Life on the Fringe: Saskatoon festival fumes with unique performance discoveries for all
Saskatoon’s Broadway Avenue will house life on the fringe as independent performers from Saskatoon to Australia descend on the Paris of the Prairies for the 29th Fringe Theatre Festival.
For nearly three decades, live theatre acts, professional street performers, art, clothing, and food vendors have taken over the neighbourhood to showcase a wide array of eclectic and edgy acts.
What is Fringe exactly, you may ask? It is, in part, a theatre festival and artistic movement with roots in 1947 Edinburgh, England. It found its way to Canada in the early-1980s in Edmonton, and the country now hosts more fringe festivals than anywhere in the world. Each is a bustling cultural experience promising something new and entertaining for patrons young and old.
This year, the Saskatoon festival will showcase 33 unique plays in 231 performances. While this is, of course, the mainstay of the event, it is accompanied by Fringe After Dark — eight after hour shows that begin at 11 p.m. — It’s Not a Box theatre on the street, buskers, musicians, and other street performers to discover.