This is the 20th anniversary of the Calgary Fringe, and the first weekend saw an excellent turn out. Some of the shows played to capacity crowds. This year the Fringe has expanded beyond Inglewood. The ATCO Performing Arts Centre, the Blox Arts Centre and Theatre 1308 are not in walking distance of the main Fringe venues, but can be reached within 15 minutes. The shows have been spaced so it is easy to return to the regular venues in time to catch the next show.
Postmedia theatre writer Louis B. Hobson spoke to some of the Fringe artists on their registration day, and is featuring their shows as the picks of the day for the final five days of Fringe.
Tamara Lynn Robert in Lover Girl at the Calgary Fringe Festival.
TUESDAY … LOVER GIRL
Tamara Lynn Robert says her show is made up of five unusual love stories, and they are all hers. She talks about her childhood and then segues into the time she was a street outreach crisis worker and talks about her interaction with street kids. She is also going to get candid about the relationship with her father and a particular partner. She is now a couples therapist and jokes she has far more success straightening out the love lives of her clients than she does her own disastrous love life. Robert is going to bare her soul, but she promises she will be gentle. Robert will be performing in the Lantern Church basement.
Jessica Pigeau in Ugly Privilege at the Calgary Fringe Festival.
WEDNESDAY … UGLY PRIVILEGE
Jessica Pigeau admits to being a rather shy person who didn’t interact well with people. She goes so far as to say she was socially inept, and was plagued with relentless optimism. She discovered at an early age that if she could make people laugh they were more apt to accept her. She learned to tell jokes as a way to being accepted. The natural extension of this was stand up comedy. She said she was always afraid of hecklers so she developed what she calls a relentless style. If she spoke fast enough other people didn’t have a chance of getting a word in edgewise. Also, she says if you don’t like one of her jokes not to worry because another is coming very soon.
Pigeau says she grew up in Grande Prairie struggling with autism and being gender non-conforming which made things pretty difficult and she’ll reveal just how difficult in her show. In the North Bay Fringe in 2024, Ugly Privilege was named the best original work of the festival. Pigeau will be performing in the Lantern Church basement.
The Kinkonauts in Battle of the Genres at the Calgary Fringe.
THURSDAY … BATTLE OF THE GENRES and COUCH SURFING
The Kinkonauts are not only offering their home space, The Blox Arts Centre, to the Calgary Fringe this year but are performing two new shows. The Kinkonauts are Calgary’s premiere long form improvisation troupe. Their first show is Battle of the Genres. Andy Stefanato explains that there are six improvisers from the troupe plus a different guest each performance. Audience members give each of them a genre like science fiction, horror, romance, film noir or romcom. They are wearing headphones so they can’t hear what genres their fellow improvers receive. They then begin to tell their story each performing as if they are in a different genre. Andy says its pretty easy to guess what the others are doing but that doesn’t make telling the story any easier. You can catch this show several times because the story will definitely be different.
The Kinkonauts are also doing a show called Couch Surfing that Mark Laws and Alex Stafford say includes musical interludes. They admit their show is difficult to describe but say that there is definitely a couch centre stage. They get their impetus from the audience, and they create a world that keeps on expanding. The shows are performed in the Kinkonauts’ home The Blox Arts Centre which welcomes five other Fringe artists.
Matti McLean in The $#!t at the Calgary Fringe Festival.
FRIDAY …. THE $#!T
Matti McLean says his show is definitely autobiographical and doesn’t always show him in the best of light. But it is honest. It starts in 2010 when he met a fellow and they became lovers. He admits that right from the beginning it was a tumultuous relationship and they ended up being more enemies than lovers. Flash forward to 2025, and the pair agreed to meet in Washington D.C. at a hostel to try and see if there were any sparks left.
What McLean discovers is a fire in his bowels and he was relegated to the washroom. He says the play doesn’t take itself seriously, leaning heavily on comedy and storytelling. McLean calls this play a story of love, loss, lust and lower intestines that shows sometimes the ones who stick around can be the ones you least expect. He will be performing at the Blox Arts Centre.
Wizard of One at the Calgary Fringe Festival.
SATURDAY … WIZARD OF ONE
Neil James says his solo show couldn’t more of a one-man show. He wrote it, produced it, directed it and stars in it. James first did this show back in the early 2000s. He performed it at the Calgary Fringe in 2008, the first year the Calgary Fringe was held in Inglewood. He also performed it for StoryBook Theatre in 2014 as its season opener. His show won best fight direction that year at the Betty Awards, and James says just stop and think for a minute because it is a solo show. He’s also performed it at fringes across Canada including a sold out run at the Edmonton Fringe. James says he knew is was time to bring it back to Calgary.
The Wizard Of One is a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz, set in a senior citizens’ home. Dorothy just wants to get home. Scarecrow has dementia and the Tin Man has heart problems. The Cowardly Lion is a germaphobe. There is a wicked witch and a wizard. James says he loves this show, and never tires of performing it. He is at the Blox Arts Centre.