Our last addition to this thread (I assume), better late than never, very busy #TheaTO critic @ilanalucas.bsky.social lists her '25 highlights on @broadwayworld.com, incl. new #CdnCult work (NARNIA), new stagings (JOB), #FringeTO faves (ALPHA), remounts (MONKS), & experiments (PERFORMANCE REVIEW).
Thinking on the 2015 #FringeTO 's infringement issues (www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... ), & how often the Streisand Effect comes into play... www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/a...
Hello Shoppers 🛒,
The Award-Winning #TorontoFringe show 'Galen's Grocer' is coming back for ONE MORE SHOW!
📍 Comedy Bar Danforth!
🕘 August 14th at 9pm!
🎟 comedybar.ca/shows/Galens...
#TheaTO #FringeTO
To close: every @toronto-fringe.bsky.social show w/ a program is on TTDB. Follow ppl/outlets that covered #FringeTO on BSky: @istvandugalin.bsky.social @ilanalucas.bsky.social @joshuachong.bsky.social @stageworthy.ca @aviewfromthebox.bsky.social @nextmagazine.bsky.social @intermissionmag.bsky.social
A collage of promotional images for the play THE ADDING MACHINE, presented at the 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival.
Lastly, #FringeTO '25 directors: A.Lundy brought the 102 yr old THE ADDING MACHINE to new life & relevancy; J.L.Archer-Chan coaxed gr8 performances from the teen cast of ALPHA; A.Harkin helped J.O’Sullivan translate SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO’s storytelling for Videocabaret’s in-the-round stage.
Sydney Marion in a scene from APOTHECARY, at the 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival. Photo by Seanna Kennedy.
A special S/O to the stage design of APOTHECARY; the ivy covered & functional shelves of the titular time travelling space was the best #FringeTO festival set I’ve seen in years. No designer was credited. Was it director C.Van Wyck, producer & co-lead L.Piccinin, or someone else?
5 Trinidadian BIPOC boys in blue shirts and grey slacks dance with abandon around their classroom tables, with a purple wash backdrop, in a scene from ALPHA at the Toronto Fringe Festival 2025. Photo by Kajay Ramkarran.
#FringeTO dramatic standouts included W.Borden, still forceful & magnetic at 83, as the titular prisoner in JUSTICE FOR MAURICE HENRY CARTER; T.Walker in the ADDING MACHINE, adding another top-notch Everyman role to his growing C.V. of them; & the energetic teens in ALPHA.
Emily Jeffers as her clown character Bitty-Bat. Photo by Lyon Smith.
My #FringeTO '25 comedy standouts include V.Sagar & V.W.Sepejak, “kittens” for SWEET & SULTRY BURLESQUE (both were also in UFC 3: NO LAUGHING MATTER, where Sepejak best understood the assignment); M.Nadeau’s George & N.Passmore’s Isabella Rossellini in DAVID LYNCH’S SEINFELD; & E.Jeffer’s BITTY-BAT.
#FringeTO Solo Musicals hit big, too. BOB MARLEY: HOW REGGAE CHANGED THE WORLD’s D.Forrest delighted hometown crowds; SCREAMING IN THE RAIN’s E.Pasic tickled the ivories w/ taboo topics; SEX GODDESS’ R.Reddick-Stevens’ hit w/ clever clubland capers (on now @ Hamilton Fringe/soon @ Summerworks ’25).
..who stole 1 IRIS... scene as a ballpark pop crooner. Yoganathan did double duty @ #FringeTO '25, as playwright for ZEITGEIST, which earned strong reviews & sold out; I couldn't get in! I'll hafta settle for seeing him in Shakespeare in the Ruff's TIFF'NY OF ATHENS in August, in Withrow Park.
S/Os! Agree w/ @aislingmurph.bsky.social —multi-lived musical IRIS (SAYS GOODBYE) was on another #FringeTO level, thx in part to leads like M.Blight (our ur-Iris, + a sweet clown in BITTY-BAT & FRIENDS) & L.McPhee (they fearlessly played Iris’ toxic turns), + ensemble stalwarts like B.Yoganathan...
A section of map showing the North-East end of the Distillery District in Toronto. The Young Centre complex is located on the West side of Cherry Street, bordered by Mill Street to the North, Tank House Lane to the South, and Cherry Street to the East. On the East side of Cherry Street is a TTC streetcar loop (and BikeShareTO station); east of there is a large open space at 125R Mill Street, with some landscaped wild gardens, south of the Oak House and Maple House condos. This space is managed by the Canary Landing condo corporation, and has hosted special events there in the past. Could the Toronto Fringe work with Canary Landing and the City of Toronto to get a special events permit to host the Fringe Hub, with late night programming and hours, at this location?
… IF capacity & hours can’t be improved on @ Young Centre, what about Old Flame? Their patio held a crowd for the #FringeTO silent disco. Or how about the open space @ 125R Mill St., East of the streetcar loop? Could the City of TO and Canary Landing approve a truly “late” night event permit there?
…IF #FringeTO ’26 plans to use YC courtyard again: lose the picnic tables, revert to light chairs patrons can move to seat large (dozens) & small (2-4) groups. Maximize patron capacity; move Box Office & Merch booths to the YC Atrium (slot in THAT front nook). Hours past 12am are crucial! OR...
