THEATRE PREVIEW
AUGUST 2024 | Volume 242
Photo by Dahlia Katz
As You Like It, or The Land Acknowledgment
by Cliff Cardinal
Crow's Theatre
The Cultch
York Theatre
Sept. 25-29
From $29
www.thecultch.com or 604-251-1363
BUY TICKETS
Cliff Cardinal's provocative award-winning play returns to the York Theatre this fall
The Cultch is thrilled to present Cliff Cardinal's As You Like It or The Land Acknowledgement, a production from Crow's Theatre (Toronto). As You Like It or The Land Acknowledgement will come to the York Theatre, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, September 25-29, 2024.
The title of William Shakespeare's As You Like It holds a double meaning that teasingly suggests this is a play to please all tastes. Is that possible? Shakespeare's comedy is a timeless tale of mistaken identities, banishment, and forgiveness which takes on an entirely new meaning in As You Like It or The Land Acknowledgement, a play that baits and switches an audience expecting the bard's classic. Written, created, and performed by Cliff Cardinal, whose Cree and Lakota heritage deeply informs his perspective, As You Like It or The Land Acknowledgement, is a devastating yet laugh-out-loud examination of land acknowledgements as cultural and political practice.
When it first premiered in 2021—at Streetcar Crowsnest in Toronto, on September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation—it was billed as "William Shakespeare's AS YOU LIKE IT, A Radical Retelling by Cliff Cardinal". Audiences were kept in the dark about the details of the show, fully expecting to see a version of Shakespeare's As You Like It until they were sitting in their seats when they were surprised by Cardinal's mischievous play. At the end of each performance, audiences were asked to maintain secrecy to ensure the surprise for future patrons.
Despite the ruse and the mystery surrounding it, Cardinal's show generated enormous buzz gaining momentum as it toured around Canada, including a sold-out run in February 2022 at The Cultch's York Theatre as part of PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.
In 2023 the play won the Governor General's Literary Award for Drama. "In a blistering indictment of the country we call Canada, Cliff Cardinal challenges us to ask ourselves what role we play and are prepared to play on the path forward," said a statement from the peer assessment committee. "It spares no one, not even the performer himself. It's a rant, a fool, a stand-up routine and an angry personal essay full of humour, insights and surprises."
Now in 2024, As You Like It or The Land Acknowledgement continues to be a hit, drawing large audiences as it travels across the country and the Cultch is excited to have it back at their York Theatre to kick off their 24/25 season.
"The Canadian arts surprise of the year" —The Globe and Mail
"a must-see from one of the most important playwrights and performers in Canada."—Toronto Star
"As subversive as it is amusing" —Stir Vancouver
Creator and Writer: Cliff Cardinal
Co-Conspirator, Crow's Theatre Artistic Director: Chris Abraham
Lighting Designer: Logan Raju Cracknell
Stage Manager: Jennifer Stobart
Crow's Theatre Executive Director: Sherrie Johnson
WHEN: SEP 25–29, 2024
WED, SEP 25: 7:30 PM
THURS, SEP 26: 7:30 PM
FRI, SEP 27: 7:30 PM
SAT, SEP 28: 7:30 PM
SUN, SEP 29: 2:00 PM
WHERE: York Theatre, 639 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC
TICKETS: Tickets from $29. Single tickets on sale now through The Cultch's Box Office: 604-251-1363 or thecultch.com/event/as-you-like-it-or-the-land-acknowledgment
There are complimentary tickets available for Indigenous patrons thanks to the support of the Ronald S. Roadbug Foundation. Contact outreach@thecultch.com for more details and to book tickets through The Cultch's Indigenous Ticket Program.
AUDIENCE ADVISORY: This production contains strong language and examines mature themes, including war and its associated violence, colonization, sexual violence, gun violence, mass murder, and suicide. Recommended for ages 14+.
ABOUT CROW'S THEATRE:
For 40 years, Crow's Theatre has been a leading force in the Canadian theatre landscape, recognized for provocative and award-winning new theatre works that premiere in Toronto often followed by national and international tours. Crow's Theatre is distinguished as a preeminent cultural destination for its far-reaching imagination, ideas, exchange, diversity, and grassroots belief that the arts are essential to healthy and thriving communities. crowstheatre.com
ABOUT THE CULTCH:
Since 1973, The Cultch (formally the Vancouver East Cultural Centre) has been one of Vancouver's most diverse and innovative arts and cultural hubs. The organisation operates three theatrical venues, a gallery, various ancillary spaces in the heart of East Vancouver, as well as digital programming through The Cultch Online that reaches international audiences. The Cultch offers dynamic contemporary programming in theatre, dance, music, and the visual arts, bringing world-class cultural presentations to thousands of citizens each year through its own programming and through providing rental opportunities for community users. Our purpose is to provide a venue for performance that serves a diverse and engaged public and provides space for artistic experimentation and development, building an audience for local companies and presenting cutting-edge national and international work.
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