Winnipeg Fringe Festival – Winnipeg Free Press

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Irene Sankoff, co-creator of Come From Away, acts in a one-woman show at the fringe.

Broadway champ appears at fringe

Randall King 4 minute read Thursday, Jul. 27, 2023

With little fanfare, a Tony nominee stealthily made her way onto one of the 30 stages at this year’s fringe festival.

That would be Irene Sankoff, the co-creator, with creative/life partner David Hein, of the hit Broadway musical Come from Away.

Sankoff is flying solo as a performer in the one-woman comedy-drama Dog Gone at the Planetarium Auditorium (Venue 9) until Sunday. Written and directed by Brenda McFarlane, it’s the story of Alice, a transplanted Canadian who ditches her husband in Los Angeles to return to Canada with Sassy, a problematic dog she stole from an animal shelter.

It may be news to some that Sankoff started as a performer, earning a master’s degree at the Actor’s Studio in New York. Sankoff was studying there during 9/11, the day that would inspire the creation of Come From Away. That play tells the story of stranded airline passengers being welcomed by the townspeople of Gander, N.L., when their plane is diverted after the terrorist attack.

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Priyanka Shetty’s monologue is for herself, her audience and her acting-averse parents

AV Kitching 4 minute read Preview

Priyanka Shetty’s monologue is for herself, her audience and her acting-averse parents

AV Kitching 4 minute read Wednesday, Jul. 26, 2023

Priyanka Shetty has mixed feelings about her parents watching her show. Shetty’s The Elephant in the Room is a monologue based on her experiences of growing up in India, embarking on a career as a software engineer and then leaving it all behind to move to the States to pursue her dream of becoming an actor.

The hour-long show is running at Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 3) to Saturday.

“I’ve always wanted to be an actor,” Shetty says. “I joined the drama club in school when I was 12, and at 13 I directed and performed in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and that was the extent to which I got involved in theatre.

“I picked it up many years later when I was working as an engineer at a software company back in India. I actually started a theatre group in secret because my family was super-opposed to the idea of me being on stage.”

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Wednesday, Jul. 26, 2023

Five-star shows at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival

12 minute read Preview

Five-star shows at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival

12 minute read Wednesday, Jul. 26, 2023

The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival offers many, many shows — and all of them have been reviewed by our dedicated team of writers. There is something for everyone to see and enjoy, but there is a lot to choose from.

If you don't want to "eeny meeny miney mo" to decide what to watch, take a look at the list of shows that received the highest rating from our reviewers.

Check out the five-star reviews from this year's fringe festival below.

DRAG ME TO THE OPERAAida Cupcake Presents

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Wednesday, Jul. 26, 2023

Local comic returns with three shows

Randall King 5 minute read Preview

Local comic returns with three shows

Randall King 5 minute read Monday, Jul. 24, 2023

It was a little less than a year ago when Winnipeg comic Tim Gray and his wife, fellow comic Dana Smith, packed up their little blue Honda Fit and moved to Toronto.

“I guess (it’s been) nine months,” says Gray, 36. “The average gestation period for a new Torontonian.”

It was no small deal. After all, in the realm of comedy, Gray was a big fish in the comparatively tiny Winnipeg pond, first as a member of the crackerjack comedy troupe HUNKS, and also as the producer of the comedy program at Wee Johnny’s Irish Pub, the intimate McDermot Avenue watering hole that became a downtown comedy mecca largely under Gray’s stewardship.

Then, of course, there was the time in 2018 when Gray and Smith appeared on the CBC’s The Debaters to tussle over the question of whether they should get married, an argument Gray won — the couple ended up getting hitched onstage directly afterward.

