Tag Archives: Theatre

Girls Like That At Templeton Secondary School November 2-10, 2017

17 Oct

Flash. Click. Buzz. “Did you get the picture?”

“Slut, skank, scuzz – you deserve everything coming to you”

Do you have a daughter,  niece or granddaughter? Even if you don’t, you need to see this production.  The writer grew up in a time before social media and honestly, I am grateful for it every day. To have every move of your life documented in print and/or photo which includes every mistake or poor judgment for all to see is honestly unfathomable.  Who of us has not made a mistake, misjudged someone, trusted the wrong person? I doubt there’s one of you that haven’t crossed a line that you wished you hadn’t, even if there weren’t major repercussions from your decisions. You realize later, possibly years later, whew I was lucky there. The hope is we learn from our mistakes and not repeat them, but now every mistake can be glorified, vilified and go viral without your knowledge or consent.  That’s why we think the upcoming production of Girls Like That is a must see.  The show coming to Templeton Secondary School from November 2nd to the 10th is a collaboration between Shameless Hussy Productions, Theatre Temp’s Dream Big Productions and Girls in Leadership Club. It features a cast of 10 teenage performers. The characters are familiar and relatable and the scenes are intercut with short, comedic monologues from women of different eras such as a flapper girl, an air pilot, a hippie, a Melanie Griffith-style working girl, basically women who broke convention, championing over oppression with style and sass. These women represent generations of oppression by the opposite sex as well as the wider society, and ultimately contrasted by the current generation of girls, selling itself short and oppressing themselves through slut-shaming and bitterness.

The production showcases 5 explosive musical ensemble numbers aGirlsLikeThatSMIconsnd tackles a contemporary subject in a theatrically exciting way, exploring gender equality, self-image, friendship, and the pressures on today’s digital generation. The play is written by award-winning Canadian-British playwright Evan Placey and one that will be on our definite list to see.  Growing up a girl has always been frought with challenges, but smartphones and the electronic age have brought a whole new meaning to Girls Like That. To purchase tickets in advance, visit Eventbrite, or you can purchase tickets at the door.

 

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Encounter Comes To The York Theatre October 17 – 22, 2017

10 Oct

EncounterChristopherJosephThe best in physical theatre comes to the Cultch in conjunction with Diwali. Encounter is a story about an Indigenous woman, Dopdi, and her communities’ struggle to uphold the Indigenous life and her defiance against injustice. Created for the stage by Aparna Sindhoor, S M Raju, and Anil Natyaveda, Encounter is a tribute to the Indigenous people’s history. It is a passionate story of female power that delves into the struggles and challenges of the indigenous communities of India. Aparna Sindhoor, co-writer of Encounter says “The word ‘Encounter’ has a specific meaning in the Indian (South Asian) context. It is a euphemism for the state orchestrated ‘chance meetings,’ to get rid of (kill, or torture and kill) the so-called enemies of the state.” The performance features acrobatics and original music which pays tribute to Indigenous peoples’ history from around the world. The show runs October 17 – 22, 2017 at the York Theatre. Tickets are available at The Cultch.

Contributing Writer Tiva Quinn reviews Encounter:

Encounter is a dance-play that is political, sensual, humorous and informative. There’s a bit of every possible emotion along the way, but, ultimately, it’s also a story about an enormous tragedy.

The dancers portray members of an indigenous group in India who find that their land is being taken for mining, while their water is being diverted for factories. In order to survive at all, they have no choice but to “steal” water from the wells of a wealthy landowner nearby, and so the military is called to put a stop to this crime.

The dancers also portray members of the military who have been sent to break up the “rebellion.” At one point, they tell us stories about why they joined the armed forces, and most of the stories are relatable – one needs to feed his family, one is saving to send her daughter to college, and of course one is in love with his gun, but there’s no distinction among them when their leader asks them to do “the needful” and try to get information from a prisoner.

In the South Asian context, “encounter” refers to times when the army captures suspected rebels and tortures or kills them. The story opens and closes on a scene of one such torture, and yes, it’s told through dance. The troupe are all very talented and they create some visually arresting tableaus out of these scenes. And in a world where a show like 24 asks us to identify with the torturer, why shouldn’t we have art that asks us to identify with both the torturer and those who are tortured?

If you’re looking for a note of hope, a sense of closure, or a call to action that makes you feel like you can make a difference, there isn’t one. It wouldn’t be especially true to the reality of the situation if there was.

