SoHo Playhouse Reveals 2025 International Fringe Encore Theater Series Lineup

SoHo Playhouse has revealed the lineup for the 2025 International Fringe Encore Theater Series, running Off-Broadway January 2 - March 2, 2025!

SoHo Playhouse's Artistic Director Darren Lee Cole says, "It's been another amazing season on the festival circuit. Great new companies and shows have really revitalized the community. This year's selection of 12 encore winners well represents the diversity of concepts and styles the committee experienced across the 11 festivals scouted in 2024. We are extremely proud to present this roster of artists to our community. Congrats to all."

2025 INTERNATIONAL FRINGE ENCORE THEATER SERIES SCHEDULE

Stories From India U.S. premiere runs January 2 - 15. Opens on January 4. Direct from the Prague Fringe and presented by UnErase Poetry (https://www.instagram.com/unerasepoetry). Created and performed by Taranjit Kaur, Simar Singh and Helly Shah.

India's beloved spoken word artists bring you their tales of love, hope and humanity. An award-winning, five star rated storytelling show that is heartfelt, humorous and Indian to its core.

My Mother's Funeral: The Show U.S. premiere runs January 4 - 25. Opens on January 7. Direct from the Edinburgh Fringe and presented by Paines Plough. Written by Kelly Jones and directed by Charlotte Bennett. Cast includes Samuel Armfield, Debra Baker and Nicole Sawyerr. https://www.painesplough.com

Abigail's mum is dead. But it turns out she can't afford her to be. It's £4000 for the funeral. Extra for flowers. Even more if you want sausage rolls. Then, when a theater suddenly pulls out of Abigail's new project, she is asked to write about something else. Something more raw, from her "unique working class lens." Yep. To afford the funeral, she has to write about her mum. With power and playfulness, Kelly Jones's new play tackles the inequalities around death, and the cost of turning your loved ones into art.

Bill Posley's The Day I Accidentally Went To War New York premiere runs January 15 - 26. Opens on January 17. Direct from the Hollywood Fringe. Written and performed by Bill Posley. Directed by Bente Engelstoft. Produced by Kristen Boulé. https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10681

From the award-winning comedy team behind mega hit The Day I Became Black (Off Broadway Alliance Award Best Solo Performance) comes this hilarious and powerful true story. Packed with laughs, gasps and all the feels, this show bares brutal truths, honors the American Veteran experience, and celebrates the human spirit.

Gwyneth Goes Skiing New York premiere runs January 20 - 26. Opens on January 21. Direct from the Edinburgh Fringe and presented by Awkward Productions. Created and performed by Linus Karp and Joesph Martin, with original music by Leland, vocals by Cat Cohen and Darren Criss, and a special video appearance by Trixie Mattel. https://www.instagram.com/awkwardprods

She's the Goop-founding, Door-Sliding, Shakespeare-In-Loving, consciously-uncoupling Hollywood superstar. He's a retired optometrist from Utah. In 2016, they went skiing. A story of love, betrayal and skiing - where you are the jury.

FAMEHUNGRY (Edinburgh Sit-Up Award winner) U.S. premiere runs January 22 - February 8. Opens on January 25. Direct from the Edinburgh Fringe. Written, conceived and performed by Louise Orwin. With collaborator/performer/TikTok star Jaxon Valentine. Additional TikTok cameos by Arthur Jones, Emily Haldane and Ella Simms. Movement Director is Jenni Jackson. https://louiseorwin.com/famehungry

An experience unlike anything you've seen before, cult London performance artist Louise Orwin brings you FAMEHUNGRY: a helter-skelter nosedive into the TikTok universe and a grudge match with the attention economy, asking what lengths we will go to be seen, and what it means to be an artist now.

Two "bring your teenager to the performance" shows with discount tickets and a talkback with performer Louise Orwin will take place on Sunday, Jan 26 at 4pm and Monday, Jan 27 at 7pm.

The Whisper of the Waves U.S. premiere runs January 24 - February 2. Opens on January 26. Direct from the Prague Fringe. Created and presented by Shinehouse Theatre (https://www.shinehousetheatre.com).

Harnessing the power of human loneliness, the surreal and existential nature of saying goodbye, alongside the futility of endeavors in the face of mother nature - The Whisper of the Waves is a humming tribute to the human spirit amidst the crashing flood of climate disaster. Performed by a formidable seven person ensemble over 90 minutes in a mix of tragi-comic clowning, emotive and introspective narrative storytelling, and side-swiping meta-theater. Shinehouse Theatre explores the furthest corners of the human psyche through a series of devastating, heartfelt vignettes of Taiwanese life.

