Wynnum is getting a Fringe Festival. Right. Now.
Lots of artists found themselves at a loose end during lockdown. In spite of the extreme neglect from the powers that be, artists are restless beasts, and there are plenty of inspired projects coming to the foreground. And the fore-shore.
Chameleon
Yes, the bayside suburb of Wynnum is about to host a beautifully exciting festival, a Fringe Festival no less, with street shows and public concerts and roving performers and building turned into venues and a program of over 50 shows. What? How?! We hear you ask.
Meet Tom, the founder and Artistic Director of Wynnum Fringe. The actor, singer and creative producer is usually touring the world, yet when the world stopped he was right here at home. Watching touring schedules and paid gigs disappear for thousands of artists across Australia, he came up with a wonderful, impossible, fabulous idea. Nadia Jade chats to him about the upcoming extravaganza.
Why Wynnum? Why do you love Wynnum so?
Well, I grew up here, and like many others I didn’t realise how great it was until I went away for a bit. For the last couple years I’ve been traveling around, I’ve played at a lot of Fringes, in a lot of Spiegeltents, lots of moving around. And while I was in these places, I was thinking how this would be perfect for Wynnum, because it has really great real estate, great atmosphere.
I’ve been on the go for a few years, but the world being what it is, kind of put a stop to touring around. I honestly wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t for the pandemic, which saw me grounded back here freeloading at my parents.
Committed Content Confused
Why a Fringe Festival? What makes a Fringe Festival different to a regular festival?
I think because it comes from the perspective of an artist. Fringe festivals are artist driven, they feel free and bohemian. Edinburgh fringe started because artists were locked out of the actual festival, so they started their own out on the outskirts of the city, that was open access anyone could participate.
Artists are on the fringe of society right now, and even though we are all starting to get back to work here and there where we can, we are still very outside. Wynnum is also on the outskirts of Brisbane, and I think it’s a very underrated suburb. So this is a connection between two parts of society that deserve a good go.
What festivals do you admire and want to emulate?
Well, a big inspiration is the Garden of Unearthly Delights – I like the experience of going into a Spiegeltent, somewhere that is so unexpected, anything could happen. Also, Scott Maidment and all the people that started the garden are from Brissie and that’s cool too.
Creating a whole festival in a time of extreme restrictions around the arts – were you really bored in lockdown and got carried away? Or so art-deprived you were like, let’s escalate – fast…
Circus’Cision
Would NOT recommend planning a festival within three months – 8 September was when I posted the first link, and now it’s the end of October. And there’s a whole festival. It’s a big undertaking, but for some reason I just needed to do it. When my mates are hurting, maybe it’s my sporting background, but you try to dig deep, you know? Just wanted to help out and give some people a go.
And fortunately, it seems a lot of people thought it was a good idea! We’ve had Arts Queensland come on board, and it’s allowed us to set it up so we can give a lot of people a bit of work.
So all the artists are getting paid?
We’ve got a split system. Thanks to Arts Queensland, we’ve been given a budget to put on an outdoor stage at the Salvo Army loading dock, plus roaming performers and so on. There’s a range of public performances in that space, plus we were gifted access to several old buildings by local business owners.
Each independently produced show is taking 80% of the box office. I hate when artists put on a show and can’t make money, so there’s no fees for producers to present, they will go home with most of the sales. And we’ve sold around 1500 tickets so far, so it seems people are keen!
Tell us about the Wynnum Opera House
Begotten
It’s an old church which is owned by BMD Construction, they have come on board as a sponsor and given us access to this beautiful space for the festival. It also has the old church hall behind it which I’ve named Winston Churchhall. These are the gems of our festival. They seat 100 people in a Covid-safe environment and we’ll see over 20 shows in those two venues over the weekend. Some of which are just perfect for that venue.
Tell us about the artists who have stepped up. How was the response?
It… was a LOT. I didn’t know what to expect. I put up a link at the start of September, and I clearly didn’t ask enough questions cause I didn’t know what I was saying, and then… We got 200 applications in 24 hours. I was like o-kay – people are a little bit keen for this. By the time we closed applications we had hundreds and hundreds and I had to turn of notifications on my phone because it was a constant barrage.
And the thing is, everyone who has applied is from Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast or the Gold Coast, and the whole program is artists from south-east Queensland, it’s so nice, it’s a very local feel.
Songs My Aunty Taught Me, brought to you by songstress Heru Pinkasova
Let’s get a few suggestions for some shows to see. What’s the riskiest show at the fringe?
Ooh it would be a tie between Shreklesque, Circus’Cision, and Dionysus.
What’s a real feelgood show?
I reckon you’ll get good vibes from Waiting for John, Little Diana or Those Tap Guys
What’s one that will make you question your life?
I think Being Male is that kind of show, that will ask a lot of questions about the self. And there’s The Golden Girl, and Begotten.
And what’s one to take your mum to?
Little Diana is the Diana Ross tribute show everyone loves a bit of discos – or Songs My Aunty Taught Me. Heru Pinkasova is a well know opera singer and her co-star Dr Rhythm is a beat boxer with a kids tv show – and the show is about how an Aunty is any woman who inspires or comforts you. Definitely one for a mum-date!
