From Wednesday, July 2 to Sunday, July 13, 2025 – the Toronto Fringe Festival presents its 37th annual performance festival, with over 100 shows at 22 venues. Best of Fringe is back this year – from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 20, 2025 at the Meridian Arts Centre, with shows to be announced.
It’s local art. It’s a vibe. No matter how you Fringe, you belong here.
The Toronto Fringe showcases hundreds of performing artists from all over the world at various venues around the city. This year’s program includes three dance shows, five KidsFest shows, over a dozen new Canadian musicals, the Next Stage Series, plus dramatic theatre, clown, storytelling, comedy, puppets and more.
KidsFest programming moves to Soulpepper Theatre (The Young Centre), in the heart of Toronto’s Distillery Historic District, this year.
The Fringe Patio – a cultural, meet-up and networking hub for the festival – will also be hosted by Soulpepper, in the outdoor courtyard at the Young Centre. The Patio features comedy and music programming (see pp. 10-11 in the Program Guide for details).
The Next Stage Series runs concurrently with the Toronto Fringe Festival this year, featuring shows like Siranoush and Have Fun Kids.
Something for everyone in this year’s lineup
Some highlights of this year’s programming include:
- Almost Ever After – A New Musical
- ALPHA
- At the End of Kaliyuga: a multidisciplinary children’s show that blends Bharatanatyam (Indian classical dance), Indian mythology, and clowning to explore what it means to be good in the age of darkness.
- BODY AS NATURE: a show featuring dance and poetry, honouring the legacy of Canadian dance icon Margie Gillis.
- Broken Teléfono
- Edgar in the Red Room
- Grown Ass*d Broads Talkin’ Dirty
- Honey Never Spoils: a slow-burn, psychological drama about a true crime podcast team unraveling the unsolved murder of their childhood friend.
- In the Diving Bell
- Killy Willy
- My Pet Lizard, Liz: The Shakespearean Existential Crisis that Led to His Ultimate Demise: a heartfelt, whimsical puppet comedy and a silly, surreal, and surprisingly tender exploration of grief.
- Paper Chase
- Temple of Desire
- Terrible Fish
- The Ensemble
- ZEITGEIST
Best of Fringe returns!
There’s more Fringe excitement to come, with Best of Fringe, presented by TO Live from July 18 – 20 at the Meridian Arts Centre (formerly, the North York Arts Centre/Toronto Centre for the Arts). The program will feature select shows from this year’s Festival – shows TBA, check the website for details. For updates and to purchase your FOMO Fringe Pack, see the ticket link below.
”The Fringe is theatre made on a shoestring budget, chosen by lottery. Anyone can enter and, if their number is picked, get in. Dora-winning artists rub shoulders with kids fresh out of theatre school. Ticket prices are reasonable. Lineups are fun and informative, ‘So what have you seen and liked?’ being the typical ice-breaker.”
– Glenn Sumi, theatre critic
About the Toronto Fringe Festival
The Toronto Fringe Festival is Ontario’s largest theatre and performance festival, taking place around various venues in the city every July. Since 1989, the festival has been unjuried, meaning the shows get chosen by lottery rather than by a panel of jurists, opening the stage to all who have a story to share – from professional theatre makers to emerging and new theatre talent. All ticket revenue goes to the artists. It’s run by Toronto Fringe, a charitable arts organization that also produces the Next Stage Series, which presents curated programming of previously produced works evolving to the next level of production. Toronto Fringe also offers year-round programming for youth, emerging artists, BIPOC artists, artists with disabilities and the performing arts community at large.
(Photo credits: Toronto Fringe Festival. Kay-Ann Ward, El Experimento & Adam Francis-Proulx. Photo by Joy Adeola.)
Event details
Hosted by: Toronto Fringe Festival
Type of event: performance festival
Featured artists/productions: See the full list here.
Dates: The 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival runs Wednesday, July 2 – Sunday, July 13, 2025. Please consult individual productions for exact dates. Full schedule here.
Best of Fringe 2025 runs Friday, July 18 – Sunday, July 20, 2025. Schedule TBA.
Start times: Toronto Fringe performances are scheduled from 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM ET daily. Please consult individual productions for exact times. Full schedule here.
Best of Fringe performances (shows TBA):
- Friday, July 18 at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM ET; and
- Saturday, July 19 and Sunday, July 20 at 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM ET.
Duration: Running times range between 55 and 90 minutes (no intermission). Please consult individual productions for exact running times.
Cost: Toronto Fringe prices include fees & taxes. There are no additional fees to add advance tickets to a Pass.
- Passes: C$106.50 (6-play), C$170.00 (10-play), C$340.00 (20-play) & C$450.00 (30-play)
- General tickets: C$18.75
- Next Stage series: C$28.75
- Teens: C$9.00
- Kids: C$6.00
- Preview and Daily Discount Tickets: C$13.75
- Best of Fringe tickets: C$25.00 (not including fees)
Locations:
- Toronto Fringe (July 2 – 13) performances take place at various venues around Toronto, ON; please see the venue page for locations and consult the schedule above for individual performance venues.
- Fringe Patio, the Soupepper Theatre, outdoor courtyard, 50 Tank House Lane, Distillery Historic District, Toronto, ON, M5A 3C4
- KidsFest, Soulpepper Theatre, 50 Tank House Lane, Distillery Historic District, Toronto, ON, M5A 3C4
- Best of Fringe (July 18 – 20), Meridian Arts Centre, Studio Theatre, 5040 Yonge St., North York, ON M2N 6R8
Toronto Fringe 2025 program guide: See the online program guide, plus find locations to pick up a paper guide.
Trailer: Watch the trailer
Booking links:
- Book individual Toronto Fringe tickets here by searching & clicking on the shows you want to see.
- Book Toronto Fringe passes here.
- Book Best of Fringe tickets and packages here. Customers with access needs may order tickets directly from the TO Live box office by calling (416) 366-7723 or 1-800-708-6754, or by emailing boxoffice@tolive.com during regular business hours. Meridian Arts Centre strives to accommodate specific requirements for seating for patrons with access needs and their support person (if applicable).
Contact details: Toronto Fringe Festival, 100 Broadview Ave., Suite 400, Toronto, ON, M4M 3H3, Canada; (416) 966-1062 (ext. 0), general@fringetoronto.com, fringetoronto.com
Content warning: Please consult the individual performances.
Accessibility: Info here. See Toronto Fringe venue accessibility info here. Please consult individual productions for detailed accessibility accommodations (e.g., relaxed performances, touchbooks, etc.) for their performances.
For Best of Fringe, the lobbies of Meridian Arts Centre are barrier-free for patrons using wheelchairs or similar assistive devices, with the upper lobby accessible via elevators on the main floor. Accessible washrooms are located on all levels. Meridian Arts Centre maintains specific wheelchair-accessible seating locations that vary between our spaces – please contact the box office for more details: boxoffice@tolive.com or at (416) 366-7723 or 1-800-708-6754. For Studio Theatre accessibility details, please see the Venue Guide.
Refund policy: For Toronto Fringe, no refunds. 100% of ticket revenue goes directly to the artists, so Toronto Fringe does not offer refunds on tickets or passes. There are no refunds for any unused portions of a pass. Exchanges for tickets may be available if the request is made before the performance takes place. A $5.00 exchange fee will be applied.
For Best of Fringe, unless otherwise written on your show’s event page, tickets for events at TO Live venues are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.