Hamilton Fringe preview: 55 plays and 350 performances
Become an indie theatre buff and an arts benefactor in your own backyard from July 16 to 27.
Calling itself “the city's biggest, boldest 12-day arts festival,” the 2025 Hamilton Fringe Festival will run from July 16 to 27 and feature 55 plays in a schedule of more than 350 performances. It’s an unrivalled chance to view new and exciting independent theatre at modest cost put on by emerging and experienced playwrights and performers.
The Hamilton Festival Theatre Company (HFTco), the organizer behind this 21st edition of the Hamilton Fringe, says that last year, “over 17,500 theatregoers attended from all over Canada, the U.S., and beyond. Hamilton Fringe showcases a diverse lineup of sketch comedy, improv, theatre, dance, puppetry, magic, musicals, and more!” The phrase “there’s something for everyone” may get overused, but at the Fringe there really is a wide variety of options, including more traditional theatre and musical productions, to kid-focused shows, to more experimental, zany, edgy, or mature projects. There are ensembles, two-handers (duos), and solo shows. Some productions have an elaborate set design, music, visuals, or props, while others are pared down to a stool and a mic.
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In a collaboration that highlights some of our best local arts venues, Hamilton Fringe shows will be staged at nine venues, including Theatre Aquarius, Mills Hardware, Players’ Guild, The Westdale, The Staircase, Hamilton Theatre Inc., The Gasworks, Centre for the Talking Arts, and Ringside. In addition, there will be a pedestrian-only area on King William Street with free Fringe programming, a licensed patio hosted by Relay Coffee Roasters, and a free walking tour of the city called Fringe On The Streets.
The original Fringe theatre festival is the ever-popular Edinburgh Festival Fringe, started in 1947 by companies that failed to gain entry to the regular Edinburgh Festival. The first (and still largest) Canadian Fringe is the Edmonton Fringe Festival, established in 1982. Fringe Festivals have spread to cities across Canada and the U.S., including Halifax, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, and Guelph (Aug. 7 to 10).
The Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF), with a membership of 34 festivals (including the Hamilton Fringe as well as 11 in the United States), explains that as well as being “an unequaled opportunity to bring to light new and innovative works,” Fringe Festivals provide an important revenue stream for independent artists and a forum for networking and collaboration. Fringe exposure can lead to further development and box office success, “with productions being scouted and remounted by numerous established companies such as Mirvish Productions, The World Stage Festival, Magnetic North, and the High Performance Rodeo. Fringe artists have also gone on to win numerous prestigious awards such as the Chalmers Award, the Governor General’s Award for Theatre and Tony Awards.” A pair of notable examples of Fringe Festival productions that have gone on to have further success on stage and TV include ’Da Kink in My Hair (2001) and Kim’s Convenience (2011), both having premiered at the Toronto Fringe.
Hamilton Fringe Tickets are on sale now, and the website is a vital destination for play synopses, venue information, performance schedules, and ticket purchases. For those who prefer a paper program, the website indicates locations where they can be found. As reviews are posted and word of mouth spreads during the festival period, tickets to some shows will sell out quickly. Some plays will be premiering at the Hamilton Fringe, while others will arrive in Hamilton with positive reviews and momentum behind them from other festivals on the circuit (including the Toronto Fringe, which runs July 2 to 13). In addition to show tickets ($14 adult; $5 kids under 12; $8 Fringe Mini Bar), make sure to pick up a Fringe Benefits Button ($5) to wear while Fringing, which also provides attractive discounts and deals at local businesses.
With over 50 separate productions in the 2025 Hamilton Fringe, some theatre enthusiasts will pore over the festival program to intricately plan out their viewing, while others might choose a venue and see whatever is onstage there. With an array of local, national, and international companies offering up entertainment, theatregoers can choose by title, subject matter, genre, or by chance, and become an arts benefactor for less than the cost of going to the movies
Watch the HAMILTON CITY Magazine website for our coverage of the 2025 Hamilton Fringe Festival, with mini-reviews by Stephen Near, Allison M. Jones, and Sarah Jessica Rintjema.
Here are snapshots of just a handful of the shows being featured this year:
The Damage Done
Willson Entertainment Productions | Hamilton
Opening performance: Thursday, July 17, 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Hamilton Theatre Inc.
Context: “The Damage Done not only highlights (playwright George F.) Walker's significant contributions to Canadian theatre but also underscores the talents of its cast and crew. (Actor Adam) Lemieux's accolades include the Best of Galleries award at the 2017 Hamilton Fringe for Normal Shmormal. (Actor Rebecca) Durance Hine was part of the cast that earned Best Ensemble in 2024 from the Western Ontario Drama League with her role as Honey in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the show that also won Best Production that year. (Director Matthew) Willson's directorial achievements span multiple Theatre Ontario recognitions, including Best Director for Love, Loss and What I Wore.”
A Question of Character
Minmar Gaslight Productions | Toronto
Opening performance: Thursday, July 17, 9 p.m.
