NEWS IS BREAKING tonight that gifted cellist Cris Derksen has died in a car accident at 45.

An outpouring of grief has already started on social media, amid reports the composer and musician—whose score was recently heard here at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods with Indigenous choreographer Cameron Fraser-Monroe—died driving home after attending the funeral of their father Bernie Meneen in Northern Alberta. Their wife, singer Rebecca Benson, is reportedly in critical condition in hospital.

“My extraordinary, gifted, radiant, cherished niece Cris may have left us prematurely, but her profound legacy and enchanting music will perpetually uplift me,” her aunt Theresa Johnson posted today. “There has to be a divine purpose why I had to bid farewell to her merely a week after laying my brother Bernie, her dad, to rest. She serenaded him with her cello one final time, and this poignant moment will forever be etched in my memory as a testament to her remarkable talent.”

In a post today, University of Manitoba assistant music professor Melody McKiver remembered Derksen as a “pillar of our Indigenous classical community”.

Originally from Treaty 8 Territory in Northern Alberta, Derksen was raised by a Cree father and Mennonite mother. Growing up in Edmonton, she discovered her passion for cello at age 10 through her elementary school strings program.

“Both my heritages are quite dichotomous from each other,” the 2-Spirit artist told Stir in an interview late last year, ahead of an appearance at the TRANSFORM Festival. “The Mennonites are quite religiously strict, and my Indigenous family has a different sort of spirituality, so they’re quite different from each other. Because of my upbringing, I’m able to come to the table with a perspective of being both from the land and a settler to the land.”

Derksen’s childhood love of cello inspired a move to Vancouver to pursue a bachelor’s degree in music at UBC, where their career began to blossom. During her time in Vancouver, Derksen began performing with iconic Inuk musician Tanya Tagaq and touring the Canadian folk festival circuit with her quartet and various bands and ensembles. After moving to Toronto in 2007, where she was living, she released her debut album The Cusp in 2010 and her critically acclaimed album Orchestral Powwow in 2015, which scored her a Juno nomination for instrumental album of the year for its unique blend of traditional powwow songs with symphonic arrangements.

Derksen’s sound was unlike anything else out there, entirely her own, going beyond that mix of powwow and classical, and integrating electronics, new wave, folk, and other influences. She incorporated a drum machine, loop station, synthesizer, and guitar multi-effects pedals into her compositions. For the recent Royal Winnipeg piece, Stir called described her music as a “haunting, driving score that mixes ominous strings, pow-wow drums and chants, and electroacoustic flourishes”—utterly unique for a ballet.

Derksen had also frequently performed with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, most recently in a concert titled Awasowin in May of 2025. They also recently shared a new record called The Visit this past October. In addition, the composer premiered a work called Still Here with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Ahead of an appearance with our own Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the artist had told Stir in an interview in 2021: “There are a lot of Indigenous folks who have the skills, who have the education, to speak the classical language, but in our way. I feel like it’s a super exciting time in the classical world. Definitely most of my peers have become busier over the pandemic….It’s something that we are all super grateful and also ready to stand for, too.”

In the same interview, the artist expressed the personal idea of Reconciliation that drove their work: “What I am pushing for myself is definitely Indigenous folks telling their own stories, Indigenous folks being the lead in major artworks, Indigenous folks having more autonomy. In Canada and in art, Indigenous folks have been mined for resources, so there’s a little bit of taking that back and giving folks the space to feel what they need to feel.”

Posted strings artist Janna Sailor tonight: “I always admired her fierce advocacy for other artists, wisdom and insight, and of course, her strikingly individual sound and creative path.”

Stir will continue to follow the story as it develops.  

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Glitch Theatre presents Arc One at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre on May 23 at 7:30 pm

AS PART OF its ongoing mission to support the work of D/disability-identified artists, Vancouver’s Glitch Theatre will roll out a podcast series later this year. And while that alone is pretty exciting news, what’s even better is that you can be there to witness the podcast’s birth.

On May 23 at the Roundhouse, Glitch will host Arc One, an evening of short original performances by 10 new and emerging artists. Sound design by Malcolm Dow and original compositions by Mishelle Cuttler will accompany works ranging from poetry to stories and essays.

The pieces include Sunny Daydream Chen’s A Wolf’s World, in which a newborn bird confronts cruelty disguised as protection; Gary Tam’s Roadkill, a story about a high-school road trip with a morbid focus; and Kyla Dowling’s Blossies, about a depressed young adult’s quest to complete a collection of cartoon-animal figurines.

Arc One also includes performances by Elijah Curror, Jessica Hood, Isabel Miller Iparraguirre, Helen Jiang, Desirée Leal, Carmen Josephine Lee, and Cass McKenzie.

Glitch was known as Realwheels until a 2025 rebrand. In a news release last year, the company noted that “By embracing what is traditionally seen as a flaw, Glitch Theatre becomes an act of radical redefinition, transforming perceived error into a vibrant source of artistic possibility.”

The word disability, when written with a lowercase d, typically refers to the medical definition of the word, meaning any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to perform certain activities or interact with the world around them. When spelled with an uppercase D, the word signifies a political identity and community connection. As the Glitch website explains, “Written as D/disability, the term allows space for either or both identifications according to personal preference.”  

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The Biting School presents Offending the Audience at Tyrant Studios from May 20 to 24

TO PROPERLY EXPERIENCE Offending the Audience the way its creator intended, it is arguably best to know as little about the show as possible. At the very least, it might be a good idea to suspend any preconceived notions you might hold about theatre and language.

If you find yourself unable to do that, don’t worry. The show itself might do it for you. Its author, the Austrian Nobel Prize laureate Peter Handke, intended to make the audience “intensely, unbearably conscious of the fundamentally arbitrary connections between words and things, until the linguistic mucilage that holds the world and our minds together crumbles”, according to New York Times critic Richard Locke.

Offending the Audience has no plot and has been described as an “anti-play”, with four “speakers” rather than characters. In the Biting School’s upcoming Vancouver production, the speakers are an intriguing mix of local creative notables: playwright and actor David Bloom, theatre artist Katie Voravong, contemporary dance artist Kate Franklin, and dancer-choreographer Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg.

We asked director Aryo Khakpour what, if anything, Offending the Audience is all about.

How did you discover Peter Handke’s work, and what drew you to Offending the Audience specifically?

I first encountered Peter Handke when I was around 17, still living in Tehran and becoming obsessed with theatre. I read The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick, and I remember being fascinated and frustrated by it in equal measure. The writing was fragmented, abstract, constantly slipping away from narrative certainty, but I couldn’t stop reading. That tension stayed with me.

What draws me to Offending the Audience is that it stretches the imagination of what theatre was/is/can be. There are no characters, no plot, no illusion to hide behind. It’s just people in a room, using language to confront, seduce, provoke, joke, and connect with one another. It feels extraordinarily intimate to me.

Handke said that he intended this to be a commentary on the theatre of the day, in 1966. He even specifically instructed actors to listen to the Rolling Stones and watch the Beatles’ movies. In what ways is Offending the Audience still relevant 60 years later?

We have a very age-diverse and musically aware cast, and many of them listened to the references Handke suggested. But we also brought in our own sonic influences and materials. I compiled a three-hour playlist of music and sounds that we studied and discussed throughout the process.

I think the piece is even more relevant now. We live in a time where we are constantly communicating, but rarely encountering each other directly. So much of our emotional and political life happens through screens, avatars, performances of ourselves.

Offending the Audience strips theatre down to the basic act of people gathering in a room and speaking to one another. It asks: What actually happens between us when language is no longer hidden inside story or character? How do we react when we feel challenged, exposed, seen, bored, seduced, manipulated, or implicated?

Additionally, I superimposed my own compositional methods and performance scores onto the work. In fact, we’ve created a vocal quartet. Handke himself suggested the piece should feel like a live band improvising, and that idea became central to our process and even to choosing Tyrant, an actual jazz venue, as the performance space.

The play becomes an opportunity to listen—to others, to ourselves, and to the room. Sometimes the performers speak in unison; sometimes one cuts across another’s rhythm; sometimes a silence stretches because the room demands it. We began treating spoken text almost like musical phrasing and live composition.

It’s funny, cheeky, confrontational, and surprisingly tender. More and more, the piece started feeling less like conventional theatre and more like live jazz improvisation.

How do you cast a show like this? Do you need actors who have an improv background?

