Frog choruses and short works tackle climate crisis at rEvolver Festival, running May 22 to June 2

Jami Reimer’s Soft tongues: a bioacoustic opera takes a sonic and video-enhanced trip to the Brazilian rainforest, while Neworld Theatre’s Earth Case Scenario presents short eco-works

The rEvolver Festival runs May 22 to June 2, at The Cultch and offsite at Progress Lab 1422

ARTISTS EXPLORE CLIMATE CHANGE in intriguing, experimental—and sometimes amphibian—form at this week’s rEvolver Festival, centred in and around The Cultch.

Don’t miss the premiere of Soft tongues: a bioacoustic opera, a work that creator Jami Reimer made after a visit to a frog lab in Brazil, observing and listening as biologists did their work. She captured field recordings that drive this unique “swamp opera”, and is joined by bio acousticians for this performance at The Cultch Historic Theatre May 22, 23, and 25. There are video elements, and an “Amphibious Choral Collective” of voices (Czarina Agustines, Sara van Gaalen, Eve Middleton-Meyer, Lauren Han, Ruby Maher, Ali McDougall, Indah del Bianco, and Sam Walters).

Along the way, Soft tongues explores issues of global warming and wetland degradation. Its title derives from the fact that the tongue of the frog ranks as one the softest known biological materials on the planet; it’s sticky enough to grab a fly midair, and integral for joining froggy choruses.

Elsewhere, Neworld Theatre presents Earth Case Scenario, a series of short works held offsite at the East Side’s Progress Lab 1422. Created by Alen Dominguez, Chelsea Haberlin, Angelica Schwartz, and Raes Calvert, the pieces explore the climate crisis in a more optimistic and action-oriented way.

Neworld couches the series as an “offering to our community in the midst of the climate emergency”. Amid a fun and festive atmosphere, Earth Case Scenario features 15-minute pieces created in less than one month. Fittingly, it's a low-carbon-impact production. You can even visit its curated Buy Nothing store between acts.

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