I still haven't done my Christmas shopping and the big day is NEXT WEEK. Can you believe it? Are you all caught up? Or are you too distracted like I am, and doing other fun things like checking out this hilarious satirical/slapstick comedy over at the Firehall Arts Centre?
Hotel Bethlehem is back for a third year running at the Firehall, flexing its comical muscles just in time for the holiday season, sending up the story of Mary and Joseph and the Inn that didn't have enough room for them. One of the highlights had to be the Three Kings who show up not just with gifts for the saviour, but with hilarity for the audience as well. (That was a badly crafted sentence! I'm still hungover from my holiday drinking this weekend, methinks.)
So if you're looking for something festive that doesn't involve a singing Christmas Tree or hordes of shoppers elbowing you out of the way, then why not take in some theatre that will make you laugh and remind you what Christmas is all about.
Forget Christmas Mass, go to this instead! Hotel Bethlehem is a riotous joyride that shines brighter than any star in the sky this season. Now on at the Firehall Arts Centre until December 23!
All hail Ronnie Burkett, who has returned to The Cultch with his latest masterpiece, The Daisy Theatre. I've seen about three of his shows before, and have loved every one of them. This one however, has to be the most different piece he's ever done before. He even gave a little speech at the beginning about how this show contains no apocalypse or tragedy and that it was all about having fun. And this show is indeed fun! I've never seen Mr Burkett more joyous at one of shows before! He looked like he was having a blast!
The Daisy Theatre is Burkett's cabaret of performers that include a twerking librarian, a mad cow, Jim Bunny the muscular gay rabbit, a fat German opera singer, one of Satan's helpers, and a very demanding diva, to name a few. The show is political and current with biting humour that trashes everything in its path, from the Edmonton audiences he just performed for to Rob Ford, the Vancouver Playhouse, the Arts Club, Georgia Straight's renowned theatre critic Colin Thomas, and even himself! Not even Mary Poppins is safe from the wrath! But it's all done in jest and satirical irony, the way only Ronnie Burkett can do it.
On now from to November 30th is the meta-filled 80s-reference-dropping ode to Slimer and the boys, Genus Theatre's Waiting For Ghostbusters.
Held at Renegade Studios at 125 East 2nd Avenue, you are led into the bowels of the old Vancouver Playhouse's rehearsal space. If you haven't been in there before, that alone is worth checking out. The show itself makes reference to the downfall of the Vancouver Playhouse, a sad turning point in Vancouver's theatre scene. So it was fitting that this show about ghost hunting was held in a space haunted by memories of productions past.
There are a few musical numbers in this production, but none of the songs were as memorable as the original Ghostbusters hit single. Some of the jokes fell a bit flat for the audience, as the show jumped back and forth between the actual Ghostbusters musical and the backstage antics and power struggles going on between cast, director, and producer.
Waiting For Ghostbusters plays until November 30th at Renegade Studios.
I was very excited to hear that there was a Neil Labute play going on in Vancouver. His work is usually quite dark with pieces like Fat Pig and In The Company of Men, that tend to focus on the uglier side of humanity. So when I learned that Pacific Theatre was putting on Labute's Autobahn, I was more than intrigued.
Autobahn is a collection of one-act shorts, all taking place in the front seat of a car. The full version has seven vignettes, but has been pared down to only three for this late night event now on at the Pacific Theatre. There's a very off-Broadway feel in the air when you go to the church basement theatre on 12th and Hemlock at 10pm. After the main show lets out, the new group files in to see this selection of shorts and moreover, it's Pay What You Can!
Each of the actors: Ryan Scramstad, Kirsty Provan, Pippa Johnstone, and Kenton Klassen all get their turn in the driver's seat, whether it's a monologue about breaking up, apologizing, or standing up for oneself. This is lighter fare for Labute enthusiasts, but worth checking out nonetheless!
Autobahn is on now until Saturday night at Pacific Theatre.
Can't wait to see this! Anyone else going to this show? The company Cavalia was here a year ago and I didn't get a chance to see it, but I ain't missing out on this one! More information on the Cavalia Odysseo site!
Odysseo rides into town on December 7th until January 5th!
Upon walking into Studio 1398 at Granville Island, I was impressed with the set that was laid out before me - a 60s living room with mid-century furnishings that I gladly would have taken home with me. We have Lauchlin Johnston to thank for this, and he was also responsible for the gorgeous set design at Pacific Theatre's The Foreigner so it's great to see that he is consistent with doing amazing set design!
