Fifteen artists in three venues for a combined 45 different shows makes up the slate of his year’s Guelph Fringe Festival. Several years in the works because of repeated COVID-19 delays, Fringe will take the stage at Red Brick Café, Silence, and the Guelph Civic Museum starting on Thursday night and running through Sunday afternoon. The goal? To support local actors, dancers, musicians, and performing artists.

“Going live with multiple productions simultaneously is all part of the fun of fringe,” said Fringe Festival co-ordinator Paul Barson in a media statement. “We are all very excited for this year’s Fringe, because it’s all about independent artists, and it’s been a very long journey for everyone involved, so we can’t wait to see what will be happening on stage.”

Tickets for Fringe festival shows are $15 each, and they’re available in advance on Eventbrite. Any extra tickets will be available to purchase for cash at the venue 30 minutes before showtime. The festival says that 80 per cent of all ticket sales will go back to the artists putting on the show.

Here are some of the highlights from the festival:

Have You Flogged Your Crew Today? – playing at the Red Brick Café

Eric Goudie, co-ordinator at the Fergus Grand Theatre and creative and executive director of Grinder Productions, is the star of this one-man show. Goudie takes to the stage himself, and tells the story of how he came to love the theatre, and all the absurd, hilarious, and pathetic things he did along the way, from missed cues and exploding props, to falling hammers and an actor who quit in the middle of a show, and much, much more. He tells his story with wit, warmth, and a maybe a little bit too much self-deprecation.

“I’ve told a lot of stories over the years, but never my own,” Goudie said in a media release. “And I’m not making any of this stuff up – it all actually happened. I name
no names, but I tell no lies.”

MINE! True Stories and Legends of the Porcupine Gold Rush – Guelph Civic Museum

This is a a new, original, 12-song, 60-minute Solo Folk Musical written and performed
by Will Gillespie, featuring original paintings by Susan Robinson and historical photos from the collection at the Timmins Museum National Exhibition Centre. It tells the stories of some of the underdogs and unsung heroes behind the legends. MINE! is currently on tour around Ontario having already been performed at the Fringe Festival in Hamilton, where Gillespie is based, and will move on North Bay next week.

One Kid Show – Silence

This drama/musical is appropriate for all ages, and is about a girl who navigates her reality of being a character in a play while her family and therapist are trying to figure out how to get through to her on the level that they perceive as normal.​ The cast and crew will also be holding an audience Q&A after the show.

You can see the full Fringe Festival schedule here.

Guelph Fringe Festival promotion art illustrated by Marlowe Shane.