Heather Croall’s Fringe Farewell
After 11 years at the helm, Heather Croall has farewelled Adelaide Fringe. Find out her parting words and most memorable shows.
This Fringe season’s programming was the last under the stewardship of its outgoing artistic director Heather Croall.
After 11 years at the helm – making her the longest serving head in the festival’s 62-year history – the shiny arts stalwart will move on to Carrick Hill house museum and garden.
Her legacy includes expanding the Fringe into more regional and suburban venues and a major box office boost.
Since 2023, the Fringe pulls in more than a million ticket sales each year with about $27 million in revenue, up from the 450,000 tickets worth $8 million that the Fringe was bringing in when she arrived in 2015.
Heather says she hopes her legacy at the Fringe will be her penchant to put artists first.
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“So many artists have launched their career at Fringe and gone on to great success around the world,” she says.
“An event of this importance and scale always needs to be backed and if everyone in South Australia continues to support the Fringe, it will stay strong well into the future.”
This year, Heather will attend the Fringe as a punter, having taken off her CEO and director’s hat. She reflects with CityMag about the shows that will stay in her heart.
What’s been the strangest show you’ve seen in your time at Adelaide Fringe?
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I’ve seen a lot of fabulously strange shows at Fringe. If you are looking for ridiculous and absurd maybe try a late-night line-up show. The girls from Norway who run Naughty Cabaret are always dishing up some delightfully peculiar late-night line-ups.
What show has moved you the most?
Shows from Nancy Bates and Uncle Moogy are always powerful. This year Nancy Bates is presenting Blak Country on the opening weekend at Tandanya and Uncle Moogy is presenting Dupang at the Coorong over the closing weekend.
What’s the most risqué show you’ve seen on the program?
Classic Penguins by Garry Starr – it’s a must see!
Many claim they get ‘Fringe fatigue’ in mad March, how do you avoid that?
I just go to see more shows. Be sure to start in February … and don’t stop. Going to see different shows energises me. I try to go see shows across lots of venues around the CBD and suburbs and regional. The shows are usually maximum one hour and average ticket price around $30 which means I usually go see a couple of shows a night – I just love the diversity of what’s on offer.
How important is the Fringe to the state of SA and does it get the support it needs?
Fringe is the biggest festival in Australia. It is unique and so important for South Australia. No other festival in the country comes close to selling one million tickets and clocking over five million attendances each season. Adelaide Fringe is magical and there’s nothing like it. Check out the tiny shows as well as the big hits!
This story was originally published in CityMag issue #49 – Festivals 2026.
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