Adelaide’s getting ready to party with this year’s Fringe Festival now underway. But with cost-of-living pressures starting to bite, it is a challenging time for both performers and the public to stay within their budget.
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00:00 It's a brave new world for local performers Miles Dunn and Max Brading.
00:07 Their interactive AI fringe show wouldn't have gone ahead without a $5,000 grant from
00:12 the City Council.
00:13 "Ourselves and the movement director, the three main collaborators aren't getting paid
00:17 a lot for our time and theirs.
00:19 If you actually broke down our costs hourly, the in-kind would blow the production costs
00:24 a lot higher than five grand."
00:26 It's the same for many other performers.
00:28 "I don't meet a lot of people who would say the fringe is where you make your money as
00:33 an artist."
00:34 While average ticket prices haven't increased, artists and venues are having to absorb their
00:39 extra costs to keep shows affordable.
00:41 "I think the cost of living has impacted everyone from artists, venues, producers and audiences.
00:46 I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't a part of everyone's conversations."
00:50 And it's not just the artists and performers who are feeling the cost of living crunch.
00:54 "I've heard so many people complain about trying to get in and how much everything costs.
00:58 I think more people go and just roam around rather than actually spending their money."
01:03 "Actually working out the fringe to save money."
01:05 "It's nice to have the opportunity to try and take a risk on maybe things that you wouldn't
01:09 usually go to see as well.
01:11 And obviously if it's a little bit cheaper then that helps."
01:15 There are more than 1,400 shows to enjoy at this year's Fringe, with festival directors
01:20 saying there's something here for everyone, even those on a tight budget.
01:24 "There's over 100 events and exhibitions across the festival landscape that are free and I'd
01:29 really love to support people to come along."
01:31 Miles and Max say the best way to support independent artists is to get out of the East
01:36 End and find smaller productions.
01:38 "If people come to a show and love it and then they share it and a few of their friends
01:43 come then that makes all the difference."
01:46 And it's something people can do even if they are watching their purse strings.
01:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]