How to Art - Edinburgh Fringe 2026

After four critically acclaimed seasons across Auckland, Wellington and Melbourne, Ratbags Theatre are touring the award-winning clown-fruit-mash-up, How to Art, to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August. The show has been programmed for a 24-night season at the Underbelly Cowgate, one of the most prestigious venues at Edinburgh Fringe, and a hub for world-class clowning works.  

This will be the fifth and largest season of How to Art, marking a giant step for the team to connect with new audiences and grow our artistic practice abroad. The dates are set, the plane tickets are booked, now these clowns need your support to tackle the infamous Fringe-flation and help make our UK premiere a success.  

How to Art is presented by Ratbags Theatre, a collaborative hothouse for playful performance making in Tāmaki Makarau. How to Art is Ratbags’ debut work, created by a team of award-winning artists from Aotearoa, including:

• Katie Burson - Co-creation and performance
• Georgie Llewellyn -  Co-creation and performance
• Bronwyn Ensor -  Performance, devising contribution
• Rob Byrne - Production Design
• Fia Haugh - Sound Design
• Tse-Yu Lin - Object design
• Daniel Collings - Costume and Textile Design
• Alylai Flynn - Lighting Design
• Hayley Dallimore - Directorial Support

Our Edinburgh season will also include input from:

• Annie Hasler (UK) - Production Support
• Storytelling PR (UK) - Publicity
• Michael Goodwin - Technical Operator 

Ratbags Theatre was established to build greater sustainability around independent art-making practices, to encourage collaboration among artists from different disciplines, and to make bold work that uplifts the community and inspires experimentation.  

Bringing NZ art to an international stage is expensive, yet crucial. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is where critical global theatre conversations happen. Without support, NZ doesn't get a seat at that table. 

Ticket sales from our season will only cover 30% of the total costs. This campaign seeks to cover base presentation and touring expenses, including:

• Accommodation and living costs for a month in Edinburgh
• Set and team transportation in the UK
• Marketing collateral to boost show attendance (our parents can't make this trip)
• Production essentials to bring the show to life on the other side of the world

$10 will buy one week’s worth of bananas (IYKYK)

$25 will print a T-shirt for the infamous showdown (we need 24 of these)

$50-100+ will cover a day's worth of lighting, sound, and venue costs

$500+ will cover transport within the UK

$1000+ will support accommodation for our team in Edinburgh, set-build costs, marketing and collateral.

“A much-needed mockery of high art performed by three virtuosic physical theatre performers” (Kimberly Twiner, Stage Whispers AUS)

Two bananas wake up duct-taped to the wall of a prestigious art gallery, get ready to bid!

How to Art is a tongue-in-cheek response to the impact of capitalism on creativity, asking; What would art think of art? And, in this world for sale, who decides where value is placed, and who profits? Echoing the controversy of Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian, How to Art playfully fuses physical theatre, object art, film and clowning to explore the value, challenges and necessity of art-making today. Absurd antics invite audiences to become art benefactors, offering a unique theatrical experience where no show is ever the same. 

In a landscape where a banana duct-taped to a wall sells for US$6 million, but your average artist can’t afford fruit for the week, How to Art grapples with the commodification of art and self. It’s personal, it’s political, it's bananas.

 “One of the funniest shows I have ever seen anywhere” (Lexie Matheson, Theatreview)

Our story:

How to Art enjoyed a critically acclaimed and riotous debut at Basement Theatre in November 2024. Our Wellington Premiere at Te Auaha, for NZ Fringe 2025, saw us win the Melbourne Fringe 'Tour-Ready Award', along with nominations for 'Best in Fringe', 'Most Memorable Marketing' and 'Spectacular Organised Chaos’.

After a sold-out return season at Basement Theatre, we made our Australian premiere at Melbourne Fringe Festival in October 2025, where we received 8 ‘Judge’s Picks’, two 4.5-star reviews and were nominated for the ‘Best in Theatre’ and ‘Spirit of Fringe’.

“Clowning at the 11th level of intensity" (4 ½  stars - Theatre Thoughts AUS) 

We developed How to Art over two years, drawing on our shared experiences of navigating the art world as independent theatre makers. We wanted to create something that we genuinely loved, and what resulted was one of the most joyful things we’ve ever made, and audiences echo that feeling at home and abroad:

 "If you only see one show this Fringe, make it How to Art. It’s weird, wonderful, and side-splittingly a-peel-ing. A genuine masterclass in physical comedy.” (Kat Glass, ‘Crowd Pleaser’ Comment Melbourne 2025)

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is our biggest challenge to date, and it will take a momentous effort to cut through 3000+ other shows. We are working with a top-tier PR team and will be out there flyering (as Kevin and Kevin) in the streets of Edinburgh every day to draw in a crowd. 

From inception to touring, How to Art has been supported by the local arts community in Aotearoa, including residencies with Wellesley Studios, Studio One Toi Tū, Capital E, and TAPAC. We call on our community once more to back us as we share this fruity fable with the world.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world's largest arts festival, and Underbelly is one of its largest operators. As independent artists, we don't often get the opportunity to present our work on this scale. By supporting this tour, you will help us show that Aotearoa can sit alongside the best and foster more sustainable arts careers.  

How to Art has been tried and tested over the past two years, and presenting internationally is crucial for building relationships with new audiences, presenters and venues, and furthering the life of our work.