NotaBle Acts is marking its 25th anniversary this year, and the back half of the festival is where things really pick up steam. If you haven’t made it out yet, here’s what’s still left to catch before the curtain comes down on August 1.
Taking It to the Streets & Street Scenes — through July 29
The free outdoor programming continues nightly at 7:30 PM in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery Courtyard through Wednesday, July 29. This is six short plays from winners of the 2026 NotaBle Acts Ten-Minute and Site-Specific Playwriting Contests, split into two parts:
Taking It to the Streets (about 50 minutes) kicks things off with four ten-minute plays, including a robot-boyfriend comedy, two best friends stuck in traffic and in life, a married couple who wake up tied back-to-back after a wild night out, and a fashion-blind teen conjuring demons to fix her prom dress disaster.
Street Scenes (about 30 minutes) follows immediately after, around 8:25 PM, moving to The Green between the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and the pedestrian bridge over St. Anne’s Point Drive. Two site-specific plays close out the evening — one imagining two trees reflecting on generations of change along the Wolastoq, the other a shipwrecked pair trying to find their way home to Saint John.
Admission is by donation. Bring a cushion for the amphitheatre seating, and a blanket or lawn chair for Street Scenes. Everything is weather-permitting, so keep an eye on the forecast if you’re planning a night out.
Acting Out — July 30 through August 1
This is the mainstage event for the second half of the festival: the two winners of the 2026 NotaBle Acts One-Act Playwriting Competition, running nightly at 7:30 PM at Memorial Hall, UNB (9 Bailey Drive).
Marvin the Man follows a woman’s blissful life with her cat Marvin — until she brings home a boyfriend, and Marvin doesn’t quite grasp that he’s a cat and not a rival suitor.
Loop is a quieter, more emotional piece about two girlfriends on their last morning together before one leaves for university, and the time loop one of them has secretly built to keep reliving their goodbye.
Opening night (July 30) is followed by a reception at The Grad House (676 Windsor Street), open to all. On July 31, stick around after the show for a talkback with the playwrights, actors, and directors. Tickets are $15 general, $10 for students/seniors/underemployed, available at the door.
Play Out Loud: Final Reading — August 1
The last of three staged-reading events wraps up the festival at 2 PM in the Jim Myles Auditorium at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre, with two scripts:
Detective Richard imagines an audition for New Brunswick’s answer to James Bond, at a film studio with more going on than its hopeful star realizes. The Coleman Frog tells — puppet-style — the “completely true” story behind Fredericton’s famous mythological frog.
Admission is by donation.
The Practical Details
- Where: Venues are spread across downtown Fredericton, including Memorial Hall at UNB, the Charlotte Street Arts Centre, and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery Courtyard/The Green.
- Tickets: Mainstage shows range from pay-what-you-wish to $15; outdoor and reading events are by donation.
- Full schedule and ticket links: nbacts.com
Twenty-five years in, NotaBle Acts is still doing what it does best — giving new New Brunswick writing, from ten-minute street plays to full mainstage productions, a real stage and a real audience. Worth carving out an evening or two before the festival wraps up August 1.
