Local Names to Watch For
By E. Ross Bradley
Here are some artists and companies you might want to watch out for as they have provided exciting and entertaining works over a number of Fringe Festivals
Writers
Darrin Hagen (also Director and Actor)
Ken Brown (also Director and Actor)
Stewart Lemoine (also Director)
Trevor Schmidt (also Director and Actor)
DirectorsMark Bellamy
Amy De Felice
Ron Jenkins
Barbara Mah
Bradley Moss
Mieko Ouchi
Kate Ryan (also actor)
Companies
Briight Young Things
Guys in Disguise
Impossible Mongoose
Plain Jane Theatre
Teatro La Quindicina
TheatrePublic
Wishbone Theatre
Improvisation
Die Nasty
Gordon’s Big Bald Head
Rapid Fire Theatre
Actors
Julian Arnold
Chris Bullough (also writer and director)
Matt Busby
Gregory Caswell
Belinda Cornish
Colin Doyle
James Hamilton
Kristi Hansen
Jason Hardwick
Andrea House (also writer)
Andrew MacDonald Smith
Menny McKillop
Mark Meer (also writer and director)
Ron Peterson (also director)
Jon Paterson (also designer)
Michael Peng
Garrett Ross
Davina Stewart (also director)
Farren Timoteo (also director)
Ashley Wright
Out of Town Favorites
T. J. Dawe (writer, director and actor)
Mike Delamont AKA God/The Devil (actor and writer)
Chris Gibbs (director and actor)
Ryan Gladstone/Monster Theatre (actor, writer and director)
John D Huston
James and Jamesy (actors and writers)
Peter N’ Chris (actors and writers)
Jon Lochlan Stewart (actor and director)
2018 TOP REVIEWED SHOWS FROM FRINGES ACROSS CANADA
As complied by Douglas Oakley
The following shows have traveled across the country performing at Fringe Festivals to critical acclaim. If you value reviews for critics you may want to add these shows to your list.
Balls of Yarns
Runtime: 60 minutes
David Lynch meets The Wizard of Oz in this Weird-larious One-Man Musical Comedy! WINNER: Critic's Pick - Cincinnati Fringe. WINNER: Producer's Award - Orlando Fringe. From 10x Best of Fest winner Paul Strickland, star of 2017's smash hit "AIN'T TRUE & UNCLE FALSE" (***** - Winnipeg Free Press) [ Paul Strickland Presents ]
2: Backstage Theatre
Josephine
Runtime: 75 minutes
An Award-winning off-Broadway musical about the iconic Josephine Baker, the first African-American international superstar and one of the most remarkable figures of the 20th Century. "tour de force." 5 Stars-CBC "perfect piece of theatre for the time we're currently in" 5 Stars-Plays To See NYC 5 Stars-Winnipeg Free Press [ Dynamite Lunchbox Entertainment
1: Westbury Theatre
TWO OTHER 2018 SHOWS THAT ALSO GOT GOOD REVIEWED FROM FRINGES ACROSS CANADA
JEM ROLLS: I, IDIOT
Runtime: 60 minutes
You know they say everyone has a novel in them? Well, you know that novel's called? Its called "I, IDIOT". With verbal-physical buffoonery, Jem Rolls cartoons the personal and the universal in his own epic of blundering. More Fringe Festivals than anyone on earth. 40 ***** reviews. "Oh Dear". [ big word performance poetry ]
13: Old Strathcona Public Library
AWKWARD HUG
Runtime: 60 minutes
AWARD-WINNING actor, writer and storytelling champion Cory Thibert, embodies his 19-year-old self as he uncovers the truth behind what sets his family apart in this coming-of-age story with a twist. "HILARIOUS HONEST IMPACTFUL." Co-creator of: Happiness™ - ***** (Winnipeg Free Press) Wolves > Boys - ***** (CBC) [ Cory Thibert ]
11: Studio Theatre
SHOWS THAT ARE BACK AGAIN AND GREAT REVIEWS IN PAST YEARS
Interstellar Elder: Badass Grandma in Space
Runtime: 65 minutes
A fierce lone geriatric astronaut is adrift in a spaceship protecting the last of humankind: cryogenically frozen Human Cargo. "Impeccable. Absurd & profoundly human.*****"-StarPhoenix. "A GENIUS OF PHYSICAL COMEDY."-EntertainmentWorld. "BEST ENDING in the HISTORY OF FRINGE!"-MontrealGazette. From Co-Creator of SOLDOUT shows LITTLE ORANGE MAN (*****-VueWeekly) & THE MERKIN SISTERS (*****-TheatreInLondon) [ Ingrid Hansen ] Show less
14: The de Willars LLP Stage at Holy Trinity Church
Jake's Gift
Runtime: 75 minutes
Jake's Gift is back to celebrate 10 years since it first played at the Edmonton Fringe Festival in August 2008! This surprisingly funny drama tells the moving story of a Canadian WW2 veteran's reluctant return to Juno Beach to find the grave of the brother who never came home. [ Juno Productions ]
35: L'UniThéâtre - La Cité Francophone
