With more than 200 shows on the schedule, the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival suffers from the tyranny of choice. Take a deep breath. With more than 15 years of fringing under my belt, I’ve seen it all — and I can suggest a few shows that you can bet your time and money on.
Here’s seven shows to get you started at this year’s Fringe, running Aug. 14 to 24.
Watch in amazement as puppeteers Ingrid Hansen and Britt Small turn their hands into a series of deranged puppets, all for a slightly odd laugh and possibly a guffaw or two. This is a great show for people looking for something a bit strange and maybe a touch offbeat. Hansen is a professional puppeteer, turning her hands into the live-action variety show reminiscent of The Muppets.
Writers Darrin Hagen and Trevor Schmidt return with everyone’s favourite pair of girl scouts. Flora and Fawna have a backyard slumber party with scary stories and a new friend who throws a wrench into their dynamic. The pair have graced multiple festival seasons by this point, a hilarious duo who are surrounded by mayhem and more than a few adult jokes. This is Guys in Disguise at their best, with a heartwarming story and a whole barrel of laughs from men dressed up as girl scouts.
It’s a horror comedy inspired by slasher films of the ‘90s. Five friends on a weekend trip find themselves face to face with a masked killer. Not everyone will make it out alive, though they may laugh their way to the end. Final Girl is from the same writing duo that brought the award-winning Krampus: A New Musical to life.
One of the funniest songstresses to grace last year’s festival returns with a brand new show, at a ticket price that won’t break the bank. When Shirley Gnome accidentally becomes famous for writing a kids song, things go sideways. Gnome is a talented singer with the comedic timing to rival Weird Al Yankovic, writing some dirty songs with laugh-out-loud lyrics that aren’t appropriate for anyone under 45. Don’t bring your kids, this isn’t actually a kid’s show.
The Grindstone Theatre Society follow up last year’s smash hit Accidental Beach: A Previously Improvised Musical — a comedy about lifeguards trying to have the summer of their life on the North Saskatchewan shore — with a prequel. When construction awakens a giant sturgeon that wreaks havoc on the newly-formed attraction, three heroes jump in to save the day.
This mind-warping show is ostensibly about two cops on a stakeout watching two men watch them. Follow Martin Dockery down this rabbit hole, a truly crazy performance that demonstrates what makes the festival so special. It’s not the first time this odd show has graced the Fringe stage, a drama that’s funny, a comedy that makes you think and a show that will leave you scratching your head but smiling the whole time.
It’s a show about local history, told at the place where that history was made — Plaza Bowling. Playwrights Samantha Fraughton and Andrew Boyd, the team behind last year’s hit High and Dry, take creative liberties with their story about Jerry Stephenson, the last person to bowl a perfect game – 12 strikes in a row – at the historic bowling alley in 1963.
