Hi, internet family. Welcome to 2025 Fringe. I’m coming to you live from the patio outside Soulpepper. I skipped Fringe last year because I was way too pregnant, but I’m back and in action this year..albeit doing things a bit differently this time around.

Namely, I’m prioritizing daytime shows (and shows near my house), since I have a baby and I enjoy his company.

In my experience, Fringe shows tend to range from “offensively bad” to “pretty bad,” likely because Fringe is a non-juried festival, so participation is mostly based on luck. Shows also have to conform to strict time limits and staging restrictions, so you may see a work-in-progress, or a show that’s been cut down substantially. Occasionally, though, you may find those diamonds in the rough, so we trek on.

I’m 5 shows deep at this point, and I’m conflicted. I have many things I could say that would not be productive to the creators of the shows, and I’m conscious that the internet lives forever. In order to remain true to myself – but also in an effort to not trash people – I shall group shows into three categories: would recommend, would not recommend, and “try your luck” (a sort of middle-ground catch-all). I hope people reading this from the creative teams remembers that art is subjective and I’m just one random person, and if your art makes you happy, I’m happy for you.

Happy Fringe!