Toronto Fringe Festival 2026: Torontron Summer Tour & Games and Theatre Panel
June 30, 2026
Hand Eye Society is excited to bring the Torontron Summer Tour to the Toronto Fringe Festival this July.
From June 30–July 12, 2026, the Torontrons will be part of the Festival Hub Community Lounge at Soulpepper Theatre, where festival-goers can drop in to relax, hang out, and try a mix of old and new indie games on Hand Eye Society’s custom arcade cabinets.
The Community Lounge will be open every day of the festival and serves as a new quiet zone and community area with seating, tables, gentle community activities, and Hand Eye Society’s video game chill zone.
Want to learn more about the tour or apply for future stops? Visit the Torontron Summer Tour page.
Theatres of Play: A Panel on Games and Theatre
As part of this Toronto Fringe Festival stop, Hand Eye Society will also present Theatres of Play: A Panel on Games and Theatre, a free conversation exploring the intersection of games and theatre.
Taking place in the Soulpepper Theatre Community Lounge from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Tuesday, July 7, this panel is part of a larger Games Night running from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, featuring board games, card games, and Hand Eye Society’s custom Torontron arcade cabinets.
Whether you work in games, theatre, or both, or you’re simply curious about how these forms connect, this is a chance to hear from guests working across disciplines and engage with ideas at the intersection of performance and interactive art.
Before the panel, attendees are welcome to drop in to Games Night and spend time in the Community Lounge enjoying games, conversation, and community.
Featuring
Myles Dobson
MJ Lyons (he/him)
MJ Lyons is a writer, game maker and arts organizer. His debut novel, Murder at the World’s Fair, was published by Renaissance Press, and his collection of queer erotica short stories, QUEER WEREWOLVES DESTROY CAPITALISM, was published by Microcosm Publishing in spring 2021, the first entry in their “Queering Consent” series, and was also nominated for a Lambda Literary award. He is a producer for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, as well as regularly producing and hosting the queer literary salon Naked Boys Reading, as well as Smut Peddlers, a regular reading series for LGBTQ erotica. He occasionally publishes zines and chapbooks by emerging LGBTQ artists under the name Goblin Cat. You can follow him on Instagram or Bluesky at mjlyonswrites.
Brian Morton (he/him)
Brian Morton is a director, playwright, producer, and drama critic. Winner of the 2013 Hamilton Arts Award for Theatre, he trained at the National Theatre School of Canada and was the founder and first Artistic Director of Theatre Terra Nova, where he produced the premiere of HOW COULD YOU MRS DICK. His play THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MCMASTER earned Best in Venue at the 2022 Hamilton Fringe Festival, and he produced the 2012 Hamilton Fringe. His directing and playwriting credits include THE ADELE KOMOROWSKI PROJECT, UNDER THE APPLE TREE, and NEW TALENT, which toured multiple Fringe festivals in 2010. Brian is currently a drama critic for THE HAMMER MONTHLY and has published in THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR, THE SILHOUETTE, and VIEW MAGAZINE.
Chris Cracknell
Tanya Yong
Tanya Yong is a 17-year-old writer, director, producer, and performer based in Toronto. She is the founder of Dodo Tree Productions, a youth-led theatre company that features and creates opportunities for many young artists. She is also the writer, director, and producer of Questing Through Life, an original D&D-inspired play premiering at the 2026 Toronto Fringe Festival. As a young artist breaking into a professional festival setting, Tanya brings a unique perspective on youth-led theatre, collaborative creation, and building ambitious original work from the ground up. She is especially interested in telling stories that feel current, relevant, and urgent, often engaging with the questions and conversations shaping society today. Her past experience includes NTS Dramafest, numerous school musical productions, and performing in Bravo Academy’s Troupe Program.
g blekkenhorst (they/them)
Toronto Fringe Festival Community Lounge
Throughout the festival, the Torontrons will be set up in the Festival Hub Community Lounge inside Soulpepper Theatre. This stop offers a chance to spend time with the Torontrons in a relaxed setting while exploring a mix of indie games as part of Toronto Fringe’s community hub.
Featured Games:
Soulflame is an upcoming indie action-adventure game featuring fluid combat mechanics, challenging platforming, and beautiful hand-crafted pixel art. Explore a mystical world torn between order and chaos, master engaging combat, and uncover an emotional story about saving the one person you have left.
A fast-paced arcade game inspired by the real-life stray dogs of the Moscow metro. Take your orders from the Proletaricat while stealing food, juggling vodka, cooking bears, and more!
Land Invaders
BirdxBird
Artists: Cass Gardiner (Anishinaabe Algonquin), Juan Mateo Menendez
Land Invaders is an experimental 8-bit video game that captures the nostalgic feel of classic arcade games while imagining an alternate history in which Columbus’ ships — the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria — never reached the shores of Turtle Island.
From June 30 – July 5
Marco Polo is a cute slice-of-life co-op puzzle game in which two dots work together to figure out how to solve the problems in their way. Explore each level the only way you can (by moving around) and figure out what the gimmick/solution for each level is by watching your progress bar meet with your partner’s at the top. Each level is followed by the wholesome quote the level was inspired by. No instructions, just exploring abstract worlds with another, anyone can do it.
From June 30 – July 5
Life is stressful. Why not take a break to fish?
Fishing for Compliments is a tiny fishing mini-game. Built to be simple, digestible, and played for short bursts, Fishing for Compliments is here for you when you feel overwhelmed. Take a break with Otis, the baby fishing bat, and fish up some compliments!
From July 6 – July 12
BASE MACHINA is a retro-styled video game that puts the player as the defender of the last base of humanity. The game can be described as “Reverse Bullet-Hell” where the player is not shooting at the enemies but defends the base using a shield to deflect from enemies’ lasers. Score high and try to survive the continuous waves of the enemies!
From July 6 – July 12
Location
Soulpepper Theatre
50 Tank House Lane, Toronto
Dates
June 30–July 12, 2026
Learn more about the festival at Toronto Fringe Festival.
Want to apply for future Torontron Summer Tour stops? Visit the Torontron Summer Tour page.
