The Cultch hosts a heart wrenching cabaret, The Cave, from Tomson Highway, music from John Millard and book from Martha Ross from November 10 – 20, 2022. It’s an important one to see that shows the climate crisis through the eyes of a group of animals trapped together in a bear’s cave as a forest fire draws near. As they await their inevitable demise, they sing. Their tales—reflections on their lives, their ‘lost garden,’ and their impending doom—slowly reveal the reality of a land exploited by humans. At times hysterically comical, at times dramatic and tragic, the four performers—Andrea Koziol, Derek Kwan, Alex Samaras, Maryem Tollar—sing seventeen stirring songs in English and Cree, playing abstractions of Bear, Moose, Beaver, Skunk, Snake, Wolf, Crow, and Fox. And presiding over everything, the cabaret is hosted by a wry and charming MC played by the composer, Millard, himself.
An online version of The Cave was part of The Cultch’s 2021 digital season. It was an immediate hit with critics and audiences alike, who expressed their desire to see it in person when it became possible. The newly staged in-person version comes to Vancouver with new animations.
“I was born and raised in a completely natural environment,” recalls lyricist Tomson Highway. “It was completely safe, and a blissful experience to live in that ‘garden’. And a true garden it was. Now, a half-century later, it is no longer safe to live up there. The reason? Forest fires. Hundreds of them every summer. In Fort McMurray’s fire some 2,000 people lost their homes. How many animals lost theirs? The destruction was, and is, gargantuan. That is to say, the current state of global warming is THEIR eviction from the garden. And it is ours.”
Tickets are available online now at The Cultch. What people are saying about The Cave:
“Messages on climate crisis delivered in a creatively charged cabaret that defies expectations”
Janet Smith, Stir
“Playfulness abounds… But there are operatic thrills, too, and heartbreaking lyricism.”
Colin Thomas, colinthomas.ca
“The Cave is never preachy, always entertaining.”
Jo Ledingham, joledingham.ca
Photo Credit: Cassandra Popescu
ILiveInEastVan.com 
Leave a Reply