Emma's Parlour

Sept. 15-18, 7 p.m., $20, University City Arts League, 4226 Spruce St., 215-413-1318, livearts-fringe.org.

by Deni Kasrel

Fringe Pick

If there were a contest for fringiest Fringe show, Emma's Parlour would be a contender; it truly embodies the notion of innovation in performance. Its subject is Emma Goldman, an anarchist who fought for workers' and women's rights. The tale is told through a contemporary version of a Victorian style of entertainment known as toy theater. With fly spaces and sides that move, performers Martina Plag and Laureen Griffin manipulate puppets that are so cleverly conceived, I won't spoil anything except to say you'll be impressed by the ingenuity. Around the meticulously crafted miniature set is an installation with handcrafted artifacts that play into the performance. Plag's zeal for educating people about Goldman's life and beliefs helped inspire the piece, which includes exact text from Goldman's speeches. Still, she says, this is not a pedantic history lesson: "It's not preachy — there's a trans-Atlantic voyage, a wedding, an assassination — it's pretty active."

Sept. 15-18, 7 p.m., $20, University City Arts League, 4226 Spruce St., 215-413-1318, livearts-fringe.org.