While the format fitted in a year where Zoom performances became the norm, there was nothing quite like performing in front of a live audience, he said. “Fringe Shows are performed in small venues, they’re intimate performances and they feed off audience reaction. Seeing them live is a totally different experience.” There were many festival highlights to look forward to, Burton said. Fraser Hooper, one of the country's leading clowns, would be a treat for Nelson audiences, he said. Solitude, a “beautiful” show about Annie Chaffey’s self-imposed exile in Kahurangi National Park’s Asbestos Cottage, was almost sold out.