FRINGE@ReMida - The Cursed King

It was 2021, mid-pandemic, and the opportunity arose to do FRINGE for the first time. We created a story around the building and all the materials we'd gathered that year, and thus the Warehousiam was born. Alongside the inaugural FRINGE show, The Crow and the King, we developed the idea of the ReMida Artists, a group that comes together around specific projects.

Four years later, FRINGE is a regular part of the ReMida calendar.

Did you know that ReMida centres get their name from King Midas? And it's one of the reasons we usually feature Midas, or one of his distant relatives, as the catalyst for the story.

FRINGE is an excellent opportunity to share ReMida with a new audience of people who may never have visited ReMida. It is also a chance to show people how a creative reuse methodology works in practice, as most costumes, set pieces, and props come from ReMida materials. It takes 300-500 hours to get all the elements ready, and then we dismantle everything, and the building goes back to normal, which is still pretty awesome. The key set piece for this year is a giant puppet, but no spoilers; you'll have to see the show for the final reveal.

Each show happens with a shared universe, the Warehousiam, a mystical place that exists outside the normal bounds of space and time. At some point in life, every object in the universe passes through the Warehousiam, which feels just about right if you've ever visited a ReMida centre.

The first three shows, The Crow and the King, Ispo and the Unfortunate, and The Spider and the Crow, followed the struggles of Crow-a-bout, a giant anthropomorphic crow trapped in the Warehousiam. That poor Crow went through a lot over those three years. Last year's show, The Spider and the Crow, concluded the story and saw Crow-a-bout take up permanent residence within the Warehousiam. You can still visit Crow and its two counterparts when you visit ReMida; they stand guard over our large materials room.

The 2024 show, The Cursed King, sees King Midas struggling against the Witch of the Warehousiam, whose curse threatens to trap the King on his throne forever. The audience has just under an hour to free the King from the curse or side with the Witch of the Warehousiam and ensure Midas' doom. The show combines riddle-solving, treasure hunting and a touch of mystery as the audience navigates the Warehousiam.

If you've ever wanted to visit the centre, FRINGE is an excellent introduction to the space and the practical applications of a creative reuse approach to storytelling. As with all our festivals or events, the show is ideal for people of all ages, but if you do get scared at a Harry Potter(esque) level of fantasy themes, the show might not be suitable for you. You're also moving around and interacting with other audience members and the cast, so comfy shoes are the way to go.

The show occurs at ReMida Perth, and we remain open across the three weeks of our FRINGE season. You may notice the building looks a little different through these times, and feel free to ask questions of the staff and volunteers if you're wondering how everything fits together. If you're not a FRINGE enthusiast but are still keen to support the show, sharing the posts is always a great help.

Given that 2024 is also ReMida's 20th anniversary, we thought it fitting for King Midas to appear this year. The puppet is the most challenging set piece we've built, and it's undoubtedly the tallest by quite a bit; it takes two…. nope, no more spoilers…you’ll just have to wait and see.