By Sally Warburton
‘The place for Indie theatre and performance’ – the Toronto Fringe Festival is a big part of summer celebrations in Toronto.
The Fringe Festival has expanded back! To 100 shows, with steady audience numbers. It surpassed $500,000 at the box office, all of which goes back to the artists. Congratulations to everyone involved!
What’s so cool about the Toronto Fringe Festival is that the shows are held at many different venues in Toronto – allowing you to discover these different venues and places in Toronto (from Dupont all the way south to the Distillery) in addition to seeing a wide variety of shows.
‘Welcome to Fringe! Fringe isn’t just a festival. It’s a movement that champions independent artists and makes artistic expression possible. It’s art for everyone, by everyone.’ Artists take creative risks, connect with audiences and build sustainable careers without barriers. And this was truly visible in each performance seen.
Here are shows BK had the chance to see at the Festival.
Mathew’s BIG Broadway Bash at the Heliconian Club at 35 Hazelton Ave in Yorkville. Didn’t just see this great show once, but had to see Mathew MacLean’s solo broadway songs show TWICE! It was so much fun celebrating the world of Broadway! Mathew’s singing, entertaining and audience participation great! Each performance (and there were 10 of them!) had a guest ‘party crasher’ who sang one song. Dancer Jada Prato added awesome movement to the show. An all over good feeling performance. Mathew’s performance can be seen in August at the Fringe Festival in Edmonton, Alberta!
Bob Marley – How Reggae Changed the World- singer Duane Forrest gave us beautiful Bob Marley tunes as he told how reggae changed not only the music world but his own life. Duane Forrest commented on how great it was that the audience was there for a late 10:15PMperformance at the Tarragon Theatre. Hearing the stories behind the legendary reggae songs and how they’ve changed countless lives was fascinating. Such a beautiful evening.
A Canadian Explains Eurovision to Other Canadians – Held at #7 Native Earth’s Aki Studio in Regent Park,Toronto. This one man play explored the Eurovision Song Contest through a Canadian’s personal journey growing up queer in a religious family. Eurovision is the world’s biggest & best song contest. Its history, former winners etc. The show starring Matti McLean was part comedy, part storytelling and a fun way of explaining how the Eurovision music contest continues to grow! Makes you want to learn way more about Eurovision!
The Rhinoceros Collective at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse on St. George Street on the University of Toronto site. The 6 actors presented a sketch comedy revue divided into 3 sections – Cavemen, Chess players and Illuminati. Questions covered were – Did cavemen have game shows? What does competitive philosophy look like? Can improv actors stick to the lines? Provocative questions answered in The Rhinoceros Collective! Very fun!
David Lynch’s Seinfeld – this sold out show was a hit! Held at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse on St. George Street at U of T. The show recreated an original episode of Seinfeld which descends into a Lynchian nightmare. The actors were
current/former members of The Second City (including Chelsea Larkin) and The Sketchersons. A lot of fun and a lot of talent in this show! Hilarious!
Fish Tales – Reel Stories, Reel Magic. You’ll be Hooked! Held at #1 Soulpepper Theatre’s Michael Young Theatre Fish the Magish – High School Guidance counsellor followed his passion to become a Magician. The show is a heartfelt journey of mind reading, misdirection, storytelling and one magician’s unexpected road to self-discovery. Lots of magic tricks. Lots of audience participation. Lots of surprise and amazement! Magical!
A great selection of Toronto Fringe shows! Keep your eyes open for next year’s Toronto Fringe Festival 2026! And support our arts community at Fringetoronto.com
BKonthescene 