Dunedin Fringe Festival: A Stab in the Dark

Divas collide at Olveston as Fannie Dewitt and Isabel Harpur meet for a record launch where anything might erupt.

Polish your pearls, steady your nerves, and prepare your most theatrical gasp – international opera legend Fannie Dewitt has arrived at Olveston Historic Home, and naturally, she has done so with all the understated grace of a royal coronation crossed with a minor natural disaster.

She sweeps through the estate’s grand doors, trailing couture, confidence and at least three steamer trunks packed with gowns, jewels, and enough attitude to sustain an entire opera company through a world tour. The staff claims she also brought a fourth trunk, allegedly dedicated solely to her scarves, though this remains unconfirmed.

Dewitt has come to attend the much-anticipated release party for the brand-new musical record by hometown favorites Isabel Harpur and Alfred Bensemann – a duo beloved for their talent, charm, and uncanny ability to avoid scandal. Unfortunately for them, Dewitt never met an event she couldn’t turn into the Fannie Dewitt Experience, whether invited to or not.

Everyone in the village – and half the county – knows Dewitt and Harpur get along about as well as two alley cats locked in a tin bucket and spun for dramatic effect. Their professional rivalry stretches back years and is rumored to include at least one dispute over a dressing-room mirror, several stolen vocal warm-ups, and a backstage argument so heated it reportedly fogged the windows. Still, tonight’s affair is being proudly advertised as an evening of harmony, celebration, and “sisterly affection”, which is society’s polite way of saying, "We are praying no one throws anything breakable".

Naturally, invitations are scarce, rarer than an opera diva who doesn’t require her own humidity-controlled warm-up room, making the event the hottest ticket in town. Attend if you dare, but be warned: it’s all fun and aria until someone hits a high C... or hits the floor.

Book your tickets HERE