THEATRE PREVIEW

NOVEMBER 2024 | Volume 245

 

PuSh Announces Programming for its 20th Festival: Audacious. Live. Art.

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival celebrates its 20th Festival, returning to Vancouver January 23 to February 9, 2025. For more than two decades, PuSh Festival has been the Lower Mainland’s signature, mid-winter cultural event delivering audacious, innovative, contemporary works of live art by acclaimed local, national, and international artists.  This year’s festival features dynamic and radical genre-bending works in dance, theatre, multimedia and music at venues across the city.

PuSh 20 features more than 25 presentations including: 20 original performance-based productions; five animated parties and cabaret-style events; two film events; and two artist residencies, one of which will culminate in an open studio showing by international guest artists.

The Festival lineup is dedicated to inspired risk-taking and dynamic interdisciplinary collaboration with visionary works from 13 countries—including 3 world premieres and 8 Canadian debuts.  In addition to a strong Canadian presence with 13 presentations, PuSh’s 2025 international projects include works by artists of Belgium, South Korea, Brazil, United Kingdom, Uruguay, France, Denmark, Italy, Taiwan, USA, Sweden, and Democratic Republic of Congo. PuSh’s commitment to diversity continues with 16 shows created by people of colour; 13 by female or gender non-binary artists; and 8 by 2SLGBTQIA+ artists.

“The 2025 PuSh Festival is a celebration of audacious live art. These are performances and immersive experiences that shift our paradigms for creative expression and how we relate to one another,” says PuSh’s Director of Programming Gabrielle Martin, who has curated and co-curated the past 4 festivals. “In a world increasingly dominated by generative AI, they underscore live performance as a sanctuary of authenticity in an age that risks losing touch with the real. They invite us into the wilds of untethered imaginations and the liberatory spaces of play. Accept the invitation and be transported from the brutalist landscape and inherited mythologies of Bogota, to the astro-glam extravaganza of a dune wars kiki ball, to the 8-kilometers passage between Güzelçamliand Samos, to the neon luminescence of an imagined Saigon nightscape, and beyond.”

Highlights for the 2025 PuSh include two Vancouver Playhouse co-presentations.

Visceral and transgressive, BOGOTÁ by Montreal’s Andrea Peña & Artists constructs a brutalist landscape from choreography inspired by Colombia’s political and spiritual heritage. This raw, physical experience of transmutation and resurrection explores embodied origins, inherited mythologies and mortality, honouring the rebellion of deviant bodies and paying tribute to resilience within the post-colonial era. Presented with New Works in Partnership with VLACC (Jan 31 & Feb 1).

Between dreamlike fiction and stark reality, Dimanche by Belgium’s Focus & Chaliwaté companies paints a sharp yet tender portrait of humanity caught off guard by devastating natural disasters. It depicts the ingenuity and stubbornness of humans as they cling to habits amid ecological collapse, asking: how much longer can we ignore the storm at our door? Presented with The Cultch (Feb 6-8).

PuSh’s animated parties and cabaret-style events for 2025 include Van Vogue Jam’s Dune Wars Kiki Ball (Feb 2), the return of Dances for a Small Stage (Feb 4 & 5), opening and closing parties with surprise performances (Jan 23 & Feb 8), and the return of the frank theatre’s QT Cabaret at Club PuSh (January 29 at 9 p.m). Foregrounding experimentation and delight, this evening will immerse attendees in fearless dance, heart-stopping music, and rapturous drag at the Fox Cabaret.

Rounding out the lineup for 2025’s programming will be two film events: a free marathon screening featuring Brazilian actress Renata Carvalho, the artist behind PuSh’sTranspofagic Manifesto (Feb 9), and a Born in Flames (Lizzie Borden) film screening (Feb 6) at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

PuSh’s Industry Series returns for 2025 from January 28 to February 2.  The conference style gathering is an opportunity for arts leaders (producers, presenters, curators, directors, and more) to collectively dialogue industry issues, spark ideas, make connections, and be transformed by live performance. New this year is the Industry Series Hub at The Post at 750, a convivial late-night gathering space for attendees.

In addition to the on-stage programming of the 20th Festival, PuSh, in partnership with Playwrights Theatre Centre and Festival TransAmériques, will also offer free artistic consultations for local artists with invited national and international dramaturgs. This initiative centres process in order to highlight creative work that is often behind-the-scenes, nourishing individual practice while contributing to collective dramaturgical knowledge systems. 

