The 2024 Saskatoon Fringe Festival is a chance to see cutting edge theatre and ignore what you think is a sure-fire bet for entertainment. Throw aside your cares and take in 10 days of “fly by the seat of your pants” theatre. I can’t possibly cover it all so I’ve made a few picks to get you started. Happy Fringing!!!

FrINgE FaCts:

There are 20 live shows to choose from happening at the Cosmopolitan Seniors’ Centre, The Refinery & The Broadway Theatre. Tickets are $13 – $16 with an all access pass for $140.

The festival site is a full city block square with Dufferin Ave. and 11th St framing the fun in W.E. Graham Park (behind Victoria School).

Access to the outdoor festival site and activities is completely free and includes street performers like Hoop & Hat and Jambo Brothers. There is plenty of fun for the kids and interactive art projects that even the adults can dig into, a street market, food trucks and so much more.

The full schedule, ticket info and answers to all your questions can be found at this link.

For my Saskatoon Fringe Primer, click here.

NOW ON TO THE PLAYS… (there are sooo many, these are just a few suggestions)

 

 

AlL AgEs

There are several shows that celebrate trickery and sleight of hand. El Diablo of the Cards (Brazil) has Ewerton Martins clowning around with card tricks in the round smack dab in the middle of the crowd at The Refinery.

Keith Brown combines magic and storytelling in his act Absolute Magic (London, ON). Brown’s a celebrated VIP entertainer and has performed for people like Dave Grohl and the President and First Lady of Iceland. His show is at the Cosmo.

Not to be outdone, Super Funtimes Magic! (Long Beach, CA) marks the return of Christopher Bange and his pick-pocket fast hands. Bange has received incredible reviews on the Fringe circuit.

 

cOMeDY

Regulars to the Saskatoon Fringe Festival will instantly recognize the name Rob Gee. The comedian, poet, and former mental health nurse has performed on the circuit for years. He’s returned to The Broadway Theatre with actor Jon Paterson for AWOL (Leicester, UK). It’s a tale of two elderly men who break out of their care home to go to a heavy metal festival. They are calling it “a love letter to metalheads”.

 

Another comedy on this year’s program Catching Feelings: The Most Romantic Juggling Show in the World (Calgary) was a last-minute add to the Saskatoon Fringe. Performer Jason Melnychuk’s original tale asks the audience to consider what if Cupid was a juggler. It’s a cabaret style performance at The Refinery with songs and circus routines. Melnychuk will also have a roving show on the festival site.

 

fOR ThE KidS

Catch Me In The Kitchen Story Adventures (Toronto) is a great one to take the little ones to. Stephen LaFrenie and Chantale Groulx bring two reimagined fairytales to life with the magic of physical theatre. This is a show perfect for kids 4 – 10 happening at The Refinery. Watch these storytellers put a twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Lupus Maximus and the Three Little Pigs. The Winnipeg Free Press called this show “a masterpiece of the imagination”.

 

Wonder City Collective is back at the Fringe with Survival of the Spookiest (Saskatchewan Collective). This production was first seen as part of the 2020 This is Not That Festival (25th Street Theatre’s Live From Your Lawn performances). It’s an interactive game show style set up at The Refinery where spooky creatures compete in a Monster Mash to decide who is the “Spookiest” monster of them all.

 

dRAmA

Brad McDougall brings a very personal tale to the stage in Night Sweats (Regina). The performance at The Refinery is based on his own experience coming out in the 80s amidst the AIDS crisis. The show explores a new world of sexual freedom while dealing with the loss of loved ones.

 

This year marks a milestone for another Saskatoon Fringe favourite Jem Rolls. The next 10 days will be Rolls’ 150th Fringe. Based on real life events, The Kid Was A Spy (England, UK) tells the story of Ted Hall, a 19-year-old physicist in Oppenheimer’s Atomic Bomb Project, who tries to level the playing field by sharing atomic secrets with the Russians. Did a teen really cause the Cold War? Find out at The Broadway Theatre.

 

 

MuSicAL mAStErY

The Fringe circuit is where many productions get their start before becoming a mainstage show. That’s the hopeful future for 16 The Musical (Saskatoon). This brand new show by first-time playwright Elisabeth Foucault dives into teenage angst, peer pressure, identity, and the struggle for independence. There’s a huge cast and an original score and has been described as The Breakfast Club with a modern twist happening at The Broadway Theatre.

The Cosmo will also be filled with music from Chase Padgett: Grab Bag Cabaret (Orlando, FL). Padgett is returning to Saskatoon’s Fringe in this new production which was named Orlando Fringe Patron’s Pick.