I needed performers who are deeply comfortable with text, rhythm, timing, and live responsiveness. Improvisation experience helps, but not in the comedy-sports sense. The improvisation here is compositional and relational. The text is fixed, but its delivery shifts in response to the audience, the room, and the energy between performers.

In my work, I always invite artists from different disciplines into the room. That intentional clash of methods, vocabularies, and world views enriches the process. Of course, it also mirrors my own lived experience, since my roots are in theatre, dance, and film. We put out a casting call and received around 120 submissions; and I cast the piece with a mix of actors and dancers through my own method of building an effective ensemble dynamic. I was looking for actors with strong instincts, trained voices, precision, confidence, and a willingness to be exposed without hiding behind character psychology or narrative. That’s actually a very vulnerable thing to do.

I love casting. I love performers/actors/dancers, and imagining what energies and tensions might emerge between them inside a piece.

This is a play (or “anti-play”) that relies heavily on the dynamic between the performers and the audience. Do you have someone standing in for the audience during rehearsals?

“The director is the first audience.” That’s something I always keep in mind. The director, in collaboration with the ensemble, studies the work dramaturgically to anticipate possibilities and shape something that is designed, effective, fluid, and alive. That is literally the task of making theatre.

However, ultimately there’s no substitute for an actual audience, especially with a piece like this. The entire work changes once bodies are present in the room. And we’re looking forward to it. Tyrant is a beautiful space for listening and intimacy. It has been shaped over decades for jazz and aural performance, which makes it ideal for this work.

The performers become highly aware of breath, silence, attention, discomfort, humour, and tension—all the invisible negotiations happening between stage and audience. Even someone shifting in their seat affects the rhythm of the piece. Casting performers with the training, experience, and sensitivity to work with that level of responsiveness is actually part of the work itself.

The original German title of Offending the Audience (Publikumsbeschimpfung) translates to “insulting the audience”. Either way, how challenging is it from the audience’s perspective—and should people who are averse to being offended or insulted avoid it?

The title is more aggressive than the actual experience of the piece. The work isn’t interested in humiliating or attacking the audience. It’s more like wrestling with them a little. Flirting with them. Testing closeness and distance.

The performers address the audience and confront theatrical expectations, social behaviour, or the strange contracts between performer and spectator. But it’s also playful and funny. I personally am not very interested in participatory theatre myself, and this piece is not that. The audience shapes the piece through attention and presence alone. As a dear mentor once told me, this piece is “a love letter to the theatre and its audience.”  

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The Dance Centre presents Corporeal Imago’s Drift from May 21 to 23 at 8 pm

PHYSICAL PROWESS HAS ALWAYS been an integral part of Gabrielle Martin and Jeremiah Hughes’s movement practice. The pair met in 2015 while performing the demanding lead roles in Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK—The First Flight, and are now partners in life as well as art. They toured with the company for years, showcasing their dynamic technical skills on a daily basis while executing rigorous acrobatic feats and soaring aerial stunts.

Since becoming artistic directors of their own company, Corporeal Imago, Martin and Hughes have incorporated plenty of circus-inspired movement into their original productions. Dystopian pieces like Throe and Limb(e)s saw performers scaling ropes suspended from the rafters, with bodies twisting, turning, and dangling hypnotically midair. Creating those works required lots of hands-on support from the two choreographers, who trained tirelessly with teams of contemporary dancers, teaching them the skills necessary to safely perform aerial stunts.

But nowadays, Martin no longer performs or practices aerial acrobatics; and while Hughes still performs, it’s often in a less physically demanding capacity. Speaking to Stir by Zoom, the pair share that their lifestyle changes have had an inevitable ripple effect on their choreographic style.

“I can confidently say both of our practices have shifted,” Martin shares. “When you are an artist who is so [rooted] in your own physical practice, especially when we’re talking about aerial and acrobatic arts, it’s a daily practice. There’s a desire to put all of that into whatever you’re doing, because you’re obsessed with that. You’re doing it every day, so it’s like, that is the vocabulary. So it was interesting for us to take a step back.”

The proverbial “step back” Martin’s referring to is Drift, a new work created in residence at The Dance Centre, where it’ll have its world premiere from May 21 to 23. Set in a shifting post-humanist world, the innovative piece decentres the human form while highlighting the surrounding environment, with fog blurring bodies as they traverse scarred landscapes. And unlike the previous pieces Hughes and Martin have created for Corporeal Imago, Drift won’t feature any aerial arts.

“It was not an initial limitation we had placed on our creative process, but something we discovered that the work didn’t require,” Hughes explains. “What’s very interesting is that some of the things we’re most excited about have such a lower level of physicality than other elements of our work before. The things that we’re like, ‘Wow, that was an incredible scene,’ they don’t need an artist that has trained for a year doing pull-ups and aerial technique, or that has been going to the gym for that one skillset. What they really benefit from is presence, and the many other gifts that our experienced artists have.”

Make no mistake: the lack of aerial feats doesn’t mean Drift will be any less compelling than the duo’s previous works. Their storytelling, dramaturgy, and design abilities have been pushed to the max, and no two scenes look alike. There’s even a bit of circus influence displayed by one of the performers, Montreal’s Andréane Leclerc, who specializes in somatic contortion.

The first half of Drift draws on concepts laid out by historian-philosopher Yuval Noah Harari in his book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, which takes a sweeping look at humanity’s current position in the Anthropocene, examining all of our accomplishments—and how they’ve afforded us dominance over other species—to speculate on where we could be going from here.

“We’ve been on this trajectory for quite a while, where we are trying to become gods and become immortal,” Martin reflects. “And we’re doing it with various tools and solutions and digital augmentations; through augmented intelligence and all of this kind of stuff. So really, we’re just leaning into that character of the hungry God, and getting into the tyranny of that mentality and where that takes us.

“So it’s been fun, actually,” she acknowledges with a laugh. “It probably shouldn’t be, but it has been fun for the artists to explore that character.”

The second half of Drift detaches the artists from their humanity in a sense, transporting them into otherworldly territories. It also explores the concept of cosmic noise, which is the sounds that planets make, interpreted for human ears. As far as inspiration goes, Martin points to a book that’s sitting on the pair’s bookshelf at home: The Order of Time by Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli, which unpacks the theory of quantum gravity and the mysterious ways in which time flows.

“Once we have this rupture and we find ourselves in the post-Anthropocene, it’s quite a meditative journey,” Martin says. “We’re trying to encapsulate this sense of vastness of both space and time, so we’ve really been trying to play with the audience’s perception of those things with lighting effects, with the movement, with animating objects onstage, with visual lucidity. But it’s intended to give us a breath, and a different perspective on the moment we’re living in.”

Hughes collaborated on the lighting design with veteran Vancouver artists Itai Erdal and Chengyan Boon, while the music for the piece is by Jo Hirabayashi, who’s known for his genre-bending experimental sound.

“The stories are beautiful, the worlds are beautiful. But there’s weight at times,” Hughes says. “There can be a feeling of the actual oppression of the environment upon these artists, with moments of reprieve, with some breath and hope ringing through as well. So it’s not that we’ve made a work that says, ‘Things are going to be terrible, but don’t worry, they’ll be good soon.’ But there is something about the human spirit, or at least us as a people, that can find a way to endure, survive, evolve, develop, and come out the other side.”

To sum that all up, Martin and Hughes may be taking a step back from aerial arts—but they’re certainly pushing their artistic innovation into a whole new realm.  

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Western Gold Theatre presents Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life at the PAL Studio Theatre from June 11 to 14.

Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life is more than a show—it’s a movement. Created by Keith Alessi and directed by Erika Conway, it tells the true story of Alessi’s retirement from the corporate world and the life-threatening cancer diagnoses he receives shortly afterward. Embracing his long-deferred passion for the banjo, he finds physical and emotional healing in a circle of musicians.

While Alessi’s journey to the stage may have been an improbable one, his narrative of perseverance and survival continues to inspire audiences. Peppered with humour, this deeply moving production celebrates the power of following your dreams—and of never giving up.

Alessi has donated 100 percent of his portion of ticket sales to charities, with contributions to date totalling over $1.3 million. Proceeds from this run will support Western Gold Theatre’s Creative Accessibility Program and the West End Seniors' Network’s delivery of essential services.

Tickets are available through Western Gold Theatre.

Post sponsored by Western Gold Theatre.

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BALLET BC will celebrate its 40th season with full evenings of works by choreographers Crystal Pite and Imre and Marne van Opstal, a world premiere by artistic director Medhi Walerski, and much more.