Do I recommend seeing it, though? Yes.

Photo Credit: Christopher Joseph

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Hyperlink At The Firehall Arts Centre October 4 – 14, 2017

4 Oct

Hyperlink

Vancouver’s TJ Dawe is back with Itai Erdal for a collaborative performance in Hyperlink.  Hyperlink is the act of jumping from space to space, always exploring new territory but often not staying still for long enough to truly connect. This production showcases the online persona you’ve created. Does it match you the real life version of you? TJ Dawe and Itai Erdal perform as themselves and perform themselves, argue, debate and intertwine their personal experience on everything from internet scams, to love, to hate crimes, to like-farming, in order to get the bottom of what it means to live a life online.  Hyperlink kicks off at the Firehall Arts Centre this Thursday, October 5th. Tickets are available online from Firehall Arts Centre.

Contributing Writer Nicole Alivojvodic Reviews Hyerlink

The world premiere of Elbow Theatre’s Hyperlink at the Firehall Arts Centre leaves the audience laughing, crying and contemplating. Written and performed by TJ Dawe and Itai Erdal, Hyperlink delves into life online and the limits of digital empathy. As the title suggests, the performance jumps from topic to topic without ever staying in it long enough to feel that it has been fully fleshed out. The effect this has is that instead of pushing their own opinions on a topic, Dawe and Erdal present a commentary, based on their personal experiences, and let the audience make up their own minds about it.

With topics ranging from “like farming” to internet fads to hate crimes, Hyperlink keeps the audience entertained and thinking. Everything from the visual and sound effects to the cheeky “Instamission” (in lieu of a traditional intermission) are crafted to make a point. While Dawe and Erdal speak candidly and incorporate lots of silliness – including getting the audience to participate in a “Harlem Shake” – they never fail to intellectually question what it means to live a life online.

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Feasting On Famine At The Firehall Arts Centre September 27-30, 2017

25 Sep

FeastingOnFamineYou are invited on one man’s journey through the extremes of body building and health fitness. Feasting on Famine explores the symmetry between the human body and excess of capitalism in a world where one man consumed the daily caloric intake of a family of five.  Shay Kuebler takes you from the beginning stages of training at local gyms and fitness centers to an obsession with what foods and supplements help the body function at peak performance.   His journey has made him question “the ethics and morality of health and fitness as a business (a very big business) and, furthermore, examine how the industry is misrepresenting and framing – staging – our expectations of what health and fitness should look like.”  We all want a healthy body, but the definition of what is healthy is defined different by individuals, health professionals and big business trying to sell you health in a bottle. So who do you believe?    Experience one man’s journey trying to figure it all out. Feasting on Famine hits the stage at the Firehall Arts Centre this Wednesday, September 27th and runs till September 30th. Tickets are available online from Firehall Arts Centre.

Contributing writer Tiva Quinn’s review of Feasting On Famine:

No matter how long you live, you will never have another chance to see a dance performance that addresses both erections and constipation.

Feasting on Famine isn’t really about precisely those things, though, it’s about the obsessive quest for a certain type of masculine ideal, and solo performer Shay Kuebler certainly knows what he’s dancing about with this topic. It’s written in every line of his body, and that’s a lot more lines than you’re probably used to seeing, as the guy is ripped. Beyond that, it’s about the general themes of obsession, dominance, perfection and self-control.

Kuebler dances in a variety of styles, the one that made the strongest impression for me involved moves that resemble break-dancing, but with all of the fluidity replaced by a frenetic repetition that turned it into a form of pushing muscles to their limit. He also interacts with props and video segments, often in ways that got a good chuckle from the audience.

This is not meant to be a comfortable performance, and it isn’t, but if you like your dance as challenging as an intense workout, you’ll like it a lot.

What else people are saying about Feasting On Famine:

(Keubler’s) style is indeed mesmerizing and explosive –
Vancouver Weekly

 

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Vancouver Fringe Previews At Havana Theatre August 29 – September 2, 2017

16 Aug

 

The Vancouver Fringe Festival happens September 7 to 17, 2017 at various venues around the City.  Havana Theatre tucked away in the back of Havana Restaurant on Commercial Drive is again hosting a sneak preview of some of the upcoming shows.  These will be full versions of the performances coming during the festival. This is your chance to catch them before they sell out.  We’ve run down which shows they will be featuring during the preview. Tickets for all shows are $10 and available at the door.

