The best source for independent coverage of Philadelphia theater.
HBO After Dark meets Bunraku-style puppetry meets documentary theater in Laurencio Carlos Ruiz’s INCONGRUOUS. The piece is constructed of six short stream-of-conscious monologues from six characters…
View More INCONGRUOUS (Audience Wanted Productions): Fringe Review 7
The Drexel Players bring us with their adaptation of Aesop’s fables, AE$OP, re-hashing the fables’ warnings concerning might and deception, but subvertting others for our society in which money speaks the loudest.
View More AE$OP (The Drexel Players): Fringe review 6
Director Tina Brock brings spot-on casting, lightning-quick pacing, and non-stop hysteria (of both the panicked and hilarious varieties) to Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium’s FringeArts production of Eugène Ionesco’s RHINOCEROS. The devastating consequences of mindless conformity, social apathy, and turning a blind eye to a growing threat are the important themes of the darkly comic Theater of the Absurd masterpiece.
View More RHINOCEROS (Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium): 2014 Fringe Review 5
As indicated by Phindie’s 2014 Critics’ Awards, the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective is one of the most consistently excellent independent theater companies in the city. Their…
View More THE RAPE OF LUCRECE (Philadelphia Artists’ Collective): 2014 Fringe review 4.1
What makes film different from theater is that film is fixed forever, performances and lines repeating endlessly year after year, while theater has the ability to surprise us. And what makes theater different from life is that theater is scripted and life is random, unexpected, not planned out ahead of time. And what makes Philadelphia’s FringeArts Festival fun is that it delights in performances that confound expectations.
View More Intimate Exchanges (1812 Productions): 2014 Fringe Review 1.2
Aleksandra Berczynski once again brings a short, delightfully self-indulgent mono-drama to Fringe audiences.
View More CLOSURE (Aleksandra Berczynski & MB Grupa Realizacji): Fringe review 3
Phindie is providing more Festival coverage than any other publication, and BETTER!
View More Enter the Fringe: the MOST and BEST coverage of the 2014 Philadelphia Fringe Festival + some picks
Alan Ayckbourn’s inventive rom-com about failing and budding mid-life relationships in suburban London is that the play (or more accurately, the first volume of the playwright’s original two-volume work that is performed here) offers sixteen plot options and eight different endings. And for the first time in its production history, 1812 shines the spotlight on random members of the audience to decide spontaneously which path the characters should take as they reach a series of crossroads in their lives.
View More INTIMATE EXCHANGES (1812 Productions): Fringe Review 1.1
Part of an ongoing international tour, FringeArts’ 13-performance engagement of White Rabbit, Red Rabbit follows the playwright’s rules: A script waits in a sealed envelope. ach night, a different actor steps on stage and opens the envelope, reading the script aloud for the first—and last—time.
View More Fringe preview: Actor schedule for WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT includes David Morse
Chralotte Ford’s interview by Josh McIlvain for the FringeArts blog sent shock waves through the Philadelphia theater community. An admired and artistically successful performer and…
View More [VIDEO] This Info Will Change Your Life: TALK SHOW on survival in the arts
Theater writer Jessica Foley is seeing 20 Fringe plays in 20 days. Why is she starting with Ionesco’s Rhinoceros?
View More Foley’s Fringe Binge 2014: 20 Shows in 20 days. Who’s On First?
In this special Phindie feature, Chris interviews Doug about safe spaces, role-playing, and the playwriting process.
View More Playwright to playwright: Douglas Williams (Safe Space) interviewed by Chris Davis (Anna K)
Mike breaks down his picks into two categories: Fringe-tastic are those that embrace the festival, try new ways to story-tell and create an exciting audience experience. The Guide Image picks are picked solely on their image in the guide,
View More Mike Durkin’s 10 Fringe Picks: Fringe-tastic and great-image choices from The Renegade Company director
Every fan of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival has seen Josh McIlvain’s work—even if they haven’t seen his theatrical work. For the past few years Josh has…
View More Fringe interview: Josh McIlvain on SLIDESHOWs and editing the Fringe Guide
Now in its 18th year, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival has changed a lot since its early days. Once a small weeklong Old City event, with…
View More Fringe interview with Michelle Pauls: LIVING IN EXILE and the early days of the Fringe
‘Tis the season. Phindie announced its own awards for regional theater on Monday, and Theatre Philadelphia announced the reconstituted Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre today.…
View More Barrymore Nominations Announced!
Phindie spoke to Colie McClellan about her Fringe show THEY CALL ME ARETHUSA, a story of intimate partner violence interweaved with Greek mythology and Southern folklore.
View More Fringe interview with Colie McClellan of THEY CALL ME ARETHUSA
Two groundbreaking plays in the history of queer theater–Lillian Hellman’s THE CHILDREN’S HOUR and Mart Crowley’s THE BOYS IN THE BAND—will be presented in the format of staged readings over the next two weekends by Mauckingbird Theatre Company.
View More Mauckingbird Presents Staged Readings of Two Gay Milestones
In this special Phindie feature, Holly’s Dead Soldiers alums Douglas Williams and Chris Davis talk about Chris’s new work and his recent trip to Scotland for the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe.
View More Playwright to playwright: Chris Davis (Anna K) interviewed by Douglas Williams (Safe Space)
The Renegade Company presents a new work, The Hunchback of Notre Dame…A Mute Play, as its offering for the 2014 Philadelphia Fringe Festival.
View More Fringe preview: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, A Mute Play: Trailer