Word of Mouth - Wednesday, August 19, 2026

So... Tuesday I hit a little wall and didn't talk to many folks... but yesterday I was back at it! Here are the Word of Mouth Recommendations I received. Some of these shows were mentioned multiple times by different people!

Jon Bennett: Playing With Men

The Late Great Mormon Drag Queen

Off Book the musical

Vaping Gay

Chase Padgett: The Next Guy

The Edmonton Queen

Gordon’s Big Bald Head

Stop Kiss

Story Story Lie

An Electrified Bard's Tale

Punch Up

In My Room

52 Stories

A Hellmark Christmas Musical Parody

Confirmed Bachelor

Gore

A Hollywood Horror Story

ERIKA MACDONALD: Tea TIME

Witch with Her Skirt on Fire

False Profits

Merkin Sisters

Jimmy Hogg: Mashed

Afeni

Not Quite Sherlock

Bil & Skeeter Break the Ocean

Tall Tale Storytelling

So in going through this before posting, I noticed that there are some shows that no longer have any more performances this Fringe - I imagine they are moving on to the Vancouver Fringe - so I am sorry I didn't hear about them sooner! Don't worry though, there are still a lot of other shows you can see! 

Happy Fringing!

Word of Mouth - Monday, August 17, 2026

I like the Monday of Fringe - by this time, folks have seen a few more shows and the Word of Mouth list grows! New and returning titles today! I also chatted with more folks of wider age ranges and I think that gets a nicer mix of shows!

Rodgers and Hammerstein's ROBOCOP: The Musical

Hellmark: Christmas Musical Parody

Seanchai

Queens of Romance

Confirmed Bachelor

Being Norwegian

Bittergirl 

Ghost Quartet

Jesus, Mary & Jo

Batboy

35 MM

The Last 1.5 Librarians North of Lethbridge 

Jimmy Hogg: MASHED

Cavalleria rusticana

#The Merkin Sisters: Backcombed

The Sad Saga of the Edmonton Interurban Railway

Shams by Rumi

Featuring Loretta

Colonial Circus

Gnomon's Land

The Shape of Seamen: a new comic opera

Butter Chicken Odyssey 

Queenage Wasteland

In My Room

Happy Fringing All! Remember if you see something you think should be added to the Word of Mouth list - let me know!

Word of Mouth - Sunday, August 16th, 2026

Some of today's Word of Mouth recommendations came from my eavesdropping on conversations around me in lines... but that makes me believe them even more! A few new titles and a few repeats! Check them out!

False Profits

Circumscribed: A True Tall Tale of One Father, Two Sons, and Thousands of Foreskins

Sketchy Broads presents: Resting Bitumen Face

Andrew Silverwood: Love Thy Neighbour

Bloody Fairy Tales: Paul Strickland

Field Zoology 301: Myths & Monsters

Chase & Tymisha's Cabaret of Courage

Lady Marmalade: A Parisian Spread

A Life In 60 Minutes

In My Room

Queenage Wasteland

Edmonton Queen

A Note: with some of these, it is likely they are close to being Sold Out, so you might want to check them out and book your tickets sooner rather than later! Don't be disappointed!

Tickets!

Word of Mouth - Saturday, August 15, 2026

I picked up a few more Word of Mouth recommendations from today's line-ups! There's a nice variety of shows, and hopefully this brings a few shows to your attention that you were unaware of! 

Lumber

The Review by Martin Dockery 

Gordon's Big Bald Head

Chase & Tymisha's Cabaret of Courage

Afeni

False Profits

Rivercity the Musical

Houdini

Being Norwegian

Blackground

Cavalleria rusticana

I'm glad that I have tickets for a couple of these and might pick up a few more based on the chats that I had! Perhaps I will see you there! Remember, if you see me on site, feel free to come and tell me your recommendations and I will add them to the list!

Word of Mouth - Friday, August 14, 2026

As always I will doing my Word of Mouth updates - I chat with folks in line up and ask them what they saw that they would recommend. They don't have to say why - some do - but just tell me the shows they thought were good that others would like to see. 

It being the second day of Fringe and many of the folks I chatted with today were at their first show, I don't have a lot, but I did get a couple to share! The list always grows!

Go West Young Man

God is a Scottish Drag Queen

Side Effects

Solovela

The Funny Thing About Men

I encourage you to read the Program description and check one of these shows out if it sounds like something you might be interested in! 