Venue: Mills Hardware
Context: “An ardent political history buff and a writer … (Steven Elliott) Jackson returns to the Fringe circuit … He first gained attention in 2017 with the Toronto Fringe New Play Contest winner The Seat Next To The King, a breakout hit and critical darling of the festival. In 2020, his play Three Ordinary Men won the Hamilton Fringe New Play Contest, but the festival fell victim to the pandemic. TOM was subsequently produced by Cahoots Theatre and nominated for five Dora Awards. Jackson has since returned to the Toronto Fringe with The Garden of Alla, TYA delight The Prince's Big Adventure, and the site-specific immersive play The Will Of A Woman … A Question of Character reunites Jackson with theatre artist Tanisha Taitt for their third project together, her first in the actor’s chair after serving as director of The Seat and TOM … Filling the controversial shoes of notorious filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl is award-winning playwright, actor and dramaturge Paula Wing.”
3 Hours, 10 Minutes
Beauchemin Productions | Hamilton
Opening performance, Thursday, July 17, 6:15 p.m.
Venue: Fringe Mini Bar: Ringside
Context: “Last summer, the New York Times posted an online challenge asking readers to stare at a piece of artwork for 10 minutes. The test was based on the work of a Harvard art professor who studied the attentive discipline of students … The play (3 Hours, 10 Minutes) … stars local actors Melissa Murray-Mutch (The Canadian Slavery Project, Bike) and Mark Gamache. [Playwright] Raymond Beauchemin is the author of the novel Everything I Own and The Emptiest Quarter, a collection of novellas. His play What We Talk About When We Talk About Trump featured in Theatre Aquarius’s 2025 Brave New Works program.”
Sister Sophia Kicks The Habit
The Universe Over 60 | Toronto
Opening performance: Friday, July 18, 5:45 p.m.
Venue: The Players’ Guild
Context: “Lisa Randall has a background in acting, singing, movement and has written several plays. Her play, The Sorauren Book Club, received a Patron’s Pick Award at the 2022 Toronto Fringe. As a songwriter/lyricist, she recorded two albums with Against the Grain and Freedom Rains. Lisa has acted in numerous commercials, TV/web series and films. In 2023, Lisa was in Rachel Moore and Catherine Teichman’s play, Desperate Measures at the Hamilton Fringe which went on to a sold out run at the Toronto Fringe 2024 and to win best new play from My Entertainment World. By day, Lisa is a museum administrator at Todmorden Mills Heritage Site with the City of Toronto.”
A Non Canonical Musical Adventure with Pookamhura: Mistress of B-Roll
Theatre Erebus Inc. | Hamilton
Opening performance: Thursday, July 17, 8:30 p.m.
Venue: The Staircase, Studio Theatre
Context: “(This musical) … is a live stage version of Chris Cracknell’s YouTube web series … (songwriter) Cracknell has been a fixture of the Hamilton music scene since … 1990. He is an acclaimed web-comic artist and plays keyboards in a Steampunk folk-rock band called Babbage Industries … His past acting credits include performances in the Hamilton Fringe Festival in 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018 and 2022 … Past Theatre Erebus projects have included the 2022 Hamilton Fringe production of The Night They Raided McMaster, an original play by Brian Morton, in 2016…[&] David B. Fraser’s play Mary, I Have His Pants! … The company is perhaps best known for New Talent by Brian Morton, which was the highest grossing show at the 2008 Hamilton Fringe and in 2010 toured to the London and Toronto Fringe Festivals. The most recent musical, featured in the 2018 Hamilton Fringe Festival [was] Brian Morton’s original play, Under The Apple Tree …”
Moving In
Moving In Theatre | Toronto
Opening performance: Friday, July 18, 8 p.m.
Venue: Hamilton Theatre Inc.
Context: “Moving In is an original one-act play premiering at the Hamilton Fringe Festival… The play is written and directed by Elias Campbell (Walk in the Park, World Away) and stars Brett Houghton (Locke & Key, Zero Chill), Jensen Porter (Gay Mean Girls) and Hannah Whitmore (In This World). Campbell, Porter and Whitmore previously collaborated on a critically acclaimed play, (Speaking of Hilary), that premiered in June 2024 at the Red Sandcastle Theatre.”
The Heterosexuals
Redheaded Stepchild Productions | Toronto
Opening performance: Friday, July 18, 8:30 p.m.
Venue: Mills Hardware
Context: “Johnnie McNamara Walker is thrilled to be making his Hamilton Fringe Festival debut with his internationally acclaimed solo show The Heterosexuals! First performed at the 2022 Edmonton Fringe, Johnnie has spent the last three years touring his hit show, wowing audiences and selling out houses in Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Dublin (Ireland), Rochester (NY), and Atlanta (Georgia), where it received the Audience Favourite Award at Lavender Fest this June. Hot off those successes, The Heterosexuals returned to the Edmonton Fringe last summer for a completely sold-out run, where it was nominated for the SoHo Playhouse's Fringe Encore Series. Most recently, the show made its off-Broadway debut at the SoHo Playhouse in March 2025 and sold out the majority of its run at the Orlando Fringe, where it won the Outstanding Theatre Award.”