Fringe artists taking part in the opening day parade on 02 July 2025 mill about on Mill Street, post-parade. The Toronto Fringe patio (AKA the Fringe Club, or Hub) has in the past 2 decades been a outdoor area with late (well past midnight) serving hours, that could accommodate large crowds from the Fringe community. This year's patio, at the Young Centre courtyard, through the yellow arch in the photo, was far too small to accommodate many artists, let alone patrons and supporters, and was shut down by 11pm each night. Photo by Colleen Yates.
— #FRINGETO PATIO. Fringers were V. disappointed w/ YC courtyard patio’s capacity & hours. I heard it referred to as “the nook” & “smaller than my 1st apartment.” W/ the 11pm shutdown + travel time b/w venues, many eschewed meeting & celebrating there, exchanging word of mouth buzz, buying drinks…
+ DISTILLERY CROWDS ♡ #FRINGETO! The festival definitely gained new patrons via their prominence in 1 of T.O.’s most popular sightseer districts. Curious passerby inquired & bought tix to shows @ Young Centre (YC)’s 4 venues; locals attended Fringe programming @ Old Flame Brewery. But less so at...
— THEFTS. #FringeTO acts @ Alumnae weren’t told of a burglary b4 opening, & some lost $1000s in equipment theft (as did the venue) in subsequent robberies on day 2&3. The festival’s insurance won’t cover a “satellite” venue; artists still don’t know if Alumnae’s will cover their losses. Brutal.
+ FUTURE LIFE! More chances to catch #FringeTO remounts soon, due to What The Festival’s new StrangeMakers Award joining Second City, Theatre Orangeville, & TO Live (5 shows this wknd!) remount commitments. & SEXY GODDESS is @ Hamilton Fringe now, & @ SummerWorks '25, i.e.; more (no doubt) to come.
The 03 July 2025 line-up for #FringeTO show CONFESSIONS OF A REDHEADED COFFEESHOP GIRL, which sold out this opening performance.
— EMPTY SEATS. Most sold out #FringeTO shows I saw had 5-15+ empty seats, w/ eager rush patrons shut out! If ticket holders are no shows @ 2 min to show, FOH should seat count & fill ‘em w/ rush patrons. If there's a late call, & ticket holders still no-show, fill seats w/ patient rushers then.
+ TICKET SALES! #FringeTO ’25 expanded by 25% on ’24’s total shows, & surged in profit returned to artists—over $577,000, w/ nearly 50,000 tix sold. Media coverage was strong, buzz spread—in large part due to the Alliance For Canadian Musicals fest-in-fest @ TPM—& new partnerships seemed fruitful.
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
35. I'm incl. the 03 July l8 night @tosketchfest.bsky.social showcase, but won't review. That's it! My '25 @toronto-fringe.bsky.social wrap-up thread will be up soon—don't forget every #FringeTO show (w/ a program) is now listed for posterity on the #Toronto #TheaTO DataBase! ttdb.ca/companies/to...
34. JUSTICE FOR MAURICE HENRY CARTER. I closed out #FringeTO '25 w/ this story of a Black man unjustly incarcerated for 26 yrs, & his bond w/ the activist who spent a decade lobbying to get Carter freed. Worth it for R.H.Thompson & W.Borden onstage, & the gospel singing of the supporting ensemble.
33. A SEXY PIGEON SHOW. S.Ivanco's lighthearted presentation as pigeon Colum, intent on improving urban pigeon-human relations, was a hit @ this year's Ottawa Fringe, & was Patron's Pick in T.O. But for me, it meandered, & suffered in comparison to anthropomorphized '24 #FringeTO hit RAT ACADEMY.
32. OH! I MISS THE WAR. D.J.Phillips' cleverly contrasting confessionals—sly tailor Jack @ his favourite pub in 1967 London, & butch bottom Matt after a meeting w/ Gen Z artists—explored coming to terms w/ being a queer elder, & the conflicting frissons & regrets they carry as survivors.
#FringeTO
31. #1 CLOWN COMEDY WITH VICTOR & PRISCILLA. Gender-bent 18th C. set comedy feat. titular twins, raised as vaudevillians, dreaming of becoming nobility, so shrewd Mama (M.Gram) has relatives (all P.-E.Rodenburg) visit to dissuade them. E.Amaral's braying & insecure Pris was a highlight. #FringeTO
30. THE ENSEMBLE. It found it rather charming to watch a large cast of recent George Brown alums charge enthusiastically into this "meta" translated Spanish play, about an unseen author & his supporting characters wrestling w/ free agency. Not a classic by any means, but enjoyable #FringeTO fare.
#BZ to @toronto-fringe.bsky.social (my wrap-up thread & completed micro review thread are still upcoming), & to Derrick personally, who produced 8 #FringeTO musicals while seeing 64 shows! He lost the "most shows seen" sash to Gabriel Mansour (69 shows, or 2/3rds of the fest), so he's only human. ;)
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.
Last chance to see this show Toronto! Tonight at 9:30 #FringeTO
Additional show added due to popular demand!
29. CTR ALT DELETE: AN ALPHABETICAL MUSICAL. My 2nd fav musical of #FringeTO '25, this witty workplace comedy centres 7 employees personifying letters, who may be axed (akzed?) b/c they can be replaced by other letters in combos. F, K, Q, S, W, X, & Z all get solos; we get belting & fun wordplay.