Tightrope Talking – August 29, 2017 – 7:00 pm

Time spent in a Berkeley slammer – lane-dancing with a dealer — cars and sex through the ages – obituaries – bus drivers — Marylee Stephenson is upping the story ante by outsourcing the topic to the audience! You name it, she tells it, in a dynamic, suspenseful combination of instantly well-crafted stories. No two shows can ever be the same!

Blue River Blues – August 29, 2017 – 9:00 pm

What do you do when you’re surrounded by gorbies and the glacier you’rr standing on is slowing melting into the sea? This one-person storytelling is about the summer Jim spend as a Snowmobile Tour Guide at the Columbia Icefields in Jasper National Park. There he fended off gorbies (slang for pesky tourists) and had a summer of adventures that resonated through the rest of his life. The story is told against the backdrop of the magnificent Athabasca Glacier which has been flowing and receding for over 250,000 years but which is expected to disappear within the next 150 years.

Almost A Stepmom – August 31, 2017 – 7:00 pm

Based on a true story. Keara moved to Ireland. She fell in love. Then she became a stepmom well almost. This is a darkly comic tale about the ups and downs of becoming a stepmother. The show includes multiple characters and a murder attempt round off this tumultuous and touching solo show. In case you hadn’t heard, Almost a Stepmom played to critical acclaim at multiple festivals throughout Western Canada, most recently winning the Emerging Artist Award at the 2016 Calgary Fringe Festival.

Shades of Dave – August 31, 2017-  9:00 pm

A loving tribute and erotic parody of The Vinyl Cafe. Fifty Shades of Dave thrusts Dave and Morley into situations you’ve never heard on the CBC. All the warmth and wit of Stuart McLean’s beloved stories with a sexy twist.

The Euphio Question – September 1, 2017 – 7:00 pm 

Stage adaptation of Vonnegut’s 1951 short story about a young physicist who discovers radio waves from outer space that, when amplified and broadcast, make anyone within earshot completely and utterly euphoric. The Euphio Question asks audiences what the true cost of happiness is when it comes at the mere the flick of a switch?

No Big Deal – September 1, 2017-  9:00 pm

A young woman, her boyfriend, and the man who assaulted her on a bus each tells their story. Each is telling the truth, but each is trying to make us believe something. In the end, what makes a sexual assault no big deal?

Katherine Ferns Is In Stitches – September 2, 2017 – 9:00 pm

Brutally funny storytelling show from Manchester-based comedian Katharine Ferns is a comedic journey about learning to laugh at the visible and invisible scars of surviving mental illness, domestic violence, drug addiction plus some feminism for comic relief. Obviously, the story begins on April 21st, 2016 the day Prince passed away and Katharine ends up in stitches (literally). Come to the show and you’ll end up in stitches too (figuratively).

Draining the Swamp – September 3, 2017 – 2:00 pm

The play tells the story of a business leader who travels to a dangerous foreign location intending to enrich the country by building a new luxury resort on unusable swampland. He runs into trouble when he’s forced to shoot a trusted employee and is taken to court.

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Eat.Drink.Play. At The Firehall Arts Centre Thursday June 22, 2017

5 Jun

Eat.Drink.Play2017The Firehall Arts Centre invites you to Eat.Drink.Play. being held on Thursday, June 22nd from 7:00 – 10:00 pm at the Firehall Arts Centre, 280 East Cordova Street.  This annual fundraiser brings together some of East Van’s best restaurants, craft brewers, small-batch distillers and performers for an evening of sampling and sharing.  The event takes over the Firehall’s entire premises including theatre, lobby, studio, courtyard as well as the dressing rooms.  Throughout the Firehall, you will find an array of delectable treats, eclectic dance, music and performances as well as a silent auction.  Eat.Drink.Play will feature selections of food from neighbourhood hot spots  The Diamond, Deacon’s Corner, Clough Club, Tuc Craft Kitchen, Kofta Meatball Kitchen, Save On Meats, The Pint and Cadeaux Bakery. Libation samples will also be available from local brewers Powell Brewery, Big Rock Brewery, Andina Brewing Company, Strange Fellows Brewing, Strathcona Beer Company and Steamworks. Also on hand will be local craft distiller, Odd Society Spirits, returning to serve up samples of their signature vodka and gin.  You can expect a smorgasbord of delectable treats and enjoyable performances as you roam through the heritage building sampling food, enjoying libations, and bidding on some amazing silent auction items. The cast of the Firehall’s recent hit Circle Game: Reimagining of the Music of Joni Mitchell will be on hand to provide some great tunes. The Firehall Arts Centre has been producing performing arts for 35 years in this beautiful heritage building at the corner of Cordova and Gore. We invite you to lend your support for our City’s vibrant and innovative arts community. Tickets for Eat.Drink.Play are $38 and $22 for artists and are available online at Firehall Arts Centre.

