Melbourne Fringe Festival Awards 2024 | Melbourne Fringe (2024)

The Best in Category Awards are judged by the Melbourne Fringe judging panels. The judging panels are a team of over 30 industry practitioners, drawn from a diverse range of fields and backgrounds. All works are viewed by at least 2 panel members in order to be eligible for consideration.

Best Cabaret

Winner
Madame Martha’s Hush Cabaret

Shortlist
Otto & Astrid – The Stages Tour
SEEN & HEARD
SUGAR
The Von Donk Family Old-Timey Vaudeville Revue

Best Circus

Winner
In Place

Shortlist
Escalate

Best Comedy

Winner
C*N’T

Shortlist
1925
A Night With Cherry Vinyl
CADET KELLY IS THE BEST MOVIE I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY FRIGGIN LIFE
CON 2077
Med School
Promising Young Mensch
Prune
Robyn Reynolds is on trial
Scout Boxall – God’s Favourite
Virtuoso

Best Dance & Physical Theatre

Winner
Dancing in Infinite Worlds

Shortlist
Fertile Ground
Guild Fringe: Pictures & Ghosts
The Bloom
two thread / Superposition

Best Experimental

Winner
I’m Ready To Talk Now

Shortlist
Body of Knowledge
Conduit Bodies

Best Music

Winner
Gikilangangu Wergaia

Shortlist
Digital Echoes
Electric Cathedral

Best Theatre

Winner
Running Into The Sun

Shortlist
A Brief Episode
Bad Boy
Ballkids (or, scenes from a friendship)
Black Girl Rising
FEAST
I hope this means something
I Watched Someone Die on TikTok
Shitbag
This is the dust we’re in
Twenty Million Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Best Visual Arts & Film

Winner
FLAMES DANCED IN THEIR HAIR BUT DID NOT BURN THEM

Shortlist
ARISE 3
More Than

Best Kids

Winner
Dream Swamp

Shortlist
JUNKLANDIA
KABOOM!
Land of the Lost
SwashBuckling Circus
The Farmy Farm

Best Words & Ideas

Winner
Borrow a Brick for Contact Listening

Shortlist
Antigone in the Land of the Dead

Presented by a range of our partner organisations these awards recognise achievement in specific fields and provide mentoring and professional development opportunities within these fields.

2024 Artist Development Awards

• Artform Shaker, supported by Theatre Network Australia
  Shitbag

• Change Maker Award, supported by Theatre Network Australia
  Oliver Ayres, I’m Ready To Talk Now

• Best Emerging Indigenous Artist, supported by Wilin Centre (VCA & MCM)
  Maggie Church-Kopp, In Place

• Best Emerging Producer, supported by MILKE
  Ryan Stewart

• Market Ready Award, supported by Regional Arts Victoria
  Marcus Ryan – Eat, Pray, Walk

• Headroom Award, supported by RISING
  The Bloom

• Emerging Company Incubator Award, supported by Monash’s Faculty of Arts
  Running Into The Sun

• Outstanding Newcomer, supported by Auspicious Arts
  Bisexual Intellectuals

• Geelong Creative Development Award, supported by Geelong Arts Centre
  KINDER

• Comedy New Work Award, supported by Melbourne International Comedy Festival
  Robyn Reynolds is on trial

• New Writing Award, supported by Melbourne Theatre Company
  Ballkids (or, scenes from a friendship)

Presented by Festivals from across Australia these awardsprovide assistance topresent your work at one of our partner festivals.These awards are chosen by representatives from the partner festival.

2024 Touring Awards

• WA Touring Award, supported by FRINGE WORLD Festival
  a scary thing happened by the CAMPFIRE

• SA Touring Award, supported by Adelaide Fringe
  Transmission –into the dark

• New Zealand Touring Award, supported by New Zealand Fringe
  Assigned Magician at Birth

• NSW Touring Award, supported by Sydney Fringe
  Twenty Million Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

• QLD Touring Award, supported by Brisbane Comedy Festival
  A Night with Cherry Vinyl

• Edinburgh Touring Award, supported by Brisbane Comedy Festival
  Shitbag

Best in Furniture
Turning the Grid (I and II) by Britt Salt

Best in Lighting
Crux (Quintet and Trio) by Richard Greenacre

Best in Object Design
Sobremesa Cup Set by Makushla Harper

Best Experimental
The Comforter by Evie Rosa

Best Bespoke Design
Botanica Exotica: Unknown Civilisations #2 by Eugenie Kawabata

AUTHENTIC DESIGN ALLIANCE Design Futures Award 2024
Loom Lounge by Carl Broesen

Design Fringe is supported by

Naomi Milgrom Foundation
Linden New Art
Vic Women’s Trust
Palais Theatre

Presented by Melbourne Fringe along with some of our key partners, the Special Awards recognise excellence from our participants in ways that aren’t covered by the Artist Development awards. This includes recognising technical excellence, emerging talent, great feminist work, outstanding venue management and much more.

Special Awards

• Access & Inclusion Award
  Flies on What-If Island
  
• Best Work By An Emerging Artist

Winner
Black Girl Rising

Nominees

Arise 3
Borrow a Brick for Contact Listening
Elysian Blues
Hinterland
Hit n Hope: A Character Cabaret
I’m Ready To Talk Now
Land of the Lost
Med School
two thread / Superposition

• Director’s Choice Award
  Temple of Desire
  
• Industry Trivia All-Star Champion Award
  Arts Centre Melbourne
  
• Melbourne Fringe Living Legend
  Yumi Umiamare
  
• Crowd Pleaser Award
  Business and Pleasure
• Sound and Technical Excellence Award, supported by FOHP (Front of House Productions)
  CON 2077
  
• Spirit of the Fringe

Winner
Weave: The Solos

Nominees
A Night With Cherry Vinyl
Apocrypha
Borrow a Brick for Contact Listening
Flow Without Limits: The Inkrewsive Story
Land of the Lost
More Than
MOTUS IN MORTE
SEEN & HEARD
This is the dust we’re in

• Venue of the Year
  La Mama

We are committed to ensuring that the diversity of judges represents to the diversity of artists in the Festival and in the Australian population. Judges are selected through a broad consultation process that is based upon significant contribution and experience in the sector.