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Monday, Jul. 24, 2023

Day 4: Cannot get enough of these fringe play reviews

10 minute read Preview

Day 4: Cannot get enough of these fringe play reviews

10 minute read Sunday, Jul. 23, 2023

ALWAYS BECAUSE: THE ADVENTURES OF MAGGIE AND MEGHANUs <3

The Cinematheque (Venue 7), to Sunday

Written and performed by Ottawa’s Maggie May Harder and Meghan Aglaia Burns (who are also a couple), this 45-minute comedy about queer love and joy has some really good ideas but suffers from its self-conscious execution.

Which is too bad, because it’s clear that both comedians are smart and have lots to say (the show was at its best when they went off script). Harder’s short standup set, which kicks off the show, has lots of laughs, as does Burns’ turn as cis-het guy finally getting therapy.

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Sunday, Jul. 23, 2023

JEN MOORE PHOTO
Laura Piccinin in Lesbihonest

Day 4: Another freshly prepared batch of fringe play reviews

27 minute read Preview

Day 4: Another freshly prepared batch of fringe play reviews

27 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 25, 2023

ADVENTURE OF THE LITTLE ROOSTERThe Grand Salto Theatre

Kids Venue (MTYP — Mainstage), to Sunday

Ontario’s Zita Nyarady could give Emma Memma of Wiggles fame a run for her money. The Kids Fringe 45-minute fable about a Little Rooster getting back his silver ring from an evil cabbage delighted a lively Saturday afternoon audience. Nyarady as the Little Rooster (as well as the rest of the show’s characters) had the audience in the palm of her hand (or wing). The physicality displayed throughout was fun to watch and take part in (though this reviewer was too shy to jump up for the dance party at the end of the performance).

It’s impossible not to be charmed by Adventure of the Little Rooster. It is a perfect example of what kids fringe should be: fun, silly and full of bubbles. ★★★★★

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Tuesday, Jul. 25, 2023

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From left: Luke Cecelon, Kevin Ramberran, Thomas Toles, Daniel Chen and Cuinn Joseph of Club Soda

Day 4: No such thing as too much when it comes to fringe play reviews

20 minute read Preview

Day 4: No such thing as too much when it comes to fringe play reviews

20 minute read Sunday, Jul. 23, 2023

90 LIES AN HOUR: PAUL STRICKLANDPaul Strickland Presents

MTYP Mainstage (Venue 21), to Sunday

American storyteller Paul Strickland returns with tall tales from his Ain’t True and Uncle False oeuvre in this hour-long, tightly woven routine of four comedic stories and a song. He takes the scenic route to steer his audience toward wordplay punchlines.

Strickland is a gifted orator capable of crafting emotional beats based entirely on folksy, “non-factual” characters. The moral of the stories is, invariably, about the strength of community. “What you walk away with is something that is true — for you,” as Strickland puts it.

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Sunday, Jul. 23, 2023

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Cockeyed creativity and the art of keeping fringe-goers in the loop for 30 years

Eva Wasney 6 minute read Preview

Cockeyed creativity and the art of keeping fringe-goers in the loop for 30 years

Eva Wasney 6 minute read Sunday, Jul. 23, 2023

Jenny is a lot of things. She’s a mischievous imp, a multi-talented chameleon, a well-travelled astronaut and an occasional trapeze artist. She’s also — as per an amended dictionary definition — “just another braying ass.”

Appearing in editorial cartoons and as a coveted trophy, Jenny the donkey has been the eponymous mascot for The Jenny Revue, a grassroots publication covering all things Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, for the last 30 years.

The revue was launched in 1991 and is celebrating a belated 30th anniversary in 2023 following one skipped edition in the ’90s and a recent pandemic pause.

“We were 29 and holding for a few years there,” Jenny editor and “web wizard” Murray Hunter says with a laugh.

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Sunday, Jul. 23, 2023

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Longtime fringe volunteer Murray Hunter edits the The Jenny Revue, which got its start in 1991, first as six three-page issues containing ‘down and dirty reviews, gossip, rumour, off-the-program and on-the-edge reporting.’

