Fringe king Jem Rolls keeps rolling along

Posted: 3:00 AM CDT Saturday, Jul. 18, 2015

PERFORMANCE poet Jem Rolls claims the title of appearing in more fringe festivals than any other performer.

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PERFORMANCE poet Jem Rolls claims the title of appearing in more fringe festivals than any other performer.

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This article was published 18/07/2015 (3743 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PERFORMANCE poet Jem Rolls claims the title of appearing in more fringe festivals than any other performer.

Winnipeg is his 104th fringe fest worldwide — no one on the circuit can profess to have done more. Every summer since 2001 the Scotsman has travelled westward across the country, stopping in about eight Canadian fringe festivals by the time he gets to Victoria, B.C.

“Twelve would be better,” says Rolls, who is performing The Inventor of All Things here. “I would happily march into the Pacific if there were four more under the water. Every September I get to the end and think, ‘That was brilliant, gotta do that again.’

Poet Jem Rolls has appeared at 104 fringe festivals.

“The fringe tour is easily the most fun I’ve ever had, so why not keep doing it. Everything else is second-rate and full of establishment bullshit.”

In Montreal in June, Rolls was honoured with a Lifetime Spirit of the Fringe Award.

— Kevin Prokosh

New attendance record set

THE Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is back on the record-breaking train.

Thursday’s on-and-off showers in the Exchange District failed to deter the city’s love of everything fringe. The festival set a new attendance record for the second day of the festival, with 7,758 tickets sold, said festival executive producer Chuck McEwen.

That number included seven sold-out performances, he added.

By way of comparison, in 2014, 6,972 tickets were sold, and there were only five sellouts.