With over 500 events at this year’s Fringe World, punters are spoiled for choice. How do you narrow down the wealth of options on offer?

Don’t fret pumpkins. The Seesaw Mag team has combed the program to find recommendations to suit every taste.

This week we’re bringing you our picks from the first fortnight of Fringe World. You can also check out part 2, with highlights from the second half of Fringe, plus our tips for The Blue Room Theatre’s Summer Nights program!

For those who want a laugh…

Dr Ahmed Gets Hitched
14-16 January @ the State Theatre Centre of WA

Award-winning comedian / dermatologist Dr Ahmed invites you to attend his “Big Fat Gay Greek Pakistani Wedding”, and there is simply no earthly reason not to accept.

Promising moussaka, Bollywood-style dancing, and consultation services for your skin conditions, this show gives to the world of comedy what trifle gives to the world of desserts: ingredients that, on paper, don’t belong together but make a delightful reality. While it could be a bumpy ride to the altar, with detours through stand-up and cabaret, the happy outcome is set from the start: Love Wins.

Read Seesaw Mag’s review of the 2021 season of Dr Ahmed Gets Hitched

Quizaret
21-29 January @ Studio One at Camelot

What happens in a comedy show where cabaret meets circus under the guise of a pub quiz?

Having read the press release, I confess I’m still not totally sure, but whatever it is sounds like a lot of fun! Put yourself in the capable hands of professional festival stars Beck Wilson and Scott Chocolate, plus special guests, and see for yourself what’s in store.

Bring a group (there is a family-friendly matinee session) or come on your own, and compete for fabulous prizes, including the coveted “golden” (or maybe just pyrite) pencil!

For art appreciators (and wannabe artistes)…

Toy Stories
14 January – 12 February @ Midland Junction Arts Centre

Head out to Midland Junction Arts Centre to take a turn through the sometimes cute and other times creepy “Toy Stories” exhibition.

Running until 12 February, the exhibition brings together works by artists such as Cecile Williams, who collaborated with inventor John Davey to create a jack-in-the-box-style mechanical rabbit, hobbyists like Barry Tyrie and his model railway country town replica, and community groups, like Narrogin Doll Factory and their papier-mâché puppet heads.

Pictured: Emanuel Arkeveld, ‘Spaceship’, paint on MDF, plastic, metal, 28 x 18cm. Photograph by Acorn Photo.

Djinda Boodja workshops
Piano and Paint: 17 Jan, High Tea Art Sessions: 19 January, Musical Pinwheels: 18 Jan – 13 Feb @ Djinda Boodja – Star Country

Djinda Boodja, the new arts and culture organisation that has grown out of Abmusic, is giving audiences opportunities to get hands-on with making.

If you’re in the mood for painting you can daub along with a classical piano score at Piano and Paint, or let your brushwork be inspired by a range of delectable teas at their High Tea Art Sessions.

If upcycling is more your jam, head along to Musical Pinwheels to re-use old sheet music in this classic lo-fi papercraft workshop.

For theatre lovers…

2 Marys
14-16 January@ Midland Junction Arts Centre

Mary Shelley, of Frankenstein fame, and Mary Diana Dods team up to protect a pregnant but unwed friend from 19th century social pariahdom. The solution? Marriage, of course, and what better groom than Dods herself? This subversive tale of desertion, devotion, and deception is the product of Perth playwright Suzanne Ingelbrecht’s KSP writer’s residency, shining a light on this wild but ostensibly true story.

Read more in Seesaw Mag’s Q&A with playwright/director Suzanne Ingelbrecht

Pictured: Shirley Van Sanden plays Mary Diana Dods in Suzanne Ingelbrecht’s upcoming ‘2 Marys’. Photo: Chris Horgan, Organic Productions.

My Greatest Period Ever
14 – 20 January @ Lotterywest De Parel Spiegeltent at The Pleasure Garden

If you are a menstruator, you are probably not in the habit of thinking of that (ahem) period of the month as the GREATEST EVER. Folk-singer-come-period-preacher Lucy Peach is here to change your mind.

Explaining the phases of the menstrual cycle with sweet empathy, witty banter, and an assisted handstand, Peach informs, delights and impresses. Whether you need to hack your own cycle, or support those close to you who do, this show’s previous sell-out seasons attest to its widespread appeal.

Read Seesaw Mag’s review of Lucy Peach’s 2018 season of My Greatest Period Ever

Or for something completely different at Fringe…

Playground VR
14 January – 13 February @ Perth Cultural Centre

Put on your Oculus Quest headset and take a trip into your childhood fantasies with Playground VR.

Explore a space where the inconvenient limitations of the physical world, such as pesky gravity, need not apply and your imagination has room to skip and play.

Offering luscious candy-coloured visuals and a whimsical soundtrack by Birds of Tokyo’s Glenn Sarangapany, Playground VR is a multi-sensory immersion into a video game type world.

Fantasie
14-31 January @ The Royale Theatre

Looking for something spicier?

Local and international award-winning stripper Frankie Fatale pushes the NSFW envelope in Fantasie, bringing the sometimes secret world of striptease to a mainstream stage. Fatale plans to “blow the lid off more acceptable ‘naughty’ shows” in this feature-length performance, promising aerials, a full cast of dancers, a splash zone, and candid nudity captured on a big screen.

Not for the faint-hearted, Fantasie sees Fatale working to legitimise and destigmatise sex work.

Want more? Check out What to SEE: More hot tips for Fringe and What to SEE at The Blue Room this Summer

Pictured top is Dr Ahmed Kazmi in ‘Dr Ahmed Gets Hitched’.