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What’s On East Van: June 2, 2017

2 Jun

pink-donuts-series-Pixaio

 

There are so many great events happening in East Van, we are adding a new feature What’s On summarizing weekly or bi-weekly some upcoming events and general happenings in East Van.  Most events featured here will be for the upcoming week or a bit beyond.  To see beyond that, we invite you to check out our Event Listing which is updated daily and lists events for the month and beyond.   

National Doughnut Day – June 2, 2017

June 2nd is National Day and well we think it’s a great day to show some locals like Cartems Donuts, Duffin’s Donuts and Lucky’s Doughnuts some East Van love. If you are looking for gluten free doughnuts, we suggest you try the Gluten Free Epicurean in Mount Pleasant.

Vancouver Craft Beer Festival – June 3-4, 2017

This weekend the PNE Fairgrounds plays host to the 8th Annual Vancouver Craft Beer Week Festival June 3-4, 2017. This year’s festival, outside of great craft beer, includes a long line up of local musical talent including Alex Maher, Mark Woodyard, Railtown Prophets as well as DJs spinning tunes. Tickets for the event are $39.00 and include 2 drink tokens along with a 4 oz souvenir taster mug. Note, more drink tickets can be purchased on site.  

Farmer Markets – June 3 & 4, 2017

This weekend you have the benefit of 3 farmer markets. Saturday you have Vancouver Farmers Market which hosts a one of the larger markets at Trout Lake from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm. Another option is the River District Farmers Market from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm located on the Fraser River at the foot of Kerr Street (at East Kent Avenue).  If Sunday’s a better day for you, stop by the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market at Dude Chilling Park which happens from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.

15th Annual Heritage House Tour (Strathcona) – June 4, 2017

The Vancouver Heritage Foundation hosts the 15th Annual Heritage House Tour on Sunday, June 4th. This year, they will be visiting homes in Strathcona to see the completed renovation of Places That Matter site which is the Walter and Mary Chan House.  It is significant for its connection to SPOTA and a fight to save Strathcona from freeway development in the 1960s.  This is just one of many homes on the tour.  Tickets are $40 or $30 for students and are available online.

Entertainment: Arts, Theatre, Comedy & Live Music

This weekend, lots happening at The Cultch. June 3rd is your last opportunity to catch the powerful show Children of God.  rEvolver Festival continues through to June 4th with a number of great shows at The Cultch including Vampires in Barcelona and Spawn.  rEvovler Festival is also showcasing a new kind of game show All The Way at the Russian Hall.  If it’s comedy you are after, Instant Theatre hosts sketch comedy at the theatre in Havana Restaurant Friday and Saturday nights at 10:30 pm.

Emergency Preparedness Workshop – June 6, 2017

The City of Vancouver hosts a free Emergency Preparedness Workshop at Britannia Community Centre from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. There are currently 23 spots open. We’d like to see this fill up. We recently attended one of these workshops and highly recommend them. Great information, it’s free and it is only 1 hour and 30 minutes of your time. Well worth the time investment for you, your family and pets. To reserve your space visit City of Vancouver.  (POSTPONED)                       

Live Music With Les Is More – June 7, 2017 

Local R&B, funk and blues band, Lesismore will be bringing their sound to Federico’s Supper Club on June 7th.  Stop by for a great evening of live music, dinner and dancing.

