Dunedin Fringe Festival director Paul Smith is promising this year's event, which starts on March 18, will be "one of the strongest yet".
"The quality of acts is very high," he said at the Regent Theatre launch last night.
"We have had an excellent response from artists from throughout New Zealand and internationally."
The Fringe was treated as the court jester to the Otago Festival of the Arts until two years ago, when it became an annual, stand-alone event.
Smith says just over half the 47 artist-run events were made in Dunedin.
"In terms of Dunedin events to watch out for, top of my list is the Performance Art Series and, particularly, the work of Katrina Thomson.
"Te Ngaru Hou at Karitane marae is also a very special event, which follows the success of last year's event of the same name, but organisers have really taken a big step forward bringing in top quality national dancer Louise Potiki-Bryant and Rachel Ruskstuhl-Mann.
"They are joined by Vicki van Hout, an Aboriginal dancer based in Sydney.
"This collaboration represents a special relationship between Kati Huirapa and the Aboriginal community in Australia," he said.
"Another very interesting local production is a collaboration between engimatic performance artist of international acclaim Adrian Hall and prominent composer and musician Phil Dadson, of From Scratch fame.
They are taking over Chick's Hotel, using upstairs and the basement to construct a multi-level performance event connected by Wifi TV and other devices.
"An especially large show from Auckland that I am particularly looking forward to is Burlesque As You Like It - Not a Family Show.
"This large-scale production will be staged at the Regent, involves aerial performance and has been exceedingly popular in Auckland, selling out two seasons.
"Not only will it be a sexy high-energy show full of intrigue, but it also works as a critique of the burlesque medium.
"Wellington provides another handful of acts and of particular note are two acts: The Intricate Art of Actually Caring received Best Theatre at the 2009 Wellington Fringe.
"The play is the story of two young guys on a road trip to Jerusalem to see the grave of our nation's greatest poet - J. K. Baxter.
"This is a must-see for theatre-lovers.
"The other Wellington production to look out for is The Quantam Enigma by Sascha Perfect, which includes elements of dance, theatre, butoh, improvisation and live music.
"This is the ultimate in fringe experimentation and pushing of standard artistic boundaries, fusing theatre, dance and performance art."
Creative New Zealand provided $22,500 in funding, which was distributed between 20 events.
"Of the international performers, there are two cool events from Australia - one young group of dancers in their final year of dance training are bringing a show called Project One and there is a circus show at the Fortune called Bubblewrap and Boxes.
"On the quirky front, there are some fantastic local productions such as Mr Bun-Bun's Terrible Day, featuring local actor Danny Still, who will be performing throughout Dunedin's suburbs dressed as a giant rabbit.
"There is Leith Crossing, where a sculpture student is riding a converted exercise machine over a steel beam, like some retarded Evel Knievel.
"Then there is Camp Dunedin, two outrageous ladies bringing camp life to the Octagon every day.
"I am particularly excited by our Festival Club this year also, as we have a strong programme of local artists performing, as well as comedy and a nightly radio play called Doom Gravy: A Radio Disaster in Six Parts.
"This represents a wonderful opportunity for Dunedin audiences to see some very spectacular events.
"There is such a fantastic line-up of acts that I think people will enjoy."
See it
- The 2010 Dunedin Fringe Festival runs from March 18 to 28. The Otago Daily Times will be providing daily coverage.
Other highlights
• Comedy
Academy Theatre
March 18 to 21: Comedian Steve Wrigley is back with a hilarious investigation of modern communication.
James Nokise in Is This It? New Zealand's favourite Welsh/Samoan is back with a new show.
March 23 to 28: Anti-Social Tap presents Dunedin's best stand-up comedy talent at Academy Comedy Week. Improsaurus, a whirlwind of theatresport adventures.
Regent Theatre
March 26 to 27: Burlesque As You Like It - Not a family show. Feats of daring, coercion, seduction and sedition.
Fortune Theatre
March 26 and 27: Raybon Kan's Discomfort Zone reveals the things we think, live on stage, without name suppression. Studio.
March 24 to 27: Scared Scriptless: Improv deathmatch. Four improvisational gladiators battle it out. Studio.
Polson Higgs Comedy Club at XII Below
March 18 to 21: Irene Pink in Metamorphosis. See the changes Irene Pink has undergone since 2005.
- Jeremy Elwood Thinks Too Much. An exploration of the nature of thoughts.
- TJ McDonald in A Maori Ate My Great Grandad. TJ McDonald explores his family history.
March 24 to 27: Better Living by the Comediettes offers hilarity, heels, handy hints, twisted stand-up and epic ballads. Justine Smith in Jussi Town. Watch out, chumps. Justine Smith is the new sheriff of Jussi Town. Simon McKinney (right) relives his time as Hamish the Fish on TV2 show Squirt in My time as a talking fish.
