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

Soft tongues: a bioacoustic opera.
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.
Related Articles
As if haunted by centuries of hits and flops, the three figures in this Bard on the Beach comedy take jabs at the self-consciousness and shaky footing of being an actor
Lineup also includes an offering from South Korea, an adaptation of The Paper Bag Princess, and a family-friendly drag show
Poetic flourishes and strong characterizations bring compelling charge to imagined story of Shakespeare and the woman who inspired and challenged him
Comedy with Charlie Demers and Jacob Samuel and a remount of Wakey, Wakey are some of the offerings onstage before renovations and a time of internal review in 2026
More mainstage offerings include love story Gertrude & Alice, video-game-style production 2021, and solo show Danceboy
Facilitated conversations with directors take place before matinee showings of four Bard on the Beach productions this season
Core elements of this audience favourite remain in a production full of touches that feel unmistakably contemporary
Vancouver’s Neworld Theatre is producing and administering nationwide initiative in search of experienced arts writers who are IBPOC or face other barriers
This year’s event, on from August 7 to 17, also features a standup comedy show by YouTube star Manpreet Singh and all-ages dance workshops
Young cast fuels this new production of the Roald Dahl classic with over-the-top silliness and sheer song-and-dance talent
New production of Jessica B. Hill’s witty play reclaims the lost history of poet Emilia Bassano
From revealing performances to spot-on costumes and sets, this new production conjures all the atmosphere of the play’s old London home
Western Gold Theatre fundraiser features the U.K.–born Canadian artist in an intimate, informal setting
In Bard on the Beach’s new production, retro pastels and power suits map surprisingly well onto the chaos of Shakespeare’s sometimes troublesome original
Neworld Theatre in collaboration and SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts humanizes the issue by drawing on real, lived memories of fires, floods, and heat waves
With audiences sworn to secrecy over a decades-long run, the mystery at the heart of author’s most famous whodunit endures
With modernized touches and strong performances, this adaptation renews the wit and scheming of Shakespeare’s classic comedy
Rachel Drance’s poignant performance mixes well with choreographic and design innovations in new rendition of musical at the Stanley
Sean Bayntun and Eliza De Castro sound off on bringing to life the bold characters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Legally Blonde: The Musical
Kat Sandler’s Wildwoman and Axis Theatre’s Where Have All the Buffalo Gone? round out the stage offerings
The first female published poet in England interacts with Shakespeare in Jessica B. Hill’s witty, complex love story
Designer Carmen Alatorre draws on old photos, film stills, and her own pastel-hued memories for Shakespearean comedy’s retro setting
An energized live band accompanies the new rock musical, but the songs don’t always serve the storytelling
Creator of Arts Club hits like A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline, Red Rock Diner, and the Stanley-opening Swing passed away at 87
Johnna Wright directs the idyllic, Mediterranean-set Shakespeare play that revolves around two vastly different couples
Vancouver-raised performer pours her heart and soul into hit Arts Club musical about women supporting one another and the healing power of pies
Directed by Mark Chavez, a rotating cast of hilarious theatre artists act out all of the Bard’s comedies, histories, tragedies, and sonnets
Documentary-style production creates call to action by integrating lived experience of climate disaster into an innovative hybrid of theatre and journalism
The overall effect is a bit like Zoolander crashing into a circus sideshow with an apple cart full of gaudy fabric
Multimedia rink show gets its glide on when it mixes surreal imagery with innovative skating and high-flying choreography