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Fringe season is almost underway and so are the big cultural questions.

In this pre-Fringe edition of The Arts Garden Podcast, James and Bronwin speak with artists confronting politics, identity, mental health and community in 2026.

🎭 Martha Lott (Holden Street Theatres) on The Debate, class satire in Eat the Rich, and why this year’s Fringe is bold, political and provocative.

📷 Alex Frayne (Adelaide Festival) on photographing America as an empire in slow decline; a three-month road trip from Los Angeles to New Orleans, shot on analogue film and transformed into an immersive LED exhibition.

🎤 Gillian Cosgriff on existential crisis, audience advice, and why humans still beat AI when it comes to wisdom.

🧠 Holly "Cookie" Baker & Travis Dempsey on creatives and wellbeing: burnout, comparison culture, gig economy pressure and redefining success in the arts.

🔥 Uncle Moogy Sumner on the Dupang Festival at the Coorong: cultural healing, land connection and rebuilding community through dance and story.

From Fringe theatre to empire decline.

From Harvard ambitions to Murray Mouth ceremony

From artistic burnout to collective renewal.

If you care about art, politics, creativity and staying sane in chaotic times, this one’s for you.

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Fringe is almost here and Episode Four of The Arts Garden dives straight into the heart of it.

We begin in the gardens with Sacred Resonance, exploring illuminated landscapes, heart-coherence installations and immersive sound baths that blur the lines between nature, frequency and connection.

Then it’s dance, collaboration and creative risk with Alex Kuijpers, bringing three distinct works to Adelaide Fringe from cosmic queer horror in Astral Ghost Orchid to the improvised energy of It’s Alive and the next-gen choreographers of New Romantics.

From Belfast at 7am, Raymond Walsh of The Shamrocks joins us ahead of their month-long Adelaide Fringe run: five voices, Irish harmony, and a message of unity shaped by Northern Ireland’s history and resilience.

We also speak with Dr. Mark Rogers (re:group) about POV, an innovative Adelaide Festival work blending live filmmaking and theatre in an unrehearsed exploration of parenting, mental health and separation.

And finally, UK performer Hannah Maxwell reflects on autobiographical theatre, vulnerability in the age of Baby Reindeer, and bringing I Am Dram and BabyFleaReindeerBag to Fringe.

This episode moves from cosmic frequencies to community theatre, from improvised dance to unrehearsed drama; a reminder that art, in all its forms, is about connection.

🌿 Adelaide Fringe.
🎭 Adelaide Festival.
🎶 Stories, spectacle and sincerity.

New episode out now.

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This episode of Arts Garden dives head-first into Adelaide Fringe season, with conversations spanning grief, circus, comedy, and the realities of making creative work sustainable.

We’re joined first by Melissa and Connor from CRAM Collective, who introduce their new Fringe work Meteors. Developed through a residency at The Mill, the show explores how young people experience grief; the silences around it, the awkward kindness of casseroles and lasagnes, and the long journey that begins after the funeral. Drawing on lived experience, Meteors makes space for grief that is tender, funny, unresolved, and deeply human. The conversation touches on ritual, memory, care, and why grief doesn’t disappear; it changes shape.

We also hear from Eva Seymour, Melbourne actor and writer, bringing her acclaimed solo show The Understudy to Adelaide Fringe. Eva reflects on the strange psychological territory of being perpetually “almost on stage”: the tension between gratitude and frustration, waiting and ambition, and what happens when an artist puts their life on hold for something outside their control. The discussion moves through acting, writing, theatre versus screen, and the freedom (and terror) of making solo work.

Later in the episode, we speak with the full lineup behind The Diversity Quota, a sharp, self-aware stand-up showcase interrogating representation, identity, and workplace culture. The comedians discuss how the show came together, why comedy is uniquely suited to tackling taboo topics, and how leaning into awkwardness can create something generous rather than tokenistic.

