Show information for MUTE:
Venue: Randolph Theatre, 736 Bathurst Street, Toronto

Dates & Times:
Wed. July 2 @ 8:15pm
Fri. July 4 @ 3:30pm
Sun. July 6 @ 1:15pm
Mon. July 7 @ 8:15pm
Tue. July 8 @ 1:00pm
Fri. July 11 @ 5:15pm
Sat. July 12 @ 11:00pm

Tickets:

From Press Release

LIFE IN HOMOPHOBIC, SEXIST RUSSIA THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS PEOPLE IN KOMUNKA

Enjoy an evening in a Moscow kitchen with seven Russians engaging in real life conflicts around everyday issues:
gays and homophobes, working class macho guys and intellectuals, women and men. They fight, drink, and talk about immigration, human rights, Putin, the Ukraine, and gays. Sit around a table and have a drink with some very real and imagined Russians in Russia today!

Description.
Komunka is a devised play that invites you to observe life in a traditional communal Moscow apartment in Moscow. The characters – four families (six tenants living in four rooms) and an immigrant living in a box – are embroiled in many difficult, funny, violent and ultimately touching situations. In the Komunka household the battle lines gradually emerge as being pretty clearly drawn. Olga, the older actress, allies with the young out-of-the-closet gay man (Alex) and the young woman (Masha) who is abused be her husband. Olga encourages both of them to express themselves (which is against the law in Alex’s case) Sasha and Max both reinforce patriarchal patriotic sexism, cheering for Putin and for keeping a woman’s place in the home, as well as for the invisibility of gays. These views in the play are linked with nationalism and physical violence. Not co-incidentally, Max and Sasha also toast international crack-addict celebrity Rob Ford.

Story angle.
Yury Ruzhyev and Sky Gilbert are both openly gay performers who have made significant contributions to drag performance through their solo shows. Sky is a Dora Award winning writer, and Yury’s Viva Cabaret has toured the world. The play is very timely as it is focuses mainly on Putin’s aggressive nationalistic policies and their social implications. For people who care about what is happening in the world and the fate of a Europe that is now under threat from a man who many view as a powerful militaristic oligarch, this show is a must see. As we get closer to our Fringe show in June, tension will mount in the Ukraine, and around the world, as people everywhere try to come to terms with the threat coming from Putin’s Russia. This play takes a close look at the origins of that threat.

For the Russian and Ukrainian immigrant community in Toronto the play is a fascinating exploration of present day life in Russia and will spark memories of past experiences, as well as sparking discussion about present day issues.

Creators and players.
Since Komunka is about important world issues it could not help but be of passionate interest to a group of committed actors, featuring a TV writer/actor (Sean Pratt), two playwright/actors (Julia Porter and Andrew Pimento), a veteran Canadian comedian and actress of Wayne and Schuster fame (Penny Mahon) and young emerging Canadian acting talents (Matthew Sarookanian and Andrew Cromwell).

HOOLIGANS THEATRE in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents

K O M U N K A (comedy, drama)
A collective creation from an idea by Yury Ruzhyev. Directed by Sky Gilbert
Featuring: Andrew Cromwell, Peggy Mahon, Julia Porter, Andrew Pimento, Sean Pratt, Yury Ruzhyev, Matthew Sarookanian.
Stage managed by Bryan Clifford

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http://ruzhyev.wix.com/komunka
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Opens July 3rd runs to July 13th
HELEN GARDINER PHELAN PLAYHOUSE. 79 St George St.
Performances:
July 3 – 7:00pm
July 6 – 10:45pm
July 7 – 3:15pm
July 9 – 7:30pm
July 11 – 3:30pm
July 12 – 12:00pm
July 13 – 5:45pm
Tickets: $10

Purchase online: fringetoronto.com. / By Phone: 416-966-1062
In Person: During the Festival Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St W)

From Press Release

Nefarious Projects & the Toronto Fringe Festival present

A solo musical comedy stand-up tour-de-force about how Chelsea overcame her supportive middle-class upbringing to become the disturbed woman she is today.

