Happysad Theatre

Kink has never been so polite! This trio of original stories spoofs a beloved Canadian radio program (you’ll know it when you hear it) with warmth, humour, and more than a little spice. A middle-aged Ontario couple embarks on a series of sexy misadventures after reading a popular book about kink. It does not go smoothly.

50 Shades of Vinyl is a funny, racy comedy that entertains more than it scandalizes. Part parody, part homage, and an overall gentle reminder that it’s never too late to try something new.

Pick Plus
Can't get enough Fringe Theatre? Enter Pick Plus: a series of Fringe hits handpicked for your enjoyment.

Pick Plus shows are $25

This show can be purchased as part of a Theatre Wire Package! Add at least three Theatre Wire Package shows to your basket and save up to 30% on each ticket! More info here.

Paco Erhard 
Berlin, Germany 
Playwright: Paco Erhard 
pacoerhard.com

Wanna be German? Of course you do. And now you can, as award-winning German comedian Paco Erhard teaches you how. Sold out at Vancouver Fringe 2017 and a Fringe World Best Comedy Nominee, it’s the first ever stand-up show to hold a mirror up to real modern Germany, Canada, and the rest of the world. You will laugh. If you want. Zis is not an order. 

***** “Stand-up genius.” —Edinburgh Guide
**** “Keeps the room in stitches whether you’re German or not.” —Vue Weekly
***** “Insightful and hysterical.” —Broadway Baby
**** “Articulate and thoughtful ... the comedy world is a better place for it.” —Herald Sun 

Pick of the Fringe shows are $25 and no Festival membership is needed.

Funny / Multicultural / 75 minutes / 18+ / Coarse Language

By Isabelle Kirouac & Nayana Fielkov

Accompanied by a mysterious white hare, a woman travels through time in search of home. Winner of the 2017 Vancouver Fringe Festival Joanna Maratta and Mollie Bradley Awards, Habitats is a living poem about migration, transformation, and how we find trust in the unknown. Reminiscent of Fellini and Lewis Carroll, Habitats enchants audiences of all ages, combining physical comedy, dance, circus, and shadow puppetry.

Pick Plus
Can't get enough Fringe Theatre? Enter Pick Plus: a series of Fringe hits handpicked for your enjoyment.

Pick Plus shows are $25

This show can be purchased as part of a Theatre Wire Package! Add at least three Theatre Wire Package shows to your basket and save up to 30% on each ticket! More info here.

Classy Little Bitch Productions 
Burnaby, Canada 
Playwright: Kuan Foo  

SELF-ish follows Esther, a 35-year-old Korean-Canadian woman, examining herself in the face of a recent tragedy. Esther wakes up to the familiar tremor of existential angst ripple over her body like a pee shiver and takes us into her family dynamics, her crappy workplace and her present day angst. 

**** “Kuan Foo’s script resonates especially for Asian-Canadian audience members. When Esther's tears finally come, Bang has no trouble digging deep, and in the intimate BMO Incubator, it’s hard not to feel those same emotions.” —NOW Magazine 

Pick of the Fringe shows are $25 and no Festival membership is needed.

Funny / Tear-Jerker / Intimate / Multicultural / 60 minutes / 14+ / Coarse Language 

Underrepresented artist: The writer is Asian-Canadian. The performer is Asian-Canadian.   

Written, created, and performed by Kahlil Ashanti

A comedic, powerful, and redemptive story about a young man (Kahlil Ashanti) who joins the US Air Force to escape a violently abusive childhood. Less than 24 hours before departing for boot camp, Kahlil’s mother reveals a family secret that forces him to question everything he has become, and everything he is running away from. Twenty-three unforgettable characters guide you through this award winning interactive true story.

“Hilarious and engaging, Ashanti delivers.” —New York Times (Critics Pick)

Pick Plus
Can't get enough Fringe Theatre? Enter Pick Plus: a series of Fringe hits handpicked for your enjoyment.

Pick Plus shows are $25

This show can be purchased as part of a Theatre Wire Package! Add at least three Theatre Wire Package shows to your basket and save up to 30% on each ticket! More info here.

Downunderground

A man like no man, the internationally infamous, award-winning, festival favourite with the world’s finest collection of comedy variety classic hits! Be wowed by incredible acts like plastic bag juggling, interpretive high heel dancing, interactive origami extravaganzas, and climbing inside a giant balloon—with original music from Egg of Japan. Following 10 world tours from the Glastonbury Music Festival to nominee for Most Original Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe, fly to the future for one fantastic night only!

Pick Plus
Can't get enough Fringe Theatre? Enter Pick Plus: a series of Fringe hits handpicked for your enjoyment.

Pick Plus shows are $25

This show can be purchased as part of a Theatre Wire Package! Add at least three Theatre Wire Package shows to your basket and save up to 30% on each ticket! More info here.

Anais West and Sara Vickruck 
Vancouver, Canada 
Playwrights: Anais West & Sara Vickruck 
www.polyqueerloveballad.com

An intimate, edgy new musical, merging slam poetry with catchy pop-folk tunes. Nina, a polyamorous bisexual poet, meets Gabbie, a monogamous lesbian songwriter, at Cafe Deux Soleil. With two microphones, a loop pedal, and array of instruments, they struggle to reconcile their fierce mutual attraction with their opposing perspectives on love. 

