One of the best things about Fringe time is how Toronto gets a welcome infusion of style and unironic enthusiasm from out-of-towners.
This year’s visitors include ultra-chatty Brit Jem Rolls (pictured), who brings his wordplay-filled Jem Rolls Attacks The Silence (from July 4 at the George Ignatieff) New Yorker John Grady, whose Fear Factor: Canine Edition (from July 5 at the George Ignatieff), about his Bernese Mountain Dog, Abby, has won awards at previous fests and the talented dudes from Vancouver’s Monster Theatre, writer/performer Bruce Horak and director Ryan Gladstone, who examine the mystery behind the death of painter Tom Thomson in Assassinating Thomson (from July 5 at St. Vladimir’s).
Ottawa writer Tim C. Murphy draws on his experiences in a political hot spot in Kuwaiti Moonshine (from July 4 at Robert Gill), and Zeb L. West, a puppeteer from Austin, Texas, mashes up the tales of Don Quixote and Moby Dick in Innocent When You Dream (from July 5 at Robert Gill).
If you see any of them at the beer tent, buy them a cold one – or at least go see their show.
