Virtually Here

As I write this it would normally be one week until The Winnipeg Fringe Festival would be getting underway. I hope everyone out there is doing the best they can in coping with this unprecedented pandemic, that you are staying safe, healthy, and have been able to find some joy in this topsy-turvy world. I feel very fortunate to be living in Winnipeg, where, through great co-operation and many hard sacrifices, we have been weathering this storm better than a lot of places. I am also very lucky to have been mostly unaffected in my day job, as I’ve been working from home for many years. Unfortunately the Theatre community that I love dearly has been one of the hardest hit sectors. It is hard enough to make a living in normal times in that industry, and impossible when everything is shut down. The uncertainty and isolation are also like vampires that can drain you of your creative lifeblood which can further add to one’s anxiety levels. So really what I’m saying is, 2020 stinks like a fetid pile of donkey dung (and we know donkeys)!

And Now Some Good News—The Winnipeg Fringe will be hosting four nights of live online entertainment, July 14th through to July 17th! This “Virtually Yours” event begins at 7pm CDT each of the four evenings and will feature 6 or 7 performances of local and international companies. They are available via the Winnipeg Fringe Festival’s Facebook page or YouTube channel. The full schedule is listed below and complete show descriptions are available on the Fringe Website

Help Support the Arts—For those of you who want to help support the performers, The Fringe has also put together a great list of plays that are available online many of which have a ticket price or a way to donate to the performers. Please enjoy and help out where you can.

Murray Hunter

Virtually Yours Schedule

Host: Ray Strachan
Co-Host Companies: Outside Joke, Sick + Twisted Theatre, HUNKS Comedy and One Trunk Theatre

Tuesday, July 14

7:00 pm The ADHD Project presented by Squirrel Suit Productions
7:30pm JD Edwards Live and Solo 
8:00pm The Devil Is A Feminist presented by FringeLiveStream presents Femmepire
8:30pm Jazz Age Garden Party presented by Jazz Winnipeg presents Sheena Rattai
9:00pm Space Hippo (Abridged Edition) presented by The Wishes Mystical Puppet Company 
9:30pm Edgar Allan & Eddie Poe presented by The Coldharts
10:00pm Outside Joke

Wednesday, July 15

7:00pm Fireside chat with autistic comedian Adam Schwartz 
7:30pm Imagination Situation presented by Echo Theatre
8:00pm Powers by Ryan Adam Wells
8:30pm I’m Not Taylor Swift by Anjali Sandhu
9:00pm TRIGGER WARNING: Contagion presented by Sick + Twisted Theatre
9:30pm God Is A Scottish Drag Queen: Pandemic Edition presented by Mike Delamont

Thursday, July 16

7:00pm Epidermis Circus presented by SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles
7:30pm Zero Context presented by Kiss the Giraffe Productions
8:00pm Journalism, with Frances Koncan
8:30pm ImproVision: Taste the Accordion
9:00pm Random Times with Tush~ a memoir presented by Dynamite Lunchbox Entertainment
9:30pm Music by Tommy Douglas Keenan with Laura "Bangin'" Olafson
10:00pm HUNKS Show presented by HUNKS Comedy

Friday, July 17

7:00pm Devon More or Less presented by Devon More Music
7:30pm Rocko and Nakota: Tales From the Land – An Excerpt by Josh Languedoc
8:00pm Today, Tonight! presented by Joseph-Herd Productions
8:30pm The Schleps & Camp COVID presented by One Trunk Theatre
8:45pm Virtual Fringe Fantasy presented by Mind of a Snail Puppet Co.
9:15pm Old Man Dad Rock presented by Cory Wojcik and The Good Show