Newcastle Fringe Festival, Australia's biggest little fringe is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2025 and is opening its annual artist callout from August 12 until September 30.
The festival has grown from strength to strength from its humble beginnings with over 9400 people attending the festival in March 2024 and 499 individual artists earning a record $125,000.
Newcastle Fringe is an open access festival, that aims to deliver art for its own sake and is committed to giving emerging artists a professional platform in which to produce their work and acquire experience and knowledge to take their performances further.
Fringe welcomes artists from the Hunter, Australia and the world to give audiences a greater diversity in entertainment and shine a spotlight on Newcastle.
SIZE LIMIT
"To remain economically viable for participating artists, the size of the festival in 2025 will be maintained at a similar level to that of the 2024 festival," Newcastle Fringe chair Brooke Twyford says.
"We enjoy a reputation for higher average artist earnings and audience numbers than most fringe festivals around the world and in order to maintain a personal approach, maximum audience numbers and work within the bounds of volunteer resources and venue capacity, the festival will be capped to 200 shows for the first time in 2025."
Artists be warned, it will be "first-in, best-dressed" across all genres including comedy, cabaret, burlesque, theatre, dance, music, kids' shows and even choirs.
Artist applications will close once that 200-show cap has been reached.
Artist fees apply upon registration. These fees go toward the costs of venue, tech and marketing. Artists determine their own ticket price from a minimum of $10 with a recommendation in the $20 to $35 range and receive 75% of box office takings which is higher than other fringe festivals.
Newcastle is gaining a reputation as a cultural hub and Newcastle Fringe has played a significant role. It's a fun, vibrant festival, enjoyed by artists as much as the diverse audiences.
The festival will run March 20-30, 2025.
newcastlefringe.com.au
Pictured: Newcastle Fringe chair Brooke Twyford (left) with volunteer Natalie Mitchell.
