The Melbourne Fringe Festival has begun, and its program is fiercely celebrating LGBTQ+ art and culture.
Melburnians, get ready to dive into plenty of arts and culture as the Festival returns from September 29 to October 18.
Fringe is always an exciting time for artists and audiences to sit with the unknown.
It’s a festival where artists take creative risks and the perfect place for audiences to explore something new.
As they do every year, the team behind the T4T Transgender Showcase (which is sold out) have compiled a list of Melbourne Fringe shows with trans, non-binary & GNC Folk on-stage or behind the scenes.
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Below, we have also put together a list of some of the festival’s queer highlights.
It is not exhaustive, and we encourage you to dive into the program to see what piques your interest.
TITANI-ACS! – The unsinkable drag parody
After an epic run at New Gigs on the Block in 2024, drag icons Izzy Inyette and Linh Uendo embark on a glittery, gay maiden voyage to celebrate the drama, the romance and the hyper-fixation of the 1997 blockbuster Titanic.
This epic recreation has drag, burlesque and puppets, taking cruising to a whole new level.
Don’t miss out on your first-class ticket to open the door once more to the story of star-cross-dressed lovers filled with unsinkable gayness and nostalgia.
The show that looks camp right in the eye and says, “We will never, ever, EVER let go!”
Running from October 9 to 11 at Pride of our Footscray. Find out more here.
Ode to Grape
Prepare to be simultaneously charmed and berated by self-proclaimed artist, incompetent anarchist, and lover of grapes, award-winning clown and character comedian, Em Barrett.
Debuting her cult comedy creation Johann in Ode To A Grape, join this absurd exploration of artistic ambition, creative failure and the increasingly desperate search for meaning in late-stage capitalism.
With a diary full of inspiration (and sheep poo), Johann has arrived in Naarm to launch (or attempt to launch) his first poetry book.
Unfortunately, the presentation is sidetracked by his hatred of society, his love for Elton John, and his ongoing frustration with capitalism. Will we ever hear the full book? Do we want to?
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Join Johann for an unforgettable literary event that will change the course of history (or so he thinks).
Running from September 29 to October 4 at The Motley Bauhaus – The Cellar. Find out more here.
Yes Sir
Before you can command anything, you have to survive the journey. Enter a spoken-word journey through identity, gay shame and BDSM.
Yes, Sir is a powerful, intimate exploration of one man’s evolution from a vulnerable youth into a confident Dominant. Combining raw honesty with poetic rhythm, the performance explores a gay man’s reclamation of power over his own narrative.
This is a celebration of turning vulnerability into command and finding absolute freedom in authentic self-expression. Identity is not shameful. Sexuality is not shameful. BDSM is not shameful.
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Unflinching and carefully crafted, this solo performance invites you to leave your expectations at the door and witness what it means to truly take the lead. Expect to be stirred, humoured and aroused.
Running from September 29 to October 4 at Wheat, Wine and Whisky. Find out more here.
I’m not Mad, I’m Maddie
In her debut hour, Maddie retraces the milestones nobody celebrates, from surviving systems not built for you to hiding backstage at exclusive events beside six-foot drag queens.
I’m not Mad, I’m Maddie is a darkly funny autobiographical comedy about late autism diagnosis, accidental achievements, and the bizarre relief of finally beginning to understand yourself after years of being labelled “difficult”.
Stuck firmly between Russell Coight and a Centrelink tribunal, this is a show about spite, survival, and accidentally becoming the most magnetic person in the room.
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One autistic (not Mad) Maddie, pockets full of inappropriate stim toys, several misunderstood achievements and a lifetime of overcommitting to the bit.
Running from October 6 to 18 at Grouse. Find out more here.
My grandpa doesn’t follow me on Instagram: A guide to trans-generational road-tripping
Yoz Mensch is a multi-award-winning Australian writer, performer and storyteller whose work combines autobiographical theatre, comedy, clowning and sophisticated audiovisual storytelling.
