Report from the Toronto Fringe 2026

Heading into the final weekend of Toronto Fringe, I thought I’d post here briefly about some of my favourite shows, and give a few other Fringe-related thoughts.

Many of them will be sold out by now, but there’s always the Patron’s Picks slots on Sunday (and the Best of Fringe next weekend, presented by TO Live). Also keep in mind that sold-out shows have waiting lists; earlier this week, I saw that most of the folks on the lists got in, albeit a minute or two before that pre-recorded greeting by Fringe co-leads Rachel Kennedy and Laura Paduch. (Speaking of that intro, I’m sure we can all recite it verbatim by now).

My favourites include: Evie & Alfie: A Very British Love Story; Little One; You Choose: An Improvised Murder Mystery; 2-MAN NO SHOW: Balls Out!; CAMP!; My Own Private Shakespeare; 2076: A Sketch Comedy Show; and Nostos.

You can find my capsule reviews of all of them at the Toronto Star’s Fringe review hub here (along with Joshua Chong and his colleagues’ takes on dozens of others); my review of 2076, meanwhile, is up at Parton and Pearl — you can find it here.

Two shows I gave 3 star reviews to (out of 4) at the Star, Gratitude and Will and the Amazingly Obsessive Theatrical Vinyl Collection, have stayed with me longer than I thought, and so I’d add them to this list as well.

The former is a frank and rather disturbing exploration of teen sexuality, power and consent that I’m not sure belongs in the “Comedy” genre; the latter, while structurally flawed and a little scattered, is so full of heart and emotion it should be seen by anyone who’s found meaning, solace and connection in musical theatre.

In praise of personal material

One of the fascinating themes I saw in various Fringe shows this year was the use of personal material in narratives, even if a show wasn’t billed as autobiographical. It was pretty clear that Will and the Amazingly... drew on writer/performer Will Parry’s life, as illustrated with a dozen or so candid snapshots.

It was less clear with Justin Hay’s My Own Private Shakespeare, even though the play’s narrator included details like starring in film adaptations of the Bard’s work — which Hay has done. Nowhere in the press materials or synopsis did it say that this was, indeed, drawn from Hay’s life; instead, these described the show as being about “a Shakespearean actor (who) finds his world collapsing around him...”

Should it matter? We’re so used to just assuming that because someone is telling us a story, and they wrote the thing, that it happened to them. But even if it didn’t, even if the writer/performer has sifted through “facts” or even made some up to made a show more artful, there’s such a thing as an emotional truth. And that came through with Hay’s haunting play.

It also came through with Evie & Alfie: A Very British Love Story. The titular married couple are much older than writer/performers Alex Dallas and Jimmy Hogg. But it’s clear the two artists know these people, or people like them. That’s what gives the show its feeling of authenticity.

As I suggested at the end of my capsule review, I am pretty sure that a show like Evie & Alfie could travel the country — and beyond. Dallas wrote me afterwards and said that their intention was to add another 20 minutes or so, which made me happy.

(If I were Evie, I would say, grinning, “Oh go on, then,” as quintessential a British phrase as there is.)

The best works leave you wanting more; they expand in one’s mind. I was thinking that there would be more about their son Paul, who we learn (in the present-day sections of the show) has a partner named Michael, and Dallas implied such material exists. I won’t reveal the details, but honestly, I can’t wait to see how the show evolves. And I know that if and when it appears (Crow’s Studio? Coal Mine? Tarragon?), it will feel truer than real life.

Then again, all this thinking about the personal should apply in spades to Mohammad Yaghoubi’s Nostos, a play that obviously hits home for its author, cast and creative team, who are anxiously watching what is occurring in their homeland of Iran. But the playwright and director has chosen to use talking dogs and robots to help explore the complex issues of war, protest and personal expression.

I caught Jesse McQueen and Jack Creaghan’s LADIES’ DAY (Rating: ✭✭✭✭) later in the festival, and so didn’t get to file a proper review. But it’s also one of my favourites. The material is inspired by McQueen’s own grandmother, whom she learned held such ladies’ days for the other mothers in her Windsor suburb in the late 1960s.

While the material obviously isn’t first-hand — McQueen herself plays Lorna, the woman who begins the tradition of taking a few hours off from chores to relax, gossip and sip some beers — it’s filled with affection and admiration for these women, who sacrificed so much.

Each of the women — played by McQueen, Shanda Bezic, Blair MacMillan, and Jennifer McEwen, along with Carson Pinch, who steps in to play the various husbands — is distinct and well-drawn. Perhaps the saddest of the stories belongs to Bezic’s glamorous Vera, a former Rockette who returned to Windsor after an injury and is now stuck in an abusive relationship with her husband.

And if I understood the script, at the time, only female teachers who were single could be hired by certain education boards; once they were married, they could no longer work as teachers. How did I not know this?!

While the play, directed by Creaghan, works very well for its first 60 or 65 minutes — even though the women sing and dance to a certain song that wouldn’t be written for another decade — it’s in the final moments that it truly hits home.

We’re given a poem written by “the real Evie” to “the real Lorna” about the significance of those Ladies’ Day breaks. With this artifact from decades ago juxtaposed with audio from the current toxic manosphere, the creators’ point — and why they’re putting on this show — is clear.

To remount or not to remount?

Besides Evie & Alfie, I could see a number of shows remounted. Alice Fox Lundy’s haunting production of Hannah Moscovitch’s Little One would be a fantastic addition to any theatre company’s season — but at what venue? I would love to see what some dramaturgy by, say, Nightwood Theatre, could do with McQueen’s LADIES’ DAY.

With a little tweaking, I could see Nate Simpson’s El Jefe (Rating: ✭✭✭✭), an imaginative and very funny time-travel show about Olympian-turned-drug lord Ryan Wedding, at a studio space in the theatre.

I could also see You Choose: An Improvised Murder Mystery expanded to two acts. The ace ensemble of improvisers is so entertaining they could easily keep going.

As it stands now, there’s not much connection between the murderer and the host of the fancy manor they’re at; the element of “why” seems to be left off the stage.

But the way the show is currently structured, especially in the first few scenes, in which actor/characters join groups of three and then two, with certain phrases repeated among them, is a great way for the audience to learn about them (and, of course, for them to learn about themselves).