There are only a couple days left of the 2025 Saskatoon Fringe Festival – which means there’s still time to see some great shows!
And if you need some recommendations, check out PodSask’s top-rated shows of this year’s festival!
Tragedy or Triumph
What we loved: At first blush, the Vancouver-based Spontaneous Shakespeare Company might seem like not much more than a fun gimmick, taking improvised storytelling and wrapping it up in an Elizabethan veneer to zhuzh it up a little. In reality that could not be further from the truth. “Tragedy or Triumph” is, in short, remarkable.
Strip away the Shakespearean artifice and what remains is six performers, each as clever, sharp and quick-witted at the next. It’s a strong foundation — then add to it the clear comfort and familiarity they have with one another’s senses of humor and improvisational styles and all the building blocks are there for something special. The result is quick and focused, with no awkward pauses or sudden changes of direction as the actors try to steer their story towards a climax. It just works — so well, in fact, that if it wasn’t built on an audience suggestion it at times seems that it wasn’t improvised at all.
All that is left then is the cherry on top: all of this is done with the pomp, rhythm and rhyme of Shakespearean English (as if improv isn’t already tough enough). These impressive performers slip right into it like it’s the only way they have ever spoken. If you’re familiar with Shakespeare, you’ll feel just as at home in the style as they do, and even if you aren’t you won’t find the language distracting from excellent storytelling and clever humor.
What we didn’t love: There really isn’t much to say here. Unless you don’t like fun, you’ll struggle not to love it too.
Verdict: See it… and then see it again. It’s tough to imagine that a night will go by this week where the Spontaneous Shakespeare Company fails to wow.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
– Zachary Knuttila
***
Jimmy Hogg: The Potato King
What we loved: Whether or not Jimmy Hogg is the Potato King might be questionable, but he was undoubtedly the king of comedy in his opening performance.
Hogg’s brand of storytelling is high-energy and frenetic as he flips topics and tracks through his stories. He blends together tales of his exciting (sometimes perhaps a little TOO exciting) romantic relationships, always juxtaposed against his deep love of fine cuisine. It’s an oddly compelling piece of storytelling, and while it’s not completely relatable (I don’t know how much of the audience has been to a “sex party”) the core themes about dating and building relationships hit all-too-close to home.
And just when you think Hogg might let the show settle into a saccharine-sweet ending that ties a neat bow on an otherwise bawdy set of stories, he subverts your expectations once again with his quick and insistent brand of humour. This was a bundle of laughs and food facts for the full hour, and the audience gobbled it all up. It helps that Hogg is the right amount of physical in his performance, adding another level to an already extremely fun show.
What we didn’t love: Hogg’s style of humour is high-octane, but that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. There were certainly pockets of the audience howling with laughter while others were more muted. The level of raunchiness — while absolutely hilariously presented — does come a bit out of nowhere, so perhaps folks were surprised by that. But make no mistake: these are such minor nitpicks. Go in with an open mind and you’ll have a great time.
Verdict: A great show, top to bottom. If anyone is going to make you laugh so hard that you cry, count on it to be Jimmy Hogg.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
– Matt Olson
***
Goose!
What we loved: The apocalypse is upon us, in all its winged and beaked oblivion.
That’s the premise of “Goose!,” anyways: climate events have destroyed the grass that geese eat, and so they turn their beady eyes to humanity as their prey. It’s a truly ludicrous premise, and what’s more ludicrous is how well the performers pull this off. Combining elements from horrors and thrillers you know and love, this show turns the zombie apocalypse into, well, the goose-y apocalypse.
This show works because of how completely, 100 per cent bought in both performers (Alexandra Chubaty Boychuk and Andrew Broaddus) are to the premise. The actors (and the audience) are survivors in a safehouse with all the doors locked — and since geese don’t have thumbs to turn doorknobs, it’s a temporary safe haven. Pamphlets on strategies for surviving encounters with geese are even distributed to audience members upon arrival, to really sink the immersion in. And the monstrous geese are scary because we’re made to believe they’re scary through over-the-top recollections of murderous goose attacks, played as straight-faced as you could imagine.
If it sounds absurd, that’s because it absolutely, wonderfully, is. This is side-splitting parody of epic proportions, monsters and melodrama wrapped up in a zany package. Who could’ve guessed that a universal disdain for geese would be such an effective device to galvanize a Saskatchewan audience?
What we didn’t love: It would have been great if the actors were just a little bit louder at the start. That’s about it.
Verdict: Creativity is deserving of credit. But what sets great Fringe shows apart from the good and sometimes not-so-good is when that creativity — no matter how ridiculous — is well-executed. This is not the finest piece of theatre I’ve ever seen. But it is unequivocally the funniest and most unique bit of nonsense to grace the Fringe in a long time, and how can you not love that?
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
– Matt Olson
***
Age Old Tales for All Ages
What we loved: Paul Strickland weaves music, comedy, and fantastical, allegorical stories into a show that the whole family can connect with.
Strickland presents his “reupholstered tales” of magical trees and cave-dwelling echoes with the warmth and wit of a well-seasoned storyteller. Alone on stage with a microphone and a guitar, he floated between conversation, song and narrative with ease, making the show feel more like a night by the campfire with your fun uncle — teasing included.
The stories were pleasantly brisk adventures sure to entertain youngsters while holding deeper wisdom easily recognized by those with more living experience. A sense of playful fun was present throughout, masterfully imparting the value of being kind or respecting our natural environment without ever feeling like he was giving a lecture.
What we didn’t love: A gem of wisdom Strickland delivered in this show rang especially true — adults are kids who’ve been taught not to be who they are. With no children in attendance, the audience participation landed a bit flat. His charm and stage presence did have many fully-grown folk making silly faces and squishing noises, but those moments could have been a lot of fun with more kids in the crowd.
Verdict: This was an enjoyably simple, yet profound, hour of storytelling. Strickland’s refined talents in music and narrative performance, along with his knack for playful banter, make this a show that truly is for all ages.
***
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
– Zak Stinson
***
BRAIN
What we loved: Drink water. Cry less. Call mom. Fight God?
The to-do list is long when you walk into “BRAIN,” plastered across the stage in yellow notes. Brightly coloured and energetic, full of audience interaction before the show even begins — you could be forgiven for thinking this was a children’s show.
But it’s so much more than that. It’s a creative story wrapped in a wonderfully clever package, and features a couple of charismatic characters at the lead.
“BRAIN” is about, well, the brain. Left Brain (Jillian Burke) and Right Brain (Marissa Sauvé) are struggling to find ways to connect and communicate as they take care of the human, with the help of all the “neurons” (audience members).
What starts as a playful, expletive-filled and suggestive comedic show evolves into something deeper and more nuanced as the disconnect in this particular brain is explored in depth. Burke and Sauvé are pure brilliance in these roles, and – without spoiling too much – the ending leaves you with much more food for thought than you might expect.
What we didn’t love: The jump from “everything is fine” to “something is very wrong here” gets hinted at a bit, but the real fireworks of confrontation come a little out of nowhere. The show did not fill out the full hour-ish run time of a typical Fringe production, and there was maybe more space to fill in some gaps in the quirky relationship between Left and Right and spin out a more fulsome conclusion.
Verdict: Any qualms with this show are small – this is the Fringe at its finest. It’s a fantastic premise made spectacular by Burke and Sauvé, and one of those examples of a unique Fringe theatre idea pulled off with style. Add this one to your own to-do list for the Fringe. You will not regret your decision.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
– Matt Olson
The Saskatoon Fringe Festival runs through August 9. Information for all shows, tickets, and the full festival program can be found at 25thstreettheatre.org/fringe-theatre.