In today’s 2026–27 season anouncement, the company revealed it will open its season November 5 to 7 with the return of the Netherlands’ van Opstals in a double-bill full evening that includes a world premiere as well as their 2022 work I’m afraid to forget your smile, featuring the Vancouver Chamber Choir in the group’s first collaboration with the company. The siblings debuted the surreal, erotically charged Heart Drive at Ballet BC in 2022.

In March 2026, two distinct programs feature five offerings: the North American premiere of Undertainment by the legendary William Forsythe; a world premiere from Walerski; the return of Obsidian by Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber; plus a capsule creation by Ballet BC artists-in-residence Margaret Grenier and Starr Muranko, as well as David Dawson’s On the Nature of Daylight, a special guest duet starring principal dancers from the National Ballet of Canada—part of the Sharing the Stage initiative.

The season closer is a celebration of the work of Vancouver dance star Pite, May 6 to 9, featuring, for the first time here, her large-scale Angels’ Atlas, with a 36-dancer cast bolstered by guest artists from Vancouver’s Arts Umbrella and Modus Operandi. The celebrated large-scale work, which debuted at the National Ballet, was the subject of a documentary that screeed at VIFF in 2022. The program also features her critically acclaimed pieces Solo Echo and The Statement.

In other news, Smith and Schraiber, who recently premiered FOR GLASS, will continue their relationship with Ballet BC by creating three new works across the next five seasons.

And Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet will also return to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in December for a seven-performance run of its Nutcracker.

Elsewhere, the dancers of Ballet BC will choreograph, produce, and perform their annual Take Form—with an expanded four performances across two weekends at the intimate Olympic Village Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre.

And the company’s eight-dancer young company Ballet BC Annex will perform three works on tour across the province: an adaptation of Last Flower, a work originally commissioned from Vancouver’s Out Innerspace for the main company in 2024, plus a world premiere by Canadian choreographer Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe, and a new creation from Ballet BC dancer Michael Garcia in his choreographic debut for the company.

During its 40th season, Ballet BC will also tour around the world, performing on stages such as Festspielhaus St. Polten in Austria, The Soraya in Los Angeles, and Vivo Performing Arts in Boston.

Subscriptions to Queen Elizabeth Theatre performances are on sale now at balletbc.com, as well as single tickets for all Nutcracker performances, and Take Form. Single tickets for all Queen E. performances are on sale August 5.  

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rEvolver Festival presents “Aunt Harriet” at C-Lab on May 24 at 2 p.m.

ONTARIO MULTIDISCIPLINARY artist HAUI brings his fascinating short-film installation to rEvolver Festival this week—a piece inspired by a poetic encounter with a woman who died a century ago.

The beautifully shot “Aunt Harriet” was originally inspired by a 1925 photo of the singer Harriet Miller, an elderly Black woman pictured smoking a pipe in front of Guelph’s St. Joseph Hospital.

In HAUI’s rendition, performer ahdri zhina mandiela brings to life the woman in the image, drawing on the fragments of her little-known history, reciting poetry, and imagining what Harriet might have been reflecting on—on the last day of her life.

In the process, HAUI explores concepts of memory and tries to make visible Black women’s presence in the historical landscape, asserting their agency and resilience.

Or as HAUI puts it in an artist’s statement: “‘Aunt Harriet’ is a meditative moving portrait exploring introspection, healing, and aging.” (To see what we mean, check out the tiny but soulful snippet in the trailer below.)

The film installation comes here fresh from a screening at the Joburg Film Festival in South Africa, fitting aptly into rEvolver’s form-pushing mix, with its elements of cinema, visual art, theatre, poetry, and archival history. Following the screening, Upintheair Theatre will host a panel discussion and free soul food meal in The Cultch's lobby.

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The Arts Umbrella Dance Company presents Memento Mori: A Season Finale Performance from May 21 to 23 at the Vancouver Playhouse

THE LATIN PHRASE memento mori (literally translating to “remember you must die”) may appear to be a sombre reminder of mortality. But for Arts Umbrella Dance Company’s artistic director Artemis Gordon, it’s less a meditation on death than an invitation to be radically alive—a fitting title for the program’s season finale. 

“I really wanted to capture the idea of time being so dependent on what we’re doing,” she tells Stir, interviewed at the organization’s Granville Island rehearsal studios, surrounded by the heavy breathing and bright-eyed gazes of dance students. “Being on an exercise bike for five minutes is an eternity, but doing what you love, you can do it for hours and it makes no difference. We’re working to slow down time, and when we’re on stage, that moment is a lifetime we remember forever.”

Showcasing the diverse talents of pre-professional dancers in the Post-Secondary Program, Memento Mori: A Season Finale Performance is a reflection of life’s beauty deriving from its ephemerality. The show features the works of more than 15 renowned choreographers from across the globe, among them Crystal Pite, Marcos Morau, Sharon Eyal, Ella Rothschild, and James Kudelka. 

For the graduating third years—many of whom already have contracts in hand with companies like Nederlands Dans Theater, Charlotte Ballet, and Ballet BC—it is not only a farewell, but the start of a new beginning. Which makes the connection onstage all the more resonant. 

“A lot of these pieces, it’s about what we do together,” says second-year artist and creator Sophia Springer-Iannantuoni from Chicago. “In Emergence by Crystal Pite, we’re in this final push to be together in this other world. The same with [Morau’s] Folkå, it’s all rooted in tradition and cultures of the world, and we’re all together.” Springer-Iannantuoni, one of several international students the program attracts, is also set to join Nederlands Dans Theater in the 2026-27 season. 

Fellow second-year dancers Quinn Isert and Quinn Wyland wholeheartedly agree. Isert puts it simply: “There’s such a gorgeous sense of community and togetherness in the show and having so many dancers on stage brings so much power in performance.”

To achieve the level of coordination and skills required of the program, students are in the studio six days a week from 8:30 am to 6 pm learning, rehearsing, and conditioning. Many even choose to stay late into the evening to practise their own choreographies.

“This is a career,” Gordon stresses. “It’s now or never, and this is the window of our lives to define who we are in the world and how we want to make our mark.” 

That dedication shows in both the calibre of the works and the demands it places on the dancers. Stamina, technique, theatricality, musicality—the list goes on. Gordon affirms that every piece is meant to challenge the dancers beyond their current abilities, pushing them to appeal to the audience emotionally and physically. 

For the dancers themselves, the struggle is part of the appeal. “These pieces are so physically demanding that there is almost a surrender to accepting the state that you’re in and accepting the experience of that moment,” Isert says. 

“There’s something self-sacrificial about it, where you have to really give everything,” Wyland adds, pointing to Morau’s Folkå—an exploration of community and ritual—as one of the most challenging choreographies he’s had to learn. “There is just this physicality that you have to really step into in order to perform it.”

Among the highlights of the show, Emergence and Folkå are mentioned time and again. The excerpt from Pite’s iconic Emergence brings all three years of the program onstage: 36 dancers moving as one. Gordon describes the piece as “phenomenal” and sure to “blow your mind.” And for Isert, what he personally finds mind-blowing is how Pite makes the work’s sheer scale feel focused: “It’s so big and so hypnotizing, but there are no moments of unclarity. Everything is so meticulously placed that it makes sense.”

When Gordon first encountered Folkå, originally created for Nederlands Dans Theater, she was struck by how Morau draws on different customs and traditions, tapping into the way people communicate and collaborate. Inside the Arts Umbrella rehearsal studio, dancers chant in unison, pushing and pulling against one another, their collective movement shaking the floor.

For Gordon, the piece’s defining moment comes when the full cast converges: “It’s when they all come in the two lines and start working in unison. For me, that’s what I love—when all of us together can decide this is where we’re going as a community.”

It’s a sentiment that extends beyond the single piece and to the program itself, which has spent decades sending dancers out into the world, together in spirit if not in place. 

Springer-Iannantuoni, preparing for her own departure after the final bow, captures the spirit of finale season: “We’re all together, so why not be in the moment and live your life while it’s going?”

That, Gordon might say, is exactly the point. Memento mori. It passes, and it’s gone.

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Boca del Lupo and ArtstageSAN present Me & the Forest as part of the Vancouver International Children’s Festival, which takes place on Granville Island from May 25 to 31

THE GREAT AUSTRIAN philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once wrote that “if a lion could speak, we could not understand him.” In Wittgenstein’s view, the lived experience of a lion is so far removed from the human world that even if it tried to express it to us, that experience would remain beyond our ability to grasp it.

