Uncanny Theatre Brings 'CROSSDRESSERS AND CRIMINALS' to Montreal Fringe, Now thru 6/23

This June, audiences can join in on a twisted group therapy session and hear confessions of three characters on the fringe of society. Presented byUncanny Theatre Company, Crossdressers and Criminals: 3 Ways to Lose Yourself, a dark and often funny collection of solo pieces, will be presented at the 23rd edition of the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival from tonight, June 13-23.

The intimate size of the Freestanding Room will create a welcoming atmosphere where the characters will reveal their tales of woe. The play is co-written by Jonathan Fournier (The Boy and the Wrapper, Miner Inconvenience) and Marie Markovic, with Markovic as director. It stars Liz Burns (Tableau D'Hote Theatre's Lion in the Streets, Featuring Loretta, Dark Owl), Tania Dos Santos (Brave New Productions' The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later) and the up-and-coming Lex Youssef.

Crossdressers and Criminals: 3 Ways to Lose Yourself is an intertwined collection of solo pieces featuring three original characters. Jamie Jones describes how he went from a mild-mannered member of society to a wig-wearing protector of the people. Red, the hardened biker girl, recounts how she had to give up her best friend and the effort she went to in order to fill the void. June, always drawn to the ocean, reveals the life or death decision she was forced to make while vacationing in Mexico. In their struggles against adversity and change, they all found themselves, but finding yourself isn't all it's cracked up to be...

The relatable theme of the pieces is one of the things that grabbed the actors' interest in the show. Actress Liz Burns says she was "fascinated by the idea running through the play of how the false self always seeks its unraveling or expression, whether through conscious or unconscious means". Lex Youssef, the show's titular crossdresser, adds, "The characters make such radical decisions in a desperate attempt to find some clarity. It's a leap of faith if you will, to find new meaning". The show may hold wisdom for anyone at a crossroad in life, wondering what they're all about. If audiences take one thing from the show, the company hopes it's that the most important revelations can come from the most desperate of situations.

Crossdressers and Criminals: 3 Ways to Lose Yourself
Uncanny Theatre Company at the St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival
The Freestanding Room, 4324, St. Laurent Boulevard, suite 300
June 13-23- Thursday to Saturday at 10:00PM, Sunday at 6:00PM
Running time: 60 minutes

Tickets: $10.00 (+ $2 service charge)
To purchase: 514 849-FEST (3378), online at www.montrealfringe.ca, at the Central Box Office located at FRINGE Park (corner Rachel and St-Laurent) or at The Freestanding Room as of one hour before show time.

Uncanny Theatre Company was created by Jonathan Fournier in 2010. Jonathan is a Freestanding Room member and communication studies graduate (Concordia University). The company's mandate is to produce work that is fun, witty and original above all else. Jonathan is interested in creating theatre that falls outside of the straight 'comedy' or 'drama' genre. Crossdressers and Criminals: 3 Ways to Lose Yourself is Uncanny Theatre Company's third piece, after The Boy and the Wrapper and Miner Inconvience, to be produced for the Fringe Festival.

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