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Hamilton Spectator

Go ahead, binge on Fringe

Some people say government should be run more like a business — really? — but, if factors like debt and deficit matter, guess what government should be run more like? The Hamilton Fringe Festival. You read that right. On the cusp of the start of its 2025 edition, July 16 to 27, Hamilton Fringe is breathing easier with the exhalation of an outfit that just wiped out a $50,000 deficit. Such a sum of debt can represent an existential threat to an organization of its size — that deficit was brought on mostly by COVID-related challenges. But they paid it off not over the course of an arduously long austerity plan, but lickety-split — in a single year. How many can boast that? Not that that's what the Fringe is about — it's about creativity, experiment, challenge, fun, and access to all. But, says executive director Chris Stanton, the remarkable rebound is notable even more for social than fiscal achievement. It's a testament, he explains, to the Hamilton community and how valued the Fringe is to it. 'I think the real story here is that the community stepped up,' says Stanton. 'Donors came out of the woodwork and different funders. People really came through for the Fringe.' Indeed, Hamilton does love its Fringe, as the crowds illustrate, as does the volume and vibrancy of the programming. Last year, almost 18,000 people attended Hamilton Fringe, coming from all over Canada, the United States and beyond, and this year, one of the festival's biggest ever and the very biggest by some measures, promises much of the same if not more, with some new wrinkles and some alterations to old ones. To get to the actual meat of the matter, the Hamilton Fringe Festival this month will feature more than 55 performances, covering everything from sketch comedy, improv, theatre, dance, puppetry, magic, musicals and more. General information on discount Fringe buttons, ticket orders, prices, dates, times and locations of all performances and other Fringe events (including kickoff party July 16, Mills Hardware 6:30 p.m. start, and closing parties with DJs and music on Fringe Boulevard, 6 p.m. on July 27) see the Fringe website at: Physical schedules are also available at Coach & Lantern, 384 Wilson St. E., Ancaster; Crown and Press, 303 Ottawa St. N.; Democracy, 202 Locke St. S.; Detour Café, 41 King St. W., Dundas; Last Supper Books, 148 James St. N.; Mulberry Coffeehouse, 193 James St. N.; Paisley Coffeehouse & Eatery, 1020 King St. W.; Playhouse Cinema, 177 Sherman Ave. N.; RELAY Coffee Roasters, 27 King Wiliam St.; Tourism Hamilton, 28 James St. N., Village Coffee Roasters, 977 King St. E. 'For one thing, we have two new indie venues,' says Stanton. 'The Gasworks and the Centre for Talking Arts (156 James St. S.), with new partnerships and more players taking part than ever before.' Some of the featured plays/treatments/shows are: 'Minimum' The premier of Ontario finds himself having to live on minimum wage in this outrageous comedy by The Intergalactic Federation of Space Beers production company. 'Brown Noise.' 'Brown Noise' A mix of standup, sketch and storytelling probing the South Asian-Canadian experience from two different sides. Media Arora is first generation Canadian. Rishabh Kalra is older stock, and together they clash, connect and find laughter. 'Once Upon a Pizzeria.' 'Once Upon a Pizzeria' Hamilton's beloved Charly Chiarelli is back with a chase through the city stemming from Nonna Maria's square pizzas and her grandson being bullied because, well, pizzas are round, right? Music, visuals, audience participation. Also featuring Jay Shand. '3 Hours, 10 Minutes.' '3 Hours, 10 Minutes' Two strangers, one painting. What do they see in it? In each other? A look at connection, reflection and the power of shared experience in an age of screens and self-absorption. By Beauchemin Productions. 'Ugly Privilege.' 'Ugly Privilege' An hour of standup comedy by Vancouver comedian Jessica Pigeau featuring discussion of autism, social awkwardness, and growing up gay in rural Alberta. This is just a sampling to give a sense of the wide variety on offer, but there's so much more — as mentioned, more than 55 performances in nine stage locations (Theatre Aquarius, Mills Hardware, Players Guild of Hamilton, The Staircase, The Westdale, Hamilton Theatre Inc., Ringside and, aforementioned, The Gasworks and Centre for the Talking Arts). 'And Fringe on the Streets is back,' says Stanton, 'and we're billing it as a tour (of downtown Hamilton) unlike any other. It starts at the farmers market with performance and fun all the way up King William' to Theatre Aquarius. 'And people can hop on and off as they like and come back later.' Fringe on the Streets, free and in partnership with City of Hamilton and with support from Downtown Hamilton BIA, is an immersive walking experience punctuated with live art and performances along a 75-minute route, featuring music, burlesque, women of vaudeville behind the Tivoli, and a grand finale of dancing at King William. Some of the tour acts are Cesar C. Cordoba (accordion, keyboard, storytelling, bird puppetry); Claud Spadafora (cabaret/burlesque/theatrical comedy/storytelling): Sheep's Clothing Theatre (Pony Girls vaudeville); Flesh & Wire Co. (puppet show celebration of Elizabeth Bagshaw, Hamilton feminist icon/doctor/birth control pioneer); Devin Bateson ('Everything Is a Condo' enactment of time traveller beaming down from the future to give ghost tour of urban development); and Bloom (dance imagining of garden planted in concrete of downtown, with choreographers Skye Rogers and Vik Mudge. Tours depart the Hamilton Farmers Market, 35 York Blvd., at 3 p.m. and/or 6 p.m. most days. Check the festival's website for more, including stops along the route. Replacing single space Fringe Club of the past is this year's more expansive Fringe Boulevard, along King William and James Street North. It is a pedestrian-friendly hub of music, dance, drag, film painting and performance, sprinkled with local artisans in marketplace tents, on both the Saturdays of Fringe (19, 26) and an Indigenous marketplace on Saturday, July 26. The boulevard is designed to maximize integration of the festival with the neighbourhood and area food culture, typified by restaurants like The Mule, The French, RELAY, The Diplomat; HAMBRGR, Undefined, The Standard, Electric Diner, Parma and Piccolo, as well as other businesses and organizations along the strip. A feature of Fringe Boulevard will be the RELAY Licensed Patio, open 6 to 10:30 p.m. every night at RELAY Coffee Roasters, 27 King William St. Two other features of the festival this year: Visual Fringe Work by nine visual artists at RELAY Coffee Roasters. Film on the Fringe Short showcase competition, sponsored by the Downtown Hamilton BIA on Thursday, July 17, after 9 p.m. with entrants' films shown under the stars on Fringe Boulevard.