Their work explores gender, family, identity and queer experience with warmth, vulnerability and a distinctly playful voice.
They drove from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands – one grandparent, one grandchild, one unspoken truth.
Yoz returns with her (SPOILER) autobiographical one-woman(SPOILER) show; a vivid pilgrimage through familial grief to queer joy (PROMISE).
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Drawn from hundreds of real Instagram Stories posted during the trip, Yoz revisits what they shared with their grandpa – and the secrets they didn’t – unravelling what it means to hide yourself from the people you love.
Running from September 30 to October 4 at Festival Hub: Trades Hall – Archive Room. Find out more here.
Twinky Twinky Little Star
Zak is gay. And that has been obvious since his childhood.
Somehow, his parents missed every single sign, including:
- belting out ABBA in the middle of the mall,
- asking Santa for the Hilary Duff album at five years old,
- single-handedly trying to cancel Crocs (before they got cool).
Zak also has many questions about the gay community.
When do you stop labelling yourself a twink? What happens after twinkhood? And what is with all the f***ing animal labels?
This stand-up comedy show will have you laughing so hard, there won’t be a straight face in the audience. There may, however, be some heterosexual faces who are also welcome.
Running from September 30 to October 4 at Festival Hub: Trades Hall – Music Room. Find out more here.
DHANDHA / CAMPFIRE
In an age of digital isolation, Joel Bray is lighting the way back to each other.
For as long as there has been fire, Mob have gathered around it. To dance, to connect, to perform ceremony, to fall in love, to gossip, to be alive together.
The circle keeps repeating. Dance circles. Bora rings. Song cycles. There is something sacred, ancient and democratic about gathering in a circle. Dhandha means a campfire in Wiradjuri language.
Dhandha is a radical act of invitation. One of Australia’s most celebrated choreographers is throwing down a gentle gauntlet. Come as you are. Move if you want. Laugh with strangers. Learn a daggy disco move.
Try something you’d normally avoid. Watch the Joel Bray Dancers coil and spark to the beat of Blackfella DJs. Come at any hour or arrive at sunset, and you will be greeted and led through a quiet ritual to usher in dusk.
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Why not join a party night, when the benches become makeshift stages and the dancers flit and stride and writhe to the electronic beat.
Be silly in front of strangers. You will never be asked to do more than you’re comfortable with, but you might surprise yourself.
Dhandha / Campfire is open at all times of the day and into the night. A sunset ritual is held daily.
Running from September 29 to October 18 at Federation Square – The Western Terrace. Find out more here.
Love letter to the 90s
A nostalgic queer cabaret of coming out, protest, love, and 90s anthems you can sing along to.
Love Letter to the 90s is an intimate and uplifting storytelling cabaret by Cherry Charleston, celebrating the joy, heartbreak, rebellion, and resilience of coming out as a lesbian in the 1990s.
Blending personal storytelling with a communal sing-along of iconic queer anthems, the show invites audiences back to a decade of lipstick lesbians, mixtapes, protests, and the life-changing discovery that you were not alone.
Beneath the nostalgia lies a powerful reminder of just how recently queer lives existed without legal recognition or protection. In the 1990s, being gay was still illegal in Tasmania.
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Same-sex couples had no partnership rights, no access to IVF or adoption, and no recognition of their relationships under the law — no matter how committed or loving they were, they were officially considered “single.”
With warmth, humour, and unflinching honesty, Cherry shares stories of first crushes, chosen family, queer survival, and the communities that made life possible in difficult times.
Threaded through the show are beloved 1990s queer anthems performed as a joyful audience sing-along: the songs blasted in share houses, sung in cars after protests, cried to after breakups, and danced to in sweaty clubs where people could finally be themselves.
These songs become more than nostalgia — they are a soundtrack to survival.
Running from October 10 to 18 at Wheat, Wine and Whiskey. Find out more here.
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