Festival Club at XII Below
March 18 to 27 : Doom Gravy: A radio disaster in six parts. See radio like you've never seen it before.
• Dance
Mary Hopewell Theatre
March 19 to 21: India's AGG School of Dance and Performing Arts presents Bandhan: A tale of two sisters.
School of Physical Education Dance Studio
March 27: Dance Lab presents Cell, a series of performance events designed to stimulate critical debate.
Allen Hall Theatre
March 23 to 26: Hatbox Productions presents Heel Ruby. The art of living is an ever-precarious balancing act.
March 25 and 26: Chimera Dance Collective (Aus) presents Project One. Four dance students, in their final year of training, decide to express their own creative and distinct voice in an unfamiliar land.
Puketeraki marae, Apes Rd, Karitane.
March 26 to 28: The Artist Development Agency presents Te Ngaru Hou 2010, with new work by indigenous contemporary dance artists.
Globe Theatre
March 18 to 21: Sascha Perfect presents The Quantum Enigma, a fusion of dance theatre and live music.
• Music
Empire
March 25 to 27: The New Edinburgh Folk Club presents Acoustic Fringe, three nights of original works and works in progress.
Allen Hall Theatre
March 27: Dr Glam (above) presents The Glitter Show, a glitzy celebration for those who love to sparkle.
Otago Settlers Museum
March 18: The New Edinburgh Folk Club presents Eddi Reader and Fairground Attraction.
March 21: The New Edinburgh Folk Club presents Pacific Curls, combining Scottish fiddle and Maori instruments.
Chicks Hotel
March 22 and 23: Live action performance, improvisation by Phil Dadson and Adrian Hall. Two floors of Chicks Hotel will be employed for viewing, listening and performance. Cellar will be used for live action. Closed-circuit wifi TV and radio mikes will link the three levels.
Cellars Bar, Provincial Hotel
March 20 and 26: Dunedin band The Troubadours of Mercury has been re-formed to play at the Fringe.
Sammy's
March 20: Wonky Garden of Earthly Delights. Heaven, Hell and Purgatory-themed dance party, with live fire performances. Costumes encouraged.
• Outdoor
Dunedin Botanic Garden soundshell
March 22 to 27: Jai Hall presents "Chapter 6", a story-telling of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.
Behind Bill Robertson Library on Union St and Riego St
March 27: Upside-down Productions presents Leith Crossing, a performance work involving a hybrid exercise machine being ridden across a bridge over the Water of Leith.
Various outdoor suburban areas
March 18 to 28: Danny Still in Mr Bun-Bun's Terrible Day. A comic solo performance, with groovy music and silly noises.
King Edward Court
March 20 and 21: Open home at King Edward Court. Have a peek behind the scenes in this small village in the heart of the city.
• Theatre
Fortune Theatre
March 18 to 20: Australian troupe Asking for Trouble presents high-energy family show Bubblewrap and Boxes.Mainstage.
March 19 to 21: Scorcher presents Head Full of Toys, a dark '80s comedy, with new-wave music from The Buzzcocks to The Cure. A boy-meets-girl story with a wicked twist. Studio.
March 18 to 21: Yes Please Theatre Company presents I Love Camping, a funny look at a Kiwi tradition. Studio.
March 27: Dunedin's Stage South presents dynamic play-readings at the Fortune Studio by Bruce Mason and Paul Rothwell. Studio.
Globe Theatre
March 18 to 20: The PlayGround Collective presents The Intricate Art of Actually Caring. Two friends journey to Jerusalem and poet James K. Baxter's grave.
March 24 to 27: The LAB Research Theatre Company presents Alfonsina, a comic depiction of a young Argentinian woman who leaves her family in Buenos Aires to search for a better life in Auckland.
Dunedin Railway Station
March 24 to 27: The Theatre As Is presents Fu Ta Goan, an exploration of the place where ancient ritual theatre, modern improvisatory and physical practice merge.
• Visual
Blue Oyster Project Art Space and elsewhere
March 18 to 28: Blue Oyster Performance Series encompasses everything from body art, sound, video and installation to post-punk and post-modernism.
20a Dowling St
March 20 to 28: The Dowling Street Project opens the doors to a unique part of the Dunedin art community. See a working studio and its artists at work and play.
Dunedin Public Library
March 18 to 28: Studio 2 presents Express, a short video celebrating process over end product.
- Gavin Ashworth's sculpture and electronic sound performance Monolith incorporates modern-abstractionism, Neolithic tomb and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
None Gallery
March 19-27: "Quixotic" is a group art exhibition exploring the theme "in an ideal world". Artists include Alissia Holzer, Jasmin Lamorie, Anya Sinclair, Elise O'Neill and Aroha Novak.
