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Out of town: Toronto Fringe Festival
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A midsummer night’s dream: I’m in Toronto, Canada, having the time of my life at the Fringe Festival. Actually, it wasn’t a dream; I was there a few years ago, on the heels of an assignment in New York City, and can’t wait to go back. If it’s time to skip town for a few days, I suggest you consider paying a visit; if not this year, then next.
The Fringe--which runs through July 12—is Toronto's biggest theatre festival. The unjuried event plays host to more than 150 theatre companies this year, from all over Canada but also the US, England, France, and Australia. What might you expect to see? A dizzying array of new work, as well as plays by such name-brand scribes as Conor McPherson and Israel Horowitz.
Here’s a sample: Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, wherein “The Emperor gets naked because he’s a dignified nudist; Rumpelstiltskin is punished for trying to restrict a woman’s reproductive rights; and Cinderella campaigns for the liberation of cross-gendered Princes.” Head First, an all-female cast in “a bare knuckle, death-defying aerial dance show with a hefty dose of indie rock.” Dante, in which we meet the famed poet pining for the woman he loves, “penniless, miserable, and so uninspired he can barely write an advertising jingle.” Plus a youth theatre festival, a 24-hour playwriting contest, and a free nightly cabaret. Call the Fringe Hotline for more information: (416) 966-1062.
Festival time or not, Toronto is worth a visit. I found it to be the very model of a modern major city—clean, friendly, multiculturally diverse. And of course it’s only a small part of what Ontario, Canada, has to offer.
More from Jordan:
Out of Town: Chicago’s Steppenwolf goes ‘Up’
Summer storm of Shakespeare, from LA to OC
Growing the legacy at Theatricum Botanicum
Visit Jordan’s new website: actingsolo.com.
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