About Fringe Theatre

What makes Fringe Theatre different?

A fringe is many things. It is a festival of self-produced theatrical work guided by the following principles (taken directly from the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals website):

  • Participants will be selected on a non-juried basis, through a first-come, first served process, a lottery, or other method approved by the Association.
  • The audience must have the option to pay a ticket price, 100% of which goes directly to the artists (government taxes notwithstanding.)
  • Fringe Festival producers have no control over the artistic content of each performance.  The artistic freedom of the participants is unrestrained.
  • Festivals must provide an easily accessible opportunity for all audiences and all artists to participate in Fringe Festivals.

Fringe History

  • Back in 1947 the Edinburgh Festival of Music and Drama turned away eight young theatre companies because of a lack of space. Not to be deterred, these enterprising companies successfully displayed their work around the periphery or FRINGE of the Edinburgh Festival. The Fringe had begun!
  • Edmonton started the first Canadian Fringe Festival in 1982 — Edinburgh was first, Australia second, and Canada’s own Edmonton, Alberta was the third Fringe Festival in the WORLD!
  • The first official Saskatoon Fringe Theatre Festival was in 1989.

History of the 25th Street Theatre

The Saskatoon Fringe Theatre Festival is one of Saskatoon’s widely celebrated summer festivals and features accessible, affordable theatre performed by independent theatre artists from around the world. Explore the incredible and unforgettable. All tickets are $14.00 or less.

The First Saskatoon Fringe

In 1989 the theatre programming expanded to include presentation activities with the first Saskatoon Fringe in our Duchess Street theatre venue. Artistic Director Tom Bentley imagined Broadway Avenue as a destination for a community theatre event and in 1990, The Fringe moved to Broadway with great success, attracting over 6,000 theatre patrons.

25th Street Theatre Centre Inc: A Brief History

25th Street Theatre House Players was established in 1972 as an artists’ collective. The company would proceed to incorporate in 1974 and become the first professional theatre company in Saskatoon.

Our history is rich with many exciting achievements including the creation and production of Paper Wheat which grew to become a nationally acclaimed piece of theatre culminating in a one hour film by the National Film Board.

The company name was formally changed to 25th Street Theatre Centre Inc. as our programming grew beyond the original mandate established in 1972.

Click here for a list of past productions dating back to 1972!

Her-icane

The Her-icane Festival of Women’s Art was created in 1998 as a collaborative project between female theatre artists and 25th Street Theatre Centre. The festival’s collaborative environment grew over time to include other disciplines and activities. The guidance for this evolution was provided by a collective of female artists from multiple disciplines who formed the Festival Committee. The festival expanded to include the disciplines of theatre, dance, music, literary art, visual art, and film.

The ten year history of the Her-icane included many important community partnerships that invested and promoted the festival’s activities to a wider community including:

  • The Mendel Art Gallery
  • SCYAP
  • The Refinery Arts and Spirit Centre
  • AKA Gallery
  • SNTC

The Her-icane Festival ceased as an enterprise in 2008 as 25th Street Theatre Centre Inc. embraced a revitalized and focused mission statement for the organization that targeted outcomes achieved primarily within the artistic and community-based impacts of the Saskatoon Fringe Theatre Festival.