Fringe puppetry in Toronto

If you’re in/near Toronto and heading out this weekend to see Les Giraffes – and you really should (see yesterday’s post for more details) – you’ll want to also check out all of the puppetry-related shows at the 2005 Toronto Fringe Festival. According to the official program, there’s at least four shows using puppetry this year:

Bird’s Eye View was originally performed at the `03 Fringe Festival and won a Dora Award for Outstanding Theatre for Youth. Produced by Theatre LMNOP the show is about “a remarkable assortment of feathered creatures as they decide they have no choice but to move to Big City, get jobs, and learn to live like humans.” It’s performed outdoors at the Playground at King Edward Public School at 112 Lippincott St. in Toronto July 8-10, 13 & 15-17. There’s lawn seating only so be sure to bring a blanket or chair!

Don’t Get Me Started is the story of Mike Petersen, a Canadian puppeteer who has worked on everything from Fraggle Rock to Labryinth to Lexx and features a Fraggle puppet by Canadian puppet builder extraordinare Terry Angus. It runs July 8-10, 12-13 & 15-16 at the Artword Theatre.

Jolly Roger is described as “a puppet show about the life of Roger” by Jonno Katz, who created last year’s acclaimed Fringe Show Cactus. The show runs July 8-10 & 12-16 at The Poor Alex Cabaret. It will also be touring to Fringe Festivals in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonth and Vancouver later this year (for more info visit www.epicworlds.com).

Putting on Shorts “a collection of comedic plays, monologues and sketches by Derek Forgie” features The Cozy Clubhouse a short play about two puppets on a children’s television show “sifting the weirdness and discomfort of having an office fling”. It runs July 8-12, 15 & 17 at Royal St. George Theatre.

For showtimes, tickets and general Fringe info visit the official site at www.fringetoronto.com.