Image courtesy of Tomás Ford.
The FRINGE WORLD festival, for us here at Gutter Culture, is about the weird and wonderful stuff on offer. Sure, a lot of people associate it with pop up bars, huge internationally touring cabaret shows and big name stand up comedians, but fringe festivals were founded to showcase the oddball, low budget shows. You know, art on the fringe.
That’s why our most anticipated venue this year is The Fxxk Yxu. It’s offering a curated list of shows, all of which will be on at the one place. The lineup has been put together by Tomás Ford, and he’s using it to save FRINGE WORLD from itself.
In his own words, Tomás was “missing big, crazy, fucked up fringe experiences.” He’s seen the evolution of the festival since its inception, starting and then co-running the legendary Noodle Palace venue with JumpClimb for three years. He’s seen that venue evolve from a collection of weird little shows into the riverside pop up dance party, with totes awesome guest DJs, that it is today. Again, in his own words, “as much as there’s a place for that, I’m definitely not their target audience.”
The Fxxk Yxu is something completely different. It’s emerging over at Four5Nine, attached to the Rosemount, a venue to which Tomás Ford is no stranger. It’s been decked out, in all its horrific splendour, just to strip any false sense of security from attendees. A generously elevated stage dominates the performance space, with a bar and just enough seating for an intimate performance filling out the rest.
On that stage you’ll see the spirit of fringe be reborn, sacrificed and then rise - phoenix-like - from the flames of its own funeral pyre. Don’t come here expecting the highly accessible light entertainment that fills most of the FRINGE WORLD programme. Actually, maybe you should come expecting that. It’s going to be a hell of a surprise if you do.
So, what are some of the shows that Tomás Ford has decided to bring to the fearful people of Perth? Let’s get the man himself to explain why he brought them along to The Fxxk Yxu.
“I’ve seen Cameryn Moore’s Phone Whore at a bunch of UK festivals and it’s probably my favourite thing ever. I almost walked out the first time I saw it.”
“John Robertson used to live in Perth and we have a lot of overlap in the kind of comedy we like to do. I had him down at the tent I did at Southbound last year and Hubbub, which I programmed for Mandurah Performing Arts Centre last year, and he scared the shit out of them. He’s never done city shows for Fringe World, so this was a nice chance to get him back for that.”
Lisa-Skye: Spiders Wearing Party Hats
“Lisa-Skye is one of those great comics that can make really far-out stories really easy to get into – she’s criminally underrated.”
Ayden Doherty: Shame and Abuse - The Nightmarish Quiz Show
“I love Perth boy Ayden Doherty, he works with me as my Perth hype man on Crap Music Rave Party and we knocked out a hilarious concept for a quiz show together.”
“When I saw Yolav & Graham’s refugee comedy act at Edinburgh, it broke me into hysterics but it’s even more relevant for an Australian audience than it is in the UK, so I am frothing to see what the local reaction is to them.”
But that's not all.
For the opening weekend, Tomás will present something special: The FxxK Yxu Proms.
It all kicks off with two nights of the fringe’s wildest acts delivering an immersive sensory overload. Tomás says, “the Proms give me a chance to bring over Justice Yeldham, who plays glass with his face until it breaks. He’s fucking amazing.”
So, that’s what The Fxxk Yxu is all about. Get yourself and your loved ones some tickets, it’s a small venue and is sure to be hosting the kinds of events you’ll be talking about for years to come.
GLEN SEABROOK-BENSON