Film to drag, Vancouver arts organizations celebrate Halloween and Day of the Dead
There’s music, dance, theatre, and more in honour of October 31 and November 2
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
WHILE LITTLE ONES are out trick or treating, grown-up local arts lovers have plenty of options when it comes to celebrating Halloween and Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, in Vancouver. Here’s a glimpse at a few spine-tingling events.
The Woman in Black
To November 2 at Metro Theatre
The gripping play is the second-longest-running non-musical in the history of London’s West End. Based on the book by Susan Hill and adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt, this version directed by Bernard Cuffling tells the tale of an aging solicitor (Cuffling) who gets a young actor (Daniel Merlo) to bring his eerie experiences at Eel Marsh Manor to life. “The Woman in Black delivers a solid, atmospheric spook—perfect for a foggy autumn night,” Stir said in a review.
Keep Calm and Murray On
To October 31 at the Beaumont Studios
Beaumont Studios is behind this one-of-a-kind event, featuring burlesque, booze, paranormal chaos, and iconic Bill Murray moments. “Called Keep Calm and Murray On, the theatrical production combines all things sexy, silly, and supernatural with references to Murray’s most memorable films, including Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters, and more,” Stir reports.
Yaga
October 24 to November 2 at Gateway Theatre
Described as part thriller, part comedy, part revenge play, and part nightmarish fairy tale, Touchstone Theatre’s Yaga is set in a small, remote village where a college bad boy and heir to a yogurt empire has disappeared. The town’s female sheriff reluctantly lets a big-city private eye help solve the case. The prime suspect is a seductive university professor, a forensic bone expert with a shadowy past and a hunger for young men. Things veer toward the supernatural as the mythic titular anti-hero starts injecting her dark magic into the story of trickery and revenge.
Griefwalker plays a live score for Faust
October 25 at Shadbolt Centre for the Arts
Post-rock collective Griefwalker will provide a live original score to FW Murnau’s 98-year-old Faust, which is notable for its wild effects work and gothic imagination. “Notwithstanding the audiences will behold Murnau’s phantasmagoric masterpiece at precisely the right time—over Halloween—this is also a great opportunity to catch one of Vancouver’s most cloistered and mysterious musical outfits,” reports Stir.
Nahualli Folklore Society Day of the Dead
October 25 at the Annex
The Nahualli Folklore Society specializes in Mexican dance, and its Day of the Dead performance is inspired by the delicate petals of the xochitl flower. Among the other artists involved are Chela Tumbao, a professional local singer who was born in Mexico City; Canto Vivo, a Vancouver-based Latin American choir; and Colectivo Yollotl, a group that focuses on son jarocho, a genre of folk music and dance that originated in the coastal region of Veracruz, Mexico.
The Masked Ball: Halloween Night at Die Fledermaus
October 26 and 31 and November 2 and 3 at Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Vancouver Opera gets into the spooky spirit with a special performance of Die Fledermaus on Halloween. Austrian composer Johann Strauss’s hilarious operetta revolves around a Champagne-infused masquerade ball. Costumes among audience members are encouraged (and masks are especially fitting).
VIFF Live: Vampyr
October 27 at Vancity Theatre
Experimental music duo Magazinist will perform a live score to the 1932 classic Vampyr. With dreamy cinematography and creepy scenes that conjure the freaky happenings of a small town where occult forces exist, the hallucinatory film has been described by Guillermo del Toro as being "the closest you get to poetry in film”. Magazinist, meanwhile, creates its own chill-inducing sounds through a home-made tagelharpa, dulcimers, zithers, synthesizers, and vocal drones. Costumes are encouraged.
Silent Movie Mondays Halloween celebration
October 28 at the Orpheum
Vancouver Civic Theatres’s Silent Movie Mondays screens the iconic 1920 German expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with a live musical accompaniment on the historic Wurlitzer organ, the last theatre organ in Canada still performing in its original home. The film takes place at a carnival in Germany, where Francis (Friedrich Feher) and Alan (Rudolf Lettinger) come across the demented Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss). The men see Caligari showing off a sleepwalker, Cesare (Conrad Veidt), a hypnotized man who can predict the future. Cesare then foresees Alan’s death, and by morning his prediction has come true, making Cesare the prime suspect. Audiences are encouraged to attend in costume. There’s a pre-show performance by Gatsby Strutters Jazz Band, and after the show, Keith Blackmore of Vancouver Film School will host a discussion about the movie and the role of silent films in the evolution of film history.
Altar: Day of the Dead Celebration, The Polygon Gallery.
Altar: Day of the Dead Celebration
October 31 at The Polygon Gallery
Featuring artists from Mexico, the evening honours the living and the dead, with guests invited to bring photos, messages, or the names of ancestors and dearly departed to the altar. Ximena Velázquez performs Tortillera, a ritual of making tortillas inspired by her great-grandmother’s recipes. The work’s title, meaning tortilla-maker, is a derogatory term in Mexico for lesbian, and the piece reclaims the word to heal the body and the spirit. Portales by El Ángel Exterminador (Max Ammo) is a sonic meditation, while Mi Orgullo Perdido is a drag performance by Daniel “Gaia” Lacandona.
Häxan with “Witch’s Cradle”
October 31 at The Cinematheque
Reddit recently described Benjamin Christensen’s 1922 Häxan, a Danish shocker, as “the edgiest silent film ever made”. For Halloween, The Cinematheque pairs it with the 1943 short “Witch’s Cradle”, a collaboration between Marcel Duchamp and famed avant-garde American filmmaker Maya Deren.
Ha-Ha-Halloween
October 31 at The Improv Centre
This show is described as a hauntingly hilarious evening of improv with performers putting on some “frightfully funny” scenes based on audience suggestions. There will be a costume contest, too, with prizes for the spookiest, funniest, and most questionable outfits, with viewers deciding on the winners.
Parade of Lost Souls
November 1 at Trout Lake
The family-friendly Parade of Little Souls procession (which is specially designed for children) begins at 6:30 pm, while the Parade of Lost Souls itself has two procession times: 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm. The Lost Souls After-Party is at the Biltmore Cabaret from 10:30 pm to 2 am with live music, visuals, and performances, all presented by Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret.
La Llorona
November 1 at Carnegie Community Centre Theatre as part of the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival
This Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration features the captivating story of Mexican icon La Malinche—an enslaved Nahua woman who acted as the primary interpreter for Hernán Cortés during his conquest of the Aztec Empire—through the singing of the song “La Llorona”, shadow puppetry, and traditional dance. Directed by Gerardo Avila, the event features puppeteers Hazel Bell-Koski and Dana Wilson, storyteller Steven Schwable, and a flamenco music and dance performance by Calle Verde.
Día de Muertos: An interdisciplinary embodiment workshop with Carla Alcántara and Marco Esccer
November 2 at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre
Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre hosts this workshop focused on the art of crafting as attendees will create a collective ofrenda (shrine offering) for a Día de Muertos altar, a powerful symbol of remembrance and connection. Participants will also delve into movement and dance prompts, set to live music by RCHRDY.
Day of the Dead Market
November 2 and 3 at Granville Island
Latincouver caps off Latin American Heritage Month with Latin traditions, culinary delicacies, live music, and more. Dance groups will teach people different steps and explain their symbolism.
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