Mind you, Wittgenstein died in 1951, long before the advent of artificial intelligence, or what passes for it in 2026. No, we’re not debating global politics with lions just yet, but—as Boca del Lupo cofounder Jay Dodge learned from a newspaper report—various researchers are engaged in using acoustic analysis and machine learning in an attempt to interpret whalesong.

“In this article they were saying that we were between six months and 24 months away from having conversations with whales,” Dodge says in a telephone interview with Stir. “And that just blew my mind. I started to imagine—if that is in fact the case and whales are half as intelligent as we think they probably are—if we can talk to them, what does that mean? Do they start intersecting with our laws? Do they start voting in our elections?”

Dodge found himself pondering these questions at a fortuitous time. Boca del Lupo, which he started 30 years ago with his co–artistic director Sherry J. Yoon, was looking for a subject to explore in collaboration with the South Korean puppet-theatre company ArtstageSAN.

“We had done a lot of outdoor, site-specific work,” Dodge says. “We had done a lot of work with technology. And they’re master puppeteers; they’ve been working in various forms of puppetry for decades. And so we were like, ‘What’s the container that is the perfect combination of these collaborators?’”

That newspaper article provided the spark that got Dodge thinking about what would happen if humankind could suddenly communicate directly with nature. Boca del Lupo and ArtstageSAN will work together to produce three shows on this theme, each focusing on a different ambassador from the natural world—from the forest, a tree; from the sky, a bird; and from the ocean, a whale.

That last one will have to wait, though.

“I really wanted to start with the whale,” Dodge says. “I wanted to make a full-size whale that emerged from the water. That felt like a technical challenge that needed a bit more time, so we decided to start with the tree.”

Along with ArtstageSAN’s ingenious puppet makers, Dodge and Yoon worked with writer Yvette Nolan to develop the first installment of the planned trilogy. Titled Me & the Forest, the show will premiere at Granville Island’s Ron Basford Park as part of this year’s Vancouver International Children’s Festival.

The tree, a five-metre-tall puppet that requires five performers to operate, is voiced by actor Hiro Kanagawa. Named Mitig, the ancient conifer is accompanied by a smaller puppet, a sort of forest spirit named Sol, and the two help the young audience navigate some big questions.

Says Dodge, “If a tree could speak to you, would you be able to understand? Would it be too densely poetic? We have all these assumptions as humans about our supremacy as the sole sentient species on the planet. But there’s an arrogance to that.

“When two cultures come together, we often look at our differences,” he continues. “We bring different concepts to the table around things that we take for granted within our own context. I feel like that’s also part of the play. I feel like if you’re talking to a tree, they might also be interested in us as much as we are in them.”

Me & the Forest is not a play, per se, in that there is no set storyline, and much relies upon the dynamic between the viewer and the puppet.

“The tree has its stories, and there is some interaction with the audience,” Dodge notes. “We have these wireless headphones that the audience is on, and the idea there is that it’s essentially like a telepathic connection with the tree, who has decided to take this opportunity to uproot itself and come and speak to humans for the first time. We definitely break down the fourth wall and ask the audience to suspend its disbelief and arrive as if they’re among the chosen few to have this first conversation between humanity and trees.”

Dodge admits that there are dangers inherent in putting on a show reliant on a giant puppet interacting with kids in an outdoor setting. What if Mitig’s intricate mechanisms don’t work as intended? What if an atmospheric river turns the park into one big outdoor shower? What if someone in the audience asks questions for which the tree has no answers? So many variables!

“Both companies have been making work for 30 years or so, so part of it is trusting your artistic intuition from that experience,” Dodge says. “But there’s an element of risk. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that every now and then I wake up in the morning going, ‘I hope this works.’ But I think it will. I really think it will. All my instincts tell me it will.”  

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This year’s North Shore Jazz festival, taking place from June 19 to 28, features three stellar concerts at BlueShore at CapU and five free shows at venues across the North Shore. Presented by BlueShore at CapU in partnership with the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, the annual event features music for everyone.

Programming at BlueShore at CapU kicks off with Ron Di Lauro Sextet - Kind of Blue: Tribute to Miles Davis, June 22 at 7:30 pm. The Montreal band is renowned for its incredibly astute homage to the iconic album, with trumpeter Di Lauro channelling the essence of Davis, whose playing was characterized by lyrical beauty and understated yet relentless adventurism.

Daniel Hersog Jazz Orchestra Featuring Darynn Dean takes the stage on June 25 at 7:30 pm. Vancouver-based Hersog, who is a talented trumpeter and jazz composer, and L.A.-based Dean, one of Herbie Hancock’s favorite singers, are teaming up to deliver a thrilling 18-piece big-band experience, blending sophisticated arrangements with expressive vocals.

Songs in the Key of Life: A Celebration of Stevie Wonder Featuring Krystle Dos Santos wraps up the ticketed shows on June 26 at 7:30 pm. Backed by an all-star 11-piece ensemble, including guest vocalists Janelle Reid, Josh Wyper, and Carsim Birmingham, Dos Santos guarantees nothing but the best from Wonder’s five decades of hit-making.

The captivating folk-blues artist Ndidi O launches North Shore Jazz’s free shows at West Vancouver Library on June 19 at 7:30 pm. More free concerts include Montreal’s Ensemble Constellation and Guests—which blends African, Iranian, and baroque music—at Civic Plaza on June 20. Then there’s the chill grooves and timeless soul of Vancouver’s own Ivan Hartle, spreading good vibes with his four-piece band at Lynn Valley Village on June 21.

An afternoon of classic bossa nova is in store as Sofia Avelino Sings Elis Regina on June 27 at Civic Plaza. Finally, the electrifying nine-piece Queer as Funk wraps North Shore Jazz in true party style, at Waterfront Park on June 28 at 8 pm.

For festival tickets and more information, head to BlueShore at CapU.

Post sponsored by BlueShore at CapU.

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Upintheair Theatre presents rEvolver Festival at The Cultch from May 22 to 31

STANDUP COMEDY MIGHT not be the first form you think of when it comes to emotional, deeply personal storytelling—novels, poetry, song, and film come to mind first. But for Scarlet Chen and Megan Milton, it’s the stories that give standup its bite. 

Chen and Milton are the respective creators of Citizen Chen and FREE KITTENS, two of rEvolver Festival’s 2026 mainstage shows. The festival, which runs at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre from May 22 to 31, is Upintheair Theatre’s annual slate of independent local programming. This year, rEvolver’s executive team wrote that they mean to emphasize “projects rooted in communities that experience marginalization….paying close attention to whose voices are often unheard.” 

Upintheair Theatre began as a collaboration between local directors David Mott and Daniel Martin. The two founded the company in 1999, following a successful run at the Vancouver Fringe. In 2013, Upintheair launched rEvolver Festival to feature emerging artists in the local theatre scene.  

Chen first heard of rEvolver when she was acting in Percolate, a family dramedy set in an operating coffee shop, at the Nanaimo Fringe. The festival producer invited Chen to perform a standup set on the Fringe’s outdoor stage. She decided to push herself and perform the first draft of a longer set she was working on, a set that would go on to become Citizen Chen. Percolate’s director, Tamara McCarthy, saw Chen’s performance and advised her to put it in the running for rEvolver festival. 

Citizen Chen is rooted in its creator’s experience as a first-generation immigrant in Canada. In an in-person interview with Stir, she says the show is about “immigration, belonging, identity, and the weird things that we do to fit in.” 

Chen moved to Gabriola Island from Beijing in 2020, right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In China, she’d had a successful career in film, working on several high-profile U.S.-Chinese productions, such as Kill Bill and Iron Man 3, and she was planning to return after pandemic restrictions eased off. 

“I was still thinking that, after COVID, I would go back to China, continue my film work,” she says. “But then I just fell in love with the place. I discovered a comedy-writing workshop on Gabriola—I thought it was for writing a novel or screenwriting….It turned out to be for standup comedy.” 

Chen always thought standup was about quick wit and charm—something she could handle just fine in Mandarin. At the time, though, her English was functional but imperfect. When her workshop leader asked her to perform in a show he was putting on, she had reservations. When she actually got to work, though, she realized standup is really all about writing and delivery—once you have the material, there really isn’t much quick thinking to be done onstage. Her first show went off without a hitch, and the audience loved her. She was hooked. 

