Fundy Fringe Festival kicks off in Saint John tonight, filing the city with an overwhelming number of theatrical performances for the next six days. With a slew of unjuried and uncensored shows, forewarned is forearmed because things tend to get a bit colourful.

“This year is by far our most diverse lineup yet. We’re honoured to be a festival that not only celebrates but highlights a range of cultures, identities and orientations,” says festival director Sarah Rankin. “We hope that Saint John will come out to support both our local artists as well as our visiting ones.”

With nineteen shows to choose from (and several performances of each across five venues) it makes sense to have their Big Tease Preview Night—a chance for your to get a sneak peak at what to expect (not to mention beer and trivia). In the meantime, here’s five shows we’re really looking forward to.

Faking It

Do you ever feel like you’re just pretending to be an adult? Or like your adult life is all a façade to hide the true kid who lives inside of your heart? In this one-hour, adult-oriented comedy set, Faking It satirizes the social pretences and conventions of adulthood.

I Want to Come Home

As Maritimers, we’ve all known someone who has moved away from the East Coast for a job, or perhaps have moved away ourselves. I Want to Come Home takes a funny and emotional look at the constant coming & going those who flee the Maritimes in search of opportunity and paychecks. Watch as a young actor tells the story of her struggles while too far away from that “cozy Maritime hospitality” only found here.

Band With No Name

Band With No Name takes musical improvisation to a new level by allowing the audience to create the concert they always wanted to see. Made up of local troubadour Frank James alongside other talented Saint John musicians, the band and all of their songs are entirely named and picked by the crowd. This is a unique opportunity to see a one-hour performance from creation to encore. Every show is different, but they need your help to make it great.

Honey Garlic

In this “darkly funny story-telling show”, Jon Forward’s Honey Garlic touches on things most people would rather keep to themselves. He uses old traumas involving family, alcohol, death, drugs, porn, police and chicken wings to make strangers laugh instead of just dwelling in the past.

SMASHES

SMASHES, titled after the late 1800s slang word for same-sex crushes, touches on the struggles of growing up queer. In this one-woman show, Franny McCabe-Bennett examines feminist literary icon Charlotte Perkins Gilman while telling her own coming out story and experiences as a femme bisexual woman.

The Fundy Fringe Festival runs from August 21st to 26th with the Big Tease happening Monday, August 21st, 2017 at the BMO Studio Theatre on Princess Street. For the full line-up of shows visit Fundy Fringe Festival’s website at www.fundyfringefestival.com

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