Toronto Fringe is a hotbed for creativity, artistic risk-taking, and innovative indie theatre. From July 2-13, Ontario’s largest performance festival is bringing the heat with 100+ productions on stage across the city.
Toronto Fringe is unique from other arts festivals in that the lineup of shows is not curated, but rather selected with a lottery, allowing new voices and emerging creators a chance to showcase their work. Audiences can see a range of inventive live performances, including musicals, dramas, comedies, dance, clown, storytelling, comedy, puppets, and so much more.
General tickets start at only $18.75, and many shows offer a Pay-What-You-Can option—plus, all ticket revenue goes directly to the artists. Accessible, community-based, and tons of bold new ideas just waiting to be discovered—that’s the magic of Toronto Fringe.
To help you determine your Toronto Fringe Festival schedule, we’re highlighting 15 of the shows at this year’s festival that caught our eye.
All That She Wrote
Dive into a world of true crime, justice, queer friendship, Twitch live-streaming, retribution, and U-Haul lesbians. Written by Annika Tupper, this bold new musical promises to leave you both unsettled and inspired. All That She Wrote was born from Tupper examining their own fascination with true crime, as well as the staggering rate of Indigenous people in prison in their home province, Saskatchewan. More info.
Almost Ever After – A New Musical
In Almost Ever After, 5 interconnected love stories are brought to life with original music inspired by Adele, The Beatles, Bruno Mars, and more. Andrew Seok, who previously sold out Fringe shows like Rosamund and The Man With The Golden Heart, has created a heartfelt and hilarious musical exploring the complexities of modern relationships and the magical yet complicated search for “the one”. More info.
Apothecary
Welcome to the Apothecary: a magical and timeless sanctuary for all women in need. In this new musical from Fringe veterans Laura Piccinin, Allison Wither, and Cass Van Wyck, Lady and her apprentice Tilly work tirelessly to help support the women who show up at their door. When any mistake could mean the end of the Apothecary, the imperfect protagonists learn what it means to do good in a world full of nuance. More info.
Photo by Aidan Tooth Photography
Body as Nature
One of only 3 dance shows at Toronto Fringe this year, Body as Nature is a tribute to Canadian dance icon Dr. Margie Gillis. Choreographed and performed by Caitlin Griffin, this performance is a vivid exploration of ecology, renewal, and resistance in the face of environmental crisis, accompanied by live poetry from acclaimed 2SLGBTQIA+ artist Hana Shafi (aka Frizz Kid). More info.
Confessions of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl
After a sold-out run in 2014, this acclaimed solo show from Rebecca Perry will return to Toronto Fringe with its unique blend of observational comedy, sharp character work, and jazzy musical numbers. In her “coffeeshop jungle”, anthropology graduate Joanie Little observes her customers as if they were exotic animals, finding small moments of beauty, chaos, and connection amid the daily grind. More info.
Don’t Fall In
This queer medieval-fantasy musical is full of dark whimsy, magical mishaps, and narrative chaos. Kara, a student at a magical academy, is tasked with brewing a story in a bubbling cauldron. Out of ideas, they cobble together a half-finished fairy tale…and then they fall in. Trapped in their own story, Kara must survive a chaotic fantasy realm full of corrupted ink, twisted tropes, and characters that refuse to follow the script. More info.
Grown Ass*d Broads Talkin’ Dirty
Every month, five bawdy and fierce women meet to enjoy theme parties full of booze, food, bitching, arguing, laughing and cussing. Friends since they were teenagers, these women are like sisters…sometimes rivalling sisters. Described as an episode of Golden Girls, but funnier and dirtier, this show was written by 75-year-old Valerie Boyle, who recently wowed the judges on Canada’s Got Talent. More info.
Iris (Says Goodbye)
No two performances will be the same at Iris (Says Goodbye), a new, genre-bending musical from the Dora Award-nominated duo behind Killing Time: A Game Show Musical. In an endless, giant airport full of departed souls, Iris is given the rare opportunity to return to Earth and live a new life. Audiences will choose from 8 of 20 acts, shaping Iris’ journey in a new way each time. More info.
Killy Willy
Killy Willy, the latest from the producers of the award-winning Gringas (including SheDoesTheCity’s own Mercedes Isaza Clunie!), is sure to make a splash at Toronto Fringe this year. This outrageous musical comedy follows Willy, a captive killer whale yearning for freedom. Through song, dance, and Shakespearean soliloquy, the wild whales band together to confront their greatest threat: the humans. More info.
Lucian, Plato, and the Secrets of the Pussy
Fusing both ancient and modern worlds, this campy queer odyssey is a vibrant mosaic of intimacy, persistence, and joy. When Leaina and her best friend run off to Lesbos, her ex-husband turns to Plato, hoping he can help make sense of the unfathomable mysteries of this new relationship. Interwoven with verbatim accounts of queer love, Lucian, Plato, and the Secrets of the Pussy was created by a team of more than 30 queer folks. More info.
My Pet Lizard, Liz: The Shakespearean Existential Crisis that Led to His Ultimate Demise
In this whimsical, puppet-filled solo show, Shaharah “Gaz” Gaznabbi reckons with the grief of losing Liz, their best friend and pet lizard. Silly and surreal, but with real emotional depth, the show explores how we avoid and ultimately process grief. Featuring puppets made from found materials, music from local Toronto artists, and a blend of off-beat humour and vulnerability, My Pet Lizard, Liz offers a fresh approach to storytelling. More info.
Reborn
Reborn is a timely story about the threats AI can pose to not only our jobs, but our identities. Actress Cynthia Faux finally lands the role of a lifetime, only to discover she signed away the rights to her image…and her AI double is starting to take over her life. With poetic monologue, haunting movement, and original music, Reborn follows Cynthia’s unravelling as she fights to hold on to her true self. More info.
Songs by a Wannabe
Babz, a career Spice Girls impersonator, is on the final stretch of a “tour from hell”, where she has spent countless days performing as the wannabe Ginger Spice in a hit tribute group. With an original pop score, this one-woman musical finds Babz at a moment of reckoning, as she reflects on the highs and lows of living a life in someone else’s platforms. More info.
Tamar Broadbent: Plus One
Plus One is a hilarious, honest, and uncensored look at the chaos and comedy of pregnancy and motherhood. In her most personal show yet, award-winning British comedy songwriter Tamar Broadbent takes audiences through everything from fertility tests to failed birth plans to breastfeeding mishaps, speaking to the experience of modern motherhood with 10 original songs, performed live on the piano. More info.
Terrible Fish
Cheeky, witty, musical, and a little unhinged, Terrible Fish is a one-woman cabaret about life as a middle-aged woman. Both heartening and heartbreaking, writer and performer Caitlin Murphy tackles topics like female rage, ambivalent motherhood, patriarchy, and beauty standards, through a blend of stand-up, spoken word, social commentary, impression, movement and original song. More info.
See the full lineup of shows at the 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival.
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