Cocktails at Pam's is written by Edmonton's Stewart Lemoine, and is in short, amazingly absurd. It centers around a 60s cocktail party gone awry. The cast of actors each bring their own special brand of crazy to the show, which is made even easier with the writing of such strong individual characters. Direction by Stephen Heatley is simply superb, as the space is utilized to the max and there's not one second of the show that didn't capture my attention. Imagine stepping into some perverse 60s sitcom, as you won't believe the shenanigans that go on at this insane cocktail hour.
Silly and random to the nth degree, this is a wonderful show that will
is certain to delight and make you laugh. Dare I say, this might be the
freshest show to be playing right now in Vancouver? Kudos to Staircase XI Theatre for mounting this Fun! Fun! production!
Catch the lunacy and ferver of the stupendously hilarious COCKTAILS AT PAM'S now showing at Studio 1398 (Granville Island) until November 30th!
If you're a fan of Canadian singer songwriter Hawksley Workman, you definitely need to bring yourself over to the Cultch in Vancouver for his show, The God That Comes. And even if you're not a fan of his, you may just well become one after this. Created by Workman and Christian Barry, the show is a reinterpretation of the classic Greek tragedy, The Bacchae. If you're like me and don't know much about mythology, fear not, as the evening begins with a well-rounded introduction and plot outline for you to follow. Drinking is encouraged as the entire audience raises a glass to the God of Wine to get things started.
It's a crimson cabaret, complete with velvet curtains and candlelit tables, when Workman takes to the stage, inviting us into his demented nightmares. He morphs seamlessly from character to character, all the while singing in his unique cadence and soothing lullaby voice, jarring you with megaphone screams while rocking out as a one-man band on the drums, electric guitar, keyboard, and a hilarious harmonica cameo.
The musical cacophony is the perfect backdrop for his echoing and eerie vocals. As far as rock musicals are concerned, this is no Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but in the same breath it's light years better than Broadway's American Idiot.
Head on down to the Cultch for some libations and legend. The God That Comes is playing now until November 24. (Must be 19 years or older to attend.)
The other night I was fortunate enough to attend Bread & Salt - A Tribute to the East End's Historic Ukrainian Community. Presented by Vancouver Moving Theatre, this cultural foray into the history of Vancouver's Ukrainian community is both entertaining and educational. With direction by James Fagan Tait, whose work I have seen at Bard on the Beach, this show is artistically done by mixing scenes of personal stories with traditional Ukraine dance. Throw in a live orchestral band and a full choir, and you end up finding yourself enveloped by the entire production, like a warm giant embrace welcoming you into the Ukrainian community.
The entire weekend has now been sold out, unfortunately for those who didn't manage to snag a ticket. Those attending on Sunday evening will be treated to a traditional Ukrainian dinner in addition to the performance.
There was definitely something festive in the air, and it felt like the perfect way to kick off the holiday season! I learned quite a bit about this community, who went through some turbulent times here in the Lower Mainland, including being dragged off to internment camps during WWI.
Happy 85th Anniverary to the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians (AUUC)! Thank you for having me at your celebration!
If you're looking for a light evening of laughter, why not check out Metro Theatre's current production of Ken Ludwig's Moon Over Buffalo.
This screwball comedy has everything from physical theatrics and mistaken identities to mis-communications and slapstick. Act One started out a bit slow, but the real pay off is after intermission when things go completely haywire! The story focuses on the backstage antics of a theatre troupe that stars two aging actors trying to stay in the limelight - oh and did I mention they're also married to one another? Throw in an illicit love affair, a daughter torn between two loves, and a cranky old mother-in-law and you have a recipe for hilarity!
Sue Sparlin shines as the grumpy grandma, while Devon Busswood as her bright-eyed granddaughter has a stage presence that demands you pay attention. It's a comedy of errors, but the biggest error of all would be if you missed out on this show.
Moon Over Buffalo plays now until November 30th at the Metro Theatre (1370 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver).
Are you having Film Fest withdrawals now that VIFF has been over and done for almost a month?
Fear not! Vancouver has enough film fests to sustain you throughout most of the year! From November 7 - 10 will be the 17th Annual Vancouver Asian Film Festival!
Kick things off with this year's Centerpiece film: John Apple Jack
Vancouver will be celebrating Diwali with DiwaliFest from October 29 - November 8.
There will be numerous events taking place all across the Lower Mainland, so be sure to check out the DiwaliFest website for all the details and listings!
