The Cultch announces fall 2022 season, with six in-person shows
The lineup runs the gamut from circus arts to verbatim drama; plus, it’s the 10th anniversary of the East Van Panto
Cirque Alfonse. Photo by Rolline Laporte
THE CULTCH IS ready for the fall, with the announcement of six shows by local, national, and international artists.
It starts with Animal, running September 20 to 24. Co-presented by Vancouver International Children’s Festival, the multidisciplinary circus show for all ages comes from Quebec’s Cirque Alfonse. The company is made up entirely of friends and family members who have formed their own unique form of circus arts, blending acrobats, theatre, dance, and music.
Australia’s Quiet Riot brings Hot Brown Honey—The Remix to the York Theatre from September 23 to October 8, the original production having had sold-out shows in 2018 and 2019. A Cultch release describes the politically charged cabaret sensation this way: “Equal parts theatrical masterpiece & social activism, a stellar posse of phenomenal World First Nations women smash stereotypes in an unapologetic celebration of our similarities & differences. So get ready to laugh until you cry, clap until your hands bleed, dance in the aisles and shake every part of what your mama gave you.”
Ins Choi’s Bad Parent runs October 13 to 23. Presented by vAct (Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre), it will finally get its Vancouver premiere after being postponed this past spring thanks to COVID. Choi is the creator of the hit CBC sitcom and play Kim’s Convenience.
Alex Samaras, Derek Kwan, Neema Bickersteth and Andrea Koziol in The Cave. Photo by Delal Hagos
The Cave, which was part of The Cultch’s 20/21 digital season, will be presented live at the Historic Theatre from November 10 to 20. The apocalyptic musical about climate change, performed by Toronto’s J MAR Electric, is by Cree lyricist Tomson Highway, composer John Millard, and book writer Martha Ross. Ranging from comical to dramatic to tragic, the evening is hosted by a wry and charming MC played by Millard himself, while the performers sing 17 songs in English and Cree, supported by a cabaret band.
East Van Panto: The Little Mermaid marks the 10th anniversary of the East Van Panto, happening November 16 to January 1, 2023. (It also runs online on demand from December 17 to January 1, 2023.) The hyperlocal holiday hit by Theatre Replacement comes from last year’s writer/director duo, Sonja Bennett and Meg Roe. With music by long-time Panto composer Veda Hille, it features alumni Dawn Petten, Amanda Sum, Mark Chavez, and Ghazal Azarbad.
Taking place December 2 to 11, In My Day is a brand new verbatim drama from Zee Zee Theatre. Written by Rick Waines, it honours those affected by the HIV pandemic. The work is inspired by a 2017 community-based oral-history research project out of the University of Victoria called HIV In My Day, which interviewed long-term survivors and caregivers who lived through the first 15 years of the HIV pandemic in British Columbia. The collected stories and recollections honoured the voices of women, people of colour, Indigenous folks, trans, people who use[d] injection drugs, cis-gender gay men, and others. In My Day will have a special run at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre, with additional displays and exhibits in The Gallery at The Cultch after World AIDS Day.
Subscriptions for The Cultch’s fall season are now on sale; single tickets go on sale August 2. More information can be found at The Cultch.
Amanda Sum, East Van Panto: The Little Mermaid. Photo by Emily Cooper Photography
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