This year’s Adelaide Fringe, which officially began on 21 February, features more than 1400 shows across 500 venues over 31 days. The Fringe’s final day, and the final day for many performers (others will be pausing to recharge before powering on at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, which starts next week), is this Sunday 23 March.
Long seasons at any festival can be gruelling, especially at Adelaide Fringe, where producers, performers, stage managers, ticket sellers and volunteers have endured baking heat on top of the usual festival challenges – not least of which are the pressures associated with performing night after night for weeks on end.
And then there’s everything else: late nights unwinding or networking at the artists’ bar at The Garden of Unearthly Delights or the bar closest to your venue, performing kids’ shows by day in order to maximise one’s income stream, or recording episodes of yours or someone else’s podcast, meeting international producers and presenters, media interviews, street performances and much, much more.
Artists and the arts sector alike are far more conscious of the need to maintain one’s physical and mental health than even a decade ago. Self-care, meditation, mindfulness, yoga, Pilates, a healthy diet and regular sleep cycles can only go so far – so how do Adelaide Fringe artists, arts workers and crew take care of themselves?
Read: How comedians prepare for festival season
We asked (though not everyone responded – it is the final week of an exhausting Fringe, after all) so you don’t have to. Here are the responses we received. And if you’d like to read more Adelaide Fringe reviews, you can find them collected here.
Adelaide Fringe
If you’re going to talk to someone busy in Mad March, then why not at the top, with Adelaide Fringe’s CEO? Heather Croall stepped into the Director’s role at Adelaide Fringe in 2015. Under her stewardship, the Fringe has grown ticket sales from 500,000 a year to a million (including a significant increase in the number of interstate and international ticket-buyers) and directed a far greater share of box office sales to artists than was previously the case. In 2022, Croall won the Festival Management CEO of the Year 2022 (Australia) as voted by CEO Monthly magazine; she had previously won the Leadership Award at the 2020 SA Woman Awards. Croall became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2024 for “significant service to the performing arts, as an administrator, advocate and filmmaker”.
Heather Croall AM, Director and CEO, Adelaide Fringe
“The Adelaide Fringe season is an exhilarating but demanding time, spanning 31 incredible days and nights. Taking care of both physical and mental wellbeing is essential for sustaining energy and creativity throughout the festival. My number one piece of advice is to pace yourself – Fringe is a marathon, not a sprint. Prioritising rest and personal time early on in the season ensures that you’ll keep your batteries charged throughout.”
Holden Street Theatres
Our focus for this piece is The Christian Brothers at Holden Street Theatres until Sunday 23 March. Ron Blair’s one-man play, which premiered at Nimrod Theatre in 1975, received a four-star review from ArtsHub, with reviewer Kym Clayton noting, “…the responsibility on [Robert] Cusenza’s shoulders was enormous. The success of the play turned exclusively on his acting chops, and he didn’t disappoint.” Other Fringe shows at Holden Street running through until Sunday 23 March include Shellshocked, The Platypus by Francis Greenslade (best known for his TV appearances including Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell and Winners & Losers), Why I Stuck A Flare Up My Ar** For England and Romeo and Juliet in 15 Minutes.
Peter Goers OAM, Director, Producer, Actor
“I’m doing three different Fringe shows on the same night in collaboration with the actor Robert Cusenza [including The Christian Brothers]. I’ve never been happier. Work is more fun than fun. I’m blessed. I do like a nap, too.”
Robert Cusenza, Actor
“I’m 68 and I’m honoured to be performing in three Fringe shows: The Christian Brothers (my dream role), a burlesque sketch, and the Nurse as pantomime dame in Romeo and Juliet in 15 Minutes. I’m so lucky to be working and it has been the highlight of my career and has given me a new lease of life. There is no drug ever invented that can equal the approval of an audience.”
The Garden of Unearthly Delights
The Garden of Unearthly Delights in Kadlitpina/Rundle Park runs from 14 February to 23 March and features more than 80 shows this year, including 20 world premieres and Australian premieres and 18 award-winning Garden debuts. When The Garden first officially opened in 2002, it consisted of two venues hosting 15 shows between them and a giant mirror ball designed to attract punters away from more established Fringe venues (the first iteration of The Garden in 2001 was a single tent, and the name of the Fringe precinct had not yet been coined). Now in its 24th year, The Garden hosts 14 venues as well as numerous carnival rides, bars and a smorgasbord of food stalls; for many, a visit to The Garden has become the quintessential Adelaide Fringe experience.
Michelle Buxton, co-Founder and co-Executive Producer, The Garden of Unearthly Delights and Owner, Buxstock Comedy Management
“I swear by flat shoes! The Garden of Unearthly Delights runs for six weeks and is set in a vast, beautiful park in Adelaide’s East End. I do a lot of walking and being able to move quickly through the crowds make my runners a wardrobe essential. Comfort over fashion! Plenty of sparkling water is also a must. It is hot.
“The Garden is so much fun and I am lucky to have a lot of great friends here with me, but it is extremely busy and can be quite stressful. We run up to 45 shows per day, have a large number of staff and operational issues to attend to on-site. I spend most of my time surrounded by a lot of people and I do find it hard to keep my mind clear and still in such a stimulating environment.
“Swimming in the sea is my escape. I find the ocean incredibly calming. Even just a few minutes alone in the water is enough to wash the stress away.
“And once The Garden season is over I will go straight to the bush and lie down in a paddock by myself for a day to reset before Melbourne International Comedy Festival begins.”
Andy Askins, Best of the Edinburgh Fest (The Factory at The Garden until Sunday 23 March)
“I’m sure most people performing here have plenty of festival experience already, but if you are a newbie…
“Remember why you’re at the Fringe. It’s meant to be fun! You’ve worked hard to get here and, whatever happens , the chaos and stress is temporary. Be positive, you’re surrounded by like-minded people who are all having the same ups and downs. It’s not life or death.
“Get away from time to time, it’s good for your mental health and you couldn’t be in a better place: fab beaches, trails, sport facilities and amazing restaurants, bars and cafés to eat and drink.
“As far as physical health is concerned: the same as everyone else. Eating well, sleeping well and a bit of exercise should keep you ticking over till the end. And once you’ve crossed the finish line, hopefully you will have moved in the right direction to keep your dreams alive. And if you have made some money, blow it all in Bali!”
Best of the Edinburgh Fest transfers to Melbourne International Comedy Festival (Athenaeum Theatre Two, 26 March to 15 April) after its Adelaide Fringe run is completed.
Stephen K Amos, Comedian, Work in Progress (The Box and The Factory at The Garden until Sunday 23 March)
“My number one priority is to keep yourself healthy. Drink water during the day, avoid late night boozing and fast food.
“Talk with your friends and colleagues about your experience during the season but allow time for chats about everything else.”
A follow-up story, focused on wellbeing tips from artists performing at Melbourne International Comedy Festival and featuring Amy Hetherington, Arthur Hull and Rob Carlton, among others, will be published on ArtsHub soon.
