Discover Montreal-made
indie theatre productions
The Montreal Fringe Festival is on with 105 shows to be performed until June 15
By Irwin Rapoport
June 5, 2025
With so many tragic and depressing events taking place locally and across the globe, laughter is the best antidote, and the St. Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival most certainly delivers with a diverse range of productions to satisfy every taste.
With the Mainline Theatre closing at the end of June, independent theatre will celebrate some final performances at the beloved venue. The good news is that Fringe shows are being presented at nearby venues, which are very accessible.
This year’s festival is showcasing emerging English artists, such as the cast of Horse Girls, or Cheers! alongside established talent like those in A Love Unbecoming and Mr. Potts. This plethora of talent is what makes the Fringe such a bubbling melting pot for performing artists in this town.
Lots of French language theatre is showcased at the Fringe too, like Madame vous déteste by the fabulous returning fringe favourites Les Talons Fous, and Le dieu du carnage, a widely loved script in both official languages.
Montreal theatre is increasingly relegated to these independent festivals, where venues are secured because provincial grants from CALQ have largely turned their backs on English language performance art. Hopefully, this situation will be reversed shortly, as Montreal’s theatre community is vibrant and bursting with talent and originality.
Back to the Fringe Festival.
Allow me to recommend the following English language Montreal-made indie theatre productions at the Fringe:
Cheers!
ChillAct Productions
Cheers!
A classic one-act “whodunit” murder mystery. Set in 1960s Paris in a luxurious apartment, the play follows old friends who come to visit Léon and his wife after many years apart. But the evening quickly turns sour when someone mysteriously dies. As secrets begin unfolding, it becomes clear that this wasn’t an accident, but a murder. The characters scramble to figure out who the killer is, without risking their own lives in the process.
Through heightened emotions and ridiculous dialogue, these characters take you on an emotional rollercoaster, exploring themes of greed, jealousy, and love. The style of the play is highly animated, with a colourful set and costume design that draws audiences into our world. The acting style is over-the-top while remaining grounded and emotionally truthful; the actors take you on a tense and absurd journey as suspicions rise and relationships crack.
Set in 1960s Paris in a luxurious apartment, the play follows old friends who come to visit Léon and his wife after many years apart. But the evening quickly turns sour when someone mysteriously dies.
Dalia Leblay and Melyssa Oubrayrie co-founded ChillAct with the intention of uplifting and inspiring emerging artists. Both students of theatre programs in Montreal, they are passionate about creating work that gives a platform to fresh voices.
Mr. Potts
Vertically Unchallenged Productions
Mr. Potts has noticed some bad things going on in the neighbourhood. To save his friends and neighbours, he must face off against malicious tech, a conspiracy theorist, and a flesh-hungry mayor. But as Mr. Potts faces greater and greater evils, will he have enough hope to keep fighting?
Mr. Potts is a darkly comic new play about the end (and beginning) of the world. This show turns a children’s television show on its head, meshing existential horror and radical hope to inspire us to act in times of crisis. Mr. Potts is directed by Chris Wardell and written by playwright Tyson Fraleigh. Performers include Scott Humphrey as Mr. Potts, El Neylon as Riley, and Masha Bashmakova as Tony Tablet, Cindy, Mortimer, and the Mayor.
‘Mr. Potts… turns a children’s television show on its head, meshing existential horror and radical hope to inspire us to act in times of crisis.’
Vertically Unchallenged Productions is a Montreal-based theatre company founded by Chris Wardell, which aims to produce theatrical performances that defy description, leaning into the odd and fantastic in every way it can.
An Uncomfortable Dinner Party
Medusa Theatre Company
From the team who brought us Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Fringe Festival last year, this piece is an original work by actor, writer, and trans liberation influencer Alice “Winterland” Siregar.
‘In this twisted comedy, you’ll find queer resilience at its core as Nat and Vi navigate uncharted relationship-waters.’
In the play, Natalie and Violet are having a family member over for the first time since Nat’s transition. What should be a pleasant evening of catching up… takes a little unexpected turn. In this twisted comedy, you’ll find queer resilience at its core as Nat and Vi navigate uncharted relationship-waters.
