Vancouver Fringe Festival unveils this year's lineup of more than 85 shows
Granville Island performances span a musical about Medusa’s feelings, a drama chronicling Pierre Trudeau’s life, and traditional song and dance from Burundi
Fringe4All.
THE VANCOUVER FRINGE FESTIVAL has just announced its lineup of more than 85 shows at this year’s event, which runs from September 7 to 17 on and around Granville Island.
Priority booking tickets are on sale now for those with annual Vancouver Fringe Festival memberships. Tickets are available to the general public beginning August 24 at 10 am.
Performances will take place at various theatre venues in the area—including Arts Umbrella, the Revue Stage, Performance Works, the Waterfront Theatre, the Carousel Theatre, and The NEST—plus Ballet BC’s brand-new studio spaces on Granville Island. The nearby Pacific Theatre, Leap Creative Studios, and Studio 16 will also host shows.
The festival kicks off on September 6 at 6:30 pm with the inaugural Fringe4All special event, a celebration of the theatrical offerings to come in the days following. Artists will have just two minutes to tease their productions in a riotous evening at Performance Works hosted by Abdul Aziz and Shawn O’Hara.
TrudeauMania.
Highlights for the rest of the festival include dramas such as Direct Theatre Collective’s MONSTER, a musical tale of Medusa’s personality, which is perpetually overshadowed by her serpentine hairdo; and Steel Wolf’s TrudeauMania, which tells former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s life story through high-energy song and dance.
In the side-splitting comedy genre, Monster Theatre and RibbitRePublic’s The Fool centres a medieval court jester played by Jonathon Paterson. The one-man show is written and directed by Vancouver’s Ryan Gladstone (co-creator of award-winning production Juliet: A Revenge Comedy). Meanwhile, Candy Roberts throws gender binary out the window in her laughter-packed solo show LARRY, which follows a man on the road to self-betterment.
There’s also a stellar selection of dance on the lineup: PointeTango’s Tango in the Dark is a rhythmic midnight love story that melds classical ballet with Argentine tango, while Agasimbo from Club Culturel Inkinzo serves traditional song and dance from the southern Burundi province of Makamba.
Tango in the Dark.
Elsewhere, PUSH Physical Theatre’s Generic Male: Just What We Need, Another Show About Men takes circus absurdity and pushes it to its limits in a hilarious-yet-heartfelt dive into patriarchy’s downfall.
Special events at this year’s festival include Cameryn Moore’s infamous dirty-storytelling open mic Smut Slam, and a documentary screening of On The Fringe, Cory Thibert and Nancy Kenny’s award-winning work. An all-out closing party, Cabaret of Bulls#!t, wraps up the festival on September 16 at 11 pm.
Many shows are also available to stream online. The full roster of performances and a link to purchase tickets can be found at www.vancouverfringe.com, along with more details on the festival itself.
The Fool.
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