Finally, the episode features a conversation with Lachlan Binns from Gravity & Other Myths, reflecting on growing up in circus, touring internationally, and presenting two Fringe shows this year: The Mirror and Ten Thousand Hours. Lachlan talks about mastery, repetition, technology, play, and why the process behind a spectacular moment can be more interesting than the moment itself.

Across the episode, Arts Garden explores:

• how artists sit with grief and uncertainty
• why Fringe matters for new and risky work
• the labour behind creative excellence
• and what it means to keep choosing art in difficult conditions

Guests:
CRAM Collective (Melissa & Connor) · Eva Seymour · The Diversity Quota · Lachlan Binns (Gravity & Other Myths)

Recorded on: Arts Garden, 3D Radio 93.7FM

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Episode 2 — Arts Garden: Fringe curation, cosmic art, comedy bodies, and expanded sound

Episode Two of Arts Garden is firmly in Adelaide Fringe mode, moving between curation, creation, and the different ways artists make meaning in a noisy world.

We’re joined by Joanne Hartstone (Joanne Hartstone Presents), marking 20 years at Adelaide Fringe, to talk through her 2026 program — from intimate, high-impact theatre and myth-driven storytelling to new work designed to “catch fire” in small rooms. Joanne reflects on curation as care, longevity in Fringe, and why the best work colours us in rather than shouting at us.

The conversation then turns to Splendour: The Transcendental Experience of Nature, with curator Jessica Curtis and Wirangu/Kokatha mixed-media artist Ashleigh Anne Bruza. Together they explore art as a bridge between spirituality, science, culture and Country — touching on sacred geometry, plant communication, ancestral knowledge of the stars, and the importance of culturally safe, judgement-free creative spaces.

We also hear from Nicola Brown, award-winning New Zealand comedian and clinical psychologist, whose Fringe show Space Invaders uses sharp, fearless comedy to explore bodies, health, identity and power — blending humour, social commentary and radical honesty in a way that’s both confronting and deeply humane.

And we preview the sound world of Liana Perillo, Melbourne-based harpist, vocalist and composer, whose electro-acoustic harp quartet expands the instrument through pedals, strings and layered textures — creating music that’s immersive, emotionally precise, and quietly experimental.

Along the way, James and Bronwyn reflect on:

• why Fringe still matters for risky, intimate work
• how art reconnects us to bodies, nature and attention
• and what it means to listen — properly — in uncertain times

Guests: Joanne Hartstone · Jessica Curtis · Ashleigh Anne Bruza · Nicola Brown · Liana Perillo
Recorded on: Arts Garden, 3D Radio 93.7FM

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Episode 1 — Arts Garden: Fringe warm-up (Burlesque, Latin Surrealism, and theatre that moves)

Welcome to Arts Garden with James and Bronwyn: your weekly scan of what’s happening across Adelaide’s arts scene, with an eye on what’s coming up at Adelaide Fringe.

In Episode 1, we’re joined by Miss Teaser Amore (Teaser Productions) to talk about two Fringe shows: RnB Burlesque (a Sunday night showcase designed to spotlight emerging performers) and The Burlesque Hoe Down (a country-themed crowd-pleaser heading to Gluttony — with a little end-of-show audience boogie).

Then we meet Adelaide-based Colombian artist Nahlla, who introduces her Fringe work Latin Surrealism — a live music experience inspired by Chía, the Muisca goddess of the moon, blending drums, gaita flute, and Colombian rhythms with themes of migration, mental health, women’s empowerment, and hope.

We also hear from Michael Eustice of Red Phoenix Theatre, whose company specialises in staging plays that haven’t previously been performed in Adelaide. Michael shares how their high-energy Promenade of Shorts was born from COVID restrictions — and why audiences keep asking for it to return.

Plus: a few off-mic arts-week reflections, including music chatter and the strange theatre of press interviews.

Subscribe for weekly interviews, local highlights, and the conversations behind the shows.

Guests: Miss Teaser Amore · Nahlla · Michael Eustice
Recorded on: Arts Garden (3D Radio 93.7FM)

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