Saturday, September 4, 2010

Vancouver Fringe 2010

Having lived in Edinburgh - home to the largest theatre festival in the world - Vancouver's Fringe Fest seems small and disorganized. However, it is young, and it is gaining popularity despite funding cutbacks.

I attended the Fringe for the first time last year and really enjoyed myself. Granville Island is transformed into an artsy, loud, fun bazaar of tourists, locals, self-proclaimed theatre nerds, actors, and late-night cafes. The reality is that you will see some amateurish doozies, but hidden amongst those amateurish doozies will be a few golden nuggets. At about $10 a pop, you can see four or five plays for the price of one play produced by our established Arts Club Theatre or Playhouse Theatre Company.

If low-budget, unpredictable, raucous theatre isn't really your "thang", just wait until the Pick of the Fringe later in September. This consists of the most popular plays being reprised for limited-time viewing...and most of them are very good. The only drawback to attending the Pick of the Fringe is that it lacks the atmosphere of the real Fringe, in all of its inconsistent, flamboyant glory.

The Fringe runs from September 9-19, and Pick of the Fringe runs from September 23-26.

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