“I kind of accidentally found a path that I’m good at,” she says, “and I also discovered that I don’t have stage fright!” 

Chen pursued standup for the next few years, performing at open mikes and paid gigs to try out new material, until she wound up at the Nanaimo Fringe and, eventually, rEvolver. Citizen Chen is the culmination of all that.  

“It forms the full arc of my journey of immigration from visitor to citizen,” she says. “I hope, after the show, people feel seen and heard.” 

Megan Milton’s FREE KITTENS has had a similarly long journey to rEvolver. The show started as a pitch to the Winnipeg Comedy Festival in 2021—that year’s prompt to prospective comedians was a request for their most controversial take. Milton had hers locked and loaded. 

“My hottest take was that I think my mom should have had an abortion,” she tells Stir in a Zoom interview. “I’ve had a lot of material over the years about my relationship with my mom—I’m an autobiographical writer, so I get my material from what I’ve lived through. I wrote ten minutes basically talking about my mom being a teenage mother.” 

Milton didn’t get into the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, but she did end up submitting a similar idea to the Vancouver Fringe later that year. Her piece was selected. She was a standup comic without much experience in the nitty-gritty of theatre production, so she brought on fellow comedian Danielle Florence as her director. By opening night, they had a solid 30-minute version of Milton’s original idea. 

 After that, Milton thought FREE KITTENS was final. It was about her mother, and her mother would never change. But then she did. 

“My mother went into a treatment facility, got therapy, and then proceeded to completely change. She had, like, full-on ego death or something,” Milton says with a laugh. “I don’t know what happened in there, but she came out a wildly different person. And I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’m rewriting the show.’” 

FREE KITTENS is still about abortion, bodily autonomy, and failed parenting. But now it’s also about redemption, healing, and the possibility, however remote, that people can evolve. It’s a theme Milton never would have imagined showing up in her work, but as she rebuilt her relationship with her mother, it felt inevitable that the show would have to be altered—even if her mother would never see it. 

“We have this agreement not to talk about it,” says Milton. “She’s accepted that I process my trauma through art and that she kind of doesn’t have a leg to stand on with that particular issue.” Even so, Milton thinks she’d be all right with her mother seeing this new version of the show. 

Milton has had to incorporate other changes over the years. Last June, she developed myalgic encephalitis—chronic fatigue syndrome. With a show at the Fringe coming up in September, she and Florence had to adapt FREE KITTENS so that she could be seated throughout. This worked, but Milton felt they hadn’t had the time to fully workshop the new blocking and positioning.  

Now, at rEvolver, she feels they have it down. While Chen hopes her show will make people feel seen just the way they are, Milton is a little more confrontational. 

“I hesitate to encourage a lot of people who are pro-life to show up, because I feel like they’re very rarely not a problem,” she jokes. “But I kind of hope a few people come in and have their minds changed. A big part of the show and what I was trying to accomplish with it is really getting people to ask themselves why they believe what they believe.”

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Western Gold Theatre presents Salt-Water Moon at the PAL Studio Theatre from May 21 to June 7

IN 2026, THERE’S no questioning the fact that a Canadian show—one about Newfoundlanders, no less—has the potential to get bums in seats. Just look at the success of Come From Away, which has had hit runs on Broadway and in the West End as well as various internationally touring productions.

In the early 1970s, though, the prevailing school of thought on the domestic theatre scene was that Canadian stories didn’t sell tickets. David French shattered that notion with his popular series of five plays about the Mercers, a family of Newfoundlanders living in Toronto, which, according to the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, “demonstrated that Canadian playwrights could write plays on Canadian subjects, and people would flock to see them”.

In Salt-Water Moon, set in 1926, 18-year-old Jacob Mercer returns to the tiny Newfoundland outport of Coley’s Point. He’s determined to win back his former sweetheart, Mary Snow. This plan is complicated by the fact that Mary is already engaged to another man and still hasn’t forgiven Jacob for his abrupt departure a year earlier.

In a casting twist that should imbue the bittersweet nostalgia with an added layer of resonance, Western Gold Theatre has given the roles of the young lovers to veteran actors Craig March and Dolores Drake. Michael Fera directs.

Founded in 1994, Western Gold’s objectives are to create opportunities for senior artists to continue their lifelong work, and to encourage discourse about the impact and joys of aging. 

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Uppercut Dance Theater presents Benched as part of the Vancouver International Children’s Festival at Performance Works from May 26 to 31

ALTHOUGH IT’S MIDNIGHT for me, Mark Philip’s day has just begun. It’s a beautiful blue-sky kind of morning in Copenhagen, without a cloud in sight. Alongside the Copenhagen Harbour, Philip finds a bench to sit on to chat with me over Zoom on his iPhone.

Philip is one half of the artistic director duo of Denmark’s Uppercut Dance Theater. It’s a role he shares with his partner, Stephanie Thomasen, the visionary and choreographer behind BENCHED.

Originally commissioned for the Copenhagen Summer Dance festival in 2021, BENCHED has traveled around the world and has been performed over 130 times. Last year, it was presented at Princess Isabella of Denmark’s 18th birthday gala at the Royal Danish Theatre. Later this month, Uppercut will share BENCHED as part of the 49th annual Vancouver International Children’s Festival.

BENCHED blends playful choreography with bold athleticism on an eight-meter-long, reconfigurable bench to “push the limits of movement and explore what it means to take space, share space, and sometimes fall right off the edge”, according to the dance company’s website.

Along the harbour, Philip switches his perspective from himself to the people near him, sitting on the other benches lining the water. He points out folks conducting work meetings, talking with friends, working on their computers, and chatting with tourists.

“It’s such a nice thing, even though it’s so simple. So many different things happen on benches, and that is what Stephanie wanted to put into the performance,” Philip says. “We were looking for a prop that could combine the audience and the performance together, and we came up with the idea of benches.”

The long, dark bench—which can be broken apart, set on its side, and held overhead—is moved around to create new tableaus throughout the piece, offering snapshots of moments in time and evoking various feelings. There’s no traditional storyline; instead, the piece encourages the audience to imagine a story of their own.

“Whatever you as an audience member sees and feels, that is the story,” Philip explains. “This is your art. This is your way of seeing these small glimpses of life that you see on a bench. This is also the core of our work in all our performances: to keep it so open that you can make your own story on our performance.”

Uppercut Dance Theater has been creating shows for adults and young audiences for more than 40 years. Over his 25 years with the company, Philip has trained as a performer, a dance teacher, and, most recently, as an artistic director alongside Thomasen. He says their mission is to continue Uppercut’s legacy of championing their dancers’ unique expression. Philip says they encourage their dancers to “be your own artist, use your own voice, be your own dancer.”

As he explains, “We are very different from each other, as you will see in BENCHED. Each dancer has their own background, their own culture. It’s very beautiful when you can grow up and just be yourself in a company.”

The dancers featured in this piece are Adam Tocuyo, Patrick Afuale Eirup, Carl Giacomello, Elias Khanamidi, and Jens-Antonio Schyth Brøndum.

Tocuyo’s movement is informed by his experience in the Brazilian fight-dance movements of capoeira and also by hip-hop. Giacomello’s style comes out of parkour. Schyth Brøndum was a ballet kid, and so his contemporary dance style is grounded in an extremely strong technique.

Khanamidi comes from breakdancing (“He’s like jelly,” Philip says) and Afuale Eirup’s style has been shaped by his experience with house dance—with his light footing and tall height, Philip likens his movements to an airplane taking off.

Together, this fusion of dance styles offers something dynamic and accessible, inviting the audience to find personal resonance within the performance. For Philip, what makes the piece so special is its ability to help people not only see themselves in the work but to connect with folks who are different from themselves.

“In today’s world, which is so chaotic, everything feels closed—all feelings, all eyes, all the love is closed towards other people,” Philip says. “We hope that Vancouver can see that it’s so beautiful when you combine different human beings from different places of the world together.”

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The Mission Folk Music Festival has revealed the full weekend schedule of performances for its 39th annual festival, slated for July 24 to 26 in Fraser River Heritage Park, just east of Mission.

Three evening main-stage concert showcases will take place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday between 6 and 11 pm. Over the weekend, festival-goers can feast on an array of more than 30 collaborative performances, concerts, workshops and sessions, jams, and song circles across four daytime stages running from 11 am to 5:30 pm daily.

