Holden Street hunts Edinburgh for Adelaide's next Fringe headline show

Holden Street Theatres' Edinburgh Fringe Award 2026 searches the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for an outstanding production to headline its Adelaide Fringe program in 2027. The award, now in its nineteenth year and sponsored by Geoff Hardy Wines, provides comprehensive touring support including flights, accommodation, venue hire, production costs and marketing, creating a direct international pathway for independent theatre companies to perform an extended season in Adelaide from mid-February to mid-March.

*Hero Image: Jade Franks - Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x)*

While Adelaide might be a long way from Edinburgh, every August **Holden Street Theatres** helps make the distance between two of the world’s great Fringe festivals feel considerably smaller.

The **Holden Street Theatres’ Edinburgh Fringe Award 2026** is once again searching the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for an outstanding production to bring across the globe to Adelaide. The winning show receives an invitation to perform at Holden Street Theatres as the **headline production of its Adelaide Fringe program the following year**.

And this isn’t simply another trophy for the mantelpiece.

Announced at the prestigious Scotsman Awards and sponsored by Geoff Hardy Wines, who have both supported the award since it started nineteen years ago, and originally created by Martha Lott, Richard Jordan and the late, great Paul Lucas, the award provides genuine touring support, helping the successful company make that enormous leap from performing in Edinburgh to presenting an extended season in Adelaide. Support includes **flights, accommodation, venue hire, production costs, Adelaide Fringe registration, visas and sponsorship, administration, marketing and publicity**.

That makes the Holden Street EdFringe Award something rather special.

Holden Street describes it as the only award of its kind enabling a company from the Edinburgh Fringe to tour its production to Adelaide Fringe - creating a direct international pathway for independent theatre, creating a gateway for these artists to network into the southern hemisphere and introducing Australian audiences to work they otherwise may never have the opportunity to see.

> “The HST EdFringe Award is about discovering exceptional theatre, backing brilliant artists and giving their work the opportunity to find a whole new audience on the other side of the world.” - **Martha Lott, Artistic Director, Holden Street Theatres**

At the centre of the search is Holden Street Theatres' Artistic Director **Martha Lott**, working alongside international producers and arts practitioners to shortlist and assess productions. The team searches across genres and venues throughout Edinburgh, with applications welcomed from individual artists, producers and venues.

![Patrons gather in a laneway venue with draped fabric ceiling, framed artwork on walls, and illuminated menu board.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/08/4fdf1dbd-62f3-4c1a-a004-f29bddfa3b6d.jpg)

The commitment expected from the winning company is substantial. The production must be available to tour from mid-February to mid-March and must be prepared to throw themselves fully into the Fringe experience with Holden Street to make it the incredible success it always is.  Oh, and they must be prepared to enjoy an Australian summer, visit wineries, beaches and have Mondays off.

Holden Street isn’t simply importing a production; it is creating an opportunity for an international company to become part of Adelaide Fringe, meet new audiences and industry figures, and potentially open doors to further Australian touring opportunities.

Holden Street has proudly toured secondary shows from the list of nominees too and in the 19 years toured over 100 shows and won over 100 awards in Adelaide from peers, industry and media for shows in the program.

![Customer in blue dress ordering at a wooden bar counter beneath a black BAR sign.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/08/5bbe6da5-f2ba-42b7-860a-06072cb32004.jpg)

This kind of success is a result of their collaboration with the artists to make the tour successful and is what sets them apart; and this collaboration ensures the shows that follow in the winner's footsteps have as great a platform to stand on.

There is some serious history behind it too. Previous recipients have included artists and productions that have gone on to become global success stories and HST favourites, with names such as** Gary McNair, Elliot Warren, Henry Naylor, Charlotte Josephine Sh!t Theatre, Mark Thomas **And the most recent winner, **Jade Franks’ *****Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) *****and many others** who all made the journey from Edinburgh to headline Holden Street Theatres’ Adelaide Fringe program demonstrating exactly what the award can achieve - taking distinctive independent theatre from one Fringe audience and placing it in front of another on the opposite side of the world. It's a global family.

> “The HST EdFringe Award is important because it creates a genuine pathway for independent artists, taking great theatre beyond Edinburgh and giving it the chance to connect with new audiences here in Adelaide.” - **Martha Lott, Artistic Director, Holden Street Theatres**

For Holden Street Theatres, proudly known as Adelaide’s **“Home of Theatre”**, the award has become much more than an annual search for a great show. It represents the theatre’s long-running commitment to independent artists, new writing, international collaboration and productions prepared to take risks.

And somewhere amongst the thousands of productions currently filling Edinburgh’s theatres, pubs, basements, halls and temporary spaces, **Adelaide’s next Holden Street Fringe headline show could already be performing**.

That is what makes the HST EdFringe Award so exciting.

It isn’t simply about recognising great theatre.

**It gives Australia the opportunity to experience great international theatre in their own