Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

Award-winning storyteller Andrew Bailey will premiere his latest “hilarious and heart-wrenching” show, Bad Stoic, at the 2026 Victoria Fringe Festival. Bad Stoic follows Bailey, a new parent, earnestly training to be a better, more stoic person. When he is finally successful, it turns out to be a terrible mistake. “People often interpret Stoicism as mere self-improvement,” says Bailey, who has a degree in Classical Studies. “For the ancient Stoics, cultivating logic and reason connected you to a universal soul. Marcus Aurelius wrote, ‘If it’s not good for the hive, it’s not good for the bee.’ An individual’s virtues were meant to help the wider community. My own father, without studying Stoicism, embodied such virtues. Me: not so much. But I did study.” While delv... more...