The diverse roster encompasses more than 25 acts from across North America and beyond, with five main-stage concerts each evening. Friday night opens big with Brianna Lizotte’s jig-inducing Métis fiddling, and ends with the powerhouse soul of Tanika Charles. Saturday night includes Sauljaljui’s captivating blend of traditional Taiwanese sounds and global influences, as well as the electrifying West African guitar music of Alpha Yaya Diallo and BAFING. Sunday’s closing night concerts include the harmonic genius of The Fugitives and the hard-driving rhythms of Chicago’s LowDown Brass Band.

There are plenty of fun activities for kids and families planned. Onsite amenities include a food court, artisan market, and shaded beer garden. Parking is easy and cheap, and onsite camping is available at a nominal cost.

Purchase early-bird tickets to June 22, and explore the full lineup through the Mission Folk Music Festival.

Post sponsored by Mission Folk Music Festival.

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FOURTEEN PIANISTS, plus cellists, a harpsichordist, a guitarist, and a Scandinavian folk ensemble are all on the roster as the Vancouver Recital Society announces details of its 2026-2027 season.

The society’s 47th season, centred mostly at the Vancouver Playhouse, features such celebrated pianists as Minsoo Sohn, who kicks off the season September 27. Elsewhere on the program are keyboard stars Sir András Schiff (December 6), Leif Ove Andsnes (March 14, 2027), Paul Lewis (October 25 and April 18), Behzod Abduraimov (February 28), Filippo Gorini (October 18), and Lucas and Arthur Jussen (May 1). Lukas Sternath and Mishka Rushdie Momen will make their Canadian debuts on the series, January 24 and February 7, respectively.

String players in the lineup include violist Timothy Ridout returning for a performance May 9 with pianist Federico Colli, and violinist Stephen Waarts joining forces with pianist Juho Pohjonen on April 4. Violinist Chloe Chua will make her Canadian debut with pianist Julien Quentin on February 21, and, on cello, Luka Coetzee will make her VRS debut with pianist Jon Kimura Parker on November 1. Elsewhere, cellist Jonathan Swensen returns to the VRS with pianist Juho Pohjonen on April 11.

Young early-music talents from France, harpsichordist Jean Rondeau and Jupiter Ensemble will perform on the VRS stage November 15 at Roy Barnett Recital Hall and November 29 at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, respectively.

And genre-defying Scandinavian ensemble Dreamers’ Circus, known for its blend of Nordic folk with classical lyricism, jazz improvisation, and pop energy, hits the Playhouse April 8. 

Other highlights include the partnering of mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska and guitarist Sean Shibe, who bring their innovative Orlando project to the Chan Centre November 8. Baritone Benjamin Appl and accordionist Ksenija Sidorova, meanwhile, bring their Breath and Bone to the Playhouse March 7.

Full details of the season are available online at vanrecital.com, with tickets going on sale May 14.  

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Western Front presents Rosamunde Bordo’s Magic Show to July 25

IT BEGAN WITH a series of found postcards addressed to a woman named Denise, given to Rosamunde Bordo in a G.I. Joe toy box. Coming from a print and visual arts background, the Vancouver-based artist has cultivated a life of letter-writing with friends, and collecting or receiving found and forgotten objects. Though she didn’t initially set out to create what she calls The Denise File, Bordo began creating artworks inspired by the postcards and crafting a serialized narrative of Denise’s life akin to the detective and mystery stories she grew up loving. Unlike her favourite childhood TV show, Columbo, Bordo’s fiction unfolds through physical space and a series of art exhibitions framed around The Denise File. 

“[The detective story is] also such a popular form, that’s the other thing that interests me about it,” Bordo explains in conversation with Stir. “There’s nothing that’s special about it in the sense that it has a very formulaic structure, and it’s used everywhere.” 

Bordo grew up in Ontario and Quebec and left for Vancouver nearly eight years ago to attend UBC’s MFA program in visual art. She recalls moving to the city a week before the start of the program, bringing only the essentials, including the postcards. This would become the turning point in her art practice, and her relationship to materials.  

“My practice hasn’t been print-based since I left Montreal, basically,” says Bordo. “Arriving with basically no art materials, I started working through finding objects and responding to these postcards and put aside making for a couple of years.” 

Now, as one of Western Front’s current artists in residence, Bordo has made a return to artmaking alongside her practice of finding objects and materials, with her latest exhibition, Magic Show. She has been developing her glassblowing skills since last fall with UBC’s Brian Ditchburn. As a newer material within her practice, it is keenly felt in Magic Show. 

Visitors are greeted by Karmic Cleanse upon entering Western Front’s lobby—a video work with a close-up shot depicting a kind of liquid chemical process (or, in another context, potion-making). The video is shown on a translucent screen, allowing the glass and wig material behind it to overlap and interact with the video like a light box. Karmic Cleanse introduces the esoteric elements of Magic Show, alluding to magic as a performance art, and as an ingredient in occult rituals and practices. The exhibition’s introductory text invites visitors to take on the lens of the detective and the magician. Through these distinct roles, the found materials can be seen as objects associated with Denise, and the installations as glimpses into a fascination with the occult. 

Bordo’s glasswork becomes the centrepiece of the exhibition’s first room with Communicating Vessels, an extensive and delicate piece featuring a pentagonal design. Liquid materials like chartreuse and vodka are used to fill the vessel and enhance the glasswork with delicate colours, contrasting with the classic magic-theatre aesthetic of the red velvet fabric overlaying the table. As noted by Magic Show curator Kiel Torres in the exhibition’s accompanying essay, “As Above, So Below: A Note on Properties”, “Colour is also vital in calibrating the space to the spirit being called.” 

Installations that combine Bordo’s woodwork with found objects surround the centrepiece, including two handcrafted wooden hands holding a charm bracelet and a scarf. On another wall, a piece of fabric from a housecoat is presented in a wooden frame. The Denise File is perhaps at its most tangible in these everyday materials, which can be seen as pieces of evidence in The Denise File, and as conduits for esoteric practices such as psychometry—the practice of reading the history and energy of someone’s personal item. Despite the fictitious nature of Bordo’s characterizations, her work conjures a space that sits between reality and fiction. 

“Responding to something real feels like just how fiction works, and how our artistic practice works too,” says Bordo. “There are real objects and materialization manifestation, but at the same time, it’s actually more fictional because it’s coming from me.” 

Bordo’s use of found objects is further explored in Tarot in D-Minor, a video dramatization where a psychic performs psychometry on a “Denise” nameplate necklace and conducts a tarot reading. Torres notes that the rituals cited in the exhibition recall the works of Czech occultist Franz Bardon, who performed as a stage magician while pursuing his study of ritual magic. In Tarot in D-Minor, the rituals are framed as scenes in an ongoing narrative, activating an air of mystery influenced by natural desire for resolution and catharsis. By connecting story, materials, and rituals, there is a sense of divine orchestration afoot that is at once obscure and, in Bordo’s case, decidedly mundane. This is perhaps best illustrated in her journey of responding to a specific postcard sent to Denise, about a missing housecoat. 

“One of the postcards was from a Holiday Inn where [Denise] gets a postcard that said, ‘We didn’t find your housecoat, I’m sorry,’” says Bordo. She knew she had to find a housecoat that fit the narrative. When she found one that seemed right, there was no tag. She tried negotiating a lower price for it, but ultimately caved and paid the $20 price difference. “When I took it to my studio [and] tried it on, there was $20 in the pocket. It felt like the universe was kind of reinforcing this.” 

While Magic Show displays Bordo’s fluency in crafting and presenting materials, it is her intuitive call-and-response as a storyteller and interdisciplinary practitioner that brings everything to life. Like any good mystery, the more visitors pay attention to the texts and dialogue surrounding the works, the more rewarding the experience.

Unlike more traditional forms like a novel or film, the mystery here is less rooted in plot, and more in the subtle currents that connect our lives and, to a lesser degree, Bordo’s philosophy of storytelling. As The Denise File grows, Magic Show leaves an air of anticipation around future iterations of this story, and what forms it may conjure. Bordo’s approach teases the idea of exhibition-making as a serialized practice, and Magic Show stands as a thought-provoking exercise in narrative art.