Word of Mouth - Fringe Full of Stars - Wednesday & Thursday (Aug 20 and 21)

It's Two Days Worth of Word of Mouth, because I was so tired on Wednesday evening that I didn't get them posted! THe good news is, I have a lot of new titles that might give you some cool ideas for the last weekend of Fringe! So take a chance on one or two of these shows that friends and random strangers told me about!

Word of Mouth

Wednesday, Aug 20 & Thursday, Aug 21st, 2025!

1 Small Lie: Martin Dockery
Rat Academy 2
Victor & Victoria's Terrifying Tale of Terrible Things
Carole of the Belles
Flora & Fawna Face Their Fears
The Witches
Jem rolls ADVENTURES IN CANADIAN PARKING LOTS
Lousy Parents
The Stakeout
Hamlet & Iago
Fear Fables: The Horror Drag Anthology
Chase Padgett: How To Play Guitar (Poorly)
Peter Pan Cometh
Voldemort and the Teenage Hogwarts Musical Parody
Cabaret of Legends
Sam's Clam & Oyster Bar
Assassins
Riot!
Marv n' Berry
A Kind of Electra
Moonshine
Lost Sock Rescue Society
Joan of Arc Ascending
The Last Perfect Game: The Jerry Stephenson Story
Colonial Circus
Motherhood
Plan V
100% UnTrueBadour!

Happy Fringing everyone! I hope you stumble into something fantastic!

Word of Mouth - Fringe Full of Stars - Tuesday, August 19, 2025

 

Word of Mouth - Tuesday, August 19, 2025

The Illusionary Magic of Sitruc James
Rat Academy 2
Wizard of One
Final Girl: A New Musical
The Alberta Hospital For The Insane
!SNAFU's Sexy Puppet Show (Epidermis Circus 2)
Hockey Night at the Puck & Pickle
Pair of Guys Lost: A New Musical
Edmontask
Who Drinks Mocktails on the Beach?!
Chase Padgett: How To Play Guitar (Poorly)

That's what I got for Tuesday! There's some new ones in there - so try one out. Somebody in line told me they liked it, so maybe you will too!

Word of Mouth - Fringe Full of Stars - Monday, August 18, 2025

I didn't have as many chats as I usually do on Monday, but I did get a few new show titles and a few repeats! Enjoy!

Word of Mouth - Monday, August 18, 2025

I'm Actually Right About Everything: A Bisexual Love Story
Dead in the Water
Boston Dip
Bone House
Dressing Room Requiem
Victor & Victoria's Terrifying Tale of Terrible Things
Cadaver Synod
Sam's Clam & Oyster Bar
Shot in the Dark
A Kind of Electra

Enjoy and Happy Fringing!

Word of Mouth - Fringe Full of Stars - Sunday, August 17, 2025

Lots of new recommendations today! Obviously people have seen more shows - which is awesome!

Word of Mouth - Sunday, August 17, 2025

The Cult of the Clitoris
The Divorced Dad's Guide to Slaying Vampires
yegDND
Sam's Clam & Oyster Bar (this show has made the list every day so far - I'm trying to fit it in my schedule!)
GORDON'S BIG BALD HEAD: Play-giarism
Flora & Fawna Face Their Fears
Eleanor's Story: Life After War
Afeni
Low Budget Narnia
Shipshow
Rat Academy 2
The Wizard Of One
Giorgi of the Jungle
Connor's Gonna Tell: The Táin Bó Cúailnge
Wit & Whimsy: An Improvised Regency Romance
A Kind of Electra
Elon Muskrat

If you see me on the grounds - please tell me what you've seen that you think people should see! 

Tickets!

Fringe Full of Stars - Word of Mouth - Saturday, August 16, 2025

Word of Mouth - Saturday, August 16, 2025 

Here's what shows people told me to go see today! No editorializing - just titles! Many of the people were total strangers, some were at the same shows as me, some were in the Arts Barn Lobby just chatting! I got a real nice mix with lots of new titles today!

Shipshow!
Alice by Heart (this one is currently Sold Out for all performances but there are a handful of tickets released in the last hour before each show.)
Dead in the Water
Peter Pan Cometh
Sam's Clam & Oyster Bar
Rat Academy 2
Lost Sock Rescue Society
Boston Dip
Spotlight's Shadow
Mystery House
!SNAFU's Sexy Puppet Show (Epidermis Circus 2)
52 Stories
Carole of the Belles
The Birds
Dressing Room Requiem
Chase Padgett: How To Play Guitar (Poorly)
100% UnTrueBadour!

If you see me on the grounds, let me know the show you saw that you think everyone should see!

Tickets!

