PREVIEWS: HAMILTON FRINGE 2024
The Hamilton Fringe Festival holds a very special place in this theatre-lover’s heart. I have been actively involved in many capacities since 2006 and each year I watch this community build, adapt and thrive. I have met wonderful people from all over the globe, seen incredible theatre works come to life (virtually and/or in person) and in 2017, I was inspired to create Steel City Reviews.
This year celebrates the 20th annual Hamilton Fringe Festival and the anticipation is high to make this the most memorable festival yet. There’s familiar venues to visit like the Players’ Guild and Theatre Aquarius (hosting the The Fringe Club Outdoor Stage & Patio again this year). There’s a new space for the Fringe Mini Bar at Ringside on James Street North where you can see some first timers and seasoned creative minds showcasing new work in 20 minute time slots. There’s the indie darling The Staircase which is hosting 10 shows within its three theatre spaces and, after a long hiatus, Hamilton Theatre Inc. is hosting 2 shows in its studio theatre.
Variety is part of what makes attending Fringe so much fun. This year, I go from shows about magic and wizards, to gym-based romantic comedies to insightful dramas and a solo show about how faeries, fire ants, swords and underwear somehow relate to one another. There’s shows that are movement pieces, comedy solo shows, playwright contest winners, reflective social commentaries, coming of age stories, reimagining and retellings and even twin detectives and a spooky, ageless illusionist. There are many Fringe veterans involved but the amount of newcomers this year is impressive and exciting. This year, there will also be a new way to enjoy the festival with Fringe on the Streets which are free walking tours and feature a wide range of storytellers and performers guiding you through the downtown core.
So, spend some time this July and check out this theatre festival. It’s an accessible way to see what the arts in Hamilton bring this city each year. I do not exaggerate when I say there is literally something for everyone. Most shows are only 60 minutes too, so why not take a chance on something outside your comfort zone? It might just be the best thing you see this summer.
Your support is what keeps this festival thriving. The participants in the Fringe keep 100% of the ticket sales and the Fringe itself is supported by Tipping the Fringe at a performance, donations and purchasing Fringe buttons which allows you access to any of the Fringe-based programming, events and Theatre Aquarius Fringe Club patio space.
If you are a long-time devotee or a first timer, support your Fringe! Let’s have an astounding 10 days so we can do it again and again in the years to come. In the meantime, Steel City Reviews has worked with some of the participants to create these MINI PREVIEWS of shows coming to this year’s festival!
PREVIEWS ARE PRESENTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
QUICKLY! Five words to describe your show!
Growing-up
Connection
Unusual
Storytelling
Childhood
SHOW SYNOPSIS:
Set mostly in a hotel in Alliston and motel in Brockville in the 1960s and 70’s, ABD with Mark the C explores funny/sad, ordinary/extraordinary characters and events in the potato country of Simcoe County and on the shores of the St. Lawrence River. The play celebrates our desire for connection, communion and escape. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll dance!
VENUE:
The westdale theatre (1014 King sTREET wEST)
General Admission: $14
Warnings: None
Genre: Storytelling/Solo Show
Run Time: 60 mins
Writer/Performer: Mark Cassidy
Director: Hume Baugh
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS!
QUICKLY! Five words to describe your show:
Intimate
Dynamic
Honest
Personal
Intense
SHOW SYNOPSIS:
Depersonalization and Derealization: the Russell's Paradox of mental health. Xena has never left the washroom, waiting for Bea to come back. Bea spent years hiding inside herself that she sees herself getting kicked out of her own body. Xena lives for someone who will never come back. Bea, for someone who never left. It's a fight on self destruction, erasure, and belonging.
VENUE:
The Fringe Mini-Bar - Ringside (324 James Street North)
General Admission: $7
Warnings: Coarse Language
Genre: Theatre—Drama
Run Time: 20 mins
Playwright/Director: Gabby Cifa
Co-Director: AJ Dundass
Actors: Charlotte Heron, Chris Yanes-Alvarenga
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS!
QUICKLY! Five words to describe your show:
Hilarious
Over-the-Top
Outrageous
Pride
Heartfelt
Izad also believed this counted (and it does): Funny guy explains his existence.
SHOW SYNOPSIS:
Izad Etemadi has spent most of his life explaining himself to others. His ethnicity, his sexuality, the pronunciation of his name. But as an elder millennial dealing with back pain and digestive issues, he doesn’t have the time or energy to keep explaining things. Through jokes, songs, satire, and deeply personal stories, this queer Iranian-Canadian immigrant born in Germany is going to attempt to explain his entire existence in sixty-ish minutes, so he never has to do it again.
VENUE:
THEATRE AQUARIUS - STUDIO THEATRE (190 KING WILLIAM STREET)
General Admission: $14
Age Suitability: Parental Guidance (ages 13+)
Warnings: Coarse Language
Genre: Theatre—Comedy, Storytelling/Solo Show
Run Time: 60 mins
Written & Performed by: Izad Etemadi
Directed by: Matt White
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS!
QUICKLY! Five words to describe your show!
