Play The Fool Festival

ROOKIE CABARET 2026 APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN! Festival favourite - The Rookie Cabaret- is back in September 2026! Play the Fool Festival’s Rookie Cabaret Mentorship Program is for emerging physical comedy artists and students of any age. Artists may be creating their very first piece outside of the classroom, or they might be experienced performing artists new to clowning or physical comedy. This FREE program trains emerging artists on the process of developing a new work through intensive, individualized coaching from award-winning clown educators and specialists. The Rookie Program provides artists with key educational experiences as part of the development of their process for creating work. Over several weeks, participants work with program director Christine Lesiak and other clown experts to take their idea from concept to stage. Artists create and rehearse an original short work, which is performed at Play the Fool in the The Rookie Cabaret show, always a festival highlight! Deadline to apply is Saturday, May 30th at midnight MDT. For more info on how to apply, visit our website! #BringingTheArtsToLife We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

It’s the first Comedy Lab of 2026! We’ve got four incredible new acts joining us with illustrious host Meegan Sweet! Join us on January 15th 7pm at The Playhouse (10033 80 AVE NW) for free entry to witness the NEW and STRANGE.

A HUGE thank you from all of us at Play the Fool for attending this year's festival! Thank you to our artists, volunteers, staff, donors, supporters, and everyone that helps makes the festival possible each year! Many thanks to festival partner Fringe Theatre Adventures! The Play the Fool Festival is supported by the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton. Play the Fool is supported by the Province of Alberta. Hit That Jive is supported by the Province of Alberta through Alberta Foundation for the Arts. See you next year! #yeg #yeglocal #yegtheatre #yegarts

Start your day with a FREE online panel at 1pm MDT! This year we'll talk about Audience Engagement in Clown & Physical Theatre, with featured artists Katie Yoner, Isaac Kessler, and Jay Flair. Moderated by Jake Tkaczyk Live Captioning by Tamara Kremer Watch live at playthefool.ca ! This evening join us for the all new Chaos Cabaret at 7pm, and festival favourite The Rookie Cabaret at 9pm. @isaackessler @jayflairmagic @katie_yoner_ #yeglocal #yeg #yegarts #yegtheatre

TONIGHT! Join us as we kick off Play the Fool with late-night shenanigans at The Spectacular Cabaret! 10:30pm at The Westbury Theatre @edmontonfringe . Tickets available online at playthefool.ca or on-site at the Fringe box office. See you there! The Play the Fool Festival is supported by the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton. Play the Fool is supported by the Province of Alberta. Hit That Jive is supported by the Province of Alberta through Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Huge thank you to festival partner Fringe Theatre Adventures! @yegarts @cityofedmonton @afa.1991 #yeglocal #yeg #yegtheatre #yegarts

Planning your weekend? Join us tomorrow night as we kick off this year's Play the Fool Festival with The Spectacular Cabaret! All shows are at The Westbury Theatre! And join us online on Sunday for our FREE discussion panel. Tickets on sale at playthefool.ca #yeglocal #yeg #yegtheatre #yegarts

Kick off this year's Play the Fool with late-night shenanigans on Saturday, Sept 27th at The Spectacular Cabaret! Tickets & more details at playthefool.ca #yeglocal #yeg #yegtheatre #yegarts

THIS WEEKEND! Join us for the delightful chaos as we welcome Canadian clown artists to the stage for 2 days of laughs. We kick off the festival on Saturday with the Spectacular Cabaret at 10:30pm. Sunday, join us for the Chaos & Rookie Cabarets in the evening, and the FREE online panel at 1pm. All shows are at The Westbury Theatre (Fringe Theatre Arts Barns). Tickets on sale now at playthefool.ca ! See you there! Huge thank you to festival partner Fringe Theatre Adventures! Play the Fool is supported by the Edmonton Arts Council & the City of Edmonton. Play the Fool is supported by the Government of Alberta. Hit That Jive is supported by the Province of Alberta through Alberta Foundation for the Arts. @yegarts @cityofedmonton @afa.1991 @edmontonfringe

Join us on Sunday, Sept 28th at 9pm at The Westbury Theatre for Festival favourite: The Rookie Cabaret! This year's program features 8 emerging clown artists who have been working with Rookie Program Director @christinelesiak to bring their original pieces to the stage in our showcase. Tickets on sale now at playthefool.ca HUGE thank you to our Adopt-A-Rookie donors for supporting this program! If you would like to help support this incredible program, visit our website for details! The Rookie Cabaret is supported by the @yegarts and the @cityofedmonton The Rookie Cabaret is supported by the Province of Alberta. See you there! #yeglocal #yeg #yegarts #yegtheatre #yegartscene

Welcome to the beautiful chaos! Get your tickets for Play the Fool's Chaos variety show, The Chaos Cabaret! Sunday, Sept 28th at 7pm The Westbury Theatre, @edmontonfringe PWYW tickets starting at $15 See you there, fools! #yeglocal #yeg #yegarts #yegtheatre

Do you have your tickets yet for the Spectacular Cabaret? Join us on Sat, Sept 27th for an evening of shenanigans as our clowns take the stage to kick off the Festival! Tickets are on sale now at playthefool.ca #yeglocal #yeg #yegarts #yegtheatre

Join us for a weekend of laughs, Sept 27th & 28th at The Westbury Theatre (Fringe Theatre Adventures!) Play the Fool celebrates Canadian talent in 3 cabarets at this year's Fest. Tickets are available NOW for laugh-yourself-silly shenanigans. See you there! #yeglocal #yeg #yegarts #yegtheatre @yegarts @cityofedmonton Play the Fool is supported by the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton. Play the Fool is supported by the Alberta Government.