Femme Festival takes centre stage at The Cultch this spring with four world premieres
East Van-based theatre hub celebrates its seventh annual festival with plays and stand-up comedy
SPONSORED POST BY The Cultch
Aren Okemaysim (left) as Napew and Tai Amy Grauman as Iskwewo in You used to call me Marie… at The Cultch’s Femme Festival. Photo by Benjamin Laird
The Cultch welcomes four new performances to its stages this April and May for its seventh annual Femme Festival—Vancouver’s biggest celebration of female-identifying artists. Events are taking place at all three of The Cultch’s performance stages in East Van: the Historic Theatre, York Theatre, and Vancity Culture Lab.
This festival highlights the strength and power of female-identifying voices with four world premieres from leading Vancouver theatre companies. These diverse works tell stories about closely guarded secrets, love and resilience, our bodies, and the meaning of home, family, and belonging.
Nazanin Shoja (left) and Foojan Nixie Shabrang in Parifam. Photo by Sina Pourzal
Opening on April 5, Parifam kicks off the festival at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre, and runs to April 14. Award-winning Iranian-Canadian theatre artist Aki Yaghoubi has crafted a powerful debut play that is being produced by Medusa Theatre and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre—the company behind Bad Parent, My Little Tomato, and other critically acclaimed works. Detached from family and friends, Parifam paints in her Montréal studio. But when her childhood friend Ramak re-enters Parifam’s life, the pair must grapple with secrets from their past as they work together on an exhibition of Persian culture.
You used to call me Marie… brings an epic Métis love story to the York Theatre from April 18 to 28. A Savage Society and NAC Indigenous Theatre production. Playwright Tai Amy Grauman drew inspiration from the true stories of the women of her family to craft this historical saga. Featuring lively Métis song and dance, this play follows the Callihoo family across generations, from the fur-trade era to present day.
Cheyenne Rouleau in Fat Joke. Photo by Sewari Campillo
Stand-up comedian Cheyenne Rouleau delivers far more than punchlines in her new show Fat Joke, running April 25 to May 5 in the Vancity Culture Lab at The Cultch. Get ready for a night of laughs, storytelling, and fact-blasting as Rouleau uses her eviscerating wit to challenge everything folks think they know about the word “fat”. Don’t miss this hilarious new show by the creator of The After After Party and Lxdy Parts, co-presented by The Cultch and Neworld Theatre in association with Rumble Theatre.
Three generations of Filipina women hop between an ocean and time, memory, and dreams in Homecoming, a play set in Canada and the Philippines. Playwright Kamila Sediego weaves a story about belonging, family, food, and magic in a world premiere that is raw, intimate, and full of humour. This new play comes to The Cultch’s Historic Theatre from May 2 to 12 and is being produced by Urban Ink, the company behind such memorable shows as Starwalker, Les Filles du Roi, and Children of God.
“Feminism is inclusive. It is powerful. It creates strength,” says Heather Redfern, The Cultch’s executive director, in a release. “We’d love for you to join us, no matter how you identify. Because at the end of the day, it’s about values we share when we have performative experiences that make us feel free and celebrate each other.”
Tickets start at just $29. To see showtimes, purchase tickets, and learn more about each production, visit thecultch.com.
Post sponsored by The Cultch.
Kamila Sediego in Homecoming. Photo by Emily Cooper