Cultchivating the Fringe winner Mx finds new life as a livestream production

Lili Robinson’s form-pushing hit explores mixed-race identity as part of Black History Month at the Cultch

POST SPONSORED BY The Cultch

Emily Jane King, Lili Robinson, and Alisha Davidson in Mx. Photo by Cristache Ross

Emerging playwright and actor Lili Robinson’s genre-crossing Mx was a hit at the 2019 Vancouver Fringe Festival, where it won the Cultchivating the Fringe Award. Now it’s being reimagined for the Cultch’s livestreamed programming, from February 18 to 24 as part of Black History Month.

The innovative show, first developed as a script as part of the Fringe New Play Prize, centres on Max, a young gender-questioning mixed-race person searching for their identity. It takes the form of a talk show, with the glamorous host Mz Nancy, whose character draws on the half-spider, half-human Anansi figure from African folklore.

Along the way, Mx explores what it means to be mixed-race and Black in the world today—reflecting a search that Robinson has been on in her own life.

The original cast returns—this time under the direction of codirectors Donna-Michelle St. Bernard and Jiv Parasram—with some new content. Together with The Cultch video and tech team, the creators of Mx have been experimenting with ways to interpret the show for an online audience. 

In the play, Robinson, a recent Studio 58 graduate who was at one time part of the Cultch Youth Program, uses clowning and bouffon to take on topics from the consumption of Black culture to the politics of mixed-race identity.

There’ll be lots to talk about after the show, so the Cultch is offering different talkback offerings. Join the company after the February 19 and 20 7:30 pm performances for a Zoom talkback hosted by Community Partner BlackChat Vancouver. On the February 18, 20 (4PM), 21, and 24th performances, stay and hang out with the Mx team and other audience members in a digital re-creation of The Cultch on Gather.Town (created by The Cultch’s Digital Storytelling Team). Gather.Town lets you choose who you want to talk with at any moment, join spontaneous smaller group conversations as you approach new people, and freely explore at your own pace.

A link to join the post-show gathering for each performance will be accessible on the show watch page emailed to all ticket holders.

FInd more information here.

This post was sponsored by The Cultch