Years ago, the Halifax Fringe Festival would bring back hit local theatre performances for an encore.
After a hiatus, it’s finally happening again.
From Thursday, Jan. 15 to Sunday, Jan. 18, the festival is putting on ReFringed, bringing back three fan favourite, award-winning plays to the Bus Stop Theatre: Kaitlyn Thompkins’ What Will You Be?, Emma Lamont’s Dead Man Walking and Lee-Anne Poole’s HOW TO KNIT.
The Halifax Fringe Festival typically runs every fall with over a week of theatre plays from emerging artists, local favourites, as well as some international talent. ReFringed is a step beyond their regular festival. According to new festival director Jake Planinc, the idea of ReFringed came about from Poole’s tenure as festival lead, running a few times between 2016 and 2022. It just so happened that the 2025 Fringe Festival had several hit plays to choose from.
“We had some incredibly strong works in the festival in 2025,” says Planinc in an interview with The Coast. “We had a really nice wealth of productions to pick from.
“Kaitlyn Thompkins and Emma Lamont… are young, emerging, incredible playwrights, and then Lee-Anne Poole, who is kind of like our headliner if you want to think of it that way, closes out the night with her play.”
This is a first step for the vision Jake Planinc and new managing director Blaze Fraser have for the Halifax Fringe in 2026.
“Our vision is definitely to expand the festival,” says Planinc. “We really want to secure what the festival is and solidify the foundation, and then see how much we can grow it from there.”
Planinc and Fraser had the opportunity to attend a conference held by the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals in Saskatoon, learning valuable information on how they can evolve the Halifax Fringe Festival. This includes several new ideas for the festival this September, such as a Kid’s Fringe to promote artistry amongst Halifax youth, and a late night cabaret to connect artists with people in their field through a networking event.
The application process and schedule will also look a little different from previous years. Where those applying could usually select their venue and their number of performances, changes have been made so applicants can only choose between three, six or nine performances. This year, the Fringe Festival will take place mostly in the late afternoon and evening on weekdays so it’s more accessible to people who work during the day, which will also lead to a more tightly-packed schedule.
To accommodate these changes, Planinc and Fraser will also be offering a workshop on how to apply for the Fringe Festival this year as they’re introducing a new application portal. These workshops will take place at the Bus Stop Theatre on Jan. 17-18 at 10am.
Planinc is also hoping this will allow more international acts to participate in the Halifax Fringe Festival.
“It’s amazing for Halifax audiences because you get a whole bunch of performers that you may never come across otherwise,” says Planinc. “The Fringe is known as a great touring opportunity for presenting artists, and we want Halifax to be on that map for people when they think about travelling through North America and presenting their work.
“For Halifax artists, because we have such an incredibly strong theatre scene in Halifax, [they] get exposed to new modes of creation, new types of performance.”
For more on ReFringed and the Halifax Fringe Festival, check out their website. Applications are now open for the Fringe, which will be held from Sept. 3-13.