The PuSh Youth Program is PuSh’s way to engage, support, and uplift a new generation of arts enthusiasts by providing greater access to the performing arts via discounted tickets, educational opportunities, and stimulating conversation. PuSh’s Youth Pass allows youth aged 16-24 to access 4 shows from thePuSh Festival programming at highly discounted rates at only $20.

PuSh continues to support youth in the arts through its partnership with Surrey-based Solid State Community Industries, and the event-planning co-op Symposia. Symposia presents its first iteration of the Elevate Program, a cohort of racialized youth eager to develop their artistic practice who will receive mentorship from a group of local creative professionals and produce a showcase event in July 2025. The Elevate cohort will have the unique opportunity to participate in workshops and conversations with Festival artists,and experience a slate of exciting PuSh shows!

PuSh is excited to continue to expand its community outreach and to work alongside new and long-standing partners including Théâtre la Seizième, The Cultch, New Works Dance in partnership with VLACC, Inner Fish Theatre Society,Music on Main, plastic orchid factory, Small Stage, Touchstone Theatre, Pandemic Theatre, Boca del Lupo, the frank theatre co., ISF, Here & Now (UK), Vancouver Poetry House, VIVO Media Arts Centre, SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, with support from Vancouver Civic Theatres, Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, and the Granville Island Theatre District.

PuSh also celebrates new partnerships with Chilliwack Cultural Centre, The Vancouver Art Gallery, Alliance Française Vancouver, Vancouver International Children’s Festival, Latincouver, and Van Vogue Jam.

The comprehensive 2025 program guide will be available online on November 21 with specific show information. You can also contact info@pushfestival.ca or 604.605.8284.

TICKETING
Ticket prices for most PuSh shows range from $15 to $39.  Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun + Rite of Spring/Compagnie Marie Chouinard at Hub International Theatre, Chilliwack Cultural Centre is $49, with a top-tier seating option for Dimanche at the Vancouver Playhouse for $79.To buy tickets, visit pushfestival.ca or call the PuSh Festival Audience Services info line at 604.449.6000.

Early bird passes are available November 6, offering Festival-goers the opportunity to buy a 6-show Festival Pass for the price of a 4-show Pass. 4- and 6-show passes will go on sale with single-show tickets when Program Launches on November 21, 2024, at pushfestival.ca. Contact tickets@pushfestival.ca for group sales.

About PuSh International Performing Arts Festival (pushfestival.ca)

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is Vancouver’s signature, mid-winter cultural event, taking place over three weeks each January in theatres and venues across the city. PuSh presents ground-breaking, contemporary works of theatre, dance, music, films, and multimedia by acclaimed local, national, and international artists.

2025 PuSh Festival Performances
International companies/artists being presented for PuSh 2025 include: Renata Carvalho (Brazil), Focus &Chaliwaté companies (Belgium), Jaha Koo/CAMPO (South Korea/Belgium), Collectifd'Artd'Art/STUDIOS KABAKO (Democratic Republic of Congo), Tim Etchells/Bert & Nasi (UK/France), Mirko Guido (Denmark/Italy), Lizzie Borden (USA), and Ray Young (UK).

Canadian/International collaborations companies/artists being presented for PuSh 2025 include: Chimerik 似不像 (Canada/Taiwan/UK), Clayton Lee (Canada/UK), and Petrikor Danse (Tiohtià:Ke, Moonniyang, unceded territories guarded by the Kanien'kéhaga people/Uruguay).

Canadian companies/artists being presented include: rice & beans theatre (Vancouver), Gabriel Dharmoo (Montreal), A Wake of Vultures (Vancouver/unceded Coast Salish Territories), Andrea Peña & Artists (Montreal), Kim-Sanh Chau/MIDLAND (Montreal), Theatre Conspiracy/Pandemic Theatre (Vancouver), L'eau du bain (Montreal), and Compagnie Marie Chouinard (Montreal).

All That Remains — Mirko Guido (Denmark/Italy)
DANCE, MULTIMEDIA, VISUAL ART
Jan 23 & 24 at 7:30pm | SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
Post-show talkback Jan 24
Canadian Premiere
Supported by SFU

All That Remains. @Christoffer Brekne - Csongor Szabo

This choreographic work unfolds across a stage scattered with industrial debris and organic matter, where performers engage with their sculptural surroundings in a corporeal topography that collapses the boundary between inner landscapes and external realities. A richly textured work at the crossroads of dance, installation and sound performance, this piece asks how we, as a species fallen out of sync with our environment, can open up new potentialities of relation and becoming.

