New Zealand Fringe Festival

The Wellington region will hum with artistic brilliance in late summer 2026. The New Zealand Fringe Festival is back, offering 178 events across three weeks. More than 30 venues will host dance pieces, hilarious comedy shows, racy burlesque, moving theatre, and interactive outdoor spectacles. 

NZ Fringe Festival Director Vanessa Stacey says the 2026 programme is a fizzing mix of local legends and international heavyweights. The Fijian Flying Circus is bringing a colourful explosion of aerial and acrobatic artistry to Hannah Playhouse. Summer Shakespeare returns with As You Like It at the Innermost Gardens in Mount Victoria. Forrester Lane becomes a glamorous eco-runway, while the festival finale features a 70-piece choir rendition of Bangers and Mash. This mass karaoke phenomenon has sold out every show since its world premiere at the Adelaide Fringe in 2024. 

Beginning in 1990, the NZ Fringe Festival has matured across 36 years and now acts as an incubator for talent. Considered ‘the birthplace of brilliance,’ it grants creative space and freedom for both emerging and established artists to showcase new work.