{"data":{"id":"93a88ab8-2b61-4ab3-992a-194a98a055b5","originKind":"SYNDICATED","title":"Fringe Review: Perfectly raunchy singer Shirley Gnome a must-see","summary":"Shirley Gnome: Kiss & Yell\n\n5 stars (Out of 5)\n\nStage 17, Grindstone Theatre, 10019-81 Ave.\n\nDisgustingly, delightfully lecherous, Juno-nominated Shirley Gnome is a stand-up comedian in song.\n\nDressed approximately as Jessie the cowgirl from Toy Story in a Targaryen wig, the Vancouver comedian hides within her “five of 12 songs about s—” a ruthless take-down of our emerging voluntary dystopia, starting out with a soulless computer voice notifying us “this whole show will be interrupted by commercials because that’s just how things work now.”\n\nAnd lord, are those ads funny, particularly the S&M military recruitment and big-truck bits.\n\nLet’s rewind, though: Emerging with a big smile, Gnome introduces herself with “This is the reward you get for being too dumb to quit … But let’s skip the romance and pour on the lube, shall we?”\n\nThis hyper-direct sexual positivity might make the odd churchgoer or Millennial cringe, so I’ll let you guess what the follow-up rhyme in the first song is after, “I’m a bad girl back to front.”\n\nRead all our Fringe reviews here I’d have more fun reviewing her concert here song-by-song than the recent AC/DC concert, but leaving some drippy mystery in the air, you absolutely must witness her music about how she washes herself in a hurry, what she wants Bad Bunny and Pedro Pascal to do to her, how she hopes to be reincarnated as a lesbian couple’s pampered dog, and her brilliant exploration of white people bragging about being good allies.\n\nBut no spoiling of who (or what, rather) she lost her virginity to here – just head on down to Grindstone and maybe pour a couple drinks into yourself first for the singalong parts about birds pooping!\n\nfgriwkowsky@postmedia.com\n\n@fisheyefoto.bsky.social\n\nRelated Fringe Review: Ron Pearson proves that he is Lucky\n\nFringe review: Alex and Michael and Hannah tackles the subject of polyamory\n\nBookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.\n\nYou can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.","url":"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/theatre/edmonton-fringe-review-singer-shirley-gnome","imageUrl":"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/shirley-gnome_304726481.jpg","publishedAt":"2026-08-15T18:49:57.000Z","sourceLabel":"Edmonton Journal Music","tags":["Entertainment","Festivals","Theatre"],"authorName":"Fish Griwkowsky","contentHtml":"<img alt=\"Shirley Gnome, at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival.\" src=\"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/shirley-gnome_304726481.jpg\" title=\"Shirley Gnome, at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival.\" /><p> <strong>Shirley Gnome: Kiss &amp; Yell</strong> </p><p> <strong>5 stars (Out of 5)</strong> </p><p> <strong>Stage 17, Grindstone Theatre, 10019-81 Ave.</strong> </p><p> Disgustingly, delightfully lecherous, Juno-nominated Shirley Gnome is a stand-up comedian in song. </p><p> Dressed approximately as Jessie the cowgirl from Toy Story in a Targaryen wig, the Vancouver comedian hides within her “five of 12 songs about s—” a ruthless take-down of our emerging voluntary dystopia, starting out with a soulless computer voice notifying us “this whole show will be interrupted by commercials because that’s just how things work now.” </p><p> And lord, are those ads funny, particularly the S&amp;M military recruitment and big-truck bits. </p><p> Let’s rewind, though: Emerging with a big smile, Gnome introduces herself with “This is the reward you get for being too dumb to quit … But let’s skip the romance and pour on the lube, shall we?” </p><p> This hyper-direct sexual positivity might make the odd churchgoer or Millennial cringe, so I’ll let you guess what the follow-up rhyme in the first song is after, “I’m a bad girl back to front.” </p><h2><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/tag/edmonton-fringe-festival/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Read all our Fringe reviews here</a></h2><p> I’d have more fun reviewing her concert here song-by-song than the recent AC/DC concert, but leaving some drippy mystery in the air, you absolutely must witness her music about how she washes herself in a hurry, what she wants Bad Bunny and Pedro Pascal to do to her, how she hopes to be reincarnated as a lesbian couple’s pampered dog, and her brilliant exploration of white people bragging about being good allies. </p><p> But no spoiling of who (or what, rather) she lost her virginity to here – just head on down to Grindstone and maybe pour a couple drinks into yourself first for the singalong parts about birds pooping! </p><p> <a href=\"mailto:fgriwkowsky@postmedia.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">fgriwkowsky@postmedia.com</a>   </p><p> <a href=\"https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://bsky.app/profile/fisheyefoto.bsky.social__;!!MtWvt2UVEQ!GPaTSEVmNx-3KvwF6ub0r03Q1k5l63ETfTlBWvDIQcUT1N7WEA1GsamCHGlF-jCph9nBGGyUNj0_xjY7VRsIhBYYmg%24\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">@fisheyefoto.bsky.social</a>   </p><h2>Related</h2><ul><li><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/review-ron-pearson-lucky-edmonton-fringe\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fringe Review: Ron Pearson proves that he is Lucky</a></li><li><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/edmonton-fringe-review-alex-and-michael-and-hannah-polyamory\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fringe review: Alex and Michael and Hannah tackles the subject of polyamory</a></li></ul><p> <b><i>Bookmark our website and support our journalism:</i></b><i> Don’t miss the news you need to know — add </i><a href=\"http://edmontonjournal.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><i>EdmontonJournal.com</i></a><i> and </i><a href=\"http://edmontonsun.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><i>EdmontonSun.com</i></a><i> to your bookmarks and </i><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/newsletters/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><i>sign up for our newsletters here</i></a><i>.</i>   </p><p> <i>You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: </i><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/subscribe/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><i>The Edmonton Journal</i></a><i> | </i><a href=\"https://edmontonsun.com/subscribe/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><i>The Edmonton Sun</i></a>.  </p>","slug":"fringe-review-perfectly-raunchy-singer-shirley-gnome-a-must-see","publicPath":"/news/2026-08-15-fringe-review-perfectly-raunchy-singer-shirley-gnome-a-must-see"}}