The History of Korean Western Theatre — Jaha Koo /CAMPO(South Korea/Belgium)
THEATRE, MULTIMEDIA
Jan 23 & 24 at 7:30pm | Roundhouse Performance Centre
Post-show talkback Jan 23
Western Canadian Premiere

Jaha Koo / Campo. Photo by Leontien Allemeersch.

This visionary documentary theatre performance examines how the suppression of culture under Western assimilation has shaped Korean theatre—and by extension the national identity of South Korea. Through a patchwork of personal narratives and historical analysis, it offers a deeply authentic perspective on the past and defiantly imagines a future free from cultural erasure.

Opening Party
Jan 23, 9pm-1am | Fox Cabaret

DJ Dovecake. Photo by Leo Zhao.

Raise the curtain with the PuSh Festival Opening Party! DJ Dovecake’s magnetic rhythms will serve a slice of Berlin’s legendary nightlife with globe-trotting tracks from Bollywood disco and Turkish funk to Afro beats and R&B house. Expect guest performances, including a special appearance from acclaimed Taiwanese performance artist Su PinWen in a playful interrogation of desire and consumption. A night of bold performances, vibrant rhythms, and celebration awaits—come dance, connect, and kick off the festival!

THIRST TRAP — Ray Young (UK)
IMMERSIVE SOUND EXPERIENCE
Jan 23–Feb 9 | Your bathtub
Canadian Premiere
Presented with the frank theatre co.

THIRST TRAP is a sound piece exploring the correlation between climate and social justice that audiences experience through multi-sensory materials from the comfort of their bathtubs. Originally conceived during lockdown, it bridges distance through shared action, emphasizing the link between self-care and environmental care, while urging collective action toward a future built on equity and sustainability.

Géométrie de vies (The Geometry of Lives) — Collectifd’Artd’Art / STUDIOS KABAKO (Democratic Republic of Congo)
THEATRE
Jan 25 & 26 (Jan 25 at 7:30pm & Jan 26 at 2pm) |Performance Works
+ Online: Jan 25–Feb 9
Post-show talkback Jan 25
Presented with Vancouver Poetry House
North American Premiere

Geometrie de vies by Kasau Wa Mambwe.

Géométrie de vies is a vibrant narrative poem linking two young lives on the long road of the displaced through theatre, song and dance. Crafting a contemporary history, performers trace curves, straight lines and broken lines as they strive to uncover sense from the past of a nation scarred by colonization.

L’addition — Tim Etchells /Bert & Nasi(UK/France)
THEATRE
Jan 25 (French) & Jan 26 (English) at 7:30pm | Alliance Français
Post-show talkback Jan 25 (French)/Jan 26 (English)
Presented with Alliance Française Vancouver in Association with Here & Now
Canadian Premiere

L'addition, Bertrand Lesca, Nasi Voutsas, cred Christophe Raynaud-Delage.

Two men at a restaurant. One is a waiter. The other, a customer. Perfectly normal. Or so it seems. What follows is an unpredictable descent into chaos, where a seemingly commonplace interaction fractures into an absurdist kaleidoscope of shifting angles, reflecting the directionlessness of the modern world and the comically nonsensical nature of life.

Habitat — Petrikor Dance (Tiohtià:Ke, Moonniyang, unceded territories guarded by the Kanien'kéhaga people/Uruguay)
DANCE, THEATRE, MULTI-DISCIPLINARY
Jan 28 & 29 at 7pm| Scotiabank Dance Centre
Post-show talkback Jan 28 & 29
Presented with Inner Fish Theatre Society & Latincouver
Western Canadian Premiere

Habitat-Petrikordanse. Denis Martin.

Bettina Szabo’s choreography of intuitive contortions transforms an entrancing interaction with a seemingly sentient structure into a visual symphony of deep-sea bioluminescence. As she fuses with her new shelter, the audience is drawn into a hypnotic meditation on the search for home and a space of empathy for the unfamiliar.

Bijuriya— Gabriel Dharmoo(Canada)
DANCE, THEATRE, MUSIC, DRAG
Jan 28 & 29 at 7:30pm| Annex
Post-show talkback Jan 28
Presented with Music on Main &Indian Summer Festival

Bijuriya Weird Bollywood. KW Open Ears. Credit Bangishimo, Gabriel Dharmoo.

In this quirky yet poignant examination of the intersections between queerness and brownness, Gabriel Dharmoo engages in a self-reflexive dialogue with his drag persona, Bijuriya. This musical conversation delves into the power of song to express the hybrid, multifaceted layers that coexist within identity, offering an insightful reflection on the fluidity of human experience.