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Théâtre la Seizième presents Compagnie Chantal & Bernadette’s La Convivialité (in French) on May 19 and 20, and Kevin (in French with English surtitles) from May 21 to 23. All performances at Waterfront Theatre at 7:30 pm

THEY’RE KNOWN AS the Immortals, and you’ll know them by their long black coats and bicorne hats, to say nothing of their swords. For nearly four centuries, they have been endowed with powers that no ordinary person may possess, and while they might sound like something out of an episode of Doctor Who, the Immortals are very real. In spite of the name, the flashy costumes, and the weaponry, they’re actually the members of the Académie française, a body that Cardinal Richelieu created in 1635 and tasked with being the last word (pun intended) on all matters related to the French language.

Beyond being the gatekeepers of the one true dictionary of the language—or at least the only one formally recognized by the body that, conveniently, also publishes it—the Académie française doesn’t play as big a role in the French-speaking world as it once did. As Arnaud Hoedt tells Stir in a Zoom interview, “In truth, they don’t have a lot of influence on language policy because there is no real language policy. You know, language is a free thing that people share, and it’s very difficult to make decisions about French language politics. But symbolically they still have a lot of things to say, and people watch them as a symbolic reference, but they are totally unable to have any really smart or scientific point of view about language, because they are writers—and sometimes not even writers—but they are not linguists.”

Hoedt, on the other hand, is a linguist. The Belgian academic is also a theatre artist, having founded the company Chantal & Bernadette alongside his pal Jérôme Piron, who has also joined the Zoom call.

“A funny thing for us is that the French Academy is French, and we are not,” says Piron, a former philosophy prof. “So they have nothing to say about Belgium. It’s very funny to imagine that the French people are the only people who can make decisions about French. It’s a stupid point of view.”

Hoedt agrees: “It’s like if English were decided from Oxford only, you know?” 

Piron and Hoedt met in 2003, when they were both employed by a technical school in Brussels, with the former teaching philosophy and the latter teaching French. They bonded over a mutual annoyance with the absurdities and inconsistencies of their shared language.

“We both studied linguistics, but at different schools,” Hoedt says. “And when we met, we realized that we both had the same point of view about French spelling—and the point of view is that it’s a silly, stupid spelling. We tried to share that with other people and nobody agreed with us. When you share a fight, you get closer, and so we began to speak about that more and more, and one day someone asked us to make a presentation about it, because he was surprised with our point of view, and that was the beginning of the show.”

The show in question is La Convivialité ou la faute de l'orthographe (Conviviality, or the Orthographer’s Mistake), which has been described as equal parts lecture and comedy show. When the duo first performed La Convivialité at Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, in 2016, it was wildly successful, but the show really took off the following summer when they took it to the Avignon Festival in Provence. (To get a sense of how much interest Hoedt and Piron have generated for such an ostensibly niche topic, consider that their 2019 TEDx talk, also called “La Faute de l’orthographe”, has been viewed more than 3.4 million times.)

Now the pair are bringing La Convivialité to Vancouver, along with their follow-up show, Kevin, a sharply satirical look at schooling in their home country. Belgium’s public-education system has been widely criticized for its early tracking system, which decides which students go to which schools. In theory, this is based on each individual student’s potential, but in failing to account for socioeconomic factors that might impact a child’s test scores, it effectively rewards those who already have a leg up and puts those less privileged at a disadvantage.

“Our system is the most unequal system out of all developed countries—for many reasons, but one of the reasons is that we have huge scholar segregation,” Hoedt says. “Very poor people go to the same school—a poor school, a low-rated, low-reputation school—and rich people go to rich schools with good reputations and higher levels. What they call equal opportunity in Belgium and in France is a lie, and so we try to explain why it’s not working.”

If you’re wondering about that title: Kevin is a fairly neutral name in Canada, but in some European countries it came to be considered a signifier of lower socioeconomic status, as its popularity surged in the 1980s and ’90s through the influence of American pop culture (think of Kevin McCallister in Home Alone).

 “If you’re poor, you go to a school that looks like you,” Hoedt points out, using as examples the schools in his own neighbourhood, including “the top-level school with the socioeconomic indicators very, very high, and all the kids are white; and the very low school with all the poor kids, and a lot of the kids are from immigrant families. And everyone accepts it and thinks that it’s just the way it is, and if it’s so, it’s because the people chose the wrong school for their kids. But it’s far more complicated than that, and we try to explain why it’s difficult for a kid from immigration or a lower social status to have access to these good schools.”

Make no mistake, though; like La Convivialité, Kevin is a comedy, one that looks at a serious societal issue through a satirical lens. Making shows that are both educational and raucously funny is something of a tightrope act, as Hoedt admits.

“That’s our main question,” he says. “We’re writing a new play right now, and that’s exactly the same question that we had for the first two shows: how to balance what is interesting and what is fun. But we were convinced very soon that when you have a fun fact about something, or when you have information that nobody really knows about something, it’s also fun. If it’s really interesting, it’s always fun, I think.”

For his part, Piron says the key is not to get too bogged down in statistics or academic jargon, which is certainly a challenge for a philosopher and a linguist.

“We wanted to state things with simple words,” Piron says. “Something like linguistics has a lot of very specific vocabulary, and we try to avoid it. When we tried to say things as simply as we can, we discovered that it was more powerful—and more fun.” 

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CTORA Productions presents Grease to May 17 at the Granville Island Stage

SOME THINGS NEVER go out of style, and Grease is definitely one of them. Songs like “Summer Nights” and “Greased Lightnin’” remain crowd-pleasers generations later. Does Grease have the strongest plot? No. Or the healthiest messaging? Certainly not. But is it fun? Absolutely. And if you’re going to stage it, you may as well do it right—which is exactly what CTORA has accomplished.

From the obnoxious Burger Palace Boys (renamed the T-Birds in the film version) and the sassy Pink Ladies to the turbocharged “Born to Hand Jive” number, this production celebrates Grease’s nostalgia with style and confidence. 

While the original Broadway production begins at the Rydell High class of 1959 reunion, director Sarah Rodgers instead opens CTORA’s version with the film’s iconic “Grease Is the Word”, and it proves to be a smart choice that immediately sets the tone. Watching the cast strut across the stage in leather jackets, poodle skirts, and greased-back hair creates an electrifying opening packed with attitude and retro cool. 

From there, it’s easy to get swept up in the silliness and melodrama of Rydell High. As Danny Zuko, Stephen Thakkar has continuous bounce in his swaggered walk, indicative of the inner confidence his character thinks he has. Ava Stark’s Sandy radiates sweetness without leaning too heavily into naïveté, making her transition into Danny’s world as believable as one can. 

Thakkar and Stark play off each other terrifically, including a fun moment when they’re reunited on the first day of school. The highlight of their partnership is their singing. Both performers possess phenomenal vocal chops, and they find an excellent stylistic balance between legit musical theatre and pop delivery, resulting in dynamite renditions of hits such as “Summer Nights”.

Another major standout is Manuela Palmieri as Pink Ladies leader Rizzo. Through sharp deadpan reactions and a palpable air of boredom with high-school life, Palmieri convincingly conveys Rizzo’s yearning for something beyond adolescence. Her powerhouse vocals are well suited to the role, highlighted by her fabulous performance of “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee”. With her striking presence and strong dance ability, Palmieri would also be a natural fit for Fosse-style material, including Velma Kelly in Chicago. 

As Rizzo’s relationship interest, Kenickie, Connor Hawkins appropriately exudes classic greaser bravado, full of intimidating confidence and swagger, and Hawkins gets his moment in the spotlight with the crowd-pleasing “Greased Lightnin’”. Brett Williams, Eric Gibson, and Chase Sander embrace the cartoonish bad-boy antics of Doody, Roger, and Sonny, adding plenty of comic relief. Williams also delivers a sweet and melodic rendition of “Those Magic Changes”, while Gibson and María Alejandra Marshall, as Jan, charm the audience with their delightfully goofy duet “Mooning”. 

There’s nice dynamism among the Pink Ladies, with Amanda Lourenço bringing bold comic flair to Marty, which is nicely contrasted by Kyla Ward’s sensitive portrayal of aspiring beautician Frenchy. Dancer Katrina Teitz’s portrayal of relentlessly overachieving Patti Simcox is fun to watch, including her effortless high kicks and split jumps. Isabelle Madrigal burns up the dance floor as Cha Cha, while ensemble member Danielle Metrow consistently shines through engaging, character-driven dance. 

Rodgers inventively stages the large production with minimal scenery. Set and costume designer Brian Ball has painted the stage with a black-and-white checkerboard pattern evocative of a 1950s diner, instantly transporting the audience into the setting. The addition of set pieces such as bleachers, gym lockers, and cleverly designed “cars” for the drive-in movie scene fluidly move us through the story. Meanwhile, Ball’s costumes, which include cardigans and school gym uniforms—along with the work of hairstylists Sukh Kaur and Yunabi Kaui—further immerse us in teenage 1950s America. 

