The 34th Rhubarb Festival is on....

For two weeks, over 100 local and international artists transform Buddies in Bad Times Theatre into a hotbed of creativity and experimentation, sharing new ideas in contemporary theatre, performance art, dance, and music with adventure-loving audiences. This year's Festival Director Laura Nanni brings you some great entertainment and thought provoking theatre. Here are a few stills from some of the highlighted shows this year.  

Fay Slift and the Three Bears
 Ladybear Extraordinaire Fay Slift stars as Goldilocks in a high-drag, choose-your-own-adventure take on this familiar fairy tale.

created and performed by Trixie & Beever with John Paul Kane and Kaleb Robertson | directed by Lindsay Barton | choreographer / outside eye Kitty Neptune | costume design Atom Cianfarani | make up design and photography David Hawe | set and prop design Nina Bunjevac.

 And Dirty Plotz  a one-night only event TONIGHT.  An ensemble of female performers take on the historical exclusion and erasure of women in art and social justice movements.

curated and hosted by Alex Tigchelaar | featuring Jess Dobkin, Christine Pountney, Keisha Scott, Laura Kane, Hoa Nguyen and Zoe Whittall | choreography by Cat Nimmo

 

 Also, Graceful Rebellions is on this weekend.
 Meet Laily, Wazma, and Zenat. Each have a story to tell. Each suffer for joys divine and destructive and all have much to lose. Can an Afghan woman gain power under the rule of man?

written and performed by Shaista Latif | directed by Evalyn Parry | YCU Director Evalyn Parry
image by Kai Wa Yapp

You should also check out All The Ladies. This visceral dance performance builds and deconstructs ideas of femininity inside the frame of an all-female fight club.

choreography by Sasha Kleinplatz | interpreters Kelly Keenan, Rosie Cantin and Angie Cheng

Disco Hospital where you can experience a new queer shamanism in this performance ritual that combines therapeutic touch and sonic therapy. Participants are invited to bring an offering in exchange for this experience. Disco Hospital  is part of the one-to-one series which are held off-site at 519.

artist and clinical sonician Andrew Zealley.

These are just a few of the shows and events going on at Buddies over the next two weeks.  Be sure to check out the whole first week schedule here, and next week's schedule here.  Rhubarb is not like other festivals. There are plenty of different ways to see performances, you rarely see only one show, you’re travelling from place to place, and you often end up seeing something you never expected. Here’s a handy cheat sheet to help you decide what you want to see, and explain how you go about seeing it – all of the headings refer to the colour-coded bars you see in the show descriptions

Week One & Week Two Programs. These 12 shows run for an entire week, Wednesday to Sunday evenings, in one of the two performance spaces at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. At any given point, there are shows happening in both spaces, so when you arrive at the theatre pick the show you want to see first, and 30 minutes later when it’s done you can either stay where you are or move to the other space for your next performance. A $20 Evening Pass gets you in to the entire night of programming.

Special Presentations. These shows are special events that happen after the regular program for one or two nights only. Admission to Special Presentations is included in your Evening Pass.

Mobile Works. These are special performances designed for public spaces, and happen in various locations around the city. The location of each performance is included in its show listing above, and some of them either travel or take place outside so remember to bundle up. All Mobile Works presentations are free.

The One-To-One Performance Series. These are intimate performance designed for a single performer and one audience member at a time  – they all take place offsite at The 519 Church Street Community Centre. When booking your ticket, think of it like making an appointment: you can call ahead to our box office to schedule your personal time with an artist, or you can drop in to The 519 and see what’s available (a certain number of tickets for every performance will be held for drop-ins). Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can.

Young Creators Unit. These are 30 minute solo performances from four emerging voices that have been mentored through our Queer youth Arts Program. Performances take place every Saturday and Sunday beginning at 6PM. Each weekend features two different artists and your ticket gets you in to both performances. Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can.

Finally, a special note. The Faroe Islands will also be taking place offsite at The 519. While not a One-To-One performance, it is staged in an intimate environment for 10-15 people per show. Tickets to this Special Presentation are Pay-What-You-Can.