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Breakwater, written by playwright Valerie Methot and a youth group from Some Assembly Theatre Company, follows six youth who face the effects of isolation and mental health struggles from a symbolic world-wide flood. This worldwide flood was something that was added to the narrative. “The flood wasn’t always the story, it was discovered at the…
The pandemic offers people the opportunity to heal the inner landscape of the human soul, says Anosh Irani, a Vancouver-based author. Irani addresses the human subterranean in an online hybrid between a play and a film, creating a space for conversation with the audience at the 2021 Indian Summer Festival (July 15–17). “I always write…
Pedro Chamale’s new album, Made in Canada: an agricultural song cycle, is now available to download, stream on Spotify or purchase on vinyl. The album is composed of 10 songs written by Chamale and Rice and Beans Theatre co-founder Mishelle Cuttler. The songs explore issues surrounding Canada’s seasonal temporary foreign workers. There is also an…
The Cultch and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre (vAct) are offering a pre-recorded performance of Tetsuro Shigematsu’s award-winning play, 1 Hour Photo, to be streamed online on May 28, 29 and 30. This will be a cinematic adaptation of the stage play that debuted at the Cultch in 2017 to a sold-out audience. Shigematsu not only wrote…
“As the Chinese government puts more measures and efforts into silencing its people in Hong Kong or elsewhere, we over here have the privilege to speak up and with this privilege we have a responsibility to keep the story alive,” says Derek Chan, writer and director of yellow objects, a play inspired by the pro-democracy movement…
Zee Zee Theatre presents Virtual Humanity, this year’s online edition of their annual Human Library project, from Mar. 6–28, which involves seeking out storytellers with a diversity of personal and cultural backgrounds, and ensuring said conversations flow smoothly. “I truly believe that this project is playing a role in our future. Communicating experience-based stories and…
WhyNot Theatre continues making life better through art by premiering A Brimful of Asha online Jan. 15–31. Keeping this experience COVID-friendly, the show is a recording of a 2014 performance; and further making this a more interactive streamed session, the Surrey Arts Center has organized a chat after the Jan. 15 show with Ravi Jain. Toronto-based actor…
Set to premiere in Vancouver in 2021, Santiago Farías Calderón’s translation of Mexican playwright Edgar Chías looks at different forms of abuse towards women as it invites the audience to understand sexism as a form of violence. Calderón’s translation of the play El Cielo en La Piel, by Chías, shows that discussions written more than…
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of online migration for many art forms, temporarily or permanently. Theatre is also trying new ways to keep its spirit alive while adhering to safety requirements. Red Phone and Plays2Perform@Home, two innovative theatre projects developed by theatre company Boca del Lupo, are blurring the line between audience and performer. Red…
As people are staying home to contain the spreading of COVID-19, many entertainment options have been restricted to activities that can be done at home. Keeping ourselves, and especially children, amused during the pandemic has been quite a challenge. Two of the most common entertainment options, television and the internet, can provide relaxing moments, but…
“It’s not ideology that separates us as people, it’s language,” says Ian Carney, co-creator of Lightwire theatre along with Corbin Popp. “When you speak the language that everyone speaks, the language of dance, everyone understands what you’re saying.” Through the use of Electroluminescent wire (EL wire), Carney found a way to combine all of his…
A contemporary conspiracy thriller, the world premiere of Cipher is underway at the Arts Club’s Granville Island Stage. Running until Mar. 7, the show looks to subvert iconic tropes of the noir genre, with a cold case that examines some modern social issues. Neo-noir Cipher centers around a long unsolved murder mystery, a fictional Vancouver Island case inspired by…
God’s Lake Narrows is a small Indigenous community located approximately 550 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. This isolated fly-in community is only accessed by way of plane, boat or winter ice roads. Certain lives within this community will be explored in the upcoming verbatim theatre production, God’s Lake, hosted by Presentation House Theatre. It runs from…
