The editor’s guide to the 2026 Philly Fringe

We’ll have the shows I’m attending up top (updated with mini-reviews as I go), but don’t miss the themed bonus picks at the bottom, including honorable mentions of the shows I wish I had time to catch. Let’s dive in.

Goblet of Light
September 8 & 9 at Icebox’s Box Spring Gallery

“A glimpse into a larger project exploring the intersection of acrobatic performance, sensor technology, and live reactive environments.” Multi-sensory experiences seem to be a theme of this year’s fest (see more below).

Anarchy
September 8-12 at Icebox Project Space Gallery

“Burn it down. Build it UP! The revolution continues in this immersive production filled with aerials, fierce dancing , and raw theatrical truth. This show is for the troublemakers and those who continue to RESIST!” This is the energy I need in 2026.

Plausible Deniability v 0.1
September 8 & 9 at Icebox’s Box Spring Gallery

“It both is and isn't a steam room and you both are and aren't there to cruise. Be careful where you put your eyes.” I loved creator Ben Grinberg’s 2025 show.

The Sicilian Dilemma
September 8-12 at The Parlor (formerly Headlong Dance Studio)

From creator Joe Canuso: a “play about Identity. Using stories of my childhood growing up with a Sicilian grandfather who emigrated to America in 1914, I explore the prism through which I see myself today. The play uses video and song to tell the story of a complex man who lived a life of mystery and adventure, but was not the person he seemed to be on closer inspection.” An interesting stop close to home in South Philly.

Lunar Retreat
September 9-20 at The Pearlstein Gallery

“Lunar Retreat is an interactive, multi-sensory performance inspired by the gradual distance growing between the moon and the earth. This immersive journey invites audiences to wander, witness, and reflect on how we move through care, loss, and transformation—both individually and collectively.” BSR dance critic Camille Bacon-Smith will be reviewing, and I get to tag along.

Kramer/Fauci
Septemberr 8-11 at FringeArts

“Internationally acclaimed director Daniel Fish (Oklahoma!) turns his eye to one of the most combustible conversations of the AIDS crisis: the 1993 televised clash between Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading AIDS researcher, and playwright-activist Larry Kramer.” Sound fascinating and rich with relevant history.

My Carmilla
September 11-26 at Plays and Players Skinner Studio

“A bold reimagining of J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 vampire novella Carmilla through a queer, feminist, and postcolonial lens.” I wanted to catch this show last year and wasn’t able, and now I have another chance.

Declaration
September 10-20 at the Bob & Selma Horan Studio at the Arden

“Reckoning with a life of ambition, compromise and service, a former public official uses the Declaration of Independence to interrogate his life—and ours.” After this Semiquincentennial year, as a cultural journalist, I may need a break from the Declaration. But I’ll give this new show developed with Whit MacLaughlin a chance.

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
September 10-13 at the Proscenium at the Drake

“Performer Julia Masli creates a hilarious, yet moving and unpredictable live experience at the intersection of comedy and performance. What begins as playful improvisation evolves into a collective ritual of care, vulnerability, and unexpected humor.” I’m very curious!

Stoop Bitch
September 8-13 at the Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake

“Taking stock of the world on her block in South Philly, Dolores Finnegan tells it like it is and takes no prisoners. Yep, she’s the STOOP BITCH, native to many a neighborhood block and a downright Philly institution. You seen her, you fear her, you trust her—and face it, you know she’s right.” As a 10-year resident of South Philly, I’m starting to know stoop life.

TRAD
September 11-13 at Pig Iron Theatre Company

“TRAD is a theatrical tear-down of the modern phenomenon of trad—or traditional—wives and the associated Christian nationalist arsenal of beliefs, which also indulges our collective yearning for fantasies of escape.” I grew up with expectations similar to today’s “tradwives” and always appreciate the chance to deconstruct.

Cold Beer Reading
September 14-22 at The Bottle Shop

“A panel of actors and comedians employ randomly assigned character stereotypes to perform dramatic interpretations of crowd-sourced beer reviews.” Could be inane, or really really fun. It’s right around the corner from home, so why not?

Priority Hoarding: A Retrospectacle
September 10-27 (and ongoing after the fest)

“Made for anyone who has ever lost a bag, gotten stuck, or missed a (metaphoric) flight, this trans(formational) installation asks: how do you know it’s time to move on when you don’t know where you’re going?” I’m up for anything the Bearded Ladies have cooking.

DOPPEL BÄNGER
September 9-19 at the Magic Gardens Studio

“Newly single and aggressively ready to mingle, Philly’s favorite chaos-cabaret icon Karen Tenderness sets sail on a Self-Love Cruise—only to discover that someone onboard has stolen her identity … But the deeper she digs, the harder it becomes to avoid the ultimate question: what if the biggest obstacle to living your best life... is you?” I loved Dan Kitrosser’s 2025 QUEER WINDOW! and I need more Karen Tenderness in my life.

