294. The Cup | Toronto Fringe Review Roundup 2026 (PART 1)

Welcome back to the 294th episode of The Cup which is our a weekly (give or take, TBD, these are unprecedented times) performing arts talk show presented by Cup of Hemlock Theatre. With the theatres on a come back we offer a mix of both reviews of live shows we've seen and continued reviews of prophet productions! For our 294th episode we bring you the first instalment of our very special multi part deep dive into Toronto Fringe 2026 Review Roundup. Join Mackenzie Horner and Ryan Borochovitz as they blitz through the first sixteen shows they saw at this year’s festival, unpack all of their thoughts, and commemorate this moment in local theatre history for posterity!

Don’t forget to stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3, coming soon! TIMESTAMP NAVIGATOR: 0:00:00 – Intro 3:16 – Whose Lineage is it Anyway? An Improvised Shakespearean History 18:44 – Romeo and Juliet, Part 1 - Shakespeare: Say It! 26:42 – At Home with the Bards 36:13 – God Save the Sodomites 45:51 – SHOWSTOPPER 50:46 – Assembly Süggested 58:39 – The Remainders 1:09:40 – Stupid Cupid 1:18:50 – Sinner. A Musical Tragicomedy about Breaking Up with White Jesus1:26:19 – Songs for Moby Dick1:33:54 – The First Vampire1:41:02 – You Choose: An Improvised Murder Mystery1:48:59 – $20 Sandwich Ruins Your Childhood1:55:24 – Every Fringe Show You’ve Ever Seen All At Once 2:01:39 – U UP? 2:13:26 – CAMP! 2:43:05 – Sign Off Follow our panelists: Mackenzie Horner (Before the Downbeat: A Musical Podcast) – Instagram/Facebook: BeforetheDownbeatApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3aYbBeNSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3sAbjAu Ryan Borochovitz – Instagram: @ryanborochovitz [don’t expect anything interesting over there]; if you enjoy his theatre thoughts, more can be found at https://nextmag.ca/search/borochovitz Follow Cup of Hemlock Theatre on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter: @cohtheatre If you’d like us to review your upcoming show in Toronto, please send press invites/inquiries to coh.theatre.MM@gmail.com