In Pour Taste: A Comedy Wine Tasting Experience U.S. premiere runs January 29 - February 9. Opens on January 31. Direct from the Adelaide Fringe. Created and performed by Sweeney Preston and Ethan Cavanagh. https://inpourtasteshow.com

Comedians Sweeney Preston and Ethan Cavanagh are joined by an illustrious wine expert to guide you through tasting five wines and at least five jokes. Everyone from savvy sauvignon swiggers to clueless chardonnay chuggers will find something to make their glass half-full, as the wine industry's hardest hitting questions are answered. How far should I extend my pinky when sipping? What the heck is a tannin? And who's parked in the loading bay - you're about to be towed?

Io//Odio U.S. premiere runs January 30 - February 7. Opens on February 2. Direct from the Milano Fringe. Production by Santibriganti Teatro - Italy (https://www.santibriganti.it). From Valentina Diana, with Luca Serra Busnengo, and direction by Maurizio Bàbuin.

Racist hatred, this is the belief of the protagonist: a fierce man, in an ancestral way, devoted to verbal violence without limits, reservations or shame. Winner of the 2023 Crash Test Theater Festival Public Award and Jury Award.

Gil Scott-Heron's Bluesology New York premiere runs February 3 - 23. Opens on February 6. Direct from the Hollywood Fringe. Presented by Gia Scott-Heron, daughter of the legendary writer, poet, rapper, jazz musician, singer and bluesologist Gil Scott-Heron, and Poets Jazz House. Written by Tuesday Conner and directed by Phylliss Bailey Brooks. https://www.gilscottheronbluesology.com

Performed by Gia Scott-Heron, Yawo Watts, Conney Williams, Lorenzo Frank, Art.Us Mansoir, The Oracle and Tuesday Conner.

A fierce band of spoken word artists spittin' fire and blazin' stages with the powerful intensity of truth and messages from a visionary and the thought-provoking rhythms that made Civil Rights Activist Gil Scott-Heron a world renowned influential artist, musician and icon.

Emilio's A Million Chameleons New York premiere runs February 8 - March 2. Opens on February 9 at 5pm. Direct from the Edmonton Fringe. Created and performed by Adam Francis Proulx. Co-created by Byron Laviolette. Music by Chris Tsujiuchi. https://www.chameleonshow.com

Emilio's A Million Chameleons is a heartwarming family-friendly puppet-filled musical spectacular about a circus led by Emilio Jr. and a magical chameleon named Juan, as they both learn to let their inner sparkle shine!

A Letter To Lyndon B. Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First U.S. premiere runs February 8 - 22. Opens on February 10. Direct from the Edinburgh Fringe. Written and performed by Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland. https://www.xhloeandnatasha.com

From consecutive Fringe First Award winners, Xhloe and Natasha, comes an absurdist two-hander about American Boy Scouts and the Vietnam war told through physical theatre, storytelling and clowning.

Juliet: A Revenge Comedy New York premiere runs February 19 - March 1. Opens on February 21. Direct from the Orlando Fringe and presented by Monster Theatre (https://www.monstertheatre.com). Written by Pippa Mackie and Ryan Gladstone. Directed by Ryan Gladstone. Original Score by Drew Jurecka. Starring Pippa Mackie as Juliet, Carly Pokoradi as everybody else and Ryan Gladstone as Shakespeare.

What if Juliet doesn't kill herself? A fast-paced, action adventure comedy that follows Juliet on the literary adventure of the century. Played by Canadian Comedy Award nominee Pippa Mackie, Juliet refuses to die for someone she just met two days ago. She recruits a team of Shakespeare's most famous female characters (all played by Carly Pokoradi) to find out why they've been forced to die!

Annually, The International Fringe Encore Series provides opportunities to emerging artists who show exceptional talent at each season's Fringe Festivals both artistically and commercially. In recognition of their excellence, SoHo Playhouse offers these special shows an extended run Off-Broadway in New York City. This extended run gives these worthy shows a platform for future productions and success. Many of the previous productions featured in the series have gone on to extensive Off-Broadway runs and international success.

Continuing in the spirit of the theater's original tenant, Edward Albee and his Playwright Unit Workshop, SoHo Playhouse is committed to presenting the brightest and most talented artists from New York, with its Lighthouse Series, and around the world, with the International Fringe Encore Series, to give the theater-going audience of New York important stories told with unique style, and evolving what the concept of Off-Broadway Theater is in the 21st century. For info visit https://www.sohoplayhouse.com.

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