Single Woman: Work in Progress
September 12-23 at Yellow Bicycle Theater

“In the absence of a romantic relationship, the next best thing is the attention of a rapt audience. For as long as Tess has been single (forever), the best part of dates has been telling stories about them after. Now she’s ready to share them with everyone else.” Our own Neil Bardhan directs! Single straight men are HIGHLY encouraged to attend.

The 40-Year-Old Ballerino
September 12-26 at Studio 34

“At 40 years old, Chris Davis seizes on ballet class as a way to replace all other addictions—drugs, alcohol, Modern Family and the toxic tropes of 90s John Cusack movies. With only a barre for support, he mixes dance and storytelling in a 50-minute comedy that shows you change is always possible, no matter what your age.” I reviewed this when it premiered in 2024 and am excited to see what Davis says are significant updates.

Soseul Dawon: The Stark Garden of Presence
September 18-26 at Studio 34

“When we shut out seeing and hearing, what does the body begin to sense, feel and express?” More of the multisensory theater theme. Creator Jungwoong Kim impressed me in Seng’s Hair Salon.

LIGEIA by Edgar Allan Poe
September 16-19 at Asian Arts Initiative Project Space

“Poe’s chilling tale of revivification is brought to life through physical theater. Solo performer William Trevino weaves poetic language with his four decades of martial arts training to create a visceral atmosphere of suspense.” Poe meets martial arts? This I have to see.

BAD CLAY
September 8-19 at Asian Arts Initiative Project Space

Creator Justin weaves “text from performance scores and personal poetry to create a solo performance entitled BAD CLAY, an experience that experiments with the intersection of Ceramics and Performance.” Live theater combined with sculpting and a pottery wheel? Sure! Jain is one of Philly’s foremost interdisciplinary artists.

Helen Keller Wasn’t Real
September 17-20 at the Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake

“Wry, incisive, and unexpectedly tender, this monologue explores misinformation, family, and the fragile hope that we might still find our way back to a shared reality, while asking what happens if we can’t.” This new work from Becky Bondurant sounds interesting and relevant.

We Can Always Tell
September 16-20

“Using dance, poetry, and visual art as mediums and their body as the instrument, Kendall Niblett transposes their experience medically transitioning into an evening length dance performance that emphasizes how all humans know the feeling of their own bodies hurting them, physical limitations, or feeling disturbed by their reflection.” These are themes I need.

Houndstooth
September 17-26 at Icebox Project Space Gallery

“Drag, French film, long zippers, it will be very touching.” I’ve been wanting to catch a performance by Vanessa Kamp and this is a great chance.

TUZLUK
September 8-22
“Turkish-Colombian-American performer Izzy Sazak takes the audience on a wild ride; unpacking the awkward beauty of growing up mixed, caught between two empires worth of daddy issues and messy history. Tuzluk lovingly deconstructs the myth of the neo-liberal hero-man; mixing geopolitics with a hilarious, heartfelt, and fast paced examination of identity and inheritance.” Sazak was great in 2022’s Twelfth Night, O Lo Que Quieras.

Situational Beaver
September 20-23 at Vox Populi Gallery

“Situational Beaver follows the Cleavers at a time before pants were short, your mom’s girlfriend was still your aunt, and your dad just wanted to know ‘what’s for dinner.’ Borrowing from the sitcom format, the show becomes a snapshot of today mixing in yesteryear, promising laughs and breaking its promises.”

Raw Deal
September 25 & 26

“Are we in the last orgasm of the patriarchy? Armed with her sense of humor, feminist comedian Jennifer Blaine interrogates our progress, recounts personal stories of adversity, impersonates iconic figures, & uses her beloved original characters to exorcize this raw deal and empower us all.” I want to have a laugh with Blaine while thinking about stuff that matters.

Never Can Say Goodbye – REV’s Graveyard Cabaret
September 24-26 at Christ Church Burial Ground

“After annual sold-out performances, New York/Philly-based REV Theatre Company will now bring their reimagined cabaret to historic, iconic Christ Church Burial Ground this fall to thrill and chill audiences amid the candle-lit tombstones and obelisks.” I caught REV’s Fringe cabaret last year and it was great. Director Rosey Hay taught me in college, so she’s a friend.

Endgame by Samuel Beckett

“Endgame perfects the unity of form and content: four survivors of an unknown catastrophe—a man who can’t sit down, a man who can’t stand up, and two amputees in trash cans—perform an endless cycle of meaningless rituals as they await the end.” Endgame was my favorite Beckett back when I was getting my theater degree, so I want to catch this show by the consistently fine Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium.

Bonus themed suggestions

Shows that tap into a multi-sensory experience seem to be a big theme this year. Here are some bonus picks beyond the shows I’ve listed above:

AudiOhm Sound Bath
Flood Stones Rising
Kachonk
Wherever You Are
Moral Injury

Here are some shows that embody something that I think is core to doing the Fringe right: open-ended, interactive performances where the audience determines the experience:

PhotoProv
The Deer Ones
Handle with Care
room/in/nation
Adulting

And here are a few honorable mentions: Shows I wish I could catch or that BSR was able to cover this year (we do our best, but we can never fit them all!).

Call of the Wild
Anamcara and Phoenix – Two One Acts
Born to Sing the Gospel

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