Day 3: We just can’t stop reviewing fringe shows

19 minute read Preview

Day 3: We just can’t stop reviewing fringe shows

19 minute read Saturday, Jul. 22, 2023

A IS FOR ANXIETY APPLESB12 Theatre Productions

CCFM — Antoine Gaborieau Hall (Venue 19), to July 30

This dramedy directed by Winnipegger Kennedy Huckerby aims to educate its audience about mental illness via a series of vignettes that attempt to skewer the adage “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Apples aside — the fruit metaphor feels forced at times — the show has a lot to say about the realities of young people living with anxiety, eating disorders and other mental illnesses. For the most part, it delivers its message clearly, with room to grow. Huckerby and collaborators Elena Modrzejewski, Maggie Davidson and Brooklyn Alice Lee have managed to inject some levity with creative needle drops, dance moves and literal bursting of bubbles. But the darker moments are often the show’s strongest, particularly an interpretation of seeking mental-health care within a traditional hospital setting. A few minutes shorter than its listed 45-minute runtime, the show ends with a personalized surprise for some audience members. ★★★

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Saturday, Jul. 22, 2023

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The Case of the Mysterious Mystery: A Not Quite Sherlock Mystery

Fringe veteran goes solo for 30th anniversary show

Jen Zoratti 4 minute read Preview

Fringe veteran goes solo for 30th anniversary show

Jen Zoratti 4 minute read Friday, Jul. 21, 2023

Stephen Sim is saying yes to himself.

The veteran improviser has been making people laugh at the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival for 30 years, as one-half of the improvisational duo CRUMBS, or as the host of The Big Stupid Improv Show, a fringe favourite since 1999.

This year, he’s doing something new. Something scary. Something he’s wanted to try for a long time. The Smallest Stupid Improv Show (Venue 5, to July 30) will be Sim’s first solo improv show.

“I have not felt this way about a show or about opening a fringe or about anything in a long time, because this is so new for me,” says Sim, 50.

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Friday, Jul. 21, 2023

MIKAELA MACKENZIE PHOTOS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Stephen Sim puts out a new sandwich board at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Company.

Day 2: Even more fringe play reviews

19 minute read Preview

Day 2: Even more fringe play reviews

19 minute read Saturday, Jul. 22, 2023

THE annual Winnipeg Theatre Fringe Festival is in full swing at 31 venues across the city. The Free Press is reviewing all 140-plus shows — they will appear in the pages of the paper and are all online now. The festival runs until July 30.

ALIENS OF EXTRAORDINARY ABILITYThe Crosseyed Rascals

One88/188 Princess St. (Venue 23), to Saturday, July 29

LOCAL improv troupe The Crosseyed Rascals, well-known and appreciated for their clean, family-friendly style of performance, opened their 2023 Fringe run Thursday night — appropriately enough — to an audience of mainly friends and family.

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Saturday, Jul. 22, 2023

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Brittany Hunter, Kelly Robinson, Reid McTavish, Heather Madill, Richard Smith and Kyra Krassnigg of Goltsman-Ferris Productions present Obsession: The Elizabeth Smart Musical.

Day 1: And the fringe play reviews continue

13 minute read Preview

Day 1: And the fringe play reviews continue

13 minute read Friday, Jul. 21, 2023

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTENShoestring Players

Tom Hendry Warehouse (Venue 6), to July 30

Winnipeg’s Shoestring Players have a ball as they bounce their way through this hour-long collection of comic vignettes depicting the never-ending education that comes with being a member of the human race.

Once class is in session, the players — most of whom are middle-aged — turn back the clock and give the audience a reminder that wisdom shouldn’t necessarily come at the expense of wonder, self-belief and a can-do attitude. Based on the series of books by Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know… is sentimental and ultra-saccharine, but there’s a real joy in seeing the actors ham it up and play make-believe, which might give others the confidence to give something new a try.

