In Old Fart (playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival), Tim Bourgard  presents a sweet little hour of gentle humour, classic sing-alongs, and dime-store wisdom. He’s the kind of performer who can get people chuckling with just a look: your hour with the Old Fart will fly by.

That’s really all I can tell you about the show. This is a genre, right? You’ve seen this character before: you’ve probably heard a lot of the jokes, too. This is Garrison Keillor, Wingfield, Steve Smith (Red Green), Ron James, Corner Gas, etc. etc. etc. If you like the sound of that list, you should absolutely get a ticket for Bourgard’s version.

But it’s also peak Boomer Humour: every character under the age of 50 is a gormless, slack-jawed rube; there’s a musical tribute to Plain Regular Phones That Just Make Plain Regular Phone Calls And Don’t Do Any Of That Fancy Stuff; and some of these jokes are so old that you’ll have seen long-yellowed copies taped to breakroom walls.

Bourgard knows his audience, knows what they like, and does a great job of serving it up for them. If you’re in that audience, this is the best bargain in town for the next week. But if you aren’t, well… maybe FaceTime your Nana instead? She misses you.

Details

• Old Fart plays at the Factory Theatre Mainspace. (125 Bathurst St.)
• Tickets are $13, including a $2 service charge. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes and discounts for serious Fringers.
• Tickets can be purchased online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Festival Box Office at Scadding Court (275 Bathurst St.), and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain.
• This venue is wheelchair-accessible through a secondary route.
• Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.
• The Toronto Fringe Festival is scent-free: please do not wear perfumes, colognes, or other strongly-scented products.

Performances

• Sunday July 7th, 4:30 pm
• Tuesday July 9th, 5:30 pm
• Wednesday July 10th, 9:45 pm
• Friday July 12th, 5:45 pm
• Saturday July 13th, 8:30 pm

Photos of Tim Bourgard by Tim Condon.