Fringe News
Fringe News
Toronto, ON – The Toronto Fringe Festival is the best place to see theatre in fun and unexpected locations around the city, including a boxing gym, a yoga studio, a hip café, a vintage clothing store, a kitchen, and more. This year the Toronto Fringe Festival boasts 15 Site Specific shows in diverse locations around the downtown core. It’s like Doors Open Toronto – but with a touch of drama.
This year, many of the Site Specific shows in the festival have limited capacity and will likely sell out. Patrons can hop from venue to venue (most are located in the Trinity-Spadina/Annex neighbourhood) in our complimentary Fringe rickshaws, and see multiple shows per day. Rickshaws will be running on Bloor St W between the Fringe Club just west of Bathurst and Devonshire Place, and on Bathurst St from Bloor St W to Adelaide St W, 6-11 PM nightly. Advanced tickets are only $12 each, and are even cheaper with the purchase of a Fringe 5 or 10 Play Value Pass.
The 2015 Site Specific Theatre Line-Up:
BOUT – AT SULLY’S BOXING GYM
Venue capacity: 43
By Stephanie Carpanini
Presented by Sats Theatre
Directed by Stephanie Carpanini
Girl meets ring. Girl loves ring. Girl leaves ring.
A failed artist tries to find meaning in her life through competitive boxing. She decides to prove herself by competing in the Silver Gloves. Inexperienced, unfit, and messy – this willful wannabe fighter gambles everything in the biggest battle she’ll ever fight.
Toronto, ON
THE DINNER TABLE – AT 918 BATHURST ST. (DOWNSTAIRS KITCHEN)
Venue capacity: 12
By Ali Richardson & Ben Hayward
Presented by Fail Better Theatre
12 guests and 2 storytellers per night share 1 home cooked meal and stories of home around a table. Come eat! Stories told by Nina Lee Aquino, Judith Thompson, Sky Gilbert, and more.
From the creators of Andy Warhol Presents: Valerie (NNNN – Now Magazine).
Toronto, ON
STALKYARD HURTS – AT LEE’S PALACE UPSTAIRS: THE DANCE CAVE (19+)
Venue capacity: 120
By Justin Collette and Danielle Leger
Presented by Tweed & Company Theatre
Directed by Jim Porter
For years, Gods walked among us. They conquered the airwaves in zeppelins & ruled with electric axes. Then, slowly, it all changed. In these dark times, one hope remains. One band, one story. This isn’t about music, fame, friendship, sex, or drugs. This is about all five of those things. Part rock-umentary, part musical, all awesome.
Toronto, ON - Tweed, ON
SHECKY’S YOGA SHUL – AT AHIMSA YOGA CENTRE
Venue capacity: 20
By Shana Sandler and Howard Pressburger
Presented by Shana and Howard Productions
Join Yogi Shecky for a class like no other, where the ancient traditions of Yoga and Judaism will finally come together into one transformative experience. Wear comfortable clothes. You will be moving. You will be sitting on the floor. You will be standing. You will be enlightened.* Beginners welcome.
*Enlightenment not guaranteed.
Toronto, ON
ONE GOOD MARRIAGE – AT TRINITY ST. PAUL’S UNITED CHURCH
Venue capacity: 45
By Sean Raycraft
Presented by Staircase Theatre
Directed by Jessica Rose
What do you do when you return from your honeymoon to find disaster has struck in your absence? Critically acclaimed Fringe veterans, Staircase Theatre, bring this newly revised Toronto favourite, which takes the audience on a darkly funny journey navigating life post-tragedy.
Toronto, ON - Vancouver, BC
THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR – AT VICTORY CAFÉ (19+)
Venue capacity: 60
By William Shakespeare
Presented by Shakespeare BASH’d
Directed by James Wallis and Catherine Rainville
Join your favourite Best of Fringe winning Shakespeare company, Shakespeare BASH’d, for the Bard’s outrageous rural comedy. In a world of drunks and cuckolds, two witty women set out to teach a lesson of love and jealousy.
Toronto, ON
SUMMERLAND – AT HARBORD COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE
Venue capacity: 215
By Anika Johnson, Barbara Johnston, and Suzy Wilde
Presented by Wexford Performing Arts
Directed by Ann Merriam
The Breakfast Club meets Peter Pan meets Lord of the Flies in this ground-breaking new musical about ten high school students stranded between worlds after a highway bus accident. Incredibly moving, often hilarious, and compelling from start to finish, Summerland explores and celebrates what it is to be a teen today.
Scarborough, ON
PLAYS IN CAFÉS – AT REDFISH BLUEFISH CREATIVE CAFÉ
Venue capacity: 30
By Alex Karolyi
Presented by Shadowpath Theatre
Shelly and Frank are the perfect couple, Frank thinks. After taking a quiz in Happy Lady Magazine, Shelly thinks she’s not a happy lady. Shelly has 37 magazine subscriptions. Shadowpath’s Plays in Cafés has toured new works all across the GTA. So grab a cup of joe, catch a few laughs, and experience café theatre, serving up 2 plays with a live musical soundtrack.