Last night I attended a friend's art opening at the Dundarave Print Workshop and Gallery on Granville Island. If you've got a penchant for creatures, animals, biology, and mash-ups, then check out Barb Snyder's exhibit "look / see" on now until November 17.
"The show consists of polymer plate lithography from drawings based on interviews requesting a description of a creature. Coming into play are considerations of observation & communication, society's separation from nature, and the current planet-wide mass loss of species. The outcome is both playful and painful."
"I'm crying at the Cobalt!" my friend turned to me and exclaimed last night during a performance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, now on at the historical Vancouver establishment.
I first saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch back when it came out as a movie over ten years ago, and fell in love with it immediately. I then had the opportunity to go see it at the old Lotus Hotel and marveled at its live incarnation. With news that Neil Patrick Harris will finally be taking it to Broadway for the first time, I knew that I would give anything to fly to New York to see that! But why bother with all the airfare and accommodations when you can just cross over to other side (East Van) and see the show the way it was meant to be seen - in an intimate dive-bar type setting. (No offense to the Cobalt at all, I love the Cobalt, and it's the perfect venue for this!)
The Kat Gillis Band plays live as the "Angry Inch" band, rocking out and slowing it down perfectly with each number. Lee McKeown as sidekick Yitzhak is an absolute marvel, and then there is the lead, Mr Ryan Alexander McDonald as Hedwig. Whoa. I mean, you have to give the man props for basically carrying the entire show on his shoulders. Singing and acting for the most part all on his own, he puts himself through the gauntlet and comes out shining like the brightest star. The entire cast and crew deserved the standing ovation that the audience bestowed upon them last night.
I have minor criticisms: I wish the screen with the imagery being projected on it was a bit more visible, but that's probably more to do with the location of the Cobalt's projector, so they worked with what they got. At first I found Alexander's Hedwig a little too polished and I wanted someone harder and worn-out, but by the time he collapses on the stairs to sing the first few lines of Wig In a Box, I got my harder/worn-out Hedwig right there! "On nights like this... when the world's a bit amiss... " TEARS. INSTANT TEARS.
So what are you waiting for already Vancouver? Put your wig in a box, grab a sugar daddy, and go discover the origin of love! Hedwig and The Angry Inch is on NOW at the Cobalt until November 2. (Half price tickets on the day of are also sometimes available at Tickets Tonight.)
And P.S. - Dear Ghost Light Projects, where have you BEEN all my life? Thanks for bringing this production to town, and I am STOKED for your upcoming season. Check out what they've got lined up! CLUE THE MUSICAL! BOYS IN THE BAND!? I CANNOT WAIT!
And here's a perfect Hedwig song to add to your Halloween playlist:
Toted as a "kinky comedy" is Venus In Fur, presented by the Arts Club Theatre Company. I was thrilled to see it come to Vancouver stages this month, as it is fresh from Broadway as of last season. Usually we have to wait eons for anything from Broadway to get here, but this was less than a year in the making, so great job Arts Club on delivering us this Tony nominated play.
It centers around Thomas, a playwright who is trying to cast the lead role in his show but just can't seem to find the right woman for the job. In from a rainstorm comes Vanda, who at first starts off as the clumsy newbie but ends up with Thomas eating out of the palm of her hand.
Lindsay Angell and Vincent Gale throw out electrifying performances that you will want to catch! Director David Mackay does a great job at moving the two characters around the stage - there was not one seat in the house that could never see anything, because the movement and positioning was so thought out and precise. The play is layered with complexity, touching upon issues of sexism and art but at the same time making the audience laugh. Well done, good job everyone!
Venus In Fur plays at the Granville Island Stage until November 2.
I recently visited the Contemporary Art Gallery, located at 555 Nelson Street. Vancouver deserves to have a cool modern art gallery such as this, and with Free Admission, why aren't more people visiting? Currently, they are exhibiting the work of renowned British artist Mike Nelson, on until November 3.
The Firehall Arts Centre is continuing its run of one-man shows with Bruce Horak's Assassinating Thomson, a show that intertwines legally blind artist Horak's life with the mysterious death of famed Canadian artist Tom Thomson.
Horak is a likeable guide into this foray of Canadian mystery. Neither myself nor my friend who went with me were even aware that Thomson's death was shrouded with questions and suspicions. This is a great show for Halloween, a real life Canadian ghost story!
