Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 shows to check out at the 2024 Vancouver Fringe Festival

The ADHD Project, The Light Bringer, and The Kid Was a Spy among this year’s highlights

By gail johnson

The ADHD Project.

Vancouver Fringe Festival takes place from September 5 to 15 at various venues on Granville Island

OVER 11 DAYS, a whopping 71 shows will be presented across Granville Island for this year’s Vancouver Fringe Festival. Narrowing down your picks to a manageable number is the most challenging aspect of attending, so that’s why we’ve done it for you. Check out these highlights or get your tickets for such local acts as Jhoely Triana Flamenco (Arboles [Trees]), Roomie Productions (Bitches With Baggage), Blind Tiger Comedy (Blind Tiger Comedy presents Chips for Dinner), and Troy McLaughlin (Chuck Taylor Ballet), to name a mere few.

#1

The ADHD Project
September 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 15 at Off the Tracks

Storyteller Carlyn Rhamey offers a no-holds-barred look at ADHD and neurodiversity, complete with subpar report cards, interesting artwork, projected home videos, and guttingly hilarious honesty. The show has sold out venues all across Canada and has been adapted for schools by Prologue Performing Arts. Performed at the 2018 Vancouver Fringe Festival, The ADHD Project has been presented at the CADDAC ADHD Awareness Conference, Innovations in Practice: Western Canadian Conference on Disabilities, and beyond.

The Light Bringer.

#2

The Light Bringer
September 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, and 15 at The Nest

In this one-woman coming-of-age memoir, Laila Lee shares true stories about the trials and tribulations she and her Palestinian immigrant family experienced as Muslims living in the American South. The dramedy has won numerous honours, including the Golden Lanyard Award at the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival, the Producers’ Award at the 2023 Elgin Fringe Festival, and Outstanding Production Award at the 2023 Fundy Fringe Festival, among others.

The Kid Was a Spy.

#3

The Kid Was a Spy
September 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, and 15 at Ballet BC

Audiences at more than 150 Fringe festivals so far can’t be wrong: writer and performer Jem Rolls’s show, now entering its 152nd festival and its 20th Fringe tour, is a perennial favourite. It tells the true story of Ted Hall, who, at age 19 was the youngest physicist in Oppenheimer's Atomic Bomb Project in 1944, and who went on to give atomic secrets to the Russians. The show looks at the fallout of the young man’s tricky moral choice.

Jon Bennett: Ameri-CAN’T.

#4

Jon Bennett: Ameri-CAN’T
September 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14 at Waterfront Theatre

Acclaimed Australian comedic storyteller Jon Bennett digs into what it means to call the U.S. home after touring the globe for 14 years. A Broadway World reviewer out of the Tampa Fringe described Ameri-CAN’T as a “one-man triumph”, “ hilarious and heartbreaking”, and “unconditionally ribald and full of heart”.

Tragedy or Triumph: An Improvised Shakespearean Epic.

#5

Tragedy or Triumph: An Improvised Shakespearean Epic

September 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, and 15 at Ballet BC

The Spontaneous Shakespeare Company brings a choose-your-own-adventure approach to its comedic work, where audience suggestions guide the story, whether it be a tragedy or a romance. Performing at the Vancouver Fringe Festival for the first time, the company has been around since 2016 and has played to packed houses at the Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Edmonton Fringe Festivals. 

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