A 5-day long storytelling festival is descending upon a popular Toronto brewery with a host of true stories told live by the people who lived them.
Back for its second year after a smashing success in 2024, the Replay Story Fest is like a real-life take on ‘storytime’ videos — only, the people who lived the experiences are standing right in front of you.
Holding court at Burdock over the course of five days, the festival features a number of live performances and workshops, hosted and led by some of the most talented storytellers from Toronto and beyond.
No one can spin a yarn quite like this lineup.
Each day of the festival plays host to a number of special, themed events — including some focused on science, music or improvised stories — as well as solo shows from the likes of playwright Ronit Rubinstein and comedian Jillian Welsh (Baroness Von Sketch Show).
The whole festival kicks off with an opening night reception, where storytellers share tales centred around the theme of “Magical Moments,” on Feb. 26.
Replay Story Fest is organized by Replay Storytelling, an organization founded in 2016 who plan and put on a variety of story-based programming across Toronto year-round.
The collective put on their first-ever show on March 2, 2016, so it’s only fitting that they return to mark the occasion, on the exact date, with a devoted anniversary show called Second Chances. Here’s the catch: two of the stories told won’t actually be true, and it’s up to you to uncover the imposter.
Tickets for events are on sale now through Replay’s website, and are priced at $20 for individual events or $30 for a day pass.
In terms of workshops, those take place over the weekend, and include opportunities such as “Finding Your Inner Villain,” with actor Collette Micks (Naturally Sadie, Seeing Red), “How to Come Up with Story Ideas,) with actor Christel Bartelese and “Let’s Start with the End,” led by storytellers Paul Afalo and Chantal Lim.
Workshop tickets can also be purchased online, and range from $45 for two-hour workshops to $60 for three-hour workshops. You can also purchase admission to all four workshops for $180.
Replay Story Fest runs from Wednesday, Feb. 26 to Sunday, March 2 at Burdock, located at 1184 Bloor West.
