Fringe festival honours Flight of the Conchords
04 Mar 2009
The New Zealand Fringe Festival has honoured Kiwi comedy duo 'Flight of the Conchords' as inaugural members of a new hall of fame.
Grammy award winners Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement have become international stars since they used New Zealand’s Fringe Festival as a platform to launch their career.
Festival finale
The 'Flight of the Conchords' Fringe Hall of Fame honour was announced on the final day of the annual Fringe Festival in Wellington, capping off one of the biggest events the festival has seen in its 19-year history.
Held throughout February, the Fringe Festival featured more than 100 diverse productions including performing arts, comedy, music, visual art and out of the ordinary events. Shows were held at traditional and unusual locations in the capital.
Outstanding contribution
The Fringe Awards ceremony that wound up the festival was designed to recognise the country’s best, brightest and most bizarre performers across 15 categories, said Fringe Arts Trust director Mark Westerby.
He said the new Fringe Hall of Fame had been set up to recognise individuals who had made an outstanding contribution to the New Zealand Fringe Festival over the years.
"Bret and Jemaine are shining examples of such individuals who have used Fringe as a platform to create diverse, brave and gob-smacking work," said Westerby.
2009 Fringe winners
The winner of the top award - Best of Fringe - was production company ‘Out of Bounds’ for the Two Days Plays, a competition that challenged 18 teams to create the best 10-minute play they could in one weekend.
Other significant winners included:
- Improv: The Secondary School Musical - Best Comedy
- Footnote Dance's Perforum - Best Dance
- Frogs Under the Waterfront - Best Outdoor
- Fleur Wickes' This is Where I Live - Best Visual Arts
- The Intricate Art of Actually Caring - Best Theatre.
Australian multi-instrumentalist Adam Page won two awards: Best Music and Best One Man Band / Solo.
Regional Fringe Festivals
New Zealand also has two regional fringe festivals that follow on from the Wellington event:
- Auckland Fringe Festival
27 February - 22 March
- Dunedin Fringe Festival
26 March - 5 April
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