Review: TORONTO FRINGE FESTIVAL Review Roundup Featuring ACTING LESSONS and More

Welcome to Toronto Fringe 2025! More than 100 different shows await in this year’s festival; where else can you go from storytelling to puppetry to dance to absurdist farce to sketch comedy in a single afternoon? BroadwayWorld presents a sampling of the shows we’ve seen so far.

ACTING LESSONS (Soulpepper Theatre’s TD Finance Studio)

ACTING LESSONS, Kailea Banka and Alex Hrgetic’s tight and appealing bittersweet romcom about two actors who have an audition meet-cute and spend the next few years trying to negotiate a relationship with his star on the rise and her career is on the rocks, reminded me of The Last Five Years in the best way (without the singing or time shenanigans). Banka and Hrgetic have an easy, instantly believable chemistry, nailing the pacing of the realistic dialogue, which weaves the characters together even when they’re in separate locations.

You’ll root for Keegan as he tries to book “Relay Runner #2” and kvells over his niece, and for Molly as she tries to coach recalcitrant teens (and her recalcitrant partner) into loving Shakespeare and being willing to do the hard work behind the performance. The conflict is believable, familiar but not tired; the performances are polished, and the self-tapes are numerous (who knew there were so many ways to mispronounce “carotid”?). A breezy and moving show, perfect for a Fringe afternoon. (Note: The show was seen in its preview performance; permission for this review was granted by the company.)

Photo of Kailea Banka and Alex Hrgetic by Jadine Patricia Photo

BODY AS NATURE (Soulpepper Theatre’s Tank House Theatre)

A triptych of solo dance pieces from Caitlin Griffin (including choreographer Margie Gillis’ Loon) interspersed with thoughtful poetry by Hana Shafi, BODY AS NATURE will likely delight fans of Buddies in Bad Times’ Dora-winning production Last Landscape with its creative use of found items and its examination of the limits of the human form in motion.

First, engulfed in gauzy netting and with long, slow strokes, Griffin portrays a woman in the midst of sea foam. The meditative section with a stirring score is reminiscent of Hans Christian Andersen’s original ending to The Little Mermaid in reverse. In another piece, the motion of a single lit tree branch reverberates in Griffin’s painfully sharp angles splaying below an obscuring curtain of hair. Finally, the show’s joyful ending has Griffin showing childlike wonder while bouncing in a tulle skirt several sizes too large. The lighthearted ending balances the earlier work and embraces the sheer pleasure of dance.

There are very few dance shows in this year’s Fringe; this one’s worth putting on your card. (Note: The show was seen in its preview performance; permission for this review was granted by the company.)

Photo of Caitlin Griffin by Adrian Tooth

A PART OF THE STORY (Soulpepper Theatre’s RBC Finance Studio)

This show by teens about bullying, set entirely in a women’s bathroom in a high school, is a gentle examination of the dangers of hearsay and the need to listen to multiple points of view. Its set is a creative representation of stalls, sinks, and graffiti; the action could be less constrained by a reliance on repeated sound effects. The script by Livvy Hayward and Alma Mataric, a work in progress, shows creative promise when it moves past the literal into metaphor and even the supernatural. A scene where outcast friend and rumour-spreader Daniya talks about her regret about jumping to conclusions is heartfelt and moving. Including additional character depth (what drew the betrayed character to befriend the bullies?), a greater sense of the friendship before its dissolution via the rumour mill, and further complications to resolution will take the text to the next level.

Cast photo provided by the company

ALPHA (Soulpepper Theatre’s Michael Young Theatre)

The kids are all right, even when the world they’ve inherited isn’t. ALPHA, set in an academically rigourous Trinidad and Tobago high school, is an exploration of the toxic masculinity “alpha male” phenomenon, exuberantly and sensitively performed by members of the Naparima College Drama Club. The high school company from Trinidad and Tobago includes a rocking steel pan and percussion band that effectively scores scenes and transitions. “Alpha,” top of his class, has been charged with raping a young woman, and five of his schoolmates seek to understand what led him to these actions via role-playing.

In the process, they deal with heavy subjects of abuse, misogyny, class, and the pressure cooker of elite education. Despite a few “after-school special” moments, the collaboratively written script, a “reimagining” of Zeno Constance’s “The Ritual,” largely handles things with a light and humourous touch. Directed by Jeanelle L. Archer-Chan, the five lead actors fluidly switch characters, becoming Alpha and the various figures in his life by creatively using their ties to represent long hair, skirts, and weaponry. Triston Wallace’s effective movement choreography capitalizes on a set comprised of desks, and a scene where “Alpha” is welcomed into adulthood is full of graceful dancing, kalinda stickfighting (choreographer Simeon Moodoo) and beautiful song.

Sometimes a show comes around that gets this jaded old critic misty-eyed about the power and promise of young people in theatre. ALPHA is one of those shows. Please go support them; you’ll leave with renewed energy and a sense that the kids are, in fact, all right.

Photo of Christopher Seepersad, Jhasan Dhaniram, Pranav Persad-Maharaj, Gabriel Rahman & Syre Hutton by Kajay Ramkarran

THE ENSEMBLE

If you’re a fan of Luigi Pirandello’s absurdist Six Characters in Search of an Author, you’ll find much to enjoy in Aliyah Bourgeault and Emmet Logue’s THE ENSEMBLE, adapted from José Sanchis Sinisterra’s Los Figurantes. Unlike those six characters who show up looking for a playwright to tell their stories and stop their wandering, the large supernumerary cast of THE ENSEMBLE is stuck on stage, trying to figure out their roles when all the lead actors go missing and it falls to tertiary characters with roles like “Prisoner #3” and “Conspirator #9” to take charge of the show. These characters try to determine what their new purpose is, how to entertain the audience, and whether or not they actually have free will. Meanwhile, the doors to exit the theatre appear to be locked.

Christel Bartelse’s direction effectively uses most of the Michael Young theatre space as the quirky character types grow increasingly frantic. The circular nature of Bourgeault and Logue’s script facilitates the existentialist chaos, but sufficient developments keep observers interested. It’s fun to see the ensemble members start to find their voices, even if some of them (three Capuchin monks) ominously speak in unison. Mila Trichilo as a page who’s desperate to control the stage and Jack Mosney as the most recalcitrant extra keep things moving at a sprightly pace. Mosney even bangs a small pot on occasion to prevent the audience from falling asleep—but I doubt you’ll need the wake up call.

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