ONE

The PuSh Festival is currently in full swing, and the first (and possibly only) show that I saw was last night's premiere of ONE at the Cultch .

ONE is the extraordinary true life story of Mani Soleymanlou and his personal journey into his past and present. Born in Tehran, he identifies as Persian and Iranian, speaking fluent Farsi as well as French due to his move to Paris and Montreal (with stops in Ottawa and Toronto along the way). He calls upon childhood memories of being taunted for not fitting in - Are you an Arab? Are you Quebecois?

One of the most powerful moments of the night came when the lights went down and he channeled an Iranian immigration officer who spoke of the luxury of being able to live in the Western world.

There were moments of humour as well, such as his diatribe on Persian cuisine. "Tea! WE LOVE TEA!" The one-man 65 minute solo performance was tinged with a rage that could spark at any given moment as Mani navigated the history of the Islamic Revolution and spoke about the dark cloth that has covered Iran for the past 30 odd years.

His story of seeing a shooting star for the first time and running indoors for fear it was the start of a war gave a new perspective to things that we barely think twice about. ONE is a powerful discourse and thought provoking work of art.

Check out Mani Soleymanlou's performance of ONE on now at The Cultch until February 8.

Rennie Collection: Glenn Brown and Rebecca Warren

Currently on at the Rennie Collection is an exhibit of work from two artists, Glenn Brown and Rebecca Warren.

Warren's pieces are more sculptures, while Brown's medium is the canvas. Yet, both artists complement each other with their abstract views of the world. Here are a few photos from the exhibit I snapped, but pictures don't do the work justice, especially without an Emily Carr tour guide to help you discover more within the artwork.

Glenn Brown and Rebecca Warren show at the Rennie Collection now until March 29. 

Reasons To Be Pretty

I've said this time and time again, whenever a theatre company in town does a Neil Labute play, I simply must go see it. The last one I checked out was Autobahn which was just a small collection of vignettes. So it was a pleasant surprise that my first show of the year was Fighting Chance Productions' staging of Labute's Reasons To Be Pretty.

And in quintessential Labute form, we are drawn into his world of unlikeable assholes and the darker side of human kind. In Reasons To Be Pretty, we join a couple who are in the midst of a heated argument over what the boyfriend had said about the girlfriend's face. Along for the bumpy ride are the couple's co-workers, the handsome jock asshole Kent and his pretty snitch wife Carly. They all have their own reasons for doing what they do, with insecurity being the main one, from what I could gather.

Bound to provoke, Reasons to Be Pretty will definitely get you all fired up! And isn't that what theatre is here to do? To move us, to create a reaction, whether it be good or bad?

Reasons To Be Pretty is playing now to February 1 at the Havana Cafe on Commercial Drive.

Whiskey Tasting!

Last night I set foot for the very first time into the Terminal City Club. I believe my 10 year high school reunion was held here. Wouldn't know as I didn't go to it. My 20th is coming up. Yikes. Do I go to that?

Anyhow, last night's event was put on by the Macallan Whiskey group and it was a fun and free event! You walk in, you get to go mingle and have a free cocktail (whiskey + ginger beer, thank you very much) and snack on some appies. (Was that a Mushroom I just devoured? But... I hate mushrooms!)

So then it was down into the banquet hall, where there were tables set out with four glasses of whiskey ready for tasting per person. We learned a bit about the process, the history, how to taste, and when you can call a whiskey a Scotch (when it's from Scotland and aged at least 3 years).

So, overall, a fun and educational event, with some complimentary booze to boot! Yay!

Hotel Bethlehem

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!

The Daisy Theatre

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.

The Daisy Theatre is now playing at the Cultch until December 15.

Waiting for Ghostbusters

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.