Winnipeg Fringe Festival

Winnipeg Fringe Festival, Winnipeg Fringe, Fringe Festival Winnipeg.

If you like your theatre edgy and your tickets cheap and you want to feast at a glorious buffet of dramas, comedies, improv, musicals and dance theatre, you need to be in Winnipeg in mid- to late-July.

Winnipeg Fringe Festival is the second largest independent theatre festival in North America (only Edmonton’s in Alberta is slightly larger, by audience size), presenting 150 or so local, national and international theatre companies in more than 1,000 performances at 24 venues in a whirlwind 12 days in and near The Exchange District.

”I saw amazing stuff at The Fringe here,” says a theatre-loving friend who frequently travels to both England and New York City, adding that as entertainment Fringe productions compare to the best he has seen anywhere.

“For $10 or less, you can see a play. That’s affordable for just about anyone. “Tell people The Fringe is top-notch entertainment in the middle of the urban buzz of downtown Winnipeg!”

Performances are edgy, often brave, frequently brash, sometimes raunchy and always short, with each show an hour or so to 90 minutes.

Almost all the 24 venues are within a few downtown blocks, making it easily possible to take in more than one in an evening (and you only have to park once, but parking is plentiful downtown and either free or $6 for the evening).

The further-away venues are Gas Station Theatre in Osborne Village, Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) at The Forks, and the theatre at University of Winnipeg.

Subjects and themes range from serious to silly, and from sublime to slapstick.

Some shows deal with adult themes, some are family-friendly, and at one venue, all the plays are designed to delight kids.

At the same time, there are free outdoor performances by theatre troupes, storytellers, bands, and buskers daily noon to midnight in Old Market Square as well as a beer garden and various ethnic and fast food vendors.

Fringers tend to be engaged audience members. If the production is good, they show their appreciation. If it’s dreadful (can happen), they walk out and try something else.

One warning – some writers, actors and plays may present dialogue or situations that are billed as “controversial,” meaning “may be offensive to some theatre-goers.”

Arm yourself with a Winnipeg Fringe Festival official program (it costs $5) and read the reviews in the papers.

You should also know that some venues don’t have close handicapped parking, seats that are soft (I recommend taking your own cushion to plays at the smaller and older venues) or AC that’s quite up to the challenge on a hot afternoon or evening.

Fringe Festival Tickets

Winnipeg Fringe Festival ticket prices range from $5 to $10 per performance. You can get same day tickets (up to four hours before the performance) at MTC (Manitoba Theatre Centre) Box Office on Market Avenue.

Half the tickets are sold in advance, but half are reserved to be sold at the door just before the performance.

At some venues the company putting on the play offers various discounts -- for example, at one of the shows last summer you could get a ticket discount if you showed up in a costume that related in some way to the play.

Frequent Fringers also get a great price break. You can see 10 plays for $69, or 14 plays for $95. Frequent Fringe passes are available at the Fringe office in The Exchange.

What's hot, and what's not? Every show is reviewed in Winnipeg Free Press and I have always found reviewers offer reliable guidance re what's gold and what's dreck.

If you plan to go to Best of Fest performances, you'll want to get tickets in advance. These hotties always sell out.

For more ticket info, call (204) 942-6537.