Expect more than 100 performances across 10 days as Adelaide’s Cabaret Fringe Festival returns with a bang.

If the Adelaide Fringe Festival and Adelaide Cabaret Festival had a baby, it would be this: 10 glorious days of talent, music and performances spread across South Australia by award-winning local and international talent in an open-access format at an affordable price point – otherwise known as the Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival.

From May 24 to June 2, the beloved festival is back, lighting up city venues and transforming regional town halls with spine-tingling and humour-tinged musical performances. The Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival has been igniting the CBD since 2001 when the late Frank Ford AM created the event as the ‘enfante terrible’ to his own Cabaret Festival. It’s taken many shapes since then and, from 2008, brothers Paul and Adam Boylon have cultivated and curated the festival in its current format.

From street shows to award-winning cabaret acts, free performances and indulgent ticketed events, there are countless shows to choose from this season. Here are a few of our favourite must-see shows:

CABLIVE

Hosted by award-winning falsetto master and stiletto wearer Leather Lungs, CabLive returns this Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival to its new home of Arthurs Art Bar. This artist-bar-like lounge is the perfect place to stay a little longer and soak up the city’s best entertainment. There’s no script, no set times, no structured bill – simply turn up and see what magic unfolds. Nothing is off-limits. Keep up to date with CabFringe for surprise announcements.

Arthurs Art Bar | Sunday to Thursday, 6:30pm until late | Friday and Saturday, 9pm until late | Details

CLUB FLIGHT

The Tasting Room at Pirate Life is set to host one of the most gravity-defying shows this CabFringe, thanks to a collaboration with Virago Circus. Smash-hit show Club Flight is inviting you to indulge in a night of hot jazz and a welcome cocktail with a side of cabaret and a cast of talented all-female aerialists and acrobats. Hosted by Alex De Porteous, Club Flight is intimate and tantalising – everything a good cabaret show should be.

Pirate Life Tasting Room | May 25 @ 2pm | May 26 @ 7:30pm | Tickets

BOURBON & BURLESQUE SHOWCASE

‘A midweek treat of classic bump and grind,’ is how the Bourbon & Burlesque Showcase has described its one-night-only extravaganza. This R 18+ show will see the Hot Sauce Hotties graduates wow crowds with an ‘array of feathers, sparkles and sass’. Sip on a bourbon cocktail as the show unfolds, headlined by Connie Curveball and hosted by Lyra La Belle.

Prompt Creative Centre | May 29 @ 7:30pm | Tickets

FRANKLY: FULL SPREAD

A five-star show for good reason. Intelligence and humour underpin this 60-minute performance that’s emotive and observational, crude and comical. It has all the ingredients for an undeniably incredible cabaret show, but FRANKLY’s left-of-field approach to her craft and razor-sharp, relatable commentary is why she’s considered a stage sensation.

Prompt Creative Centre | May 24 – May 26 | Tickets

THE BURLESQUE BLUES

A musical journey through the last century hosted at Victor Harbour’s Town Hal. Backed by a smokin’ hot live band, Lyra La Belle and Gabrielle Ballard will perform a blues-soaked set that pays tribute to the best stage sirens and vocalists with surprise appearances by some of SA’s best burlesque names. A back-to-back sold-out show with a reputation for serious fun, this R 18+ show is on for one night only.

Victor Harbour Town Hall | June 1 @ 7:30pm | Tickets

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