Dunedin Comics proved to be surprisingly hilarious after taking out eight of the 12 awards to celebrate the end of Dunedin’s tenth Monster Fringe Festival. The Festival, which ran from 14-24 March, held its awards ceremony on Monday 25 March at Queens. The ceremony featured comedian Simon McKinney and local band Kill Martha.
The Yellow Men (Dunedin) laughed their way to victory, taking away the Best of Fringe award for their performance art series Re: Perform, as well as Best Visual Art. Jed McCammon and Clarke Hegan of the Yellow Men were commended by judges for their “inexhaustible supply of creativity” and the way they “consistently engaged with audiences in multiple spaces throughout the festival.”
Award nominee Lockie Scott was up for a nod for Most Promising Work for Comic Addiction Presents: Relapse, and despite eventually losing out to Break In by Ad Hoc Productions, Scott said it was “great to see another Dunedin team taking top honours.” He also commended other Dunedinites including the ladies of “What Is This, Woman’s Hour?” for winning best Comedy and the Yellow Men for winning Best in Fringe for their awards. “It just shows that no matter what the rest of New Zealand and the world can throw at us in fringe arts, Dunedin can match it.”
Festival Director Paul Smith hailed the artistic programme of this year’s Festival as “outstanding,” and commended the “huge effort” judges made to see so many shows. Critic wholeheartedly agrees; being force-fed culture or comedy really must be a heavy burden to carry.
Ironic lack of fringes among festival winners
