Highlights of the Montreal Fringe Festival, taking over our theatres & small venues June 6–16

The Montreal Fringe Festival is on, with locals as well as international talent bringing theatre, dance, music, comedy, puppetry and storytelling from the edge to stages around the Plateau and beyond. And then there’s the fest within the fest — free live music in Fringe Park at St-Laurent and Rachel — adding to the festivities, which run from June 6 to 16.

Here are some highlights of this year’s program.

Apolline

Montreal-based artist Mahé is bringing her dreamy electro-pop music to the Fringe. Promising to transport the audience through her sounds inspired by the natural world, Apolline is a multi-disciplinary (and bilingual) show blending music, poetry and theatre. (Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, 3900 St-Denis, June 7–16, $8, all ages)

Au Coeur Du Lotus

Do you know what vaginismus is? Are you sure? In Au Coeur Du Lotus, Lady KaThy shares how getting to the bottom of what was going on between her legs brought her on a journey of self-discovery into the depths of her mind and her heart. In this French-language solo show, with wit and unflinching honesty, exploring shame, intimidation and consent, Lady KaThy helps us all learn more about this misunderstood condition that affects 1% of people with vaginas. (Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, 3900 St-Denis, June 7–16, $19, 16+)

By Our Side

Veterans of the stage Andrea Conway and Wayne Doba, partners in life and in art, are bringing a deeply personal show to the Fringe this year, delving into their experience dealing with an organ transplant. In 2018, Conway, who performed internationally with Cirque du Soleil (among many other high-profile showbiz credits), had a kidney transplant following hereditary kidney failure that left her on dialysis. That whirlwind of a story is revisited through theatre, tap dancing and humour. (Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique du Québec, 4750 Henri-Julien, June 8–15, $19, 12+)

Cue: Motherhood

Being a parent and having an acting career are two notoriously hectic realities. So what does it look like to live through both, simultaneously? This is the mess Erin Eldershaw tries to make sense of with her solo show. Discount for soon-to-be parents!

(Cité-des-Hospitalières, 251 des Pins, June 7–16, $16, 12+)

A Truck Stop Diner. In the Middle of Nowhere. On the Night Shift.

Kendall Savage is getting her clown on for what’s promising to be a highlight of this year’s edition of the Fringe. The former artistic director of the Montreal Clown Festival will make audience members laugh in her part as IOLA, a waitress at a truck stop diner who discovers her favourite band is in town to judge a beauty contest. The clock is ticking to decide what her talent will be for the pageant, and also how to get there in the first place. (La Chapelle, 3700 St-Dominique, June 7–16, $19, 16+)

Late in Life Lesbian

Montreal-based actor Shelby Thevenot came out as a lesbian in their 30s, so they have a thing or two to share about the journey to find yourself and living authentically. They’ll be sharing those snippets of wisdom, along with some jokes, in this comedy standup special directed by Lucy Gervais, premiering at the Fringe Festival. (Petit Campus, 57 Prince-Arthur E., June 8–16, $15, 16+)

Love the Sinner

Few productions can find a way to include both a dramatic queer coming-of-age story and dildo puppets in one show, yet that’s what’s in store for audience members who come out to see Love the Sinner. Diving deep into religious indoctrination, anti-trans queerphobia and abuse rooted in unhealed trauma, the show presents the story of the undoing of two high school sweethearts, Lenna and Elle, when one comes out as trans. (Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique du Québec, 4750 Henri-Julien, June 6–16, $12, 16+)

Love, Sharks & Frenching: a hot date with Lou Laurence

With her guitar, her deep sultry voice and some charming tales of love and lust, Lou Laurence’s Love, Sharks & Frenching is part musical, part comedy and a favourite on the festival circuit, snagging the awards for Best Music Show and Best Solo Show at the 2023 Victoria Fringe Festival and selling out at Toronto’s Sketchfest. Surely you’ve never been on a date guaranteed to be this good before. (Café Campus, 57 Prince-Arthur E., June 7–16, $19, 16+)

Les périples périlleux de Post-It Paul

Another Fringe favourite, actor Paul de Tourreil, is returning to the festival this year with the French version of his previous English hit 9 Lives, 8 Near Misses, which stole the show at last year’s festival. De Tourreil brings his audience along with him on a wild tale involving a car accident, lots of children and a man wielding a knife, but his wit and charisma is sure to get the audience laughing throughout the dramatic feat he retells. Attendees are also promised a sweet treat, and a much-needed remedy to toxic masculinity in the form of de Tourreil’s Post-It Paul. (Mission Santa Cruz, 60 Rachel W., June 5-16, $19, 16+)

Mom Ballet

Continuing on the theme of identity, which is ever-present at this year’s Fringe, Mom Ballet explores the decision to become a mother. What do you do when you want two things that appear to contradict each other? Muse about it in your bathroom, of course — which is exactly what the protagonist of this show does. Watch three classical dancers act out her conflicting feelings in this piece blending musical theatre and ballet, presented by Slippery Moon Theatre. (Mile End Improv/Theatre VME, 5377 St-Laurent, June 5–12, $19, 12+)

Jimmy Hogg: The Potato King

Why is he the potato king? There’s only one way to find out. Toronto-based British comedian Jimmy Hogg has earned rave reviews across Canada with this show. Praised for his tangentiality, jumping from one anecdote to another at breakneck speed, Hogg promises a lighthearted, good-time, old-fashioned standup routine. (O PATRO VÝŠ, 356 Mont-Royal E., June 7–15, $19, 16+)

SCRAPS

Scrap the raccoon searches through the garbage left behind by humanity to find some scraps to eat, and in so doing searches for identity, purpose, something deeper than simply foraging for survival. Scrap’s quest for meaning in the life of the common raccoon will reveal something about what it means to be human, too. The eponymous character is played by Emily Bartlett of It’s Not Television Theatre, who has brought clowning fun to the Fringe stage in the past. (Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, 3900 St-Denis, June 8-16, $16, 16+)

Tango, It Takes Two

When the delicate grace of ballet meets the powerful sensuality of the Argentine tango, something special happens. This is attested by the success of PointeTango’s two previous years at the Montreal Fringe Festival, where this dancing duo emerged as a clear audience favourite with sold-out runs in 2022 and 2023. Alexander Richardson and Erin Scott-Kafader are not your average tango duo, with Scott-Kafader donning pointe shoes to elevate their performance with classical ballet. Don’t wait to get your tickets, because there’s a good chance they’ll go quickly. (La Chapelle, 3700 St-Dominique, June 7–16, $19, all ages)

Transcendance

Transcendance is art inspired by queer experience. Each show will result in a whole new artwork, as Romain Bécourt improvises a painting live on stage, creating a vision of tomorrow based on recountings by 2SLGBTQ+ voices. Promising more than a performance, but an exchange, a place of coming together for queer people and their allies, artist and poet Bécourt is creating space for the public to take part in the creative process. (Théâtre MainLine, 3997 St-Laurent, June 7–15, $15, all ages)

Vehicle

Veteran of Canadian Fringe stages Shane Adamczak is back after a prolonged time away from audiences in this country, bringing his Australian company Weeping Spoon Productions to Montreal. Two actors hit the roads of Australia’s outback in this absurdist roadtrip narrative, filling the time with their conversation, patience and unappetizing roadside snacks. (Café Campus, 57 Prince-Arthur E., June 6–15, $19, 12+)

For the complete program and to buy tickets, please visit the Montreal Fringe Festival website.

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This article was originally published in June 2024 issue of Cult MTL.

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