“Vickruck can belt a song, croon a song, and massage a song into existence—and she can act, too.” —Vancouver Courier (on Love Bomb)

“[Anais West has] got great comic timing and she is fearless about going to dark emotional places.” —the Georgia Straight (on Dry Land)

Pick of the Fringe shows are $25 and no Festival membership is needed.

Naughty / Musical / Poetic / LGBTQ+ / 75 minutes / 18+ / Coarse Language / Sexual Content

Underrepresented artist: Created and performed by queer women, with an all-female, mostly queer creative team.

Squeeze My Cans 
Studio City, USA
Playwright: Cathy Schenkelberg 
squeezemycans.com 

Told with masterful fluidity and hilarious jabs, this one woman show takes you on a roller coaster ride down the “rabbit hole” that is Scientology. Just under two decades and a million dollars, in 75 minutes Schenkelberg takes you on her journey as a 20-something looking for her place and purpose in the world. Hilarious, heartbreaking and redemptive.

Tampa Bay Times’ #2 of top 10 Tampa Bay shows of 2017
“Lets you experience for yourself how Scientology devours money ...  and lives.” —Chicago Reader
“Heart-pumping and electrifying.” —Edge Media Network
“This implausible journey is very well-written and superbly performed with brilliantly executed back and forth dialogue.” —Buzz Center Stage 

Pick of the Fringe shows are $25 and no Festival membership is needed.

Funny / Intimate / Shocking / 75 minutes / 14+ / Sexual Content 

Travis Bernhardt
Vancouver, Canada
Playwright: Travis Bernhardt 
travisbernhardt.com 

The completely improvised church service for a religion made up on the spot!

A joyous new comedy from Travis Bernhardt, creator of the award winning Charlatan!, Unpossible!, and Chris & Travis.

Come sing, laugh, and pray together! 

“Incredibly clever ... revitalizing the collective spiritual experience through goofy ad libbing.” —Vue Weekly, Edmonton 

Pick of the Fringe shows are $25 and no Festival membership is needed.

Funny / Silly / Weird / 60 minutes / All Ages

The Lady Show 
Vancouver, Canada
Playwrights: The Lady Show 
theladyshow.com

We put the JOY in feminist killjoy! Sketch, stand-up, monologue, satirical news, and more starring Diana Bang (Assaulted Fish, The Interview), Morgan Brayton (CBC’s The Debaters, Vancouver Fringe Festival Critics’ Choice Award), Fatima Dhowre (Winnipeg Comedy Fest, JFL NorthWest), and Katie-Ellen Humphries (Vancouver Comedy Joke of the Year Award, The Debaters). 

“You may not attend a comedy show in hopes of being taken on an emotional ride other than that of laughing so hard you cry; however, The Lady Show delivers powerful performances filled with commentary and satire.” —Room Magazine 

Pick of the Fringe shows are $25 and no Festival membership is needed.

Funny / In Your Face / Intellectual / Multicultural / LGBTQ+ / 60 minutes / 18+

Ashanti Enterprises Inc presents:

Razor
November 7-9, 2018
Studio 1398, 1398 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3R8

Directed by TJ Dawe
In the fall of 2003 the largest supermarket strike in history locked out over 70,000 Los Angeles grocery workers.  Broke, discouraged, and unable to find acting work, Kahlil finds himself crossing picket lines during the strike to stock shelves on midnight shift at an Albertsons for less than minimum wage. His coworkers—hardened criminals and ex-cons from a local halfway house—expose Kahlil to transformative but hard truths about incarceration, poverty, and social change.

Warnings: 14+

This show can be purchased as part of a Theatre Wire Package! Add at least three Theatre Wire Package shows to your basket and save up to 30% on each ticket! More info here.

God is a Scottish Drag Queen: A Christmas Special
December 5-7, 2018
Studio 1398, 1398 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3R8

God, dressed in a floral power suit, comes down to skewer everything from fruit cake to Boxing Day in an all new and special holiday addition! Featuring an opening act performing all of the holiday favourites, this is the best and only way to celebrate Jesus’ birthday!

December 7th is Fringemas!
Available for December 7th performance only:
$200 for VIP Table for 4 / $175 with subscription
(VIP tables include wine, table service, drink tickets, and appetizers)
19+

This show can be purchased as part of a Theatre Wire Package! Add at least three Theatre Wire Package shows to your basket and save up to 30% on each ticket! More info here.

Monster Theatre presents:

Theatre Under the Gun
February 9, 2019
Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright St, Vancouver, BC V6H 3R8

It’s deadline driven, insomnia fuelled creation at its best.
 
Theatre Under the Gun is a 48-Hour Play Creation Competition. Six Vancouver theatre companies receive an inspiration package, and have only 48 hours to race against the clock and create an original piece of theatre! Hosted by Monster Theatre and co-presented by the Fringe, Theatre Under the Gun is one of the most epic, exciting, surprising, and electric theatre events of the season.