Toronto Fringe Festival

Toronto Fringe Festival
July 2 ~ 13, 2025
The Toronto Fringe Festival is a platform for innovative theatre and performance. Shows are selected by lottery or first-come-first-served processes, and all ticket revenue goes straight to the artists.
The Toronto Fringe is a platform for everyone to access, discover, and experiment with the arts. By valuing creative experiences, we contribute to a healthy arts economy and, ultimately, a thriving society.
About the Toronto Fringe
Toronto Fringe is a grassroots, charitable organization that runs the annual Toronto Fringe Festival in July, the Next Stage Theatre Festival in October, and various year-round programs that benefit youth, emerging artists, IBPOC artists, artists with disabilities, and the performing arts community at large. Embedded in Fringe’s operations are the values of Access, Accountability, Creativity, Exploration, and Support.

Toronto Fringe is a creative match-maker, connecting artists with audiences, and empowering everyone to unleash their inner artist. Toronto Fringe creates vital opportunities for both emerging and established artists to produce their work with complete artistic freedom, while making productions as affordable and accessible as possible.

Toronto Fringe is run by a staff of six full-time employees, annual contract staff, a dedicated and diverse board of directors, 150+ seasonal festival staff, and over 500 passionate volunteers. Toronto Fringe is a registered charitable non-profit organization, and has been in operation since 1989.

Toronto Fringe is a proud member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) and World Fringe. More information here.

Toronto Fringe Festival
Founded in 1989, the Toronto Fringe Festival welcomes approximately 75-140 companies from around Canada and the world to our 5-30 theatre venues in downtown Toronto. Over the course of 12 days every July, over 1,200 artists participate in performances across the city that include comedy, drama, musicals, improvisation, storytelling, children’s theatre, dance, and much more.

During the Toronto Fringe Festival, the festival hub is the place to hang out, grab a drink or some food, and enjoy free programming like concerts, interactive performances, and dance parties.

The festival is unique in that it selects shows without a jury or curation. Fringe shows are programmed through a lottery draw or first-come, first-served. Why does Fringe do this? Because we believe every voice has an equal right to be heard. It’s not about who you know or how much you know – your project holds just as much weight in the Fringe Lottery as any other. When you produce a show at Fringe, you’re joining a community – this isn’t simply a co-production agreement. If you are new to producing theatre, the dedicated staff will guide you through the process of putting on a Fringe show.

Next Stage Theatre Festival
Founded in 2008, the Next Stage Theatre Festival offers a more intimate, cozy festival experience. Next Stage is the curated, sister event of the summer’s Toronto Fringe Festival, where 6-12 shows are programmed by a jury of industry professionals.

Next Stage artists are on the cutting edge of “indie” theatre and are creating urgent, exciting work. Patrons can expect to see artists at Next Stage who are about to hit the mainstream – Next Stage artists frequently break out into CBC, Mirvish, Broadway, or Netflix hits within a year or two of appearing at the festival.

Recurring Event: Yes

Start: 07/02/2025 / End: 07/13/2025
Website: Toronto Fringe Festival

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