How did Tom Thomson die? Was it a Romeo and Juliet scenario? A scorned lover? Or an art world conspiracy run by the Group of Seven? Horak delves into each possibility, all the while live-painting his rendering of the audience to showcase what the world looks like to him. (The current exhibit featured in the Firehall's lobby art gallery is Horak's work.)
Here's what the audience looked like to him when I was in attendance:
My friend told me to go see this because he left the theatre bawling at this beautiful true life love story. Maybe I'm too bitter, but I just found the entire thing somewhat boring and slow.
Maybe it's because I have no investment in either of the two people involved in this love affair. Liv & Ingmar chronicles the ups and downs of the relationship between director Ingmar Bergman and actor-turned-director Liv Ullmann. I am not familiar with either Liv or Ingmar, so I guess I wasn't sure why I was supposed to care about these two and their lives? I'd never seen their movies, so I had no affinity nor interest in hearing about what went on behind the scenes.
It's true that one doesn't necessarily need to know much about the subject of a documentary in order to enjoy it (see my earlier review of the documentary on Gore Vidal) but I guess I just found nothing to relate to these two people. Plus, as a film itself, Liv & Ingmar was slow paced and featured confusing clips from movies that mirrored their relationship I'm guessing, and was painstakingly narrated by the still-alive Liv.
It must have been a popular film however, as VIFF has added an extra screening for it on Oct 13 at 845pm at the Vancity Theatre.
If you missed out on this fabulous documentary about photographer Vivian Maier, VIFF has added a screening on October 15th at 8:15pm at the Vancity Theatre! Go check it out, it's a wonderful film and story!
I don't know much, if anything, about celebrated notorious figure Gore Vidal. I know he passed away recently and that he was a writer. Had I read his work or known anything about his life? No. So I was interested in seeing this documentary, The United States of Amnesia, hoping to learn more about this man.
The film did indeed feature a lot of footage and interviews with Mr Vidal. It talked about his life, his loves, his work, but mainly it focused upon his thoughts and views on America and its politics. I quickly learned that to learn about Gore Vidal is to learn about his views and ideas, because that is what ultimately made him. It's a fascinating film and I love his views and what he has to say. I especially enjoyed the snippets of stories he had of famous contemporaries like JFK, Truman Capote, and Paul Newman, who stuck up for Gore after being called a queer on live television by an adversary.
Fortunately, it has two more showings coming up if you want to catch it! Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia plays Oct 11 at 445pm at Pacific Cinematheque and on Oct 13 at 645pm at Vancity Theatre.
I am currently going through depression, so it was an eye opening experience to see this film about a woman dealing with trauma alongside a motley crew of other depressed folks by going from hotel to hotel and escaping their real lives in order to cope. Hotell is an offering from Sweden, and features powerful performances from all of the actors.
It's an interesting concept that this group has adopted, with one member even commenting on the obvious : Isn't this just repressing things? Things come culminate for our main character as she finally faces her fears, but not before she helps everyone else face their demons.
HOTELL is playing TODAY at 1:30pm at the Vancouver Playhouse!
Last night I attended the sold out screening of Finding Vivian Maier. I was very excited to see this documentary as I had been a fan of her photographs and wanted to know more about this amazing story with how her negatives were found at an auction and now she's become a reknowned photographer.
The film is as delightful and intriguing as her photographs, delving into who she was as a person, her family history, where she came from, and surprisingly, a darker side. If you get a chance to go see this, then do it!
Finding Vivian Maier is playing again on Oct 9 at 11am at the SFU Woodwards theatre. To view more of her photographs, visit the VivianMaier.com website.
I was excited to see this documentary about the top of the Amazon rain forest with a famed French botanist. However, the title of the film Once Upon a Forest should have been the first giveaway.
Within the first 20 minutes, we are treated to a fantasy-like viewing of the luscious Amazon, but complete with animated plants growing from the ground. What was with the superimposed cartoons? I found it took away from the natural beauty of the Amazon, which is why I wanted to see the film in the first place. I ended up leaving early as I didn't want to waste my time watching an artist's rendering of what the Amazon could/should be, rather than seeing the real thing.
"A hard, often unflinching look at ’the art of dying,’ Chi fully earns the tears you’ll likely be shedding."—Globe & Mail
"Anne Wheeler, returns to her roots in documentary with a touching and
inspiring film that follows Vancouver actress Babz Chula through the
last months of her life. Chula, a fixture on the Vancouver film and
theatre scene, is here a lively spitfire, an adventurer, a woman whose
life-force—or chi—vibrates with vitality. At 62, she is in the advanced
stages of an eight-year battle with breast cancer that has metastasized
to her liver and is further complicated by a rare blood cancer.
