Bookings for Mother City's Cape Town Fringe Open Today

Bookings open today for the 2016 Cape Town Fringe, which features a programme comprising both fresh, edgy works and crowd-pleasers. Jam-packed with theatre, music, physical performances, comedy and family fare, this 17-day theatre binge is sure to have Capetonians filling the several Mother City locations where all the action will be happening.

The extended run of 22 September - 8 October, sees the Cape Town Fringe focus on innovative works and interesting productions that aim to shake-up the notion of theatre and bring creative and engaging performances to new audiences. The programme has been reimagined to accommodate more night time performances in keeping with the city rhythms but extends into the day on weekends and school holidays.

This year, guest creative director, Rob Murray, convened a selection committee to ensure that the programme hits the sweet spot between being a platform for innovative, experimental pieces and presenting a 'thoroughly entertaining' collection of works that are short, sharp and interesting. He says:

Theatre-makers and artists are responding to the call for work that talks to our times. The committee has been encouraged to see that artists are hungry to share their stories and we feel that this programme presents audiences with an exciting mix of edgy Fringe in its truest sense and some must-see productions that have been well received nationally and internationally.

This year's Cape Town Fringe lineup includes several Standard Bank Ovation Award Winners from the 2016 National Arts Festival, including Rob van Vuuren's DANGLED, Klara van Wyk's YOU SUCK AND OTHER INESCAPABLE TRUTHS and Alan Parker's SACRE FOR ONE. Hungry Minds Productions will also transfer their OUT OF BOUNDS, as will Lexi Meier her FABRIC OF THE UNIVERSE and Uyabona Ke their FALLING OFF THE HORN.

The Baxter's Zabalaza Festival is bringing four shows to the Cape Town Fringe, the musical production THE ADDIS ABABA ASSEMBLY, Sonwabo Mphandle's theate piece, ALUNAMDA, Luntu Masiza's UBUDODA and Ralph May & Co's GELAPTE POP.

Women continue to carry the activist torch with NIQABI NINJA, a take on male harassment and the female response during the Cairo uprising, and SONGS FOR KHWEZI, which was created prior to the #RememberKhwezi protest but continues to expose this important narrative. Mamela Nyamza will debut her new work DE-APART-HATE, while Sugar Daddy Theatre will revive V-DAY, their adaptation of Eve Ensler's classic THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES in a once-off fundraiser for charity. From Nigeria comes WAIT, a play about issues of access to university experienced by African women.

Other international productions include POLICE COP from the United Kingdom's Pretend Men and the prog-rock ODYSSEUS FINN from New York's Michael McQuilken. McQuilken also performs and directs MACHINE MAKES MAN, the winner of the 2013 Amsterdam Fringe Best International Production.

Afrikaans audiences can expect some interesting work including Jason Jacobs's STOFROOI, which looks at the challenges of matric learners, and Terence Makapan's tale of unlikely friendships, KINDERS VAN DIE WIND.

Comedy also features with Rob van Vuuren's VERY BIG COMEDY SHOW and Macbob Production's COMEDY MASTERCLASS. BUTLERS AND BROADWAY will bring their special blend of comic theatre and interactive murder mystery, while and GLITTER GIRLS promises to being a shiny brand of musical theatre to the stage. Magic and illusion on the line-up include Marcel Oudejans, Brendan Peel, Greg Gelb and Stuart Lightbody.

On the music programme, two must-see collabs between powerful female vocalists are Maya Spector and Asanda Mqiki in VOCAL EXPLOSION. Mqiki also teams up with astonishing Eastern Cape artists Nombasa and Msaki in DIVA NIGHT. The artists also perform in solo shows. Emma van Heyn adds to this chorus of female voices, whilst much-loved bands the Nomadic Orchestra and Hatchetman will take to the stage. Coming from Gauteng are Acoustiq Assassins and Blaqseed.

This year's Cape Town Fringe family fare will be reaching more little people than ever with a schools outreach programme. Cape Town Fringe CEO, Tony Lankester says:

Through our partnership with the City of Cape Town we are gearing up to take several productions to schools across the Peninsula ahead of the Cape Town Fringe and we will run a daytime programme for families on both the weekends and during the school holidays. Our aim is to inspire a new generation of theatre audiences, doers and dreamers.

Confirmed family theatre productions include a new production from The Jungle Theatre Company and Puppetrix's CityGull / StadMeeu. For older children and teenagers, Hearts of War's WORDS OF WAR, South African classic WOZA ALBERT! and Ubuntu Arts Theatre's SILENT CRIES all hope to ignite young imaginations.

The inaugural Cape Town Buskers' Festival, in partnership with the V&A Waterfront, forms part of the Cape Town Fringe and sees free, outdoor sessions at the V&A Waterfront from 5-8 October, featuring an array of international and local public theatre talents.

The Cape Town Fringe will once again have its hub at the Cape Town City Hall and will also spreads into venues at the Alexander Bar, Khayelitsha's Theatre in the Backyard and Guga S'Thebe as well as Observatory's new AFDA Theatre.

The Cape Town Fringe is managed by the National Arts Festival. The City of Cape Town is the Host Sponsor of the Cape Town Fringe, while Standard Bank is the Presenting Sponsor of the event. Hazel Chimhandamba, who heads up the Standard Bank Group Sponsorships division, says:

Standard Bank is proud to have been a sponsor of the Cape Town Fringe Festival since its inception in 2014. We are delighted to be part of its growth and are especially encouraged to support an event which attracts younger audiences while also giving new and emerging talent a platform to showcase their work. We look forward to a great festival.

Online booking for the Cape Town Fringe open today, 22 August 2016, on the Cape Town Fringe website. Tickets range from R40 - R100 encouraging those new to theatre to experiment and see more than one production. The low cost of tickets and extended programme run also means that theatre and music lovers can dine out on their choice of nearly 80 shows. There are further concessions for students and pensioners as well as a series of box office specials like half-price Mondays. Follow the Cape Town Fringe on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, using the hashtag #CTFringe. Follow the Cape Town Buskers Festival on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.