{"data":{"id":"f5d7e0fb-bf98-495f-8215-64cc1d41b264","originKind":"SYNDICATED","title":"Fringe Review: Keep calm and sip on at Chamomile and the End of the World","summary":"Chamomile and the End of the World\n\n4.5 stars out of 5\n\nStage 8, Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre, 8426 Gateway Blvd.\n\nYour greatest fears have come true: it’s the end of the world and we’re still going to work. Such is the case for Mona and Di, retail workers at a chain tea store.\n\nEach day has a predictable routine. Mona blasts Chumbawamba while she checks off opening tasks. Di rushes in, late as usual. They exchange banter before watching TeaOlogy’s corporate video of the day. It’s wellness week, and they’re encouraged to breathe deep, stay calm and sip on.\n\nOf course, it’s hard to do that when the power is out at home, you can’t fill your gas tank, and chaos reigns in the streets. Throughout the work week, we never see a customer. But even as each day grows bleaker, they keep showing up, brewing the daily tea and updating the whiteboard. What else is there to do?\n\nThe show is a great send-up of corporate culture in our anxious times, and even as it’s unsettling, it never devolves into despair.\n\nRelated Fringe Review: Fear Fables delivers something delightfully horrifying to the Fringe\n\nEvery Journal review from the 2026 Edmonton Fringe","url":"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/edmonton-fringe-review-chamomile-and-the-end-of-the-world","imageUrl":"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/chamomile_304767561.jpg","publishedAt":"2026-08-19T05:25:55.000Z","sourceLabel":"Edmonton Journal Music","tags":["Entertainment","Festivals","Local Arts","Theatre"],"authorName":"Angela Johnston","contentHtml":"<img alt=\"Chamomile and the End of the World, at the 2026 Edmonton Fringe Festival.\" src=\"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/chamomile_304767561.jpg\" title=\"Chamomile and the End of the World, at the 2026 Edmonton Fringe Festival.\" /><p> <strong>Chamomile and the End of the World</strong> </p><p> <strong>4.5 stars out of 5</strong> </p><p> <strong>Stage 8, Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre, 8426 Gateway Blvd.</strong> </p><p> Your greatest fears have come true: it’s the end of the world and we’re still going to work. Such is the case for Mona and Di, retail workers at a chain tea store.  </p><p> Each day has a predictable routine. Mona blasts Chumbawamba while she checks off opening tasks. Di rushes in, late as usual. They exchange banter before watching TeaOlogy’s corporate video of the day. It’s wellness week, and they’re encouraged to breathe deep, stay calm and sip on. </p><p> Of course, it’s hard to do that when the power is out at home, you can’t fill your gas tank, and chaos reigns in the streets. Throughout the work week, we never see a customer. But even as each day grows bleaker, they keep showing up, brewing the daily tea and updating the whiteboard. What else is there to do? </p><p> The show is a great send-up of corporate culture in our anxious times, and even as it’s unsettling, it never devolves into despair. </p><h2>Related</h2><ul><li><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/theatre/fringe-review-fear-fables-delivers-something-delightfully-horrifying-to-the-fringe\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fringe Review: Fear Fables delivers something delightfully horrifying to the Fringe</a></li><li><a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/every-journal-review-from-the-2026-edmonton-fringe\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Every Journal review from the 2026 Edmonton Fringe</a></li></ul>","slug":"fringe-review-keep-calm-and-sip-on-at-chamomile-and-the-end-of-the-world","publicPath":"/news/2026-08-18-fringe-review-keep-calm-and-sip-on-at-chamomile-and-the-end-of-the-world"}}