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PRODUCTIONS

Dil Ka
Dil Ka [‘of the heart’] follows Zahra, a 26-year-old Pakistani woman, as she prepares to meet her latest arranged match for marriage. Zahra spends most of the play in her family’s kitchen preparing the traditional Pakistani dish, biryani, to present to the prospective groom’s family. Follow the journey of a queer Muslim woman caught between familial duties and her own desires for life.
(Presentation House Theatre, 333 Chesterfield Avenue, North Vancouver, Mar. 22 - 31)

Studio 58 Presents: FourPlay
FourPlay presents four original one-act plays, written by Studio 58 students! Now in its 14th edition, this fringe-style festival showcases the next generation of contemporary playwrights.
Program A showcases Pretty Girls, a surreal exploration of beauty standards and Gillty as Fin, a hilarious underwater musical. Program B features Panty Sniffers, a comedy about selling used panties online and Fly, Love, about a girl with a rare genetic syndrome developing a relationship with her Filipina nanny.
(Studio 58 at snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ Langara College, 100 West 49th ave, Vancouver, Mar. 27 - Apr. 7)

La Befana
Sofia loves witch stories. Her favourite is the one about her Nonna meeting the Befana, an old lady who brings sweets to well-behaved children while they sleep… and who carries away the unwary ones who stumble upon her in the middle of the night! The day Nonna disappears, her granddaughter is convinced the Befana has kidnapped her. Sofia sets off to find her and becomes immersed in a story that goes beyond anything she could ever have imagined.
In this show inspired by the legends of northern Italy, Anaïs Pellin’s writing takes young audiences on an adventure full of twists and turns. Between the rapture and turmoil of childhood, La Befana conveys a poetic story about the final journey of our loved ones.
(Studio 16 - 1555, West 7th avenue, Vancouver, Apr. 6, 11:00 a.m.)

Where Have All the Buffalo Gone?
Inspired by true historical events of the Métis peoples, this original play for young audiences explores the love, the loss and the fight of Treaty 6’s Métis peoples – and their love and kinship to the buffalo. Follow two Métis souls, Marie and Jean, through four love stories in four distinct periods of Métis history. April 6, 1 PM + 4 PM
(The Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre, 950 W 41st Ave, Vancouver, Apr. 6, 1:00 p.m + 4:00 p.m)

Maurice
Maurice Dancause, a brilliant and hardworking economist, wakes up one morning and collapses. A stroke. He spends nine days in a coma, then four years in rehabilitation. This changes everything: his brain, his tastes, his sensibilities, even his personality. And then, there’s the aphasia, his daily struggle to find words. But however limited his access to speech, his thirst to communicate with the world remains powerful.
Fascinated by his story of reconstruction and resilience, playwright and actress Anne-Marie Olivier slips into the shoes of a man with an incandescent mind and an abundance of words. Every night, he will need an audience member to help him see his story through. Inspired by a remarkable life story, Maurice is a moving dramaturgical experiment that reinvents language to make it its own.
(Studio 16 - 1555, West 7th avenue, Apr. 17 - 20, 7:30 p.m.)

Carousel Theatre for Young People presents The Incredible Adventures of Mary Jane Mosquito
Carousel Theatre for Young People presents The Incredible Adventures of Mary Jane Mosquito, at Granville Island’s Picnic Pavilion (267 Old Bridge Walk), from May 1-5, 2024. An all-ages musical cabaret by Cree playwright and musician Tomson Highway, The Incredible Adventures of Mary Jane Mosquito follows a misfit mosquito without wings trying to find her place in the world. Through her adventures, she finds her voice by sharing her Cree language, her kind heart and her songs with the world. A Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People Production. Tickets and information at carouseltheatre.ca
(Granville Island Picnic Pavilion, May. 1 - 5)

Michel(le)
As youngsters, Joey and Michel love putting on shows, performing for family and friends. How else to express their true colors in the working-class Quebec of the 60s and 70s where they grew up? To break free and survive, the two brothers each find their own way. One becomes an actor in Vancouver, the other shines on the Montreal drag scene before becoming the woman she always felt she was. But can one truly blossom when their identity tragically clashes with the roles society imposes upon them?
Joey Lespérance’s first solo show, of autobiographical inspiration, paints a portrait full of contrasts, depicting a brave, marginal and tumultuous journey. By breathing new life into the lost dream of his sibling Michel(le), the Vancouver artist’s unique and vibrant voice carries onward the memory of singular destinies, too often forgotten.
(Studio 16 - 1555, West 7th avenue, May. 29 - Jun. 8, 7:30 p.m.)

TOUCHSTONE THEATRE UNVEILS ITS 2023/24 SEASON AS ROY SURETTE ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT AS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Today, Touchstone Theatre revealed its 2023/24 season programming, a dynamic lineup featuring four unforgettable Canadian works including two long-awaited world premieres. The announcement comes with the news that this will be artistic director Roy Surette’s final season with the company, citing his intention to retire as AD but continue his freelance career.
In November 2023, Touchstone’s season begins with the Ruby Slippers Theatre co-production and world premiere of Hurricane Mona,Vancouver playwright Pippa Mackie’s absurdist dark comedy about a middle-class family grappling with their lives at the literal centre of a climate emergency.
In January 2024, Touchstone teams-up with the PuSh Festival and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs to co-present Christopher Morris’ THE RUNNER, a heartstopping philosophical thriller exploring human goodness in the face of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
World premiering in February 2024 is Father Tartuffe: An Indigenous Misadventure, Herbie Barnes ’ hilarious and provocative adaptation of Molière’s best loved classic set on the rez. A co-production with the Arts Club Theatre, Father Tartuffe is directed by Quelemia Sparrow and Roy Surette.
Finally, in May 2024, the bittersweet chamber musical When We Were Singingby Governor-General award-winning playwright Dorothy Dittrich hits the Jericho Arts Centre stage, closing the season. An in-association presentation with United Players of Vancouver , the tale follows the ups-and-downs of four 30-something urbanites on the precipice of major life changes. Roy Surette directs, a reprise of his role in the play’s 1995 world premiere, and for which Touchstone Theatre garnered numerous Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, including Outstanding Musical Direction and Outstanding Musical Ensemble.
(Various Venues, 2023/2024 Season)

Aiysiniiksin: Keeping the Tradition Alive
Powderface, a film artist-actor, is a Vancouver-based SFU graduate dedicated to making space for Indigenous stories and elevating Indigenous voices. “[The podcast aims to] centre Indigenous stories, experiences, and ways of being, doing, knowing and creating through the embodiment of oral storytelling,” she says. Aiysiniiksin: Keeping the Tradition Alive is part of the Savage Society, an organization founded in 2004 and dedicated to providing a space for Indigenous film and theatre workers to tell their stories. A new podcast focuses on Indigenous stories and storytelling. Powderface herself is of Blackfoot and Nakoda ancestry. Much of the Blackfoot’s histories and stories were, and continue to be, passed down through oral storytelling. Her own personal memories also served as an inspiration. “Growing up, I would go to my grandparent’s house for a visit and they’d just be sitting at the table drinking coffee while talking and sharing stories,” says Powderface. “I don’t think that happens as much anymore and I’d like to bring that back in a contemporary setting.”
(On demand, Available on Spotify & Apple Podcasts)

WORKSHOPS