Back on the streets: Fringe Festival returns

This year marks 40 years since the birth of Melbourne Fringe Festival and the program is set to be the most ambitious yet. In wonderful news for the community, Jewish representation is plentiful.

Jude Perl will be taking the stage in Jude Perl Live Stream in Person (Live!) and yes, that’s Jude being hilarious. The comedian and musician will be playing requests and writing songs based on live comments from the audience. With no script and no plan, audience members will watch Jude scramble to remember the lyrics of requests that are likely to span many genres – feel free to try and trip her up, if you dare.

British-Israeli singer songwriter Shani Weiss, who uprooted her family to fulfil a dream of creating a music career in Melbourne, will take to the stage, playing piano, guitar and ukulele. In her show, Shani addresses the challenges of life – covering everything from motherhood to immigration, starting new with nothing but a suitcase, guitar and a baby.

Melbourne dancer and choreographer Aimee Raitman is hoping to show the community that you can make a career out of the arts. Aimee, who started dancing when she was just three years old, is hugely inspired by her time spent studying in Israel.

“For such a small country, there is so much going on in the arts,” Aimee told The AJN, mentioning all the different styles of dance that span the small country – on one hand, you have muscular, articulated and strength and on the other, you have companies that are very connected to nature, live on a kibbutz and create dance in response to the natural environment.”

Aimee is also inspired by the arts community in Israel, explaining that no matter where you are in your artistic journey, you’ll be accepted and encouraged.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a full professional or if you’re just starting out, they welcome everyone with very open, inclusive spaces, where everyone learns from each other,” she said. “People are just willing to experiment with their art, which I think is a product of the Israeli society and I really liked that.”

Aimee will be presenting Deified, which she said is a collaboration between 15 young people who have raised all the money to fund the show and put everything together themselves.

“It can be really hard to forge a practice and path for yourself, so I think that’s the coolest thing that we’ve all come together to be able to do,” Aimee said.

Feeling very connected to Judaism and to the Melbourne community, Aimee said she is constantly asking what it means to be a Jewish artist.

“How can we make arts and dance something that Jewish people want to come to?” she said, explaining that she also wants to encourage more Jewish representation in the arts. “Everyone does dancing as after-school activities, but people don’t really see it as a career. I want to raise the profile of dance.”

Launching his album Learning to Live Again is Joshua Batten, who will be sharing his journey as a working musician on the autism spectrum.

“Because I have trouble connecting with people in typical social situations, I have always used music and songwriting as an outlet for my emotions and thoughts,” Joshua told The AJN, explaining that he has taken his personal experiences and made them universally relatable through his songs.

“I am aware that a lot has been written in and about the pandemic, but the topics I cover in Learn To Live Again were underlying issues I was dealing with even before 2020. Feelings such as anger, anxiety, nostalgia, fear of the unknown, routine, burnout, and impostor syndrome. The pandemic exposed these feelings to more members of the public, not just those on the autism spectrum, and they weren’t exactly sure how to cope,” he said.

“I hope that this album helps to bring mental health further into the mainstream conversation, and challenge the stigma of being on the autism spectrum, because as much as it can sometimes weigh me down, it also gives me purpose and lifts me up.

“The message of the album is to focus on what you’re passionate about, and magnify that to a point where everything works out around it.”

Melbourne comedian Josh Glanc will be bringing his show Vrooom Vrooom back to the stage, which is described as “a full-throttle foolish delight” and “hot hot hot”.

Back on the Melbourne stage is Marilyn Leder with The MILF Next Door, a stand-up comedy and song, created and performed by Marilyn Leder about dating as a newly separated 50 year old Jewish mamma. Described by The Age as “raunchy, action-packed, and full of laughs”, The MILF Next Door follows Marilyn as she leaves her freeloading husband of 20 years and rediscovers life’s joys, hope and intimacy with men 10-20 years her junior, after changing her online dating demographics to 30- 40 year olds.

Also appearing as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival (and the 2022 Victorian Seniors Festival) is Everyman and His Dog, the newest work from Ron Elisha.

A thought-provoking and heartfelt play that explores the highs and lows of human relationships and the turbulent journey of life, Everyman and his Dog follows John Everyman, a retired GP who likes to live an ordered life, and shares the story of how an unwanted gift from his daughter turned his life upside down.

Melbourne Fringe Festival is on October 6-23 at various spaces throughout Melbourne. For more information, visit melbournefringe.com.au