Liz, A Traumatic Comedy
9M Theatre | Hamilton
Opening performance: Thursday, July 17, 6 p.m.
Venue: The Staircase, Elaine Mae Theatre
Context: “This … one-woman play stars Liz Buchanan, whose script is highly personal and vulnerable. As with her previously presented writing (Gnomes: A Traumatic Comedy, 2023 and The Director’s Cut, 2018 both for the Hamilton Fringe Festival, Strong Female Character for the Hamilton Artist Relief Fund virtual series in 2020 and Roommate Required at the 2016 HamilTEN Festival) Liz, a Traumatic Comedy blends humour with Buchanan’s passion for feminism. It is a tongue-in-cheek show that explores themes of traumatic events, the nature of art … gender-based violence, compassion fatigue, mental illness … and we can’t forget the power of gnomes.”
Waiting for* Godot. *,Waiting for, Waiting for
Breadbox Theatre | Toronto
Opening performance: Thursday, July 17, 10:15 p.m.
Venue: The Staircase, Studio Theatre
Context: “Get ready for a brand new absurdist comedy with heart that packs a punch and leaves you waiting for more! After a successful debut run at the Hamilton Fringe in 2024 (with The Bread Cycle), Breadbox Theatre Co. is back with Waiting for* Godot. *,Waiting for, Waiting for … Breadbox is a Toronto-based theatre group founded by York University alums ….”
Ostrich Park
The Plot Hole Company | Hamilton
Opening performance: Thursday, July 17, 9:30 p.m.
Venue: Hamilton Theatre Inc.
Context: “We have been so very fortunate to twice perform in the Hamilton Fringe Festival, and both times win Best in Venue and Audience Choice Awards (2021: The Container and 2023’s The Green Room). Now, we … are excited to be putting on the biggest, brightest, and hopefully the funniest production so far.”
Horseface
Alex Dallas Productions | Toronto
Opening performance: Friday, July 18, 10:15 p.m.
Venue: Theatre Aquarius Studio
Context: “As a stalwart of the Fringe (Alex Dallas) has earned the name Queen of the Fringe as she has performed in more than 150 Fringes worldwide, starting in Edinburgh in 1982. This is Alex’s 43rd year on the Fringe!! She has performed with her comedy troupe, Sensible Footwear at the Toronto Fringe since 1990 and Fringes across Canada, the USA and Australia. She has also brought her solo shows, Goddess, Nymphomania and Drama Queen to Toronto, Los Angeles and Adelaide and across Canada. Goddess and Drama Queen have been aired on CBC Radio and Bravo TV to much acclaim … now she's back with HORSEFACE, Winner of Best Solo Show, Ottawa Fringe 2024, and winner of Outstanding English Performance, Montreal Fringe 2025 for new show starring Jimmy Hogg and Alex Dallas in Evie and Alfie: A Very British Love Story.”
Unsolicited: Good Advice Gone Dad
Kristi Boulton | Hamilton
Opening performance: Thursday, July 17, 9:30 p.m.
Venue: The Staircase, Bright Room
Context: “After a phenomenal run and a Critic’s Choice Award for last year’s The Underwear Fairy (And Other Love Stories), Kristi Boulton returns … with her brand new solo show, Unsolicited … A staple of the Hamilton theatre scene since 2009, Kristi is no stranger to Fringe. With 16 festivals under her belt, multiple Best of Fringe and Audience Choice accolades, and a deep-rooted connection to The Staircase, Unsolicited is both a love letter to her city and a comedic coming-of-age tale decades in the making.”
Crane Girl
Falling Iguana Theatre | Toronto
Opening performance: Thursday, July 17, 7 p.m.
Venue: Theatre Aquarius Studio
Context: “Winner of the Hamilton Fringe New Play Contest, Crane Girl follows a woman who walks out of her life and climbs a crane. Inspired by a real GTHA event, it explores rage, women's bodies, reproductive rights, and what it means to find your voice in a patriarchal nightmare.”
Charon
Little Bird Theatre | St. Catharines
Opening performance: Friday, July 18, 10 p.m.
Venue: The Gasworks
Context: “(Actor) Ali is Farhadi (Charon) is a Toronto Metropolitan University grad with a deep and diverse background with a love of storytelling through many mediums. His energy is kind, infectious, and is certainly one we would hope to see guiding us through the underworld. (Actor) Jessica Konkle (Daphne) is a TMU grad with tons of experience on and off the stage. She is a present, professional, and dedicated performer who brings so much emotion and care to the work she serves.”
I’m Actually Right About Everything: A Bisexual Love Story
Tracy Hamilton | Toronto
Opening performance: Thursday, July 17, 7 p.m.
Venue: The Staircase, Studio Theatre
Context: “Tracy Hamilton is a stand-up comedian and storyteller based in Toronto, and a McMaster University (alumnus). Her conversational style and cheerful sarcasm make audiences feel as comfortable as she feels in her many cardigans. She is a regular on the Winnipeg Comedy Festival on CBC. She has been featured on The Debaters and Laugh Out Loud on CBC Radio, and published on CBC Comedy.”
