Fringe and the Garden of Unearthly Delights

With 2026 being our last year in Australia (at least for now), I was determined to make sure we participated in the Fringe one last time. I’ve never really gone to a Fringe show outside of the little comedy shows at the Garden of Unearthly Delights and so Nick and I went to see Infamous. Infamous is a mixture of cabaret, circus, and comedy and was showing for the duration of the Fringe. Last year I just missed out on seeing the show so this year I desperately wanted to attend. We went and saw the show on Friday 13th March, their first showing of 6pm. As soon as you stepped into the tent you were transported into a world of mischief. The atmosphere was charged with excitement at the prospect of the show, the scantily clad bartenders and the amount of alcohol that was ready to be consumed. We were sat right at the back of the tent on the far right hand side of the stage and it provided an excellent view. All of the acts were superb! There were trapeze acts, a spinning wheel with acrobatics, cabaret, and knife throwing. The show was captivating and entertaining all the way through, especially all the breaks between acts that were filled by the entertaining by the MC. We laughed constantly and were completely awed by the performances of all the acts. Overall the show was spectacular and if I were to be in the country next year I would attend the show again.

Now, for the second act to my 2026 Fringe experience I wanted head to the Garden of Unearthly Delights one last time. Sitting on the fringe (ha) of the city, the Garden is filled with wonder and wares that surpass your imagination. Our time at the Garden coincided with Nick’s birthday (21st March). It was a warm Saturday evening, and despite it being the last Saturday the Garden was to be open, it was relatively empty of patrons (thankfully). We started with an espresso martini, before ordering bao buns for dinner, and poffertjes for dessert. After eating and strolling around the marketplace (where I purchased a beautiful snake ring), we were on our way out when our attentions were caught by a tiny box hidden by the river. The sign was advertising a 15 minute $10 comedy show and we figured why not. I have vague memories of being in the exact same box a few years prior with my parents. I wondered if it was to be the same show. Thankfully it wasn't. Not that the previous performance had been poor, but that I wanted to experience a new show with a new person. The show was fantastically funny. A combination of magic and comedy, we had a fantastic time and were left talking about the show for many minutes afterwards. Fun fact, we found one of the other audience participants from the comedy show on Hindley Street later that night and he ended up joining our group for the rest of the night! After the Garden we were headed to many pubs to celebrate Nick’s birthday, as well as his friends birthday whose was the day after his. The whole evening was very fun and I will miss the Garden massively. Luckily, we will be on the isle that hosts the Edinburgh Fringe, so best believe that we will be attending that!