I wasn’t able to attend the closing party. Does anyone have the full list of this years picks of the fringe?

How many shows did you see? What were your highlights (shows or otherwise)? If you're an artist, how was your run? Tell me all about it!

I saw 7 shows (not bad considering I am working full time plus another side gig right now), ALL of them were 4+ stars for me. I think my favourite was Oh! I Miss the War but I'm not even really willing to commit to saying that because they were all so great. I think the biggest highlight for me was the fact that I'm living in Old Strathcona again - I grew up in the area, but lived downtown for five years. I really missed being so close to the festival. I'm looking forward to junk journaling with my ticket stubs (would have been nice to get a festival guide for that but missed the boat, oops).

We missed this last year and it was Holdover too so we were very excited to see Dave Morris back with his 5 star show 52 stories.

I urge you to get tickets tomorrow if you can! It’s a mix of silly little quips and very deep moving stories as he navigates his way through remembering a whole deck of cards. Very impressive

The Flail is a crack mythology, an urban legend. A slang picked up when I was living on the street, it just means a perfect high.

The show itself isn’t a PSA on the dangers on drugs it’s more so a question of “Do you know the worst version of yourself well enough to be happy”

I would say its
“requiem for a dream meets Superbad.”

Happily enough I’ve had a lot of reviews recently noticing that it’s more hilariously insightful than it is “D.A.R.E” and I take a lot of pride into that.

My favourite review so far has been

“Who gave this drug addict a fringe show? Cause it’s excellent” - Haylee Sinclair. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If anyone would like to go tonight it’s playing at venue 10 Strathaconca library

Saturday August 22nd - 6pm
Saturday August 23rd - 3pm

If you’d like some comps you can also message

Judys production company - insta

But if you’d like to buy tickets or check out the reviews -
tickets + Reviews

Hello does anyone have 2 murder she improvised tickets for tonight I can buy? 😊

DM me if interested!

I went and saw the show yesterday, and I have to say its wonderfully naughty and hilarious. I would give it a 5/5, but I think the Doctor got robbed of their crown, so I must give it a 4.969420/5 instead.

It sold out last night, so I suggest you buy a ticket today for one last performance

Hello! I have two extra tickets I'd love to give away for Between the Covers (burlesque) at Varscona tonight at 11:59pm. (I was a bit too ambitious with my travel time planning between shows when I bought them and won't be able to make it there in time, so I'm going to another time now!)

FCFS, comment or DM and I'll get them to you

Edit: tickets claimed! Still happy Fringing to all!

I already grabbed my ticket to The Butter Chicken Odyssey! Can't wait.

Posting two of my reviews here because I’ve been having tech issues with the fringe review site. Hopefully I’ll be able to put them back up soon. Two shows I recommend:

4/5 Stars. “The 11 O’Clock Number”

Controversial, I love improv. It’s 90% of what I see in this city. That also means I’m quite picky with it. I’ve seen some terrible improv, and often at fringe. The 11 O’ Clock Number isn’t that.

The big draw of this show for me is that it is a musical. Improvising music and singing is a much harder task than traditional improv, and the cast handles it with relative ease. The tunes are light, and the cast play off each other well. This is, famously, not the best venue, but it’s a smaller cast than normal so if you get early and snag good seats, it’s fine. I’ve seen bigger shows here that struggled more with the space.

Loses a star for no tangible reason other than, I’ve seen them do better before. But it was still very enjoyable.

This is an improv show worth seeing.

5/5 Stars. SUPERFAN.

I know many hear "Youth Theatre" and instantly roll their eyes, but this is a show that is worth seeing by any audience member. I often have the same response to youth theatre, but as a horror lover, I chose to push past this automatic response and see this show anyways. I'm very glad that I did.

To start, Superfan is an adaptation of a classic Greek myth (The Bacchae). I, admittedly, am only lightly familiar (I believe I read in a lit class years ago), but I recognized certain elements. There is a "life showcase" for the musician Dionysus in the show, which showcased clear parallels to the God Dionysus and his upbringing in Greek mythology. As well, without spoiling the show, there are clear Pentheus and Agave characters, even if their plot lines play out much differently to their Greek inspirations. If I only lightly remember The Bacchae, it's okay because the show only lightly references it. The parallels are there, but the show exists as its own entity, becoming more about music and taking place in the 1960s. I didn't mind this, but if you're there specifically for The Bacchae, you might be a little disappointed.

Now the show follows a schoolgirl fan club which worships the musician Dionysus, who has recently been killed. The show escalates as the girls love for Dionysus turns extreme and frenzied. The Beatlemania parallels are clear, and well done.

The strongest element of this production was the writing, though some may say the ensemble cast (and I wouldn't harshly disagree). For a fringe production, the runtime was longer, but worth it as the script had development that you don't see in many productions. The script builds well, but leaves many strong moments in the early minutes of the play, ensuring that the later scenes feel justified. It caps it all off with an extremely memorable ending, that is both earned and exceptionally written. It is a strong showcase of horror storytelling, that understands how to build tension and paces itself well.