Having perfected her razor sharp wit, biting banter and twisted musical musings on profound issues like Existential Babies, Slutty Facebook Cousins, and Cannibalism, comedic folk singer Chelsea Manders is ready to bring the house down – again – at Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace July 2-13 as part of the 2014 Toronto Fringe Festival –  just Don’t Tell [her] Dad! Tickets are available beginning June 12 via www.fringetoronto.com, by telephone at 416-966-1062 (ext.1), or at the door.

Effortlessly combining comedy and folk music, the naughty songbird has a hilarious new show mixing old favourites like Commonwealth Bordello and Talk Dirty En Français with new classics such as Anne of Green Gables (who Dances on Tables), and The Plaguey Princess Song; gems about how her stockbroker father saved her from drowning when she was two, and the trauma of being a teenager in headgear who plays the oboe to make DON’T TELL MY DAD equal parts “Brand New”, “Best Of” and definitely “Must See!”

Already a Canadian Fringe circuit favourite (Producers Pick, Critic’s Pick, Outstanding Performance, Best Solo Show) with a long list of impressive comedy credits (CBC’s legendary radio series As It Happens, CTV/Comedy Network’s Cream of Comedy Special, Toronto International Sketch Comedy Festival, National Lampoon, and Canadian Comedy Awards ‘Best of Fest’ Gala) Chelsea Manders is gearing up to go International. After hitting the Ottawa and Toronto Fringe Festivals this summer, Chelsea joins the illustrious list of Canada’s export of amazing comedy heading to the Edinburgh Fringe where she will perform at one of the top venues, The Assembly George Square.

Hayley Gilgan, Chelsea’s long-time partner in comedic crime – together these two ladies made up the critically acclaimed Black Roses – collaborates on and directs DON’T TELL MY DAD.

Venue: Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Ave, Toronto.

Dates & Times:
Thu. July 3 @ 10:30pm
Fri. July 4 @ 9:15pm
Sat. July 5 @ 12:30pm
Mon. July 7 @ 6:30pm
Wed. July 9 @ 2:00pm
Fri. July 11 @ 12:30pm
Sat. July 12 @ 4:00pm

Tickets:
$10 at the door (cash only) or $12 in advance (Visa or MasterCard, service charge included)
Beginning June 12 via www.fringetoronto.com, by telephone at 416-966-1062 (ext.1), or at the door.
Show running time is 60 minutes.    **Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating**

From Press Release

Sketch troupe Highbräu proves you’re ONLY HUMAN – until you die laughing

Highbräu presents a high energy and hilarious look at the truths behind what makes us “Only Human”. Love, success, death and omelets all feature in an hour of sketch comedy reserved for the most discerning and attractive of audiences.

Comprised of graduates of Second City’s improvisation program, Highbräu brings together five performers from different backgrounds and combines their individual strengths to create sketches from the patently bizarre to the almost uncomfortably real. Developing sketches and characters through improv and beginning most rehearsals with a home-cooked meal and a bottle of wine, Highbräu have been performing together since 2013, when they beat out 43 other teams to win the Candy Box Crunch improv competition at Second City.

Highbräu has since entertained audiences with sets at Consensual Snacks, Stage Time with Wayne Jones, Dynamo, and Home Sketch.

Audiences may recognize Annamay Pierse from the 2008 Canadian Olympic Team and Mark Shyzer from the past Fringe hit Fishbowl and his new solo show Great Battles in History, also running in this year’s Fringe.

As the first full offering from a group of five talented comedians, Only Human aims to make its audiences leave laughing and ready to carpe the hell out of the diem.

Highbräu
in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents

ONLY HUMAN
Written by Highbräu
Starring Annamay Pierse, Mark Shyzer, Mary Lougheed, Peter DeCourcy and Rakhee Morzaria.
Lighting design by Oz Weaver
Stage managed by Lynda Yearwood
Opens JULY 3rd runs to JULY 12th, 2014
THEATRE PASSE MURAILLE BACKSPACE, 16 Ryerson Ave, Toronto, ON M5T 2P3
Performances:
July 3, 6:00pm
July 5, 1:30pm
July 6, 6:15pm
July 8, 6:45pm
July 9, 8:15pm
July 10, 9:45pm
July 11, 3:30pm
July 12, 1:00pm

Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating.

Tickets:
Purchase online: fringetoronto.com.
By Phone: 416-966-1062
In Person: During the Festival: Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St W) or at the door 30 minutes prior to
showtime at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace (16 Ryerson Ave).