2025 Hamilton Fringe Festival biggest in years and sure to 'spark joy,' says executive director

This year's Fringe Festival in Hamilton is "the biggest festival that we've had since the pandemic," said its executive director, Christopher Stanton.

Stanton said there are over 400 performances happening in the city's downtown core over the next week. Many shows will be on more than once over the course of the 12-day festival, which started on Wednesday evening. 

Stanton said 2025 is a banner year for the festival, as it received over 200 applicants for 28 "main series" spots. 

"There's no sort of artistic director choosing what gets to go on the stages," he said. "It's either by a random draw or it is first come, first serve, so all of those folks that got in, they were chosen randomly."

Stanton said this model gives new artists the same chance to get into the festival as those with more experience.

"It really does level the playing field," he said. "It gives everybody a chance to have their voice heard and platformed."

The festival has 18 indoor and outdoor stages around the city and an "insane diversity of shows," including magic and comedy shows, puppets, dances and musicals.

"I guarantee something is gonna spark joy for you," said Stanton.

The festival has transformed King William Street, part of which is now closed until mid-September, into a "vibrant, pedestrian-friendly hub filled with music, dance, drag, film, painting, and performance," noted the Hamilton Fringe website. 

"It's the living, beating heart of the festival—and the place to celebrate the weird, wild, and wonderful Hamilton Fringe community!"

Programming on the street is free.

LISTEN | This production explores religious tensions in India through the perspective of a cow. It plays Toronto and Hamilton fringe festivals this year:

Metro Morning5:36Fringe production explores religious tensions in India through the perspective of a cow

Kush Shah is the writer and director of "Gaumukhi." Deval is a co-producer and performer in the Fringe production.

Some shows and events include:

• Limb Loss, Love, a comedy show about the life and intersections of a disabled, mixed race and Jewish person.
• Fringe on the Streets – Outdoor Walking Tour, a free outdoor performance where attendees will "experience a wild and wonderful version of the city through live art."
• Brown Noise, a comedy play exploring different sides of the South Asian-Canadian experience.
• 3 Hours, 10 Minutes, a two-person drama play.
• A Very Queer Easter Pageant, a "drag-infused" comedy and "dramatization of the Bible's Easter story."
• Mind the Gaps, a performance from queer and disabled artist Nathan Lise exploring true stories from his life.
• Ugly Privilege, a stand-up comedy set with Vancouver comedian Jessica Pigeau.
• Hope in Hot Times, a "clown-inspired" physical comedy show.
• The Fruits that Rot in our Bellies, an "afro-surrealist ghost story" about a "young non-binary person coming face to face with the spirit realm."
• 500 Doubloons, a play about people's theories on a real story about a pirate who paid what is now worth $400,000 for a woman to take off her clothes.
• Visiting my Mother and Other Repetition Compulsions, a drama about "the complicated ways families love but not always like each other," according to its playwright, Patrick Michael Teed.

Katherine Teed-Arthur, who is part od 500 Doubloons, said she's been to Fringe before and this year "feels special."

"It feels like there's a real joy and exuberance and excitement for the Fringe this year that has been feeling like we were cautious in years prior, and now we've really come back into it and are able to embrace it without as much trepidation," Teed-Arthur said.

For a full list of shows, visit the Hamilton Fringe Festival website.