Effervescent
Energetic
Fun
Colourful
Heartfelt
SHOW SYNOPSIS:
This show is a friendship bracelet in the form of a sketch revue, a pinky promise to be best friends forever, a cootie catcher filled with possibilities! Big Chick Energy takes to the stage with an ode to your chosen family, the real ones who have your back through breakups, breakdowns, and breakthroughs. This light-hearted, downright silly, and occasionally musical show will keep audiences laughing and wishing for more.
This show is running for THREE performances ONLY. See poster for Performance dates.
VENUE:
The Staircase - Studio Theatre (27 Dundurn Street North)
General Admission: $14
Warnings: None.
Genre: Theatre—Comedy, Sketch Comedy/Improv
Run Time: 60 mins
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS!
QUICKLY! Five words to describe your show!
Campy
Creative
Queer
Thought-provoking
Transtastic
SHOW SYNOPSIS:
A live-action parody of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but this time, it’s a time warp informed from a trans perspective. Trans folx Sass and Brock are seeking care over at the Beaverdicks Medical Place-where staff claim to support transitioning but seem to have unseemly ulterior motives. Much gender policing, trans panic, outing, cannibalism, transphobia and a touch of tap dancing ensues as Sass and Brock fight to survive the cisgender whorers.
VENUE:
The Players' Guild (80 Queen Street South)
General Admission: $14
Warnings: Sexual Content, Coarse Language, Gun Shots, Nudity, Violence, Other
Genre: Theatre—Comedy, Musical/Concert/Opera
Run Time: 60 mins
Playwright/Director: Key Paul Straughan
Composer: Oddly Oaktree
Producer: Carlyn Rhamey
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS!
QUICKLY! Five words to describe your show!
Spooks
Illusions
Rabbits
Owls
Death
SHOW SYNOPSIS:
A new show by award winning Illusionist Nick Wallace that combines ghost stories, magic and illusions, elements of turn-of-the-century spook shows, and themes of fading memory and death (you know, a feel good show). A show that is both haunting and heartfelt.
VENUE:
The Staircase - sTUDIO Theatre (27 Dundurn Street North)
Event Details
General Admission: $14
Age Suitability: Parental Guidance (ages 13+)
Warnings: Fog, Other
Genre: Magic, Storytelling/Solo Show
Run Time: 90 mins
Writer/Performer: Nick Wallace
Stage Manager: Ahmed Alexander
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS!
QUICKLY! Five words to describe your show!
Quirky
Hilarious
Charming
Fast-Paced
Relatable
SHOW SYNOPSIS:
A coming-of-(middle) age romantic comedy about two strangers in dead-end relationships who find an unlikely friendship when their gym schedules sync up. Sharing stories, hardships and the occasional protein bar, they walk and talk in place but get somewhere they never expected to go. Can love find its stride when life keeps them stationary?
VENUE:
The Staircase - Elaine Mae Theatre (27 Dundurn Street North)
General Admission: $14
Warnings: Coarse Language
Genre: Theatre—Comedy
Run Time: 60 mins
Playwrights: Juno Rinaldi and Mike Rinaldi
Director: Jennifer Walton
Cast: Laura Ellis and Callahan Connor
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS!
(Please note: July 18 performance is SOLD OUT!)
QUICKLY! Five words to describe your show!
Zany
Screwball
Macabre
Ensemble
Mystery
SHOW SYNOPSIS:
Ronnie Boozer is a baseball superstar who has forgotten how to play. His dueling brand managers need Ronnie to get his mojo back to keep their jobs. His wife wants to know what happened to the man she married (and his pay cheque). His agent wishes he’d pursued his real dream of becoming a flutist. A self-loving CEO gets involved and makes everything worse. Will it take murder to get to the bottom of this?
VENUE:
The Players' Guild (80 Queen Street South)
General Admission: $14
Kids Under 12: $5, Kids Under 2: FREE!
Warnings: Violence
Genre: Theatre—Comedy
Run Time: 60 min
Playwright: Sean Springer
Director: Julie McIsaac
Cast: Elisa Piccirillo, Barb Dickie, Stevan Sobot, James Orr, Sean Springer, Julie McIsaac
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS!
QUICKLY! Five words to describe your show!
Heartfelt
Comedy
Stand-up
True
Crime
SHOW SYNOPSIS:
The Underwear Fairy came one night when she was thirteen... and a mystery was born. Join award-winning comedian & storyteller, Kristi Boulton, on a journey through embarrassing, delightful, occasionally heartbreaking true stories, including the mystery that 100k+ TikTok sleuths couldn't solve. Plus, hear stories like the night she survived being trapped in a stranger’s room full of swords, when she met a mermaid and more. Like stand-up, true crime & storytelling? This is for you!
VENUE:
The Staircase - Studio Theatre (27 Dundurn Street North)
General Admission: $14
Warnings: Sexual Content, Coarse Language, Other
Genre: Theatre—Comedy, Sketch Comedy/Improv, Storytelling/Solo Show
Run Time: 60 mins
Director, Writer & Producer: Kristi Boulton
Tech Director & Overall Support Person: Marc Nascimento
Tech & Artistic Support: Rose Usenica
