FREMANTLE CARNEVALE will step onto a bigger stage this February, presenting its first-ever Fringe World event with a theatrical “crime walk” through Perth’s CBD aimed at turning political satire into street-level spectacle.
The Fossil Fool Crime Walk, to be held on Friday, February 13 — the final weekend of Carnival — will see participants follow staged crime scenes through the city, blending performance, humour and commentary on fossil fuel politics.
Carnevale co-organiser Stephen Bennetts said the event marked a new phase for the long-running Fremantle initiative, which began in 2009 after he encountered traditional Carnival culture while researching folk revival movements in southern Italy.
“When I came back to Fremantle there was no Carnival, and it just felt wrong,” he said. “So I decided to start one in my own backyard. It’s grown from there.”
While Fremantle Carnevale has traditionally focused on events in Fremantle, Mr Bennetts said taking this year’s centrepiece into the CBD was partly about sustainability and partly about context.
“The CBD is the heartland of WA’s petro-state,” he said.
“Carnival has always provided licence to criticise people in authority, and political satire has been a big part of that tradition.”
He said recent collaborations with climate action groups had brought new energy to the event and helped keep its satirical edge alive.
Preparation workshops for the crime walk are already under way. A session held at the Fibonacci Centre on January 18 attracted strong interest, with a follow-up workshop scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday, February 1).
Mr Bennetts said Carnival played an important social role, particularly at a time when many people felt overwhelmed by political and environmental news.
“Carnival is a bit like a newspaper,” he said. “It gives people permission, for a short period, to say things they can’t say the rest of the year — and to laugh while they’re doing it.”
He said the appeal lay in its mix of mischief, creativity and participation.
“People like mucking up a bit,” he said. “There’s a moment of licence — a chance to be subversive, to engage in creative activism, and to do it together.”
Alongside the Fringe event, Carnevale organisers are also supporting other Carnival celebrations, including a German Karneval event at the Rhein-Donau Club on February 14, and a separate talk hosted by the Anthropological Society of WA at The Local on February 10, exploring the traditional European carnivals that inspired Fremantle’s version.
Mr Bennetts said the diversity of events reflected Carnival’s many layers — anthropology, politics, creativity and multicultural heritage — all meeting briefly in the same place.