Comedy Night at the Toronto Fringe

The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival and in 2024 there were 77 shows performed in 16 venues around Toronto. While the shows are tickets (how great that the money made from ticket sales go directly to the artists!), there are a number of free events that occur throughout the duration of the festival at the Fringe Patio.

One such event was Stand Up Comedy Night that took place on July 6 at the Tranzac, in the always lively Annex. The show, hosted with ease by Ben Sosa-Wright, gave audience members an opportunity to see several of Toronto’s funniest comedians on one show, and for free at that! The Main Hall in the Tranzac was packed with comedy and theatre lovers alike, some there decidedly for the show, the perfect table picked out and camped at with tasty Filipino food (provided by Kanto by Tita Flips). Other attendees filtered in from the Fringe Patio, a social hub and home-base for the festival where artists, patrons, volunteers and staff hang out. A host of people who floated in from outside – remarking that the comedy show was unbeknownst to them – were intrigued and stayed to watch. I couldn’t blame them, because each comedian (seen on CBC, JFL, Roast Battle Canada and more) that took the stage really brought it.

After Sosa-Wright warmed up the crowd, uniting the audience in being an Apple Music survivor, the first comedian to take the stage was Meg MacKay. MacKay did not let going first, in a room whose bar was busy and noisy, phase her as she adeptly navigated the distractions and held the audience’s attention with her jokes. Andie Hong followed and truly had the crowd in the palm of her hand from her first sentence. Not shying away from dark material that many would not be able to joke about, Hong had everyone howling at cancer. Sagal Ali also spoke of seemingly uncomfortable subject matter, but did so in a way that had the audience laughing with her. Middling the set was Surer Qaly Deria, who painted the scene of very amusing TTC mishaps and stress dreams that haunt her, but entertained the masses. Ava Val, fresh off of releasing her comedy special “So Brave” (watch it here) was next and the crowd roared in response to Val’s dating wins and woes, a teaser to her hilarious special. Cassie Cao followed and managed to make the audience chuckle at depression. The penultimate comedian was Isabel Zaw-Tun, and she kept those in attendance with her as she told funny stories of dating diversity and ethnicity queries. Brendan D’Souza headlined, taking the stage shortly after 11pm, giving a humorous, short and sweet closer of a set – complete with comical audience participation – to end the night.

While this year’s festival is drawing to a close, fret not, because you can support all of the amazing performers you saw (or wished to see) throughout the year! Before you know it, another year of the Toronto Fringe Festival will be upon us. I hope you will be able to attend and experience all that it has to offer!