B/w @eldritchtheatre.bsky.social's silly/perverse ...GRAND GUGINOL, Coal Mine's clever/divisive EUREKA DAY (still tix left 4 next week's extension!), & Bad Dog Theatre's PEOPLE OF THE CITY (opened last night @factorytheatre.bsky.social), there's lot of comedic choices on #TheaTO stages RN. #ComedyTO

Can't wait to get home, slip into something comfortable, & watch @chrislockefun.bsky.social 's new special: youtu.be/rXBHo63Iz0c?... #ComedyTO #CdnCult

My #FringeTO '25 wrap up thread! Highlights (+), lowlights (—), & ending w/ artist & BSky Shout Outs (S/Os). Interspersed in the thread is links to more post-festival coverage. (Below, a link to my completed review thread, w/ 34/35 @toronto-fringe.bsky.social shows micro-reviewed.) #TheaTO #ComedyTO

Cheers to @glennsumi.bsky.social for the S/O, & for keeping the convo going, esp. WRT a future life for gr8 #FringeTO shows in #TheaTO & #ComedyTO venues.

I'm seeing shows 31-35 today, & will update my BSky micro-review thread Mon. I've a post-fest thread planned too w/ S/Os, & suggestions for '26.

#1 Clown Comedy with Victor & Priscilla
@toronto-fringe.bsky.social only four shows left! Pay What You Can on Tue July 8 at 4pm & Thur July 10 at 9:30pm
fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/...
#fringeto
#theato
#comedyto
#torontofringe
#Toronto
#torontoevents
#yyz
#torontofestival
#torontodragqueen

A woman sings into a microphone, with a tie-dyed filter superimposed. Text reads, "Good Enough Live Karaoke, we play, you sing!"

Taking this eve off from #FringeTO shows to go to @toronto-fringe.bsky.social's Live Band Karaoke @ Old Flame Brewing, feat. Good Enough Karaoke. Will I sing Talking Heads, Jonathan Richman, both? Come see! 8pm onwards... #TheaTO #ComedyTO

There's been overnight break-ins 2 nights in a row @ Alumnae Theatre. Venue & #FringeTO companies performing there have had 1000's of $ worth of equipment stolen. I hear an assistance fund is planned (through @fringe-toronto.bsky.social ?), but in the meantime, buy ALL their merch. #TheaTO #ComedyTO

Actors Justan Myers-Chapman, Luca McPhee, & Nick Dolan in a scene from IRIS (SAYS GOODBYE), playing July 2nd-12th at the 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival. Photo by Stefi Kopp.

12 @toronto-fringe.bsky.social shows in. More threaded micro reviews soon! Favs so far include IRIS SAYS GOODBYE, DAVID LYNCH'S SEINFELD, EMILIO'S A MILLION CHAMELEONS, THE ADDING MACHINE, SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO, and ADAM BAILEY'S 3 DEATHS. Photo by Stefi Kopp. #FringeTO #TheaTO #ComedyTO

Press for the Fest | Toronto Fringe Festival

[A brief interruption to my #FringeTO micro reviews to remind y'all that @toronto-fringe.bsky.social is collating preview coverage here: fringetoronto.com/fringe/press (The hed of the webpage mentions reviews, though those will pop up fast & furious, we'll see if they keep up...) #TheaTO #ComedyTO ]

On an orange background, a copy of the program guide for the 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival, with a page of the schedule highlighting some shows on the first 2 days.

Here begins my @toronto-fringe.bsky.social '25 thread! Hopefully as the fest continues, all the #TheaTO & #ComedyTO folx I know on Meta & X will have figured out BSky's the only SM platform that 1. easily shares links & news, & 2. isn't overrun by toxicity. So yes, here (only here!) we go! #FringeTO

Monday 30 June 2025 Fringe Is Funny showcase @ 7:30-9:30pm Comedy Bar Canadian Beef, feat. @ 8-10pm Comedy Bar Wednesday 02 July 2025 Songs By a Wannabe @ 5:30pm, Young Centre Iris Says Goodbye @ 7:30-8:50pm Young Centre Judge Mintz @ 10pm, Tarragon Theatre Thursday 03 July 2025 David Lynch's Seinfeld @ 12pm, Helen Gardiner Phelan Theatre Have Fun Kids @ 2pm, Young Centre Confessions of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl, @ 4:45pm, Alumnae Theatre Adam Bailey: My Three Deaths, @ 6:15pm, Native Earth Performing Arts, Aki Studio The Adding Machine @ 9-10:20pm, 639 Queen St W Friday 04 July 2025 Emilio's A Million Chameleons, @ 2:15pm, Young Centre Something To Look Forward To, @ 4:45pm, VideoCabaret Sweet Action Theatre Presents..., @ 7:30pm, Sweet Action Theatre People Suck..., @ 9:30- 11pm, Theatre Passe Muraille Saturday 05 July 2025 A Play We Wrote Just Now, @ 11:30am, Tarragon Theatre RPF VS. Bad Dog, @ 2:30 - 4pm, MacGregor Playground Apothecary, @ 6 - 7:30pm, Theatre Passe Muraille Fringe Karaoke, @ 9pm - 11pm, 43 Tank House Lane Sunday 06 July 2025 Sweet & Sultry Burlesque, @ 3pm, Helen Gardiner Phelan Theatre Quiz Icarus, @ 4:45pm, Helen Gardiner Phelan Theatre Bitty-Bat & Friends, @ 7:45pm - 8:45pm, Young Centre Bitty-Bat & Friends 7:45pm, Young Centre f

Finally got my #FringeTO schedule sorted for the first 5 days of the festival! #TheaTO #ComedyTO

@clareblackwood.bsky.social & @avacomedy.bsky.social are active BSky posters; @mrchrisbetts.bsky.social, @jonblair.bsky.social, @nickflanagan.bsky.social are quiet, but here. Who else from the #Toronto comedy scene would y'all recommend following? #ComedyTO

Spoke too soon! @imchriswilson.bsky.social IS on BlueSky, AND I was following him already! (Search function here is still not 100%.)

