August 21 to Sept 1
Victoria, BC

The last days of Summer are almost here, and it’ll soon be time to do the Victoria Fringe Festival! This event has been defining the local arts scene for the past 34 or so years now with its unjuried selection of local and travelling acts. To see fond favourite performers return is always a joy.

However, to end the month, this party is one way to lounge around in the garden city (located on the tip of Vancouver Island). I try to grab a snack between shows and next up will be an updated list of where to get quick bites. On Labour Day—the busiest time of the 12 day event—the fuel runs are needed to keep anyone going. Some theatre-goers like to Fringe Binge.

Personally, I like to space my thrills out.

This year, my list of must see shows include (to buy tickets, please click on link):

Battery Operated Boyfriend

GIANT NERD AUSTRALIA

Written/Created by: Steve Brady
Victoria Event Center (1415 Broad St)

GIANT NERD AUSTRALIA presents a love story with a digital twist. Sam, a designer of advanced artificial intelligence systems, and her A.I. boyfriend Bob are called on to save the human race. In doing so, they push their A.I. – Human relationship far beyond any normal romance.

Timeline for Homo Sapiens

CAMAX INC.

Written/Created by: Cameron MacCuspic/
Freeman the Handyman
Victoria Event Center (1415 Broad St)

A T-EDGE TALK! A talk with edge. An irreverent non-academic intellectual redneck perspective, exploration of Prehistory. Freeman the Handyman, “street polymath,” takes on a host of subjects from evolutionary biology, plate tectonics, archaeology, anthropology and more. Awareness peddling…with crass class. A debut presentation from a local handyman. Fact resistant humans welcomed!

Crazy for Dick Tricks: A Dirk Darrow Investigation

TIM MOTLEY

Written/Created by: Tim Motley
Downtown Activity Center (755 Pandora)

Five characters, five mind-blowing magic tricks! Help this hilarious psychic detective as he hunts a murderer in a 1930s mental hospital, where he interrogates the colourful new characters trapped inside.

13 Dead Dreams of “Eugene”

THEATRE MOBILE

Written/Created by: Erika Kate MacDonald and Paul Strickland
Metro Studio (1141 Quadra)

X-Files meets The Twilight Zone… in the dark! The award-winning Off-Broadway shadow puppet folk musical! Based on a true story. A body was found and placed on display… that’s when the Dead Dreams began.

Nevermore

HAPAX THEATRE

Written/Created by: Music Matt Conner, Book Grace Barnes (based on Edgar Allan Poe’s writing)
Metro Studio (1141 Quadra)

Edgar Allan Poe lies unconscious in a gutter, dreaming of the women who shaped his life. But in the morning will he wake to dawn, or eternal darkness? From the creative team behind The Boy in the Chrysalis (2018 Pick-of-the-Fringe Winner), Nevermore transforms the works of Poe into haunting melodies about love, loss, and gothic longing.

 

Broadway Bash

STEVE IVINGS ENTERTAINMENT

Written/Created by: Steve Ivings
Langham Court Theatre (805 Langham Court)

With respect and love (coupled with mild viciousness) we’re taking a bash at Broadway. All your favourite Broadway tunes with new satirical, sarcastic or silly lyrics. Songs from Hamilton, Mary Poppins, Oklahoma, Camelot, Les Miz and many more but with new hilarious lyrics written by comedian Steve Ivings. We’d invite you to sing along…but you won’t know the words. Broadwaybash.weebly.com

Man Cave

A One-Man Sci-Fi Climate Change Tragicomedy!

TIMOTHY MOONEY REPERTORY THEATRE

Written/Created by: Timothy Mooney
Langham Court Theatre (805 Langham Court)

Whoops, Apocalypse! Hanging on by a thread, at the tail end of climate change, the last man on Earth broadcasts to whatever Klingons, Vulcans or Tralfamadorians might still be out there!

Timmooneyrep.com

The Psychic Dynasty:

The World’s Only Father-Daughter Mind-Reading Team

THE PSYCHIC DYNASTY

Written/Created by: Phina & Joey Pipia
Langham Court Theatre (805 Langham Court)

Fast-paced, funny, and totally astonishing; this real-life father-daughter team has created a knock-your-socks-off mentalism show that hooks audiences of all ages. From making impossible predictions to channeling the spirit of Johnny Cash; you’ll be treated to 60 minutes of wow-worthy, not-to-be-missed entertainment that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and leaves you wanting more.
Thepsychicdynasty.com

The Ballad of Frank Allen

WEEPING SPOON PRODUCTIONS

Written/Created by: S. Adamczak
St Andrews Kirk Hall (680 Courtney St)

From the bizarre mind of Aussie Fringe-favourite Shane Adamczak (Zack Adams, Trampoline) comes an award-winning sci-fi buddy-comedy about a tiny man who lives in another man’s beard.

 

Let’s Prank Call Each Other

ZACH DORN

Written/Created by: zach dorn
St Andrews Kirk Hall (680 Courtney St)

Let’s Prank Call Each Other is a fast-paced live-action comic book. Digital cameras are manipulated through paper dioramas to unearth miniature landscapes and two- dimensional puppets as Dorn casts hand-cut silhouettes across the walls.

The Robber Bridegroom: A Grimm Fairy Tale

CHIMERA THEATRE

Written/Created by: The Brothers Grimm,
adapted by Andrew G. Cooper
Metro Studio (1141 Quadra)

An impoverished miller seeks a better life for his daughter by arranging her marriage to a wealthy stranger. She wants to help her family, but something wicked lurks in the woods where her bridegroom lives… Chimera Theatre brings this Brothers Grimm fairy tale to life through puppetry and physical theatre.

The Trophy Hunt

OPEN PIT THEATRE

Written/Created by: Trina Davies (playwright) & Jessica Hickman/Celine Stubel (co-directors)
Fan Tan Alley (Chinatown)

A rolling world premiere being performed in five Canadian cities, The Trophy Hunt is a dark comedy exploring who eats who in a world where everything is observed, everything a zoo. Three unique characters irrevocably affected by the business of Big Game Hunting share their stories in a hidden location in Fan Tan Alley. Come on a hunt to stalk something wild and dangerous…you just might find it!

Note: Your hunting guide will meet you at 539 Fisgard St. where you will be led into our hidden outdoor location within Fan Tan Alley (generously donated by Robert Fung and The Salient Group). The terrain is level and suitable for all abilities. Bring anything you need for the hunt.