Newmarket, ON
A TOURNAMENT OF LIES – AT THE MULTI FAITH CENTRE (THE QUIET ROOM)
Venue capacity: 20
By Evan Brown
Presented by Bald Monkey Theatre
Directed by Ben Hayward
Alex’s friends and lovers gather at her funeral to make sense of her death. Once together, they compete between themselves to see who can grieve the best. How do you make sense of your life when the person who defined it is gone? A Tournament of Lies examines the unsavory nature of grief, fragmentation of memory, and self-preservation.
Toronto, ON
THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW – AT ROYAL CARE REHAB
Venue capacity: 30
By Michael Musi and Amanda Silveira
Presented by Sorry Goat Productions
Directed by Michael Musi
Take a seat. The doctor will be with you shortly. Set in an actual doctor's waiting room, The Doctor Will See Now is a hilarious, not-so regular day at a Toronto walk-in clinic.
Toronto, ON
MANDELSHTAM – AT THE ANSHEI MINSK SYNAGOGUE
Venue capacity: 68
By Rafi Aaron
Presented by Amphitheatre
The play examines Stalin’s persecution of Osip Mandelshtam, one of the foremost Russian poets of the twentieth century. Mandelshtam did the unthinkable: he created a poem attacking Stalin. The story focuses of Mandelshtam’s relationship with his wife, Nadia, as their situation deteriorates into deeper adversity until the poet is finally arrested.
Toronto, ON
UNCLE TOMY’S CAMPFIRE GHOST STORIES (FOR GROWN-UPS) – AT FIKA CAFÉ (19+)
Venue capacity: 40
By Uncle Tommy
Presented by Uncle Tommy
Directed by Uncle Tommy
Join your Uncle Tommy by the light of the fire (‘cuz you sure don’t want to be near him in the dark). All the nostalgic thrills of sittin’ round the campfire with BFFs, telling scary stories and eating burnt things on sticks. Except told by some sketchy dude in a backyard.
No Fixed Address, Canada
www.uncletommyscampfire.wix.com/fringe
THERE/GONE – AT FLASHBACK VINTAGE
Venue capacity: 25
By [elephants] collective
Presented by Discord and Din Theatre
A roaring emptiness. A fox stole. A person you have loved/do love/will love. Peacocking in a bar filled with people peacocking in a bar. Cute pyjamas. A train whistle. James Dean the actor. James Dean the porn actor. A video of James Dean the actor. A video of James Dean the porn actor. DEATH. Transubstantiation. A faded Polaroid of the Holy Grail. Luxury.
Toronto, ON
www.facebook.com/elephantscollective
THE HOLLOW SQUARE – AT ST. GEORGE THE MARTYR ANGLICAN CHURCH
Venue capacity: 60
By Kathleen McDonnell
Presented by kith&kin
Directed by Bryn McLeod
The audience steps back in time to meet characters from 1847 Toronto, including a Singing Master who leads them in a “choral tsunami” of old-time shape-note hymns. Toronto Island vocal trio kith&kin (who create “gather-ye-together events that engender a deep sense of warmth and belonging”) collaborate with boundary-pushing companies wheelwright & Shadowland.
Toronto, ON
www.facebook.com/kithandkinmusic
SERVED – AT EPICURE CAFÉ
Venue capacity: 24
By Graham Isador
Presented by Pressgang Theatre
Directed by Tom Arthur Davis and Graham Isador
Sandra is convinced that she should be a rockstar. The only thing standing in her way is her job waiting tables and her complete lack of musical talent. Written by Graham Isador (Playwright’s Unit at Soulpepper), and co-directed by Isador and Tom Arthur Davis (Best of Fringe: Mahmoud), Served is a play about ambition, entitlement, and bringing people food.
Toronto, ON
www.facebook.com/pressgangtheatre
The 2015 Toronto Fringe Festival: July 1 – 12, 2015
Show venues: Various locations around the Annex neighbourhood and the downtown core.
The Fringe Club is located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St. W., southwest corner of Bloor and Bathurst). The Fringe Club is the festival headquarters, with a box office, beer tent, great food, and free programming.
Performance schedule: Daily between 10:00am and midnight
Ticket Prices: $12 in advance, $10 at the door.
(FringeKids! performances for children 12 and under: $5 in advance and at the door)
CONTINUING THIS YEAR: 100% of tickets will be available online, over the phone, or at the Festival Box Office up to three hours before show time. Any unsold tickets will be available for purchase at individual venues.
Purchase tickets starting June 11, 2015 the following four ways:
1. Over the phone at 416.966.1062
2. Online at www.fringetoronto.com
3. At the main box office in the Fringe Club, from noon-9pm during the festival
4. In-person at the play’s venue, starting one hour before show-time during the festival
Phone and online orders are subject to a $2 per order fee.
All shows start on time. Latecomers will not be admitted. No exceptions.
The Toronto Fringe
Now celebrating its 27th year, the Toronto Fringe provides creative opportunities for artists and audiences by producing two important festivals – the Toronto Fringe Festival and the Next Stage Theatre Festival – and by running outreach activities that benefit youth, artists and the theatre community at large. In 2014, the Toronto Fringe launched a national crowdfunding platform for indie artists, called Fund What You Can (FWYC). Our home, the Fringe Creation Lab, welcomes independent artists year round, encouraging their creative work by offering them affordable space to make art, congregate and innovate. For more information, visit www.fringetoronto.com
2015-06-23
2015 Site-Specific Theatre Line-up