Byron’s top picks for
the 2024 Montreal Fringe
A “sight unseen” selection of what this year’s Festival has to offer
By Byron Toben
June 6, 2024
Once again, my guesstimates for top picks at the Montreal Fringe Festival, running from May 27 to June 16, are English, bilingual or nonverbal selections based on repeat performers from the past and new entrants’ promotional materials.
This year, there are fifteen venues, ten regular and five “off.” Consult the free printed program available at the Festival or the online version for dates, times and venues of shows.
Here are my dozen top picks:
Oren Safdie
Beyond Ken Dryden
A new play by architect/playwright Oren Safdie, acted by Max Katz.
Stories from the Brink
Iris Bahr has won many awards in New York, California, and Scotland with her “festive near-death adventures.”
How Birds Sing
Montreal actor Jeff Gandolph toils to learn to sing before the birth of his second child.
Edgar in the Red Room
“A macabre nightmare,” based on works of literary great Edgar Alan Poe.
Wit and Wrath
“Life and Times of Dorothy Parker,” the great sardonic writer of acid tongue.
Tango, It Takes Two
I loved this duo in 2023, dancing in the dark, and prayed they would return. Prayer answered.
Jon Bennet
Jon Bennett: Ameri-can’t
Inventive popular Australian returns again to Montreal.
Hey Buddy, Good to See You
Al Lafrance, now based in Vancouver, returns to Montreal with a spoken word gem.
L.A. Criminal Defense
A Los Angeles criminal lawyer relates all in his Montreal fringe debut.
Shakespeare and the Pearly Gates
As a Shakespeare fan, I can’t resist this. What is Hamlet afraid of?
You’re Good for Nothing… I’ll Milk the Cows Myself
From San Francisco, Natacha Ruck explores the 1981 socialist election in France, French grammar, schoolyard bullies and chocolate recipes.
More info…
Costs
Per-show fees vary, depending on length and producer, with a cap of $15. The best deal is to purchase a multi-show discount card: 3 shows for $42; 6 for $82; 10 for $132 or 30 for $390.
All of these cards include one free beer at the Fringe Park and a $5 discount on a Fringe tee shirt.
Images: courtesy of the Montreal Fringe Festival
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Byron Toben, a past president of The Montreal Press Club, has been WestmountMag.ca’s theatre reviewer since July 2015. Previously, he wrote for since-terminated websites Rover Arts and Charlebois Post, print weekly The Downtowner, and print monthly The Senior Times. He also is an expert consultant on U.S. work permits for Canadians.
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