The annual and alternative-focused Fringe Festival has announced the lineup for this year’s extravaganza, which will be going big for its 30th anniversary.
The citywide celebration of bold, innovative, and boundary-pushing art will run Sept. 8 to 27 and will feature more than 330 performances and experiences across Philadelphia from both local and international artists. Tickets are on sale now for FringeArts members, and July 18 for the general public.
“The Fringe Festival celebrates Philadelphia as a city that is pulsing with the creativity of the working, breathing artists who live here. Our programming puts Philadelphia’s innovative artists on the same stage as creators from other cities and countries, creating opportunities for cross-disciplinary, cross-genre, and cross-cultural exchange,” says FringeArts CEO and Producing Director, Nell Bang-Jensen.
“Coming off of 2025’s record-breaking festival, we are energized by artists’ and audiences’ enthusiasm for experimental work,” she added. “Fringe performance—often characterized by free expression, communal experience, collective wonder, challenging perspectives, and a DIY ethos—plays an essential role in our community.”
This year includes the Philadelphia premiere of ‘Kramer/Fauci’, directed by Tony Award-winning theatermaker Daniel Fish (Oklahoma!), which revisits the historic confrontation between AIDS activist Larry Kramer and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
World premieres include ‘Lunar Retreat’ by Nichole Canuso, an immersive, multisensory meditation on care, loss, and humanity’s relationship with the natural world; Ninth Planet’s ‘The Holy Fool’, a cinematic dance-theater work examining family, grief, and aging; and ‘How does it feel to look at nothing’, an opera from Holland Andrews and yuniya edi kwon exploring queer parenthood, trans identity, and mythology.
The Bearded Ladies Cabaret is also returning with ‘Priority Hoarding: A Retrospectacle’, an interactive installation and performance series.
Among the festival’s Philadelphia premieres are Julia Masli’s solo comedy ‘Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha’, an audience-driven performance blending clowning and improvisation; ‘Handle with Care’ by Belgian theater collective Ontroerend Goed, an interactive “performance in a box” where audiences shape the experience themselves; and ‘Utopian Hotline’ by Theater Mitu, presented in partnership with the Franklin Institute’s Fels Planetarium.
Beyond its curated programming, the 2026 Philadelphia Fringe Festival will also showcase more than 300 independently produced performances at theaters, galleries, and unconventional spaces throughout the city through the festival’s Hub program.
Cannonball, Circus Campus Presents, Dumb Hub, and Studio 34 are all returning alongside two new additions: The Lemonade Stand, a venue dedicated to emerging artists and original work, and Performance Garage, a historic space focused on dance and theater. Together, the Hubs serve as neighborhood-centered gathering places, presenting dozens of performances and fostering connections between artists and audiences across Philadelphia.
Each Hub offers its own distinctive identity, from Circus Campus Presents’ multidisciplinary celebration of circus and performance arts to Dumb Hub’s focus on clowning, alternative comedy, and performance art. Studio 34 will also transform its year-round West Philadelphia arts space into a Fringe destination as well.
Ultimately, the Hubs expand opportunities for audiences to discover fresh voices and innovative performances throughout the festival.
“This year, you can find us at nearly 100 venues, from traditional theaters and large cultural institutions to neighborhood bars and city sidewalks. We are excited to continue to grow our presence across the city, amplifying the incredible artistry already happening in every neighborhood,” Bang-Jensen finishes.
“Audiences can look forward to hundreds of experiential performances that will inspire them to see their neighbors, their neighborhoods, and the city in new ways. Philly is scrappy, gritty, and downright magical because we are all lucky enough to be in the midst of this wild creative expression, and it is never more abundant than during the Philly Fringe.”
To learn more about this year’s Philly Fringe Festival, visit phillyfringe.org
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