2025 Fringe Festival Review: ‘Fear Fables’ drag anthology

Fear Fables: The Horror Drag Anthology brought a group of incredibly talented drag artists and plenty of skin-crawling moments to Fringe. It wasn’t just a drag show — it was a collection of intergalactic, creepy stories told through drag. 

Mørtis X, also started the show off with the realization that her spaceship had been breached by some extra-terrestrial entity. Her performance was the right way to kick off Fear Fables. Not only was her make-up amazing, and super creepy, but her borderline-contortionist movements across the stage were the perfect amount of freaky. 

Emmonia appeared onstage as the gorgeously creepy and sadistic alien queen taking over the ship. Props to whoever the guy that she threw across the floor with her telekinesis was — he did a great job dying. The detail in Emmonia’s costume was insane and easily topped anyone else’s. 

The interactions between Mørtis X as the ship captain and Emmonia as the alien taking over her ship were creepy and hilarious. While Emmonia took the audience through the stories in her book Fear Fables, as told by other drag artists, her and Mørtis X’s underlying thread of fighting for control of the ship tied the whole thing together.

Six performers then told their creepy story, many revolving around the destruction of Earth and the craziness of humans. Two stand out performances were Mx Jackson’s and CallMeKeeks’. 

Mx Jackson first appeared onstage as a cloud covered, sheet draped figure that slowly shed her layers for the audience. It was probably the creepiest strip tease I’ve ever seen. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic performance that kept the audience wanting more with every movement. 

CallMeKeeks started out creepy and ended creepy. With a freaky mask covering her face and creepy, yet somehow beautiful movements, CallMeKeeks took command of the stage with ease. Even with a minor wardrobe malfunction, she kept the performance going without missing a beat. 

Aside from the incredible performers, the set and crew deserve their flowers too. The set was made up of a spaceship console, a cracked open spaceship door, and a lectern to hold the Fear Fables. All of it was immaculately done. It really transformed the stage into the perfect vehicle for the stories of the anthology. 

The tech crew also did a fantastic job. The lighting was on point through the entire show, as was the sound. Neither the performers or the crew missed a single cue. Extra credit to the person in the tech box that cheered louder than any of the audience after each performance. 

The ending to the whole performance was perfect. All of the creepy aliens gathered onstage, only for the ship to crash and presumably kills them all.

Fear Fables is a must see at this year’s Fringe Festival if you’re a fan of drag, sci-fi, horror, or all of the above. 

You can catch Fear Fables at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival until August 23.