Royal Porcupine Productions Stages SAINT FRANCIS TALKS TO THE BIRDS at Toronto Fringe Fest, Now thru 7/14

Royal Porcupine Productions first Fringe outing certainly captures the spirit of what a Fringe show should be; an absurdist comedy with a drag-king performance of a famous Saint in a life or death situation chatting it up with two actors decked out as full beak-and-feather birds performed by an emerging company and written by a recent Tony nominee.

If it seems like RPP knows what to do at the Fringe that should come as no surprise; company co-founder and Artistic Director Adam Bailey directed last year's Fringe hit The Enchanted Crackhouse(deemed one of the 25 shows most worth seeing in the 2012 Fringe by Mooney on Theatre) and has been a part of several avant-garde performance groups over the years. The company itself has given several international plays their Canadian premiers including Terrorism, Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco andThe Shadow of a Boy and has done some very fringy productions such as a run of No Exit at the Big Bop's Holy Joe (Now a CB2). Core artistic members Annemieke Wade, CameRon Johnston and Tanya Rigely(formerly Tanya Lynne), each of whom have given notable performances in the past, form the back-bone of the production as St. Francis and a pair of birds with marital issues. The last time CameRon Johnston and Tanya Rigley performed with each other, it was buck naked in a dramatically charged scene of sexual dominance;Christopher Hoile noted for Eye Weekly that, "The subtlety of their...acting almost makes one forget they are both completely nude". Now they will appear fully clothed thanks to costumes by Ima Barbosa (The F Word).

Despite being a comedy Mr. Bailey credits dealing with the death of his grandmother to his choice of material. Also no surprise as the company has a history of pairing dark material with comedic treatment. David Ives' play deals heavily with mortality and faith all while keeping a manic, farcical energy that is bound to entertain the hardiest Fringer.

Make sure to catch what is sure to be a highlight of the Fringe and RPP's funniest play to date.

Royal Porcupine Productionnin association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents Saint Francis Talks To the Birds, written by David Ives, directed by Adam Bailey, featuring Annemieke Wade, CameRon Johnston and Tanya Rigely.

The show opens today, July 4th and runs to July 14th at Helen Gardiner Phelan; 79 St George St Toronto.

Performances: Thursday July 4th at 7pm, Saturday July 6th at Noon, Sunday July 7th at 10:45pm, Monday July 8th at 2:45pm, Wednesday July 10th at 7:30pm, Friday July 12th at 3:30pm, Sunday July 14th at 7:30pm.

Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating.

Tickets:
At-the-door tickets: $10
At-the-door tickets are available at YOUR VENUE starting one hour prior to show time - cash sales only.
Advance tickets: $11
50% of tickets are available for sale in advance.
Advance tickets go on sale June 15th, 2013.

Purchase online: fringetoronto.com.
By Phone: 416-966-1062, ext 1.
In Person: During the Festival Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Ed's (581 Bloor St W).