Desperate, she seeks ayurvedic treatment at a small, remote clinic in
India.
Wheeler documents the excruciating treatments that Babz undergoes,
hoping to put her cancers in remission. After six weeks, Babz looks 20
years younger than when she arrived. She declares with renewed energy,
“I feel like I’m healing, I don’t feel sick anymore.” But it is not to
last. The prognosis demands that she move towards palliative care, which
she chooses to spend at home."
CHI plays on October 3 at 645pm at SFU Woodwards and again on Oct 6 at 120pm at International Village.
Ann Marie Fleming's short described as "anxiety over Vancouver real estate reaches operatic heights in this mischievous musical riff on an infamous local news story."
And so it begins! My favourite time of year! It's the Vancouver International Film Festival, which kicked off last night at its new venues now that the main Granville Cinemas have shut down. This year, films will be shown at a bunch of different locations including International Village (Tinseltown), The Centre for Performing Arts, Pacific Cinematheque, Rio Theatre, Vancity Theatre, SFU Woodwards, and the Vancouver Playhouse!! Fun!!
I'll be spotlighting films over the next two weeks, and will focus primarily on VIFF posts!
"A true Canadian iconoclast, acclaimed transgender country/electro-pop
artist Rae Spoon revisits the stretches of rural Alberta that once
constituted “home” and confronts memories of growing up queer in an
abusive, evangelical household. Part travelogue, part character study,
Chelsea McMullan’s singular film unfolds in coffee shops, bus stations,
bars and recreation centres, with her camera finding odd angles from
which to examine these communities that have arisen in the middle of
nowhere.
Lyrical and alluring, McMullan’s documentary-musical hybrid calls
into question our traditional definition of “home,” and celebrates the
places in between, be they in music, geography or gender."
MY PRAIRIE HOME shows at the RIO THEATRE on September 29 (9:15pm) and Oct 1 (4pm)
The Firehall Arts Centre opens up their new season with Tommy Taylor's You Should Have Stayed Home, subtitled "a G20 Romp!" It recounts the real life story of when writer and performer Tommy Taylor found himself amidst the G20 protests in Toronto and the resulting consequences of him being there, namely getting arrested and being held over the weekend at a pop-up detention centre.
Told in one Act and in multiple "parts," the show took its time for me to get going. I didn't get fully engaged until Part Seven of the story, which is around the time when something actually happens on the stage. For the most part, we find Tommy sitting down at a desk and speaking to the audience as though in a lecture hall. For this I blame director Michael Wheeler for choosing this way to go. When I was in play-writing classes at UBC, one of our assignments was to work with a director on getting one of our works performed. I received a Fail for my collaboration because I basically let the director pull all the strings, and she made the decision to make all the characters sit down. My instructor at the time told me that making your actors sit really takes the energy away from a scene. That has always stuck with me, and so when I watch shows where characters are sitting, I often ask myself if it added to the scene or took away from it. In the case of You Should Have Stayed Home, I found that because there was already such little action going on, having our lead sit for the majority of the piece made me somewhat bored to be there.
I do understand that it's the story and the words that are the main focus. I kept thinking that this would have been a great podcast to listen to. Visually, it wasn't until halfway into the show that I perked up when a group of actors filed in to join Taylor on stage, as fellow detainees. (Audience members are asked if they want to come back and volunteer to be a detainee in future performances, which is a fun idea!)
The friend I took with me to the show had major problems with the subject matter. As a Caucasian female, she had trouble feeling any sort of sympathy for Taylor and his experience. She was infuriated by references to Auschwitz, Guantanamo Bay, and calling the experience the worst compromise of civil liberties in Canadian history. "What about residential schools, racism against Chinese railroad workers, the Japanese internment camps? Wow I'm so sorry that as a straight White Canadian male, you had to go through this moment of suffering and that your cheese sandwich had soy butter on it and not real butter." She was more than appalled.
I can kinda see her point, but I can also see that this was definitely an injustice and a dark event for Canada, and continues to be. When the show began, I felt like it was going to be the Big Bad Cops vs poor innocent Tommy, but he does manage to find a balance between the two. It was definitely an eye opener and an insight into the events of that infamous weekend. It's exciting when theatre pushes buttons and creates dialogue and gets audience members leaving the theatre thinking and debating. You Should Have Stayed Home manages to deliver on that scale.
You Should Have Stayed Home runs at the Firehall Arts Centre until October 5.
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