The Rob Carlton guide to the Adelaide Fringe
In 2026, the Adelaide Fringe guide is an intimidating 176-pages long. Who has the time? Dear reader, certainly not you. Instead, let Logie-winning actor and storyteller Rob Carlton guide you through the festival season, with his must-stop places in Adelaide.
CM: How many times have you performed at the Adelaide Fringe?
RC: This is my third year in a row. First arrived in 2024!
What’s a misconception you had about Adelaide before you came here?
I was under the misconception that there wasn’t much of a film industry here. WRONG! I’ve been over here a few times for filming. One great highlight was chasing Rebecca Gibney around your great state in the Channel 7 drama Wanted, before I got killed in a hail of bullets. So maybe that was the other preconception I had about Adelaide, it being full of murderers, that proved true (albeit in a fictional world). But to be fair, my character needed shooting!
What’s special about the Fringe compared to other events in Australia?
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The Fringe in Adelaide feels so connected to different parts of the city! As a travelling artist, the main thing I want to do is to meet all the different artists that are putting on their shows, and the local people that put aside time to go and see things they’d never see before. Unlike other events in Australia, I feel the Adelaide Fringe, with its flat CBD, its cool scooters, its great public transport to the other fringe hubs, you’re never far from something really cool, even if it’s a ‘little out of the way’.
When you’re in Adelaide, where do you like to go for a drink?
I’m a non-drinker, so I’ll take that to mean, where do I like to hang out… My favourite coffee place is My Kingdom For a Horse on Wright St. But at night, I just love the Garden of Unearthly Delights. It really is a magical place.
What about a nice dinner?
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Jules Schiller took me to Amalfi for lunch the other day. YUM!!
How do you deal with hecklers?
People tend not to heckle during my show. But this is something I’m very comfortable with. I’ve been hosting events all my life, since I was 14, actually, so a little bit of audience interaction is no stress. Main rule: be kind, be curious, then if they’re drunk and rude, remove them, with a smile. ALWAYS WITH A SMILE!
What other show at the Fringe would you recommend?
Anything from Wright and Grainger, Elf Lyons and Mel McGlensey… and if you’re into musical theatre from a bright young star, Arthur Hull’s Flop! If you’re into some off-Broadway whackiness, I saw Doug Baynes ‘Only God Can Judge Me’ late last night at the Rhino Room, and I loved it! Classic late-night fringe!
Fresh from winning the Weekly Award for Best Theatre at The Garden last year, Logie-winning actor and storyteller Rob Carlton (The White Lotus, Boy Swallows Universe, North Shore) has returned to The Garden with a brand-new hour of true, sharp-turn stories in Virgin in a Knife Fight, which runs from 25 Feb – 8 March.
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