Also vital to the storytelling here is Ken Overbey’s creative choreography, which includes a “swimming” effect for Danny as he’s supported by his buddies in “Summer Nights”, and some unique partnering moves and lifts for Cha Cha and Danny in “Born to Hand Jive”. Additionally, Overbey’s choreography for numbers like the rousing “We Go Together” creates the kind of uplifting moments that audiences adore. 

Ultimately, the heart of Grease lies in its music, and this cast, in collaboration with the polished band under the baton of music director Jeremy Hoffman, delivers superbly. From the exuberant “You’re the One That I Want” to Sandy’s heartfelt “Hopelessly Devoted” and the campy “Beauty School Dropout”—charmingly performed by Keith Macmillan as Teen Angel—the musical numbers consistently land with energy and flair. 

So, yes, parents may want to remind younger viewers that the show’s social dynamics belong firmly in the 1950s. But as a piece of fun musical theatre nostalgia, CTORA proves that Grease remains an irresistible treat, offering infectious tunes and endearing caricatures. A-wop-ba-ba-lu-mop, a-wop-bam-boom! 

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Arts Umbrella Dance Company returns with Memento Mori: A Season Finale Performance at the Vancouver Playhouse from May 21 to 23. This powerful series of pieces marks the end of one cycle and the quiet beginning of another.

Memento Mori features works by over 15 of the world’s most influential choreographers, including French-born Ballet BC artistic director Medhi Walerski, renowned Canadian dance maven Crystal Pite, master Batsheva Dance Company alumna Sharon Eyal, Spanish force Marcos Morau, former National Ballet of Canada artistic director James Kudelka, and more. The program invites viewers into moments that are intimate and unforgettable, with each work serving as a reminder to be fully present, to feel deeply, and to witness beauty as it passes.

Audience members are invited to join the Arts Umbrella team in this season-culminating celebration of movement, memory, and meaning. Memento Mori will leave folks suspended in the moment—transfixed, transformed, and aware of the precious now.

Arts Umbrella Dance Company consists of more than 60 select members of the Arts Umbrella Professional Training Program and Post-Secondary Programs. These dancers train, rehearse, and perform in three ensembles: Grad (ages 17 to 22), Senior (ages 15 to 17) and, Apprentice (ages 12 to 14). Live productions allow the students to cultivate and refine their performance skills, grow their confidence, and develop as the next generation of dance artists.

The company’s rigorous training and broad-based performance and touring opportunities prepare members for university-level dance education or a career with professional dance companies. Lauded for their professionalism and dedication, Arts Umbrella dancers often go on to join companies across North America and Europe, including Ballet BC, Gothenburg Ballet in Sweden, Noord Nederlandse Dans, and Dresden Semperoper Ballet.

Memento Mori starts at 7:30 pm each night, with an additional 2:30 pm performance on May 23. Audience members who require wheelchair-accessible seating or for whom cost is a barrier to attendance can contact the Arts Umbrella team by email at dancetickets@artsumbrella.com.

This year’s Season Finale is supported by RBC and the Wesik Family Foundation. Tickets and more details are available through the Arts Umbrella website.

Post sponsored by Arts Umbrella.

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Metro Theatre presents Legally Blonde The Musical to June 7

SNAPS FOR METRO Theatre! The long-running theatre company is showing off a fresh, pink-inspired makeover with its production of Legally Blonde The Musical.

Directed by Christopher King, Metro’s take on the beloved crowd-pleaser bursts with youthful energy, heartfelt emotion, and some inventive ideas. Led by Vancouver newcomer Celeste Nicholson (from Saskatoon) as heroine Elle Woods, this production delivers enough cheeky charm, sincerity, and verve to delight even those who are very familiar with the show. 

Based on the iconic 2000s film, the musical follows Malibu sorority girl Elle Woods (Nicholson) as she chases the love of her life, Warner Huntington III (Stephen Myers), to Harvard Law School. Along the way, she befriends lovable hairstylist Paulette Bonafonté (Julia Halabourda) and earnest law student Emmett Forrest (Daniel Curalli), ultimately discovering that her compassion and authenticity can take her much farther than she ever imagined. 

Nicholson commands the stage from the outset. Her bubbly charisma, confidence, warmth, and undeniable “main character energy” carry audiences through the highs and lows of Elle’s journey. She also has strong vocal chops, a highlight being the act-one finale “So Much Better”, which she stamps with a soaring, emotionally charged belt. 

Nicholson and Curalli also develop a believable and emotionally resonant chemistry. Curalli’s gentle sincerity creates a touching dynamic between the pair. Meanwhile, Halabourda proves a scene-stealer as Paulette, balancing street-smart toughness with touching vulnerability—particularly during her endearing attempts to master the “Bend and Snap” in hopes of seducing the hilariously charismatic Kyle (the UPS guy), played by Liam Reitsma. 

On opening night, Reitsma had audiences cheering as he strutted down the theatre aisle and across the stage with his “package”. To borrow a phrase: he ate and left no crumbs. Equally energized throughout were Holly Bradbury, Maraya Franca, and Claudine Paed as Elle’s sassy Delta Nu sisters Serena, Margot, and Pilar, whose enthusiasm continually fuelled the production’s high-octane spirit. 

As Warner, Myers appropriately leans into the character’s self-absorbed charm and, despite opening-night microphone issues, delivered pleasing vocals in “Serious”. Jessica Lynn Wong gives Vivienne Kensington real bite, pairing icy attitude with powerhouse vocals, while Matt Ramer brings an imposing intensity to Professor Callahan, establishing the necessary power imbalance between the professor and his students. After time away from Vancouver stages, Julia Ullrich makes a welcome return as fitness queen Brooke Wyndham, radiating girl-boss confidence while jump-roping with impressive stamina. And Rachel Scheibel is wonderfully endearing as justice-seeking law student Enid Hoopes, thanks to her great comedic skills. 

Darren Burkett’s set cleverly blends sheer pink curtains with towering wooden staircases, visually merging Elle’s world of pink with Harvard’s old-money New England aesthetic. King makes especially inventive use of the translucent drapery, often closing off sections of the stage to sharpen focus or heighten anticipation. One exciting reveal comes during the dance break in “Positive”, when the curtains part to unveil the ensemble. 

Costume designer Carson Walliser successfully re-creates the show’s recognizable looks—from Elle’s predominantly pink wardrobe to Emmett’s oversized corduroy aesthetic—while also injecting fresh flair. A standout addition is a sparkly Chanel-inspired suit for Elle during a climactic moment, which elevates the scene. 

Makayla Moore’s choreography, performed with infectious enthusiasm by the cast, supplies many of the production’s biggest highs. One standout is the “personal essay” section in “What You Want”, complete with an onstage marching band, and acrobatics and exhilarating energy from Nicholson and company. Another crowd-pleasing number is the “Bend and Snap,” complete with a full chorus line executing the famous move. 

Unlike some recent productions that have updated the show to the present, this version remains firmly set in the early 2000s. As a result, some references—such as nods to MTV—may land less effectively with younger audiences. More noticeably dated, however, is a line in which a Harvard admissions officer criticizes Elle’s group for bringing “ethnic movement” into his office. In comparison, TUTS updated the joke last summer to “Gen Z energy”, earning laughs rather than the awkward silence that accompanied the line here. 

One major visual misstep comes during the department store scene. Intended to evoke an upscale retailer like Holt Renfrew, the scene instead resembles a cluttered thrift shop, complete with haphazardly piled ties and a fitting-room curtain that looks more like a garbage bag. The situation becomes further muddled when Emmett rejects one dress shirt as something that would get someone “beat up on my street,” despite it appearing nearly identical to another shirt he had just approved. 

Still, these small hiccups don’t diminish the sparkle of Metro’s Legally Blonde, buoyed as it is by a strong band under the leadership of music director Marquis Byrd. Fittingly, the production’s creative choices ultimately reinforce the musical’s central message: there is room for everyone to thrive by embracing what makes them special. Audiences will also appreciate Metro’s transformed lounge space, styled as a pink Delta Nu party room complete with themed cocktails like the “Bend and Schnapps". Go ahead and bend and snap your way to Legally Blonde—you do not want the FOMO on this. 

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