Wellington Fringe ‘is the new cronut’
Wellington Fringe is the new cronut, say the new co-directors ahead of the festival’s 30th anniversary.
Sameena Zehra and Sasha Tilly have worked together before and share the same vision for the festival which opens in February next year.
Previous director Hannah Clarke stepped down last week after eight years in the role.
Zehra, who comes from a performing background and calls herself an activist and a storyteller, first came to Wellington in 2016, fell in love with the city and stayed.
‘‘Wellington is a breeding ground for interesting art,’’ Zehra said.
Tilly is not a performer but brought a weight of experience from previous roles in the Fringe team.
‘‘Sasha knows Fringe inside out,’’ Zehra said.
‘‘You share a joyous moment, or a poignant moment.’’
Sasha Tilly
Tilly joined Fringe in 2014 as an intern and was co-director of operations last year.
‘‘I kept finding more ways to love and enjoy it.’’
The festival hosts up to 155 acts every year – about 25 per cent international artists.
Unlike other Fringe festivals, Wellington’s is not commercially driven.
The pair see themselves as facilitators, not curators; any act that wants to perform, could.
‘‘My preference is that half [of the acts] are s... – and they should be,’’ Zehra said.
Wellingtonians whole-heartedly embraced the artistic, the quirky, and the creative.
The average audience size at the Edinburgh Fringe is four people but Zehra has never been to a Wellington Fringe event with fewer than 20 people in the audience.
Changes are afoot for 2020. The prize categories have been adapted, veering away from the word ‘‘best’’. Instead, acts will be rewarded for ‘‘outstanding performance’’ and ‘‘spectacular, organised chaos’’. Accessibility is a key. The pair are considering bringing in a subscription membership where patrons could pay a small amount over the year for perks at the festival, as well as a pay-it-forward ticket scheme.
Student discounts will remain and Tilly estimated the average ticket price for a show will be $17.50.
Registrations have closed to acts and the programme will go live on December 4.
There are plenty of reasons to head along in February.
‘‘You share a joyous moment, or a poignant moment,’’ Tilly said. ‘‘It offers some good in this world.’’
Zehra said every live performance would be different. ‘‘Happening in that moment and never quite the same again.’’
Fringe 2020 would be fun, fresh, the next big thing, Tilly said. ‘‘Fringe is the new cronut.’’
The Wellington Fringe Festival runs from February 28 to March 22. See fringe.co.nz for more information.