo / Supplied 040419deacon.JPGShauni James
People will be able to experience exciting shows and support local and New Zealand artists at Rotorua's first Fringe Festival.
The week-long inaugural performing arts festival will run from tomorrowto April 13.
Fringe Festivals began in Scotland and have quickly popped up across the world as a space to showcase diverse theatre, music, visual arts, comedy and other arts mediums side-by-side.
Performances for Rotorua's Fringe Festival will be shown at different locations.
These include the Rotorua Little Theatre, Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa Marae (Taharangi), a pop-up artist space at 1201 Eruera St, the Rotorua Night Market and Te Manawa.
First to perform will be a new work from Waikato emerging artists Cian Paige Gardiner and Karina Nathan with their theatrical offering titled Rauru.
The play follows three generations of Māori women in one whānau surrounding a major family event. The title takes its name from the traditional rauru weaving pattern and in te reo Māori means umbilical cord.
The performances also include famous vampire Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) from What We Do in the Shadows, with a one-man comedy show about Deacon's past and bringing his ex-girlfriend back from the dead.
Brugh said he encouraged people to go out together and see something different at the festival.
"It's always exciting and strange, and I think people need to go out more and experience something different.
"We all work hard and would love to be able to afford to go out and have some fun, and I think the Fringe Festival is a great chance to get out, see some theatre and it's not too expensive."
He said he was looking forward to returning to Rotorua and spending some fun time here.
This festival is led by local arts company Kōpēa Rotorua in partnership with Rotorua Lakes Council's arts and culture department.
Jonathan Brugh as Deacon from 'What We Do in the Shadows'. Photo / Supplied
Alex Lodge, one half of Kōpēa, said Fringe Festivals were an important part of her creative training in Wellington, where she was originally from.
"You can take risks as an artist in Fringe Festivals which is a really exciting thing, especially somewhere like Rotorua where there is all this talent, excitement and strong history of performance."
She was looking forward to bringing some international-standard shows to Rotorua audiences for affordable prices.
Lodge said all the plays being held at the Rotorua Little Theatre were original Aotearoa works which was special.
She encouraged people to go along to support New Zealand stories.
The council's performing arts director, Cian Elyse White, said Rotorua being the first town in the Bay of Plenty to establish a Fringe Festival was hugely exciting.
"It means that we can draw on a wide range of audience members from across the central North Island, creating relationships with artists across the region and around New Zealand."
She said Rotorua was a world-class epicentre for arts and culture, with outstanding traditional and contemporary organisations, and artists who chose to make Rotorua their home.
"With our diverse stories, places and people, Rotorua will be an asset to the global Fringe Festival network."
- For the full festival programme, go to Rotorua Fringe Festival on either Facebook or Eventbrite.
The Fringe Festival programme includes: • Local theatre collective Big Picture Minor Deets • Kingi Biddle with original storytelling in his one-hour programme Ki Tua o Taharangi at Taharangi Marae, Tārewa Rd • Tour-de-force Wellington actress Katherine McGill with her one-woman show Weave • Ahānau country/folk band the Harmonic Resonators at The Night Market on April 11 from 6pm • Famous vampire Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) from What We Do in the Shadows with this one-man comedy show about bringing his ex-girlfriend back from the dead • Big Little Circus with two free shows at Te Manawa
