Edmonton International Fringe Festival reveals 2016 theme, ‘That was Then, This is Fringe’

Organizers of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival want the 35th edition to be a memorable one for audiences.

Fringe Theatre Adventures launched the theme Wednesday afternoon and announced the dates for this year’s festival. It will take place in Old Strathcona from Aug. 11 – 21.

“With this year’s theme, ‘That was Then, This is Fringe,’ we’re hoping to inspire audiences to take a chance and really experience all of the vibrancy the festival has to offer,” Fringe artistic director Murray Utas said.

The festival brings Edmontonians together with 1,600 live theatre performances in over 40 venues.

The Fringe Festival will be releasing a four-part video series that gives people a chance to win prizes at the festival, a first for the Fringe.

“We’re going to launch four weeks out, each episode leading up to the festival where we’re going to entertain and drop some hints about what these surprises are going to be,” Utas said.

Every year, the Fringe Theatre artists entertain millions of audiences with their shows and Fringe Theatre Adventures has provided artists with resources and infrastructure to use for development of their performances.

Among the many theatre productions the Fringe hosts each year, it is also home to international street performers.

“We’re not only an international festival inside of our theatres, but we also have some of the best street performers in the world,” Utas said.

Fringe Festival tickets will go on sale on Saturday, Aug. 3 and show schedules will also be released. To find out more about the festival, visit Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival’s website.