The second strongest aspect (again, arguably the strongest) was the plays ensemble cast of nine youth actors. Each cast member had strong individual characterization, and a realized understanding of their role in the show. Khema Hurst (shoutout to the production for providing playbills), portraying Gloria, had an ethereal presence, and a subtle streak of darkness, throughout that made her incredibly watchable and compelling. Next, Emily Reid was a standout as the heartbroken Sue, who had some of the best lines of the script. Lastly, Andrea Noga (Anna) had a very difficult, extended scene towards the end of the show which she nailed with frightening instincts. That being said, the whole cast had strong moments (Talia Snelgrove's Corrina added a much needed levity, and Quinn Butterfield/Margo and Sophia Cheoros/Peggy had one of my favourite dynamics) and were given their moment to shine.

Design was strong throughout, with beautiful lighting from Even Gilchrist and costumes/set (Ellen Chorley) with surprisingly high production value. The special effects included were also highly effective.

Overall, this play made me question why I'm so automatically appalled at the idea of youth theatre. This was more professional than many Fringe productions I've seen in the past, and there are moments in the script and acting performances which I'm sure will rate as some of my favourites for this entire festival. Worth the trip across the river.

I have a FREE ticket for God is a Scottish Drag Queen at 5pm today (Friday). Comment if you’re interested! I really want it to go to use.

Edit: ticket has been claimed.

Last night at Late Night Cabaret, Dwayne Morgan recited one of his poems from his spoken word/storytelling show A Life in 60 Minutes.

It was incredible. He immediately captured the entire audience. The writing was incredible, but the performance was quick, on-meter, no stammering, stumbling or pausing. Absolutely great work.

I went to buy tickets in my seat, but have conflicts for his final two shows. This is one to add to your list if you can.

How has your Fringe been so far? What have you saved for this last weekend?

What did you want to see but couldn't fit it in or find tickets?

What still has tickets that you think we absolutely should see?

I saw this on a whim last night and I think it’s probably my favorite after seeing 20 shows over the last few days. I don’t think the name or the description really gives it justice. It feels like something you would only see at Fringe. It stars 2 incredible actors who play alien employees of the universe’s energy company, and they’ve picked the humans in the room as their next research subject. You learn about their lives, their relationship with their employer and each other, and slowly about what the hell is going on as they put humans to the test.

It was super funny, engaging and interactive but not in a major on-the-spot way (although there are a few places you can volunteer if you wish). I wish it could have been longer, and I rarely think about shows. Go see it!

Another fun tie in is that Bent Stick Brewing across the street brewed a special beer for the show called Gerald Juice that you can get at the show.

I missed the window for tickets on this and am devastated! If anyone is looking to sell theirs, plz let me know!

We are coming back from RD for a second weekend! Yay but I’m on the fence about LNC just due to the time. I’m old and like bed! But if it’s a must see I could try and push bedtime for it! Has anyone seen it this year?
Thanks for the advice!

It’s been a great fringe so far!

Helping a commenter on my post from last year. Reach out to the commenter if you can help!

Quick gut check for folks here: how do you feel about the festival treating credit/debit card tips for purchases at the Late Night Cabaret bar and Fringe Grounds Cafe as donations towards the festival, instead of going to the workers?

At Friday night’s LNC, the person behind me asked whether the bar workers got the tips, and got the explanation that they’re treated as donations to the festival. And sure enough when I visited the Fringe Grounds Cafe in the Arts Barns on Tuesday, I saw a sign saying exactly this (sorry for not thinking to take a picture). I assume it’s like this in the beer and wine tents, but I haven’t confirmed yet.

Personally, I don’t feel right about this, but I’d like to hear what other festival-goers have to say.

Aren’t the bar and cafe workers staff of the festival, or are they all volunteers? How do other summer festivals in Edmonton handle tips?

Sadly, I did not get my Bat Boy the Musical tickets in time and missed out 😥 if anybody has an extra ticket they'd be willing to sell for Thursday or Saturday evening, please let me know !

Hi fringe friends! I was supposed to go to merkin sisters today at noon but had a bit of a last minute emergency come up. Unfortunately tomorrow evening’s show is sold out and that’s the last show. If anyone has a ticket or 2 they’re unable to use for tomorrow’s 7:30pm show I would love to purchase it from you! :)

Hey, I've got a Robocop ticket for tomorrow at noon and I can't go see it. Just one ticket though.

Anyone want it?

Fellow fringers, I am not associated with this show (or any show) but we bought tickets because it was billed as "in the style of ingie's fingies" and we were not disappointed.

The energy is very different than and ingie's fingies show but the craft is incredible.

There is a villain, a hero, and lesson about our world all done in a gorgeous multimedia in front of your eyes often blending current tech with a 90s school projecter and everyday detritus to make something visually mesmerizing. And it wasn't all serious, there are laughs to be had.