From No Fixed Address Productions comes But That’s Another Story: Festival Favourites. This production includes four storytellers and hosts Christel Bartelse and Briane Nasimok. Bartelse and Nasimok host a monthly storytelling hour called But That’s Another Story at the Free Times Cafe in Toronto, or virtually when necessary. Now, the duo has brought some of their favourite storytellers to this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival.

Tracey Erin Smith launches the show with a meandering story about a stay in a cabin in the woods that includes an army of flying ants, a punctured eyeball, and a dog named Matzah that had me laughing out loud. Then Nasimok comedically describes his experience performing his one-person show at Fringe and ends with a lesson we should all keep in mind.

Shayna Jones took the screen next and was a stand-out storyteller for me. Jones specializes in traditional oral storytelling and African folklore and it showed when she told a chilling tale of love and consequence. Chris Gibbs followed with an illuminating look into performing as a comedian and anxieties around a very good review, a thought-provoking account for me as an audience member.

Bartelse shared her captivating experience at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and I felt my anxiety building with hers as we wondered if anyone would show up to her opening night. And finally, the self-proclaimed comedy legend (and I think most Canadians would agree) Colin Mochrie closed the show with the hilarious story of a very eccentric theatre director in his graduating year at Studio 58 in Vancouver.

Bartelse and Nasimok tie the segments together with introductions, jokes, and the heartfelt reminder that personal storytelling is so important for empathy and human connection, especially during times of isolation. These stories made me laugh, and they made me reflect. They focused on life, performance, comedy, and getting through it all.

For those interested in storytelling and comedy, this is a Fringe show for you.

Details

• But That’s Another Story: Festival Favourites is playing on-demand at the Virtual 2021 Toronto Fringe Festival.
• Purchase a $5 Membership to access the On-Demand programming on the Fringe website, then Pay What You Can to each show as you go, with the suggested price of $13 per show.
• Memberships can be purchased here. View the virtual on-demand show listings here.
• Accessibility notes:
  • On-Demand shows: videos are closed captioned, transcripts are available for all audio content, documents are screen-reader friendly, and all digital images are provided with alternative text descriptions. These access supplements have been generated by the company and reviewed by the Festival. They may vary slightly from company to company.
  • Fringe Primetime presentations will feature Auto-Transcribed Captioning.
• Content warnings: The show is not appropriate for viewers under 14 years of age.

Photo of Christel Bartelse and Braine Nasimok by Matthew Sarookanian.