The Butterfly Club Announces the 2017 Melbourne Cabaret Fringe Festival Program

The Butterfly Club and the Melbourne Cabaret Festival are proud to announce the return of the Melbourne Cabaret Fringe Festival. Building on the success of the inaugural festival in 2016, this year's program brings together 7 independent cabaret shows that have garnered awards and critical acclaim around the world. The 2017 festival will run from 4th - 16th of July.

The Melbourne Cabaret Festival has a long-standing relationship with The Butterfly Club, and the two organisations have worked closely for many years. The Melbourne Cabaret Festival Fringe was launched in 2016 as a CBD counterpart to the Melbourne Cabaret Festival, which now takes place exclusively in the City of Stonnington.

This year's Melbourne Cabaret Fringe Festival program has a curatorial focus on productions that push the boundaries of the artform - aiming to help define the uniquely 'Melbourne' format of cabaret: productions that take risk, make social commentary, play with format and run for under an hour - allowing audiences to sample multiple productions in a single winter night, with a cocktail in hand.

"This years Melbourne Cabaret Festival program has been programmed by Artistic Director Dolly Diamond - the program is big, loud and proud. As a counter-point, we have focussed on productions that are independent: intimate, risky, subversive or untested" says Xander Woollard, who has programmed the festival, "these are artists that we believe will be playing much bigger stages in a very short amount of time".

Full program notes:

• Featuring two of Melbourne's funniest musical comedians Jude Perl and Lauren Edwards, Yada Yada Yada will bring you the best of every favourite 90's sitcom. From the Rachel hair cut to the nanny named Fran the duo's original songs will make you want to dance like Elaine.

• Fully Made Up! An Improvised Cabaret is one part Liza Minelli one part Shirley Bassey and a splash of audience suggestion mixed well to create a Butterfly Club style performance cocktail.

• One of the greatest emotions is to feel like you can relate, and that's what Tash York does in Adulting, she makes you relate to all of the hard truths about growing up and how to deal with that.

• Imagine Dante's journey into the Inferno, but set in 2017. The 7 deadly sins are replaced by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tinder, Grindr and Youtube and Dante is played by a cacophonous collection of four singers, a saxophone, a violin and a piano. That's Raising 'Ell!

• Send nudes teaches you that tryna be funny and thin and sarcastically single and always just like, a little bit drunk, is easier than waiting to get asked on second dates.

• Football, red heads, kidnapping and love. Finding Felix touches on all of the true pressing matters we often face on our road to self discovery. Editor's note: this show has already sold half of all available tickets, get in quick.

• Tragedy! (a new comedy) pokes fun at a world of smartphones and narcissists and everyone's desire to have their fifteen minutes. Greek tragedies, pop culture and original chorus collide in this intriguing work of pop-art-cabaret.

The Melbourne Cabaret Fringe Festival opens on July 4th and runs for two weeks. Bookings recommended.

Melbourne Cabaret Fringe Festival

Dates: July 4th - July 16th

Time: Various

Cost: $25-32

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne

Tickets: thebutterflyclub.com