Fringe Full of Stars - Word Of Mouth Friday, August 15th

In an effort to preserve the Line Culture of Fringe, I ask people I am in lines with about their recommendations for shows to see. There's no elaboration, just the title! So, if you see me on the grounds, let me know what you think people should go to based on what you've seen! Ideally the shows you tell me are other people's shows, not your own... 

Today's list is small because many of the people I saw today were at their first show of the year... but it will grow as I see more people and they see more shows!

Word of Mouth, Friday, August 15th

Chase Padgett: How To Play Guitar (Poorly)
Alice by Heart
Bruce Ryan Costella: Spooky & Gay-ER
Jem rolls ADVENTURES IN CANADIAN PARKING LOTS
Pepperoni and Cheese
Voldemort and the Teenage Hogwarts Musical Parody
'THE FAMILY CROW': A Murder Mystery
Sam's Clam and Oyster Bar

Happy Fringing everyone! See you on the Fringe Grounds!

FINAL Word of Mouth - Find Your Fringe! Fringe 2024

Word of Mouth
Thursday/Friday - August 23/24

It's the last one I'll be doing for this Fringe - but there are a lot of great titles and many of them are in holdovers (well, 12 are, and I think almost all the holdovers made the Word of Mouth List at least one time!). Some of these shows are finished for the Fringe, but perhaps they will be back OR maybe they are going on to another Fringe adventure? 

Here goes...

Weird Al Karaoke
I Lost on Jeopardy
Ladies of Jazz
Too Funny for Words
Larry
God is A Scottish Drag Queen
Cabaret of Legends
The Kid Was a Spy
1nce Upon a Lie: Paul Strickland
Ha Ha DaVinci
Chase Padgett: Grab Bag Cabaret
Martin Dockery: Truth
Inescapable
Suitcase Circus (kids)
Mass Debating
Microwave Coven
God the Daughter
How Not To Kill A Plant
Think of Me
Happy Go Lucky
Accidental Beach
Sword in the Stone
The Funny Thing About Men
Erika the Red
Murder She Improvised
Gordon’s Big Bald Head
All the Kings Men

Tickets

Thursday Adventures - Fringe 2024 - Mass Debating and Weird Al Karaoke!

Mass Debating - brought to the Fringe by 100% More Girls (the unification of Whizgiggling and Guys in Disguise) this was a really cute and funny musical about a junior high debate competition between an all girls school and an all boys school. Set in past (1970s?) there are many moments highlighting the expectations for girls vs. boys in the competition and in the world as a whole. In this production, the women play the boys, and the men play the girls.  It was very smart to choose junior high as there is perhaps the biggest gap in maturity between grade 7s, 8s and 9s than in high school grades and the show uses those differences to show us the internal and external relationships of the competitors with themselves. It's got the flavour and feel of Putnam County Spelling Bee and I think it could actually be something like that with a little expansion on the script! Also, there's an amazing tap number!! I had so much fun and I highly recommend - however, it might be hard to get tickets at this point! Written and directed by Trevor Schmidt with music by Mason Snelgrove. 

Weird Al Karaoke - I have been interested in this local company for a few year now and finally got myself to one of their shows. They perform throughout the year every third Thursday night at Grindstone. This show is a Greatest Hits of numbers from the past season. I had a lot of fun. The premise is that the comedian/performers select a song to which they create their own parody song. Favourites from the show included an homage to the movie Dune 2 (sung to the tune of Petula Clark's Downtown); a song about the slow build of the LRT Valley Line to Millwoods (sung to the tune of Midnight Train to Georgia); a veritable dictionary of Gen-Z slang in a song titled You're a Mid One, Mr. Cringe (for which I need to get the lyrics so I can understand what my students are saying!). A Very funny show and I hope to catch it in the regular season (and maybe even try it out myself?!). 

Tickets for all shows here. 

WORD OF MOUTH - Fringe 2024 - Tuesday, August 20th!

This is actually the last two days of collected Word of Mouth Recommendations! Once again, I have not see all these shows but rather people have recommended them to me as shows that they think were great shows that people should see!

Rob and Chris (Bobby +Tina)
Ingie's Fingies
Bright Lights
Portrait of Elisa Graham
OWEaDEBT
Centre of the Universe
What the Hell Was That?
The Bells
Local Diva: The Danielle Smith Diaries
Silence of the Lambs Jr. Edition
Chase Padgett: Grab Bag Cabaret
The Kid Was a Spy
1nce Upon a Lie: Paul Strickland
Martin Dockery: Truth
Keith Brown - 100% Wizard
Everything In New Orleans Is A Good Idea
Cabaret of Legends
Rat Academy
Microwave Coven
Mass Debating
The Show Must Go On
El Diablo of the Cards
Batman, Bob and Bill
The S.P.O.T.T.
Binding

Whatever you go see, I hope you enjoy your Fringe!

