By: Yvette Campitelli-Slee
What would you give to be a teen again? What would you do to see your city with fresh eyes?
These are questions Canadian performing arts company Mammalian Diving Reflex hope to answer with their show, Nightwalks with Teenagers, now on at Melbourne Fringe Festival.
Throughout October, events that embrace risk and push boundaries will take over the city, reflecting the 2025 Fringe theme: Action Heroes Assemble.
“This year’s program is full of works that invite audiences to respond, to get involved, to step into the art. It’s a festival of art that reminds us that culture is something we all shape together,” says Melbourne Fringe CEO Simon Abrahams.
Nightwalks with Teenagers is a highly anticipated feature of this lineup, and after more than 40 global performances, it has made its way to Werribee.
“All of our work is about bringing two populations together in an unusual way. In this case, it’s adults and teenagers being brought together at night for a walk,” says Mammalian Diving Reflex Creative Producer Virginia Antonipillai.
For three nights in October, Mammalian Diving Reflex and Wyndham City Council will support local teens as they lead audiences on a fun, insightful journey through Werribee’s centre.
The aim is to build understanding across generations by allowing young people to platform their neighbourhood experiences and perspectives.
“Nightwalks with Teenagers is not a tour in any sense. It’s an opportunity for the adult audience to feel what it’s like to be a teen again and for the teenagers to take up space,” says Antonipillai, who was also one of the first teens to host a Nightwalk back in 2011.
From games to fashion runways and competitions, each performance is shaped by the interests of the young volunteers.
In Bologna, Italy, teens challenged their audience to a soccer match, while in Ansan, Korea, they staged a live vote for the best major convenience store – 7Eleven, GS25, and CU – ending with the winning store’s employee receiving a bouquet of flowers.
Antonipillai also says that Nightwalks with Teenagers can disrupt the view older generations may hold that young people are causing trouble if they are out at night.
“When we bring these two populations together, that negative notion completely disappears and you see that teens are just teens. They’re not doing anything crazy; they’re just living life and having fun,” she says.
Wyndham City Council has been supporting Mammalian Diving Reflex to host design workshops with the teens organising the event.
“Nightwalks With Teenagers as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival program is a great way to attract audiences outside of Wyndham and showcase creativity,” a spokesperson for Wyndham City Council says.
“This is the perfect intergenerational exchange for young people to lead and for adults to be led. A reversal of roles providing a rare glimpse into the thoughts and ideas of young people through the streets of Werribee.”
Wyndham City Council will also hold feedback sessions with volunteers to help inform and plan future youth events.
“We’re super excited to do the show in Werribee and to see what the teens come up with… They’re the stars of the show,” Antonipillai says.
Nightwalks with Teenagers is on 9–11 October, meeting at the Wyndham Cultural Centre. Tickets range from $10 to $20.
For more information visit melbournefringe.com.au/
whats-on/events/nightwalks-with-teenagers-by-mammalian-diving-reflex
*Yvette Campitelli-Slee is a journalism intern from RMIT
