Wet weather wipeout: Fringe plea for ticket splash
Adelaide Fringe ticket sales plummeted over the weekend, with one artist saying he is losing sleep and money on his show. One politician who’s been spotted around the Fringe during the campaign trail says the major festival needs more pollies and people to get around it.
Adelaide Fringe sold half as many tickets as usual on its second Saturday, down from 30,000 to about 15,000, acting CEO Tara MacLeod said on Wednesday morning.
The festival pinned the wipeout on the weekend rain, which hit ticket sales in open-air venues, Gluttony and the Garden of Unearthly Delights.
As the festival coincides with the state election campaign, pollies from all sides have been getting around the Fringe’s call to boost ticket traffic.
Shadow arts minister Jack Batty, who attended the Adelaide Fringe’s opening night with Liberal leader Ashton Hurn and the opening Gluttony Gala, said the major festival deserved visible government support.
“It’s vital that the government visibly backs the arts – showing up, championing local performers and using every opportunity to promote the Fringe interstate and overseas,” Batty said.
“Major events like this don’t just run on grants, they run on leadership, advocacy and genuine enthusiasm.
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“A couple of damp evenings shouldn’t stop people getting out and backing our artists.
“I’d encourage South Australians to grab a ticket, take a chance on a show and be part of this incredible annual cultural icon.”
Adelaide Fringe Artist and Producer Matt Tarrant, who produces London Calling in Gluttony, said he had lost sleep and money on the show, given the drop in sales.
“Breakeven for most shows is about 30 per cent of ticket sales,” he said.
“On the weekend, I paid to put my show on, which I’m happy to do because it’s a great show and I want people to see it, but our bottom line does end up impacted.
“I haven’t slept for probably a week, which is what happens during the festival as well. I think we go into overtime, we don’t relax when it’s tough.
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“We sell this festival as the biggest festival in the world to our artists as well, so we want to make sure that the audiences are also the biggest.”
Greens leader Rob Simms, who last week announced a policy to pay artists a living wage, said that although this time of year is busy for all MPs on the campaign trail, “everyone should be coming together to do what we can to ensure our festival season is a success”.
“For many artists, this is the season they rely on to sustain them during the year. It’s one of the reasons that the Greens want to see a living wage for artists being made a priority – so that we don’t lose our amazing talent to other states,” he said.
Premier Peter Malinuaskas took his family to see Grossed out Game Show at the Garden of Unearthly Delights on the weekend, a spokesperson said, and he encouraged other families to visit the festival.
“The state government is proud to support the Adelaide Fringe. It is a profoundly open, accessible and affordable cultural phenomenon,” the spokesperson said.
“Our record investment of an additional $8 million during this term in office has helped propel the Adelaide Fringe to more than a million attendees for three years running.
“At the Fringe Launch, the Premier was pleased to announce that additional funding would continue, and be boosted to deliver $20 million to the Fringe over the next four years, should Labor be re-elected.
“We encourage all South Australians to get out and enjoy a Fringe Show, as the Premier did when he took his family to see “Grossed out Game Show” before attending the Indian Mela on the weekend.”
Adelaide Fringe acting CEO Tara MacLeod said she was confident the Fringe would still be able to sell one million tickets, as it has in previous years and quashed questions about whether the cost of living was holding people back from attending.
“We have free shows right up to the more expensive shows; there’s everything in between,” she said.
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