The 2026 edition of the Montreal Fringe Festival is now one for the books.
Between June 1 and 21, more than 600 performances by 110 companies took place in 20 venues within the Plateau Mont Royal and downtown districts of the city, with a variety of shows that offered something for everyone, whether you preferred comedy, theatre, dance, musicals, experimental, solo or even clown shows.
Isaac Kessler (second from left) accepts his Frankie Award for Best Clown Show (1-Man No-Show)
On a personal note, this year marked the 15th time I have covered the Fringe Festival for the Montreal Times and my blog, in which I churned out show reviews like a writing machine. This year, I attended 26 shows (which equals last year’s total) and reviewed 15 of those performances. As well, as a change of pace from my usual wrap-up report, I decided to go with a list of my Top 10 Fringe shows for 2026.
Festival Executive and Artistic Director Amy Blackmore
The decision came about because throughout the course of the festival, I had numerous conversations with veteran and rookie fringers, and we always shared what shows we saw, and which ones we recommended to see, and which ones we warned each other not to catch (which were few and far between).
So with that in mind, here are my choices for my Top 10 shows of the 2026 Montreal Fringe Festival, along with my three honorable mentions (with any received Frankies honours mentioned in parentheses).
Daumas: Devil’s Advocate (runner up, Most Outstanding English-Language Production Award)
An Autistic Priest and A Dog (winner, Narrative Story Award)
Existential Lingerie (winner, English-Language Comedy Award)
Bloody Cabaret! (winner, English-Speaking Producer with an Emerging and Promising Career Award)
Tango After Midnight (winner, Francophone Audience Choice Award)
A Knight Without A Quest (winner, Most Outstanding English-Language Production Award)
Tall Mark: Eat It Anyway
One-Man No-Show (winner, Best Clown Show Award)
Ballet des Ombres
