After the Victoria Fringe Festival, I’m debating if I want more compact shows to see. As for my favourite performers, usually there is a lot of overlap. With only Solovela: An Improvised Solo Telenovela being the only overlap between events, I can either stay home or do a day trip over for a show or two before heading home. But with Fringe, that is never a good idea. Vancouver Fringe Festival has a lot to offer
And as I build my list for this year’s neard’s gjuide, here are my top picks for locals and tourists who happen to be in Terminal City from September 10 to 20, 2026.
Canon Fire:
The Improvised Musical
Arts Umbrella (Theatre)
Why travel abroad when Vancouver already has a Broadway AND a West End? Watch six improvisors and two musicians create a brand-new musical right before your eyes with no script, no pre-written music, and no safety net, solely inspired by audience suggestions and the stories you may have missed from your very own hometown newspaper. From local jaywalking scandals to bizarre community board disputes, no local story is too small to be given the grand, show-stopping musical treatment.
MIA
Revue Stage
Annually, Mia asks the internet to hunt her down, running a complex online game based on riddles and puzzles. The winner decodes her posts to find her in person, and once they have, she disappears again until the next year. The problem is that this year, she hasn’t left any clues. Eva, a longtime fan and current recluse, accidentally stumbles into Mia’s private life in her attempt to find a lead.
In a moment of unexpected curiosity, Mia invites Eva to help her run the game. Over the course of three months, Eva and Mia’s relationship develops through phone calls, emails, and texts. Eva’s perceived reality warps as the game runs its course, and Mia opens up to reveal she’s more than her mysterious digital persona. Yet the game has to end, and the only way to win is to find MIA. A show about parasocial online relationships, projected hyper-realities, and the isolation of loving someone you’ve never met, MIA is inspired by post-modern philosopher Jean Baudrillard’s work Simulacra and Simulation, ARGs, and We’re All Going to the World’s Fair by Jane Schoenbrun. For those yearning for digital affection, and selfishly wishing the world worked the way it did in their heads.
