A play with no actors and no script that has the audience watching from outside the walls of the theatre — it doesn’t get much more innovative than that. In Ce qu’on attend de moi, an audience member becomes the protagonist of an improvised journey to explore an alternate life they could have lead.
Read more: Ce qu’on attend de moi dares us to imagine alternate lives
Glory | Western Canada Theatre and Alberta Theatre Projects | Gateway Theatre | April 4 – 13, 2019
A Chatelaine article from 1933 states that “Ice hockey is a game for which [women’s] soft, unyielding flesh is unsuited.” Helen Schwartz (Kate Dion-Richard), a member of the pioneering Preston Rivulettes, reads this quote in disbelief as she sits with her teammates. Glory is the true story of the Rivulettes fighting back against a society that didn’t think women should play hockey. We’ve come a long way since then, but, as the current lawsuit in US women’s soccer demonstrates, we have a long way to go to achieve gender equality in sports.
Read more: The Preston Rivulettes pave the way for women's hockey in Glory
Dancing chickens, spray bottles of wine, and Cheese Whiz art — just a few of the joyously weird sights in this delightful orchestra that caters to all the senses. By the end of the show, the smell of roasted chicken fills the theatre and audience members have been treated to various delicacies such as lettuce wrapped hotdogs, mashed potato cones, and cups of tea with a whipped cream rim. But it’s not what’s on the plate that’s important — it’s how it gets there.
Read more: Surreal antics and yodel queens combine in New Cackle Sisters: Kitchen Chicken
Gross Misconduct | SpeakEasy Theatre | Gateway Theatre | March 14 – 23, 2019
Meghan Gardiner’s sharply-written Gross Misconduct is a difficult yet important story about sexual assault that explores the complex consequences and repercussions for all involved.
In a stark jail cell with two white boxes serving as beds and harsh fluorescent lighting, Deke (Ian Butcher) enjoys his silence. He tells the guard, Gareth (Scott Bellis), “I haven’t had a cellmate since —…” The unfinished sentence begins to build the suspense as we wonder why Deke is in prison.
Read more: Gross Misconduct is sharply written with plenty of suspense and superb acting
Yoga Play | Gateway Theatre | February 7 – 16, 2019
Playwright Dipika Guha’s Canadian debut, Yoga Play, takes aim at corporate culture, the false authenticity of the yoga lifestyle, and cultural appropriation. The themes and comedic material are all stacked in favour a great play, but the narrative remains on the surface; instead of delving deeply into the issues this production takes a more slapstick approach that didn’t resonate with me.
Joni Mitchell’s songs are full of classic themes of love, environmental consciousness, and social justice. In this marathon musical, her songs have been updated and reimagined with new arrangements or musical styles, and sometimes with new narrative interpretations. Mitchell’s words still retain a great deal of relevance for today’s generation, and Circle Game reminds us of her wisdom.
Read more: Circle Game gives new life to Joni Mitchell classics
The Full Light of Day | Electric Company Theatre | Vancouver Playhouse | January 7 – 12, 2019
This is the most innovative piece of theatre I’ve seen in a long time. The integration of beautiful film elements, suspenseful plot, tense family dynamic, and brilliant cast made for a spectacular production. Ambitious and immersive, this is theatre that’s pushing the art form in new and exciting directions.
Mary (Gabrielle Rose) is an aging matriarch of a wealthy family who feels that she must face her husband’s corrupt past and reject it wholeheartedly before she dies. In an act of redemption, she banishes him from her deathbed and comes to terms with her self-imposed ignorance.
Viva Momix | Momix | DanceHouse | Vancouver Playhouse April 12 – 13, 2019
Impressive acrobatics, innovative props, and a playful sense of humour make Moses Pendleton’s Viva Momix a spectacular show that goes from strength to strength. While there is no narrative or theme connecting all the acts, the pace, variety, and virtuosity of this “best of” collection of 17 numbers, covering more than three decades of work, was enough to keep the audience mesmerized.
Read more: Viva Momix showcases the best of Momix's innovative repertoire
Hieronymus Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights | Compagnie Marie Chouinard | DanceHouse | Vancouver Playhouse | March 15-16, 2019
If there’s any dance company in the world that Hieronymus Bosch’s 500-year-old painting was made for, it’s Compagnie Marie Chouinard. Chouinard’s trademark nude forms have earned her a reputation as a bold choreographer whose works range from idyllic to sinister.
Revisor | Kidd Pivot | DanceHouse | Vancouver Playhouse | February 20 – 23, 2019 | Canadian tour: Ottawa, Feb 27 – March 2, NAC Theatre; Toronto, March 7 – 10, 13 – 16, Canadian Stage; Montreal, April 3 – 6, Dance Danse
There are many standout lines in Revisor, Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young’s innovative dance-theatre hybrid, but the one that has stuck with me is also an apt summation of its theme: “I’m here to move a comma.”
In this tale of mistaken identity, corruption, and abuse of power based on Nikolai Gogol’s The Inspector General (Revizor in the original Russian), a commoner is mistaken as the “Revisor” (Tiffany Tregarthen) who has been sent “from head office” to investigate a political leader.
Read more: Revisor explores the relationship between movement and meaning
