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Culture Stage

Fringe 2005 wrap-up

Rating: NNNNN


The weather gods turned up the heat on Fringers this year. Was there a single day during the fest when the temp didn’t hit 30?

Dear Fringe staff: please keep summer temperatures in mind next year, and please don’t use the Glen Morris again as a venue. We appreciate that house managers gave out water and freezies, but the conditions inside were hellish – not fair to performers or audiences.

Despite the heat, attendance reached an all-time high. More than 46,000 tickets were sold (up 14 per cent from last year), with a box office of nearly $325,500.

This is the year we bid a sad farewell to Upstart Crow‘s five years of blending Shakespeare and sports. The company’s now gone through the entire canon and, in the process, given audiences lots of fun and clever entertainment.

Here’s NOW’s annual list of Fringe highlights.

OUTSTANDING NEW PLAYS The Three Sisters The Demimonde

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTIONS Welcome To Vaudeville The Big Button Show BoyGroove The Three Sisters The Stronger… A Variation The Slip-Knot The Dispute Thank You.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES Barbara Barnes-Hopkins (Thank You.) Caroline Azar (The Molly Murders) Kathryn Albertson (Kathryn – Starring As Herself, At Last) Françoise Balthazar (Bella Donna) Mark Ellis and Paul Fauteux (Pavlov’s Brother) Nicola Gunn (An Unfortunate Woman) Suzanne Bennett (Man-O-Rexic) Jolene Bailie (Chasing Bliss) Ryan Gladstone (Confessions Of A Class Clown) Justin Sage-Passant (Tales From Another England) Tricia Cooper (The Comment Card)

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLES The Stronger… A Variation The Dispute BoyGroove The Demimonde Three More Sleepless Nights Shakespeare’s NHL In Trousers

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION Dian Marie Bridge (Thank You.) Kate Lynch (The Dispute) Sue Miner (Bella Donna)

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