ADELAIDE FRINGE MINI-SEASON

Many of the Australia’s most surprising theatre successes began their lives at Adelaide Fringe Festival. Every March, the three-week-long festival is a breeding ground for innovative theatre, with independent companies travelling from all over Australia to perform and develop their new shows.

From Feb 22, Sydney’s Old 505 Theatre is running a mini-Adelaide Fringe season, catching four of the Sydney companies’ productions before they head down south. For 505 Theatre Director Kerri Glasscock, it’s is a great opportunity to catch the productions before they set off.

“We know so many people who take shows down to Adelaide, and we never get to see them,” she says. The season ranges from the improvisational to the hilarious. In Tweatre (Feb 22-23), the performers use live tweets from the audience to improvise the narrative; think Theatre Sports meets social media. Blind Tasting (Mar 4) is part wine-tasting and part solo performance work by Sylvia Keays. Plus world music goes electro with Lahara (Feb 24) and a lizard king meets mad scientist in 100 Years of Lizards (also seen at Underbelly 2011). We recommend checking it out – you just might catch theatre’s next big thing.

Feb 22-4 Mar, Old 505 Theatre, Suite 505, 342 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills, $10-20, venue505.com