History
Nelson Fringe Festival is one of the country’s feistiest little festivals, proud to fly the flag for fringey exploits.
From the start Nelson Fringe has been strongly supported by people from Nelson region. We've always had plenty of locals performing alongside others from all across Aotearoa, and from around the world.
2026 is the sixth festival for director Giles Burton, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from numerous international fringe festivals.
We're now at a size that we present around 50-60 shows in multiple venues across 10 days – it's massive for a small regional city! We're really stoked to present a mix of theatre, dance, stand-up, kids shows, music and improv.
We are especially thrilled at the number of local artists - we have a stong commitment to supporting performers from across Te Tau Ihu Top of the South, claiming their place on the stage alongside national and international performers.
We align our dates with the fringe festivals in Wellington and Dunedin so that artists could tour to all three. It works really well, both for local and international performers, so it’s a formula we’re keeping.
Nelson Fringe Festival began in 2015 when Dan and Lisa Allan created a theatre space at the old Refinery building in Halifax Street. The early days had a big focus on improv, and successfully tapped in this community in Nelson and around the country.
Dan and Lisa passed the directorial baton on to dynamo Laura Irish, who produced the 2017, 2018 and 2020 festivals (we needed a little hiatis in 2019). Laura extended the number of venues, including Ghost Light Theatre in Bridge Street.
2020 was a big year (don’t we all know it). First, the festival had to do a last-minute relocate due to the Refinery building being closed for earthquake strengthening. The lockdowns then forced a postponement, followed by a last-minute pivot to a digital festival.
In 2021, with Giles taking the helm, we presented a ‘best of’ season, just to get back on our feet, and most importantly, to give an opportunity to performers who'd being doing it tough. It was also about reassuring audiences that fringe festivals will always be tenacious. It went pretty well, so over the next few years we built the programme back up with local and NZ performers. We had got definitely our groove back! Since 2023, we've been presenting around 50 shows, and we've decided that that's about the scale that suits us best.
From the start Nelson Fringe has been strongly supported by people from Nelson region. We've always had plenty of locals performing alongside others from all across Aotearoa, and from around the world.
2026 is the sixth festival for director Giles Burton, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from numerous international fringe festivals.
We're now at a size that we present around 50-60 shows in multiple venues across 10 days – it's massive for a small regional city! We're really stoked to present a mix of theatre, dance, stand-up, kids shows, music and improv.
We are especially thrilled at the number of local artists - we have a stong commitment to supporting performers from across Te Tau Ihu Top of the South, claiming their place on the stage alongside national and international performers.
We align our dates with the fringe festivals in Wellington and Dunedin so that artists could tour to all three. It works really well, both for local and international performers, so it’s a formula we’re keeping.
Nelson Fringe Festival began in 2015 when Dan and Lisa Allan created a theatre space at the old Refinery building in Halifax Street. The early days had a big focus on improv, and successfully tapped in this community in Nelson and around the country.
Dan and Lisa passed the directorial baton on to dynamo Laura Irish, who produced the 2017, 2018 and 2020 festivals (we needed a little hiatis in 2019). Laura extended the number of venues, including Ghost Light Theatre in Bridge Street.
2020 was a big year (don’t we all know it). First, the festival had to do a last-minute relocate due to the Refinery building being closed for earthquake strengthening. The lockdowns then forced a postponement, followed by a last-minute pivot to a digital festival.
In 2021, with Giles taking the helm, we presented a ‘best of’ season, just to get back on our feet, and most importantly, to give an opportunity to performers who'd being doing it tough. It was also about reassuring audiences that fringe festivals will always be tenacious. It went pretty well, so over the next few years we built the programme back up with local and NZ performers. We had got definitely our groove back! Since 2023, we've been presenting around 50 shows, and we've decided that that's about the scale that suits us best.