Perth is gearing up for an extraordinary summer of entertainment as the program for Fringe World 2026 has been officially launched. ARTRAGE chief executive and creative director Jo Thomas, now approaching her third festival at the helm, continues to be amazed by the event's magnitude, confirming its status as the third-largest fringe festival in the world.
A Festival of Record Numbers
The 2026 season, aptly named 600 Yays of Summer, will feature an impressive lineup of over 600 shows spanning comedy, music, cabaret, and circus. This massive program will showcase approximately 3000 artists across 110 venues in 22 participating suburbs throughout Perth.
The festival breakdown reveals 126 family-friendly events, 414 shows making their Fringe World debut, and a strong representation of local talent with 54% of shows originating from Western Australia. The remaining program includes 26% interstate acts and 20% international performers.
Major Venues and Headline Acts
ARTRAGE will significantly expand its venue management in 2026, operating three major locations compared to just one in 2025. These include the State Theatre Centre of WA, Liberty Theatre, and The Pleasure Garden at Russell Square, which marks the welcome return of the European fountain bar to Fringe World's spiritual home in Northbridge.
Among the headline acts generating excitement are The Ladyboys of Bangkok, making their first Fringe World appearance with a spectacular spiegeltent show featuring 24 performers. Thomas humorously noted the logistical challenge, revealing they had to create additional dressing rooms to accommodate the troupe's extensive costume collection.
Other notable productions include GASHA from Japan having its world premiere at The Ice Cream Factory venue, the WA premiere of Primal circus from Highwire Entertainment, and the highly anticipated world premiere of Fountain Lakes: Y2K, a Kath and Kim prequel that follows the complete sell-out success of their previous show.
Supporting Artists and Audience Experience
Thomas emphasized Fringe World's commitment to open access, which democratizes the festival experience for both emerging and established artists. She highlighted the success story of Garry Starr, whose Fringe World show led to an Australian tour and upcoming London engagements.
The festival is also launching The Next Act Fund, a new initiative providing financial and marketing support to Australian artists presenting work that prioritizes local stories and contemporary experiences. This forms part of Thomas's strategy to diversify the festival's storytelling beyond its established strengths in cabaret, comedy, and circus.
New experiences for 2026 include The Blue Room Theatre's Summer Nights program, The Inflatable Church in Forrest Place where festivalgoers can participate in spoof wedding ceremonies, and a partnership extension bringing Fringe World programming to Busselton's iconic jetty train.
For those overwhelmed by the extensive program, Thomas recommends using the newly developed Fringe World website and app, which allows users to search by suburb or genre and provides personalized recommendations. She also encourages the traditional fringe approach of spontaneous exploration and conversation with fellow audience members in line to discover the hottest tickets.
Fringe World 2026 runs from January 21 to February 15. Fringe Friends tickets are currently on sale, with general public tickets available from November 19 at fringeworld.com.au.