Grandview-Woodland Plaza Exploration – Thursday, June 8, 2017

 “The City of Vancouver has been approached by the development team about a potential redevelopment of the Safeway site located at 1780 East Broadway, at Commercial Drive. The Grandview-Woodland Community Plan provides guidance about how this site should redevelop and sets a requirement to provide a new at- grade public plaza on the site.  The development team is proposing that the plaza be located at an alternative location nearby. While this is a variation from the approved Community Plan, the City wants to work with the community to give this new idea its due consideration.   To introduce and explore the idea of an alternative plaza location, the City is hosting an event. The primary purpose of the event is to assess the degree of community support for the new plaza idea.” This is a free event, but advance registration is required.  If you are interested in hearing what’s planned, this is your opportunity to hear information and provide your feedback. To register, visit Eventbrite.

Photo Credit: pixaio.blogspot.com 

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rEvolver Festival Presents All The Way At The Russian Hall May 31- June 3, 2017

22 May

AllTheWayUpInTheAirTheatreThere is a new game show in town as part of the rEolver Festival happening May 24 to June 4, 2017 presented by Up In The Air Theatre. This show is being billed as a “hypnagogic game show straddling the worlds of a haunted house and The Price is Right. This partially-immersive, pop-cult, horror-flick-obsessed puzzle invites audience members to dive into a hero’s journey… to emerge thrilled and victorious. All The Way rewards the competitor, soothes the dreamer, and delights in the deliciously unconventional.”  Personally we love unconventional, so our bet is this will be an interesting show. We hear there are prizes to be won and if you are a fan of Sudoku and have watched a lot of television, especially Buffy, you will do quite well. All The Way runs May 31st to June 3rd at The Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Street in the heart of Strathcona. Tickets are $20 each and available online from The Cultch.  If you are not familiar with the rEvolver Festival, it brings new works by emerging theatre companies and artists to the stage each May. We invite you to check out some of the shows they will be presenting this May during the rEvolver Festival.

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Mump & Smoot In Anything At The Cultch April 25 – May 6, 2017

1 May

Mump&SmootIanJacksonHave you heard that clowns are in town? Mump & Smoot, a famed Canadian clown duo from Toronto have landed in Vancouver. They bring their latest show, Mump & Smoot In Anything to The York Theatre for a short run. Their show brings a rather twisted world straight from their imagination.  We sent our new contributing writer, Tiva Quinn, to check out Mump & Smoot.  Tiva is originally from Washington, DC and more recently lived in Alaska for a good 13 year stint. She has herself recently landed in East Van and loves it.  She will provide a fresh perspective as a newcomer to East Van. Tiva has a passion for the arts, food, the environment and storytelling.  You can find her participating either on stage or as an audience member at the monthly Story Slam held at the Cottage Bistro. Here’s what Tiva had to say about Mump & Smoot In Anything:

There were scenes during Mump and Smoot’s show where my cheeks hurt from grinning so much. But really, the best thing of all about the show was the audience. Some of you might recall that Vancouver audiences are downright famous for being a bit detached, but when I went to see Mump and Smoot in Anything, the audience cheered, we clapped and hooted for each scene, and sometimes we all chanted, “aww…” in support of Smoot, who gleefully breaks the fourth wall looking for support in his endless contests of will with Mump.

In a lot of ways, what you get is a live action cartoon show. Mump and Smoot’s love/hate relationship reminded me of Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam – except in this show the cartoon violence sometimes results in a lot of blood, and sometimes the physical or emotional wounds from characters being hilariously awful to one another take a while to resolve themselves. You can thoroughly enjoy Mump and Smoot as a dark little confectionary, or if you’re like me, and have to mull on absolutely everything, there’s enough stuff in here about the games people play to keep you going for weeks. 

Review By Tiva Quinn

Mump and Smoot in Anything is being performed at the York Theatre from May 2 – 6, 2017. Tickets are available from $20 through The Cultch.

Photo Credit: Ian Jackson

 

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How To Be At The Cultch April 12-15, 2017

31 Mar

HowToBe-300x240Do you ever wonder how to be in any given situation?  Maybe you ‘should’ have said this, or ‘should’ have done that. What do you think of someone that didn’t say the ‘right’ thing? Whether it’s family, friends or co-workers, we are often second guessing ourselves to what avail? Creator and choreographer Tara Cheyene Friedenberg will endeavor to shed light on our ‘shoulds’, ‘woulds’ and ‘coulds’ by bringing you a blend of dance, theatre and comedy all on one stage in How To Be. This performance has some local talent behind it include Marcus Youssef and Josh Martin. How To Be kicks off April 12 at The Cultch for a short run to April 15th. Tickets are available from $20 online or by phone.

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