FRINGE World 2020 kicks off next week (January 17) for four weeks of magic, mayhem, music, circus, cabaret, and more.

Acts are popping up in unusual places this year, and you can pack your bag for a shipboard overnighter for Fringe on the Water.

The Vasco da Gama is set to become the first ever cruise ship to become a Fringe World venue.

The memorable over-night stay includes performances by the all-female YUCK Circus, along with roving performers and dancing into the night.

Festival hub

East Perth’s old girls school will be transformed into the second-largest festival hub with acts performed throughout the historic art deco building.

Fringe’s popular hubs make a return with fresh acts to titillate a diverse range of tastes from the thought-provoking to the surreal and the down right naughty.

There’s also a bumper school-holiday-boredom-busting Fringe Kids line up across a number of hubs, including Russell and Yagan Squares, The Ice Cream Factory and Fringe’s birthplace the Urban Orchard at Perth’s cultural centre.

There’s also jazz at the Ellington Jazz Club, and cutting edge plays at the Blue Room Theatre, along with comedy at The Laugh Resort Comedy Club.

The magic spreads well beyond the city and you can catch acts at Subiaco, Scarborough’s Sunset Veranda, and Kalamunda.

Out at Bassendean things go Vegas with the WonderRealm Festival launch.

And the Chinese New Year is welcomed in the following weekend with acrobatic lion and dragon dancers and more on the Bassie foreshore.

For the full program, or to book go to fringeworld.com.au

By JENNY D’ANGER