Fringe tickets: https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/ 

Fringe 2024 - WORD OF MOUTH - Sunday, August 18th - Find Your Fringe!

Sometimes - when you go to a different Venue - you get totally new suggestions! So that's why it's good to get around to the different sites at the Fringe! Today I was at Grindstone for a couple of shows and got so great new Word of Mouth recommendations!

Word of Mouth - Sunday, August 18th!

SeaMAN
Who's Afraid of Winnie-the-Pooh
WROL
Goose!
Local Diva: The Danielle Smith Diaries
LARRY
Naked Lady
Murder She Improvised
Die-Nasty
Sweet Jesus - The Gospel According to Felt
What a Young Wife Ought to Know
JON BENNETT vs JASON DONOVAN in DUMB TRIVIA
yegDND
Silence of the Lambs Jr.

I'll be on the main site tomorrow - so let me know your recommendations if you see me!

Fringe 2024 - WORD OF MOUTH - Saturday, August 17th - Find Your Fringe!

Many of the folks I ran into on Saturday were seeing their first show that day, but I did gather a few suggestions from people on the grounds!

638 Ways to Kill Castro
AWOL
Trial By Jury
Murder She Improvised
Fool's Gold the Musical
Accidental Beach (Which might be sold out - but it's at Grindstone so fingers crossed for a holdover?)
Rob and Chris (Bobby + Tina)
What a Young Wife Ought to Know (Caution: topic might be challenging for some audience members)
Bright Lights

I've seen a couple of these but these are all recommendations from other people on the grounds! So if they were on your 'maybe' list, or if you are looking to fill a hole in your schedule, these are options! 

Tickets: https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/events/ 

Fringe 2024 - WORD OF MOUTH - Friday, Aug 16th - Find Your Fringe!

Word of Mouth

I asked folks in the line-ups and beer tents if they had any shows to recommend. These are shows they enjoyed and thought people would like. I have not seen most of them and your tastes may vary - BUT if you like the idea of the show and it's on this list, it's probably a good bet! I've added disclaimers where they were provided by the provider!

Rat Academy (which might be Sold Out but I heard a rumour it may play in the city after the Fringe)
Oddball Cabaret
Let's Not Turn on Each Other
Alison Wunderland
Heartstrings: An Improvised Theatre Experience
Brother Love's Good Time Gospel Hour (Only for those not easily offended)
Naked Mennonite
That's What She Sang
Bright Lights
Rob and Chris (Bobby and Tina)

Fringe #42 - Thursday, August 24th - My La Cite Day! and Word of Mouth

I spent Thursday at La Cite - starting with a lovely Croque Monsieur (at which my French immersion raised son giggled at and told me means "Mr. Crunchy") at Cafe Bicyclette - delicious!

It was a Twisted Christmas in August with Krampus! What a ride! This show is simply terrific. The folks at Straight Edge have been honing their musical writing skills over the past few years and this is producing some super solid scripts. Combine that with outstanding casts and you get a top-notch production. It's silly, irreverent, dark and very, very funny! The cast of 5 +1 are all perfectly committed to their characters and all have super strong voices well-suited to the music. They are also able to sing and dance their songs in character and with delightful humour! I say, move over A Christmas Carol, there's a new show in town. I would love it if this was remounted somewhere in December. It would be the Christmas show I'd seek out!

I then took in Ken Brown's Life After Life After Hockey. I'd never seen Life After Hockey but it wasn't necessary. It was a fascinating journey through Ken's life up to and after the creation of Life After Hockey and the blessings and challenges that experience had on his life. It was also a story of the Edmonton Arts Scene and the development and history of the Fringe from Ken's perspective. It was interspersed with music (Dana Wylie and others). The stories were engaging and I teared up thinking this was a show that my brothers would also connect with nostalgically for for very different reasons that me. There's enough hockey for those who come for that, and enough theatre/fringe for those who come for that. A really enjoyable show. I also encourage any playwrights who want to write a personal story play to check it out because Ken is definitely the master of that. 

I next saw Makings of a Voice with Dana Wylie. It's a beautiful song cycle reflecting on motherhood and it's inherent challenges and the feelings of failure that often come along with that. Dana also reflects on her personal and familial history as she seeks to define herself in the role of mother which she is not entirely comfortable with. It's raw and honest and the music is sublime. And while I do not have the same feelings about motherhood, it was interesting and eye-opening to hear Dana's story. 

