This week we welcome Toronto writer and performer Lisa Randall, whose critically praised solo show Sister Sophia Kicks the Habit comes to Venue 13 this August. It’s a dark and hilarious night of the soul about an aging nun in crisis with songs, comedy, dance and audience interaction. Lisa joins us for a chat and a live taste of the show.

Before we bring Lisa on, the two of us catch up on where things stand as Fringe prep ramps up: the mood coming out of Avignon, an update on Market 13 and the food trailer, and a heartfelt thank-you to everyone who donated as our crowdfunding campaign closes.

Lisa’s show sits right in Venue 13’s wheelhouse: it’s the Edinburgh Fringe debut of The Universe Over 60, her Toronto company celebrating the stories of women over sixty. Sister Sophia is a nun in full habit, in the middle of a sleepless dark night of the soul after losing her best friend Sister Beatrice. Across 55 minutes she confronts g(G)od, questions a lifetime of devotion, and finds levity in some very big life questions. Lisa talks about the two aunts who inspired it (one of them cloistered), the show’s mix of monologue, physical comedy and song, and her wish to welcome the believer, the atheist, the agnostic and the curious into the same room. She closes with a live performance — including Tom Lehrer’s The Vatican Rag, which we can share thanks to his extraordinary decision to release his work into the public domain.