Matthew Sekellick’s 8 Philly Fringe Picks for 2026!
After trawling the 300-some listings of the 30th Philadelphia Fringe, paying attention to how artists describe and locate their practices, themselves, and their shows, to work samples, past reception, and word of mouth, I’ve picked out eight. Some of these artists I know, some of them, I know their work. Some of them I’d never heard of before: their novelty, their lack of pretension and cliche, or an act of curation catching my eye.
This is not an exhaustive list of what I’m excited about. I’ve selected for diversity of form, genre, training and background (though comedy, clowns, and the Pig Iron School are inevitably well-represented), and aimed for a spread to cover the three week festival. I’ve mostly selected against institutionally presented work as already-curated and highly visible, and against shows that New York readers have had the opportunity to see in New York, of which there are some great ones that I would be glad to chat about if you see me out during the festival.
mimebaby: BoyGirl Gymnastics
Plays and Players
September 10, 12, 25, 27
Clown-duo MK Korbisch and Heather Hosford have undeniable chemistry as the core of mimebaby, with whom they make playful absurdist physical theater.
The Koan Brothers: Foriegner
Asian Arts Initiative
September 11, 20, 22
Iran-born clown Sohrab Haghverdi has transmutated his personal story into a must-see meta-theatrical performance about the meeting of the art world and immigration. I saw the 2024 premiere, which has likely been sharpened by unfortunate current events and a run at Edinburgh.
Melo Acevedo: CRABMAN
Dumb Hub/Pig Iron Theatre
September 12, 13
A whole school of fringe performance is crammed into Sarah Knittel’s Dumb Hub, which brings clowns from across the US together with some of Philly’s finest to worship at the altar of a guy in an ape suit. One-stop shopping for audiences looking for Gaulier-trained idiots and others committed to the bit. I saw the entire lineup last year, loved several shows and liked all but one of them. I expect similar results this year, where the dumbest of them may be CRABMAN, for whom it’s day 1000 of 1000 days of shoving a crab up his ass.
Savannah Reich: The Groundhog
Asian Arts Initiative
September 13, 19, 24, 26
Philly playwright Reich is always thinking about how to get the most out of the fringe format. Her latest promises a Groucho/Harpo dynamic amid a lecture on the Harold Ramis classic Groundhog Day.
Cassie Works: Fictional Names
Asian Arts Initiative
September 16-18
Sculptor-playwright Works has been organizing performance projects with their fictional collaborator Cashew Lowman around Central Virginia via a newsletter, "Fictional Names," which is now an hour-long play about Cashew, with object theater, practical effects, and "conventional" theater, featuring a live score and a cast of four.
Vanessa Kamp: Houndstooth
Icebox Project Space
September 17, 20, 26
Barcelona-based American dancer Vanessa Kamp has been delivering beguiling character driven solos at the Cannonball Festival the last few years; their Devour Me was one of my favorites last year.
Ontroerend Goed: Handle with Care
Athenaeum of Philadelphia
September 17-19
Perhaps the most experimental of the not-actually-fringe curated festival and a rare US “performance” by Belgian company Ontroerend Goed, Handle with Care bills itself as giving the audience a box to open and nothing else. But I think it’s full of prompts. I hope there’s a few clowns in the audience when I see it.
Andie Flores: GERL GURL GORL!
Asian Arts Initiative
September 18, 19, 20
I don’t know what to expect from Austin-based "embarrassment artist” Flores, whose show was selected by a panel including Alex Tatarsky and Crackhead Barney, but her past work is visually exciting and includes titles such as 10 Ways to Effectively and Consensually F*** A Minion. https://phillyfringe.org/events/gerl-gurl-gorl/