WORD OF MOUTH - Thursday, August 24

This Won't Hurt, I Promise

Thank You For Coming to my TED Talk

Sea Wall

God is a Scottish Drag Queen

Love, Kurt

Long Night of the American Dream

Martin Dockery 

Chase Padgett

Titanical : the musical

Morningside Road

Muse
The Clockmaker
Breaking Bard
Millennial Sex Witch

Tiger Lady
The Approach

Fringe #42 - Wednesday, Aug 23rd - A Music Filled Day! And WORD OF MOUTH!

Undiscovered Country - A really cool little concert of a show. It's a play and talk concert in the style of Hawksley Workman but the stories are a little weirder and more dystopian. It was mesmerizing and I'm still trying to figure it out, but I don't think you're supposed to be able to. So wonderful to see Chris Bullough onstage as I feel it's been too long. Actually had a long conversation with a lady in the line-up about the actors we haven't seen much on Edmonton stages lately and how we hope we will be seeing them more again. Anyhow, this show was pretty cool - subtle and enigmatic. 

Tiger Lady - This is the show that I heard mentioned the most in my Word of Mouth conversations and it is not hard to see why. The cast of 6 fills the stage of the Westbury with physical action and a world created through low-tech magic! They combine music, movement, storytelling and puppetry and dp all of these things excellently. There's audience participation but not in a cheesy way, but rather we are all part of the show! A must-see - I hope it makes the holdovers because I think it's been selling out the Westbury - even at the more hard to sell time slots! 

Amor de Cosmos - I was very happy and excited to see this show! It tells a strange story from Canadian politics about Amor de Cosmos who reinvented himself many times. It's a bit of a whirlwind, with music by Lindsay Walker and performed by Cody Porter. I think it could be expanded (in fact, I think it had to be cut down from it's Toronto run time to fit the Edmonton timeslot). The music is catchy and Cody is a likable performer who ably conjures the title character as well as many other political figures of the time!

WORD OF MOUTH - Wednesday, August 23

Tango in the Dark

Sea Wall (Top recommendation)

Morningside Road

The Approach

Epidermis Circus

Love, Kurt

Train One to Coal Valley

Muse

Il Tabaro

Bathsheba and the Books

The Makings of a Voice (Dana Wylie)

Krampus

Life After Life After Hockey

Donating Sperm to my Sisters Wife

Tiger Lady

Chase Padgett: Nashville Hurricane

Jimmy Hogg: The Potato King

Paco Erhard: How To Monetize Free Hugs

Rat Academy

Anatomica 

Let’s Talk About Your Death

Absolute Magic

The War Comic

Martin Dockery (both shows)

Jon Bennett: Fire in the Meth Lab

Fringe #42 - Tuesday, August 22 - Getting all the Answers... and more WORD OF MOUTH recommendations!

I had a very mixed bag of shows today - the best kind of Fringe Day! I started the afternoon at a 1950s Graduation with the The Marvelous Wonderettes - Caps and Gowns! I hadn't seen any of the other shows from this series, but that was not necessary as the story and characters wee clearly defined! The music is terrific - a lovely blast from the past - with tight harmonies and solid voices! The show is humorous and flows nicely from song to song with jokes and funny situations in between. A great way to start the day! 

I went in a very different direction checking out The Mine. While taking place in almost exactly the same year as the previous one, this show is much darker as it dealt with three Soviet miners trapped underground in a cave-in. Each of the miners has different concerns and hopes and dreams and they share these over the long wait for rescue, while they also try to dig their way out. Tensions between them build and... well, I do not want to give spoilers! 

My last show of the day was Lady Porn presented by Whizgiggling Productions. This was a smart and sharp look behind the scenes at making of a 'feminist' porn film set. It's funny and intelligent, as it analyzes the good intentions of the safe set weighed against the wants of the financial backers. It makes you wonder if there is any such thing as a 'feminist' porn. I must admit of all the shows I've seen so far, this one has left me thinking the most. Not specifically about porn, but about good intentions in many situations which get over-ridden by expediency, money concerns and really a lack of desire to actually change even though that's what's been expressed. I'm obviously still thinking about it! 

WORD OF MOUTH - Tuesday, August 22nd

Tango in the Dark            Seawall            Old-ish            Morningside Road

Tales From the Hospital            Muse            90 Lies An Hour            Charade

Forest of Truth            Stigma, Pistil and Style            Multi Vs.            Lady Porn 

Puck Bunnies            Lesbihonest            Epidermis Circus