Toronto Fringe unveils 2024 Next Stage programming
iPhoto caption: Prude production photo by Daniel Wittnebel
The Toronto Fringe has announced the six-show lineup for the 17th annual Next Stage Theatre Festival, running at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre from October 16 to 27.
Produced by companies hailing from Edmonton, Halifax, and Toronto, the offerings include solo shows, musicals, and dramas. As usual, the curated festival’s aim is to showcase artists ready to take their practice to the next level.
Complementing the full-length productions is a host of special events including a party celebrating the festival’s opening on October 16, a community social for indie arts workers on October 19, and an all-Deaf shadowcast of the Rocky Horror Picture Show (presented by the Disability Collective) on October 27.
The 2024 Next Stage Theatre Festival’s lineup of full productions is listed below. For more information, visit the Toronto Fringe’s website.
2024 Next Stage Theatre Festival lineup
Civilized (Civilized Productions)
Written by Keir Cutler
Directed by John D. Huston, Paul Hopkins, and Jay Havens
Performed by John D. Huston
In this satirical solo show about the banality of evil, fictional 20th-century civil servant William Blank is back from the dead and selling Canadians on the civilizing influence of residential schools. Using songs, jokes, poetry, and sound bites, William defends the violent actions of Wilfrid Laurier’s government.
Gemini (Defiance Theatre)
Written by Louise Casemore
Directed by Mitchell Cushman and Chantelle Han
Performed by Louise Casemore and Vern Thiessen
Previously performed at the High Performance Rodeo in Calgary, this two-hander about the generational divide between a bartender and a regular customer asks: Who really holds the power when someone’s paying the tab?
I Was Unbecoming Then (Downtown Theatre)
Written by Lyndsey Bourne
Composed by Sam Kaseta
Directed by Ilana Khanin
Performed by Astrid Atherly, Olivia Daniels, Tkaia Green, Lara Hamburg, Anikka Hanson, Thea Mae Hesler, Shannon Murtagh, heeyun park 박희윤, Riel Reddick-Stevens, Grace Rockett, Lizzie Song, 陳佳琦 Jenn Tan, Miranda Wiseman, and Ellyse Wolter
In this new Vancouver-set musical, 12 girls in a high school choir assemble to practice and perfect their parts, each eager to please Bruce, the choir director. As with any choir, they’re constantly listening to each other; they tune and harmonize as they adjust to each other’s movements, sounds, and rhythms.
The Noose (Abigail Whitney Productions)
Written by Frankétienne
Translated by Dr. Asselin Charles
Directed and produced by Abigail Whitney
Performed by Edmond Clark and Louco St. Fleur
This 1978 drama sees two Haitian immigrants — a middle-class intellectual and a peasant — clash, banter, and ultimately unite in a New York City basement apartment in the 1980s.
Prude (Probably Theatre Collective)
Created and performed by Lou Campbell
Directed by Stevey Hunter
This high-energy hit from Fringe 2022 is a solo show that blends stand-up and drag. The piece begins as a motivational talk on the topic of how to have a good time. Through lip-syncs and mortifying personal tales, we watch the lecturer — named the King of the Party — slowly unravel onstage.
This Feels Like The End (Theatre Aurinko)
Written by Bonnie Duff
Directed by Michelle Blight
Performed by Cameron Laurie, Jasmine Case, Landon Nesbitt, Tara Koehler, and Bonnie Duff
This contemporary thriller asks what would happen if one day the sun stopped rising. The lives of five Torontonians collide in an explosion of faith, folklore, and conspiracy: A mother and child grapple with the inexplicable, others prepare for armageddon, and one returns home to northern Finland.
Next Stage Theatre Festival runs at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre from October 16 to 27. More information is available here.
Liam Donovan
Liam is Intermission’s senior editor. He lives in Toronto. His Substack newsletter is available at loamdonovan.substack.com.
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