The piece is directed by Keith Fernandez, who helmed Sinkhole for Infinitheatre. It stars Alice Siregar, Carmen Wile, Pavlo Tull, and Cassie Muise.
Horse Girls
Mainline Theatre
BoYz may come and Go, bUt hOrSes aRe 4ever… Twelve-year-old Ashleigh rules the Lady Jean Ladies, South Florida’s most exclusive horse club. News that her family’s stables are being sold and their horses killed for meat throws the Ladies into crisis in this dark comedy of middle school deception and lies.
‘Horse Girls is a darkly comedic exploration of The Lady Jean Ladies, a group of girls bonded by their passion for horses.’
Horse Girls is a darkly comedic exploration of The Lady Jean Ladies, a group of girls bonded by their passion for horses. They confront their shifting relationships and the challenges of adolescence as the play examines themes of friendship, loyalty, and the complex emotional lives of pre-teen girls.
Showcasing some very promising talent from Montreal’s independent theatre scene: Julie d’Entremont, Maya Lewis, Mairead Rynne, and Erin Yardley-Jones, who were just on stage in Contact Theatre’s Cabaret; WISTA darling Alyssa Mirarchi and Casey Marie Ecker from NYC Fringe hit A Little Bit Pregnant; Laura Rossiter, who played Lady Macbeth with Théâtre d’à Côté last year; and Cat Preston, who played the eponymous lead in Amelie.
A Love Unbecoming
Mainline Theatre
A Love Unbecoming
A hilarious, fast-paced, classic-but-new farce set behind the scenes of a 1940s wartime British radio show… Clashing egos! Love triangles!! Too many sound effects!!! Can these performers survive their personal drama while keeping their live broadcast from going off the rails?
A dream team of theatre and comedy pros has assembled to delight Montreal audiences with this new show at the 2025 Fringe Festival. A Love Unbecoming is written by Dan Jeannotte, of comedy’s Uncalled For and TV’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It’s directed by Heidi Hawkins, who just helmed a sold-out run of The Game’s Afoot at Hudson Village Theatre.
‘A hilarious, fast-paced, classic-but-new farce set behind the scenes of a 1940s wartime British radio show… Clashing egos! Love triangles!! Too many sound effects!!!’
And the cast is a trio of veteran Montreal entertainers — Mike Hughes (Cirque du Soleil, Uncalled For), Holly Gauthier-Frankel (a.k.a. the beloved Miss Sugarpuss) and Matt Enos (The RiverMen and 2023’s Best English Production at the Fringe, Caught). Between them, these five performers have been involved in over 235 performances at the Montreal Fringe over the years, of at least 25 different shows. And now these old pros have returned, with a show both timeless and somehow timely… a piece of pure entertainment.
Images: courtesy of the St. Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival
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Irwin Rapoport is a freelance journalist with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Concordia University.
Cheers! was a sharp-witted murder mystery that had us all roaring with laughter and hanging on every twist. I can hardly wait for Tuesday’s performance just to experience it all over again. The show is packed with clever physical comedy, subtle symbolism, and brilliantly executed moments that earned genuine belly laughs and applause. With a tightly crafted script and a polished, high-energy cast, Cheers! delivered a performance that absolutely deserved the standing ovation it received on opening night.
Cheers! expertly combines comedy with suspense, delivering a captivating murder mystery that had us all in stitches and on the edge of our seats. I’m eager to return for the Tuesday show to fully soak in the characters’ subtle body language, expressions, and hilarious outbursts. The tight, well-executed performance and intricately written script were undoubtedly deserving of the standing ovation on opening night. I highly recommend!
Don’t miss the opportunity to see Cheers! The play exceeded my expectations and the hour passed by too quickly. Great acting by the young cast and an interesting method of bringing attention to the internal turmoil of each main character. The lighting and music made the experience all the more enjoyable and adding to the mood of the moment – whether hilarious, suspenseful, insightful or … suspicious! One of the few plays I would go again to see. Enjoy!