Maybe someone w/ free time (not me ATM, but maybe soon) should do a #ComedyTO starter pack? @mbalazo.bsky.social & @chrislockefun.bsky.social post here—who else?

I was just thinking how I'd love to see a musical feat. #ComedyTO stalwarts w/ voices—ppl like Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll, Chris Wilson, Jackie Pirico, Chris Sandiford, Jordan Armstrong, etc., etc. (Also, who are none of these immensely funny #CdnCult talents not on Blue Sky yet??)

An April opening is planned for this the underused, now under renovations East End #Toronto theatre/cinema, that hosted @outsidethemarch.bsky.social's MR. BURNS: A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY. Sounds like its new owner envisions it as a flexible space, open to #TheaTO or #ComedyTO programming...

Trump threatened this trans comic’s visa—now she’s coming to Halifax Toronto comedian Ava Val performs at the Halifax Live Comedy Club on April 11, 2025.

Great East Coast profile of #Toronto based comic @avacomedy.bsky.social. Give 'em hell, Ava! #ComedyTO www.thecoast.ca/arts-music/t...

#TOSketchfest kicks off this Wed. Some shows (Julie Noike, Tom Hearn) already sold out; some SHOULD be, but not yet (Templeton Philharmonic, @jonblair.bsky.social, Rapp Battlez). I'm esp. keen to FINALLY see @johnniewalker.bsky.social's THE HETEROSEXUALS. Tix here: torontosketchfest.com #ComedyTO

Saturday & Sunday are (once again) sold out - but there are still tix for grabs for tonight's 7:30pm & 9:30pm shows! #TheaTO #ComedyTO

Tickets – The Theatre Centre

The Theatre Centre, capitalizing on @aislingmurph.bsky.social & other's rave reviews of MONKS' opening night, have in the past hour added tickets to this week's too-short run (& I'll bet they won't last another hour, so hop on that ass... ): theatrecentre.org/tickets/?eid... #TheaTO #ComedyTO

" #Toronto needs to take comedies more seriously." Preach, Brother, preach!
#TheaTO #ComedyTO

Headed to this in a few min. Probably will try to cajole Ava into a post-set drink @ Comedy Bar (& dare I hope, Owl's Club karaoke?) after... #ComedyTO

#ComedyTO job alert!

"Looking for another tech to join our Comedy Bar team. Email gary@comedybar.ca if you have experience or are interested."

And another! More #TheaTO reviews of (good, and well produced) improvised shows like this, please! #ComedyTO

Boosting this because it's rare (far too rare) for a comedy show, esp. an improv comedy show, to get a proper review in #Toronto. In this case, being on an established theatre's stage no doubt helped; this show likely wouldn't have been reviewed if it was at, say, Comedy Bar.

#TheaTO #ComedyTO

I'll be judging @mrchrisbetts.bsky.social's show tonight @ 7pm @ Comedy Bar (945 Bloor St. W.), as part of the Festival of New Formats. There's a FREE show debuting every hour (7/8/9/10pm), incl. comedic Cdn takes on "Song Exploder" & the BBC series "Would I Lie To You?" Swing by! #ComedyTO

Tragedy Plus Time: Toronto-based Comedian Rob Baker Rob Baker, a Toronto-based comedian, is quickly becoming a standout figure in Canada’s comedy scene with his quick wit and sharp, observational humour.

I chuckle a bit @ the lede "quickly becoming a standout figure", b/c @robbibaker.bsky.social 's been improvising for over 2 decades in #Toronto. That said, I wish more interviewees answered questions with the same vim & verve as he does here. GREAT answers! #ComedyTO #TheaTO

Standing in the foreground, in front of a mural depicting the fictional feasting on St. Creskin's regenerating taint, L to R, is a masked Navy Sailor hilding a red rose, a blond-bobbed fair-skinned simpleton in a blue pointed cap (Adam Niebergall), a brown skinned snd silver-suited Lord William Sonoma (Sharjil Rasool), a Black-skinned Italian noble (Chris Sandiford), and a masked white man all in black and a paisley bow tie.

A close 2nd is Henri Faberge & co's Creskin's Day holiday spectaculars. This year, @ the climax, a medium (Clare McConnell) summoned the ghost of Creskin's widow (Kayla Lorette), who in turn summoned her heavy metal playing, horned demon BF (Alex Tindal).
#TheaTO #ComedyTO

I'll be at Teddy Beer again tonight for karaoke! (A number of #ComedyTO folx went to last week's 1st edition, & quite enjoyed themselves.)

Storyteller Joanne O'Sullivan speaks into a mic in the backroom of Teddy Beer, hosting her show The Spit.

Comedian Chris Gibbs gestures while on stage at Teddy Beer, as the headliner for The Spit, a weekly (in December 2024) storytelling show curated by host Joanne O'Sullivan.

Caught the 1st edition of The Spit, Joanne O'Sullivan's storytelling show @ Teddy Beer. Crazy insider details on the SNC-Lavalin scandal from @daveseglins.bsky.social, + pro funny ppl Chris Gibbs, Christel Bartelse, & Dan Galea. Runs every Monday @ 7pm in Dec '24, in the cozy Cave. #ComedyTO #TheaTO

Cool, cool.

(Someone let me know when @StarEntertain is resurrected and starts posting on BSky.)

#TheaTO #ComedyTO #TOMusicCity #CdnCult