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Friday, Jul. 21, 2023

Winnipeg Fringe Festival: 2023 show reviews

6 minute read Preview

Winnipeg Fringe Festival: 2023 show reviews

6 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 25, 2023

The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is back, with more than 140 companies bringing their original and adapted shows to the city from July 19 to 30.

All of the Free Press’ reviews will be published here. Find a show below and click to read its review.

Five-star shows from the fringe festivalClick here to read reviews of these shows

Drag Me To The Opera — Aida Cupcake PresentsNeechies — Broken Record ProductionsFake ‘N’ Bake — Oh Hello Productions!Good Grief — Gangland Productions(In)Decision — Drawing Board ProductionsIngénue: Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland, And The Golden Age Of Hollywood — Melanie Gall PresentsSix Chick Flicks — PKF ProductionsWorld’s Fair 1876: The Centennial Exposition — JHG CreativeAdventure Of The Little Rooster — The Grand Salto TheatreCatch Me In The Kitchen Story Adventures — Catch Me in the KitchenEpidermis Circus — SNAFUNashville Hurricane — Chase PadgettDAY 1: July 19, 2023The first of many fringe play reviews are in… take your pickClick here to read reviews of these shows

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Tuesday, Jul. 25, 2023

Day 1: The first of many fringe play reviews are in… take your pick

14 minute read Preview

Day 1: The first of many fringe play reviews are in… take your pick

14 minute read Thursday, Jul. 20, 2023

ANESTI DANELIS: THIS SHOW WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFEAnesti Danelis

Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 3), to Thursday, July 27

Armed with a guitar, keyboard and violin, Toronto musical comedian Anesti Danelis riffs on wellness, self-help, dating, office culture and growing up in a Greek household. But too often, his observations are funny in the way that might make you smile but not laugh.

Many of the jokes feel dated — bits about manbuns, astrology and Instagramming meals are very 2014 — and the songs are overwritten (breathless run-on verses are only amusing the first few times, and then they get tedious). Danelis is competent on his instruments, but he’s not exactly a virtuoso, and comedy songs still need to be actual songs, with hooks and choruses and melodies. And one tune is so unfunny — and unnecessarily vulgar — that it should be cut from the show entirely.

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Thursday, Jul. 20, 2023

“August Quarterly Report” Written by Leah Borchert and Nigel Batchelor. Preformed by Cory Wojcik

Your role at festivals like Fringe

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Your role at festivals like Fringe

Editorial 4 minute read Thursday, Jul. 20, 2023

Downtown Winnipeg portrays a livelier version of itself when the curtain opens on the 2023 Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival.

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Thursday, Jul. 20, 2023

JAMES CAREY LAUDER
Patrick Gregoire rehearses at Theatre Cercle Moliere prior to the start of the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival.

After a pandemic-enforced beach holiday, Jem Rolls returns to his favourite fringe festival

Alan Small 6 minute read Preview

After a pandemic-enforced beach holiday, Jem Rolls returns to his favourite fringe festival

Alan Small 6 minute read Wednesday, Jul. 19, 2023

Jem Rolls resembles Chuck Noland, the luckless courier played by Tom Hanks who is stranded on a tropical island after a plane crash in the film Cast Away.

The London-based poet, spoken-word performer and Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival favourite is heavily bearded, well-tanned and leaner than a rail as he walks barefoot down Market Street Monday, as if a Winnipeg sidewalk were a sandy beach.

Among the dozens of posters slapped on the wall of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is one advertising Jem Rolls Maximum Crusoe, his new fringe show that began Wednesday night at Manitoba Museum’s Alloway Hall and runs until July 29.

While Rolls wasn’t marooned on a forgotten isle in the Pacific, he did spend almost two years on a beach, specifically in the Arabian Sea town of Gokarna, India, a Hindu holy community about 700 kilometres south of Mumbai, which is Maximum Crusoe’s setting.

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Wednesday, Jul. 19, 2023

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