Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival

The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival has enjoyed tremendous growth since it was founded as part of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre in 1988 and currently ranks as the second-largest event of its kind in North America. Every year the Winnipeg Fringe Festival welcomes over 170 companies from all over the world to present exciting independent theatre to appreciative audiences. Winnipeg Fringe is based on three key principles: Artists have complete artistic freedom to present what they want on stage. 100% of box office revenue goes directly back to the performing companies. Because we accept performing companies into the festival via a lottery process, artists are free to be experimental and have complete artistic control over their production. The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is the only regional theatre in the country to produce a Fringe Festival. Fringe festivals have been entertaining audiences for more than 50 years, beginning with the original festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. In time, these artistic celebrations spread around the world. Over the past 28 years, the Fringe movement in Canada has grown and we now enjoy the presence of more 'Fringes' than any other country. The Winnipeg Fringe is proud to be a part of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals , which endorses the following principles of the North American Fringe Festival model: Participants will be selected on a non-juried basis, through a first-come, first served process, a lottery, or other method approved by the Association. The audience must have the option to pay a ticket price, 100% of which goes directly to the artists (government taxes notwithstanding.) Fringe Festival producers have no control over the artistic content of each performance. The artistic freedom of the participants is unrestrained.