By E. Ross Bradley
Here are some artists and companies you might want to watch out for as they have provided exciting and entertaining works over a number of Fringe Festivals
Writers
Darrin Hagen (also Director and Actor)
Ken Brown (also Director and Actor)
Stewart Lemoine (also Director)
Trevor Schmidt (also Director and Actor)
DirectorsMark Bellamy
Amy De Felice
Ron Jenkins
Barbara Mah
Bradley Moss
Mieko Ouchi
Kate Ryan (also actor)
Companies
Briight Young Things
Guys in Disguise
Impossible Mongoose
Plain Jane Theatre
Teatro La Quindicina
TheatrePublic
Wishbone Theatre
Improvisation
Die Nasty
Gordon’s Big Bald Head
Rapid Fire Theatre
Actors
Julian Arnold
Chris Bullough (also writer and director)
Matt Busby
Gregory Caswell
Belinda Cornish
Colin Doyle
James Hamilton
Kristi Hansen
Jason Hardwick
Andrea House (also writer)
Andrew MacDonald Smith
Menny McKillop
Mark Meer (also writer and director)
Ron Peterson (also director)
Jon Paterson (also designer)
Michael Peng
Garrett Ross
Davina Stewart (also director)
Farren Timoteo (also director)
Ashley Wright
Out of Town Favorites
T. J. Dawe (writer, director and actor)
Mike Delamont AKA God/The Devil (actor and writer)
Chris Gibbs (director and actor)
Ryan Gladstone/Monster Theatre (actor, writer and director)
John D Huston
James and Jamesy (actors and writers)
Peter N’ Chris (actors and writers)
Jon Lochlan Stewart (actor and director)
2018 TOP REVIEWED SHOWS FROM FRINGES ACROSS CANADA
As complied by Douglas Oakley
The following shows have traveled across the country performing at Fringe Festivals to critical acclaim. If you value reviews for critics you may want to add these shows to your list.
Balls of Yarns
Runtime: 60 minutes
David Lynch meets The Wizard of Oz in this Weird-larious One-Man Musical Comedy! WINNER: Critic's Pick - Cincinnati Fringe. WINNER: Producer's Award - Orlando Fringe. From 10x Best of Fest winner Paul Strickland, star of 2017's smash hit "AIN'T TRUE & UNCLE FALSE" (***** - Winnipeg Free Press) [ Paul Strickland Presents ]
2: Backstage Theatre
Josephine
Runtime: 75 minutes
An Award-winning off-Broadway musical about the iconic Josephine Baker, the first African-American international superstar and one of the most remarkable figures of the 20th Century. "tour de force." 5 Stars-CBC "perfect piece of theatre for the time we're currently in" 5 Stars-Plays To See NYC 5 Stars-Winnipeg Free Press [ Dynamite Lunchbox Entertainment
1: Westbury Theatre
TWO OTHER 2018 SHOWS THAT ALSO GOT GOOD REVIEWED FROM FRINGES ACROSS CANADA
JEM ROLLS: I, IDIOT
Runtime: 60 minutes
You know they say everyone has a novel in them? Well, you know that novel's called? Its called "I, IDIOT". With verbal-physical buffoonery, Jem Rolls cartoons the personal and the universal in his own epic of blundering. More Fringe Festivals than anyone on earth. 40 ***** reviews. "Oh Dear". [ big word performance poetry ]
13: Old Strathcona Public Library
AWKWARD HUG
Runtime: 60 minutes
AWARD-WINNING actor, writer and storytelling champion Cory Thibert, embodies his 19-year-old self as he uncovers the truth behind what sets his family apart in this coming-of-age story with a twist. "HILARIOUS HONEST IMPACTFUL." Co-creator of: Happiness™ - ***** (Winnipeg Free Press) Wolves > Boys - ***** (CBC) [ Cory Thibert ]
11: Studio Theatre
SHOWS THAT ARE BACK AGAIN AND GREAT REVIEWS IN PAST YEARS
Interstellar Elder: Badass Grandma in Space
Runtime: 65 minutes
A fierce lone geriatric astronaut is adrift in a spaceship protecting the last of humankind: cryogenically frozen Human Cargo. "Impeccable. Absurd & profoundly human.*****"-StarPhoenix. "A GENIUS OF PHYSICAL COMEDY."-EntertainmentWorld. "BEST ENDING in the HISTORY OF FRINGE!"-MontrealGazette. From Co-Creator of SOLDOUT shows LITTLE ORANGE MAN (*****-VueWeekly) & THE MERKIN SISTERS (*****-TheatreInLondon) [ Ingrid Hansen ] Show less
14: The de Willars LLP Stage at Holy Trinity Church
Jake's Gift
Runtime: 75 minutes
Jake's Gift is back to celebrate 10 years since it first played at the Edmonton Fringe Festival in August 2008! This surprisingly funny drama tells the moving story of a Canadian WW2 veteran's reluctant return to Juno Beach to find the grave of the brother who never came home. [ Juno Productions ]
35: L'UniThéâtre - La Cité Francophone