The Cultch's pandemic season wins prestigious Holden Street Theatres’ Edinburgh Fringe Award 2021
Five of the local theatre’s shows that streamed via the digital series East Van to Edinburgh earn international recognition
The Darlings have been redefining virtual performance ever since COVID-19 hit.
THERE WERE TOO too many top-notch shows to pick just one, so judges for Holden Street Theatres’ Edinburgh Fringe Award 2021 selected all of the works from the Cultch’s entire COVID-19 season as winners.
The award is the only one of its kind in the world to tour work from Edinburgh to Adelaide Fringe festivals.
1 Hour Photo; do you want what i have got? a craigslist cantata; Inside/Out: A Prison Memoir; The Boy in the Moon; and The Darlings: A Provocative Evening of Drag From Vancouver now each carry the prestigious title.
It all came about through East Van to Edinburgh, a global platform created to produce theatre works from Vancouver that was conceived and curated by Cultch executive director Heather Redfern and British artistic producer Richard Jordan. The shows streamed via ZOO TV, an online service for theatre and dance that came into being after the renowned Edinburgh Fringe was forced to cancel in August 2020 due to the pandemic.
The winning works will be presented by Australia’s Holden Street Theatres at the 2022 Adelaide Fringe under the season banner of East Van to Adelaide. The Holden Street Fringe runs February 15 to March 20, 2022.
Judging criteria included artistic merit, production values, the production's viability based on the target audience of Holden Street Theatres, recording quality, and overall balance of the program.
“In order for us to get our shows out into the world we need to be flexible in our approach to presentation and find a way to do this without losing the essence of theatre and performance,” Martha Lott, artistic director of Holden Street Theatres, said in a release. “East Van to Edinburgh does exactly this.
“In addition to the benefit to our industry and artists, one of the most exciting aspects of this program is its celebration of First Nations artists, it’s [sic] embracing and inclusion of works from varying cultures and communities and its openness to include diversity, disability, and gender equality.” Lott said. “It’s a direction that we should all be heading in.”
When East Van to Edinburgh was announced earlier this year, Redfern told Stir that she hoped the cross-Atlantic project would help Vancouver artists get the international attention they deserve.
“I hope the Cultch becomes a go-to digital venue for people all over the world and that carries on in our seasons to come,” Redfern said at the time. “And who knows, after this, maybe East Van won't be Vancouver’s best kept secret!”
With this global nod, it seems she was right.
For more information, see Holden Street Theatre or the Cultch.
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