BLEU NÉON — Châu Kim-Sanh / MIDLAND (Canada)
DANCE, THEATRE
Jan 28 & 29 at 8:30pm | Left of Main
Post-show talkback Jan 28
Presented with plastic orchid factory
Vancouver Premiere

BLEU NEON Kinga Michalska. Kim-Sanh Châu.

Bathed in the neon luminescence of an imagined Saigon nightscape, Châu Kim-Sanh performs meticulous motions entirely from the squat position, a posture deeply ingrained in Asian daily life and culture. The percussive incantations of her rap vocals form a prayer to the embodied yearning and fantasized nostalgia widely experienced within the Asian diaspora.

QT Cabaret @ Club PuSh (Canada) 
Club PuSh
Jan 29 at 9pm | Club PuSh at The Fox Cabaret
Curated by Fay Nass and Anais West, Produced by the frank theatre company

Club PuSh photo by SRace

Save the date, queer and trans cuties! The frank theatre’s annual QT Cabaret returns to Club PuSh — a night celebrating queer, trans and QTBIPOC artists that make our hearts skip a beat! Part dance party, part variety show, all queer joy, we're bringing you a swoon-worthy line-up of 2SLGBTQ+ creators. Foregrounding experimentation and delight, this evening will challenge and enthrall you. Immerse yourself in fearless dance, heart-stopping music, and rapturous drag.

SWIM — Theatre Conspiracy / Pandemic Theatre (Canada)
THEATRE
Jan 30–Feb 2 (Jan 30 at 7pm + Jan 31 at 5pm & 8pm + Feb 1 at 1pm & 3:30pm + Feb 2 at 2pm) | Vancity Culture Lab, The Cultch
Post-show talkback Jan 31 at 5pm
Presented with Touchstone Theatre & The Cultch
World Premiere

Credit Allie Wood.

SWIM is an immersive sensorial experience that imagines challenges endured by refugees who brave the treacherous crossing between Güzelçamli, Turkey and asylum on the Greek island of Samos. Harnessing cutting-edge technologies to simulate audio and tactile sensations, SWIM invites the audience to meditate upon the emotional toll of displacement and sacrifices made in pursuit of new beginnings.

Lasa Ng Imperyo (A Taste of Empire) — rice & beans theatre(Canada)
THEATRE
Jan 30–Jan 31 & Feb 4–8 (Jan 30 at 7pm + Jan 31 at 6pm + Feb 4, 5, 6 at 7pm + Feb 8 at 2pm, Dark Feb 7) | The NEST
Post-show talkback Feb 4 & 6
Presented with Boca del Lupo
World Premiere

Lasa Ng Imperyo (Taste of Empire) credit Emily Cooper

In a surprising fusion of theatre and gastronomy, this Tagalog adaptation of A Taste of Empire guides audiences across the layered history of Philippine cultural heritage through a live cooking demonstration. As a dish of stuffed milkfish comes to life, so do the stories within its ingredients, prompting reflections on how colonial legacies shape today’s global food market.

The Goldberg Variations — Clayton Lee (Canada/UK)
THEATRE, PERFORMANCE ART
Jan 30 at 9pm | Waterfront Theatre
Post-show talkback Jan 30
Western Canadian Premiere

Goldberg Variations Clayton Lee. Photo by Kenneth Koo.

Through an unapologetic investigation of desire, power dynamics and identity, Clayton Lee explores his childhood obsession with the professional wrestler Bill Goldberg and the impact it has had on his sexual and romantic history. The perplexing crossroads between dominance, submission, heartbreak and vulnerability are laid bare in this candid and thoroughly unconventional performance where fantasies are both indulged and deconstructed.

SEEING DOUBLE: Walking at Night by Myself + K BODY AND MIND — A Wake of Vultures (Unceded Coast Salish Territories)
THEATRE, MULTIMEDIA
Feb 1 & 2 (Feb 1: Waking at Night by Myself at 7pm + K BODY AND MIND at 8:30pm / Feb 2: K BODY AND MIND at 7pm + Waking at Night by Myself at 9pm (discounted tickets if seeing double bill or purchase individual tickets for each show) | Scotiabank Dance Centre
+ Online Feb 1–9
Post-show talkback Feb 1 after K BODY AND MIND

Walking at Night by Myself. Photo by A Wake of Vultures.

SEEING DOUBLE pays tribute to spooky late-night double features with two performances that push pulpy cinematic genres into uncharted conceptual territories. Stripping the psychological horror genre down to its bare bones, Walking at Night by Myself undermines the reliability of perception in an audiovisual blitz of vivid surround sound and optical illusion.K BODY AND MIND is a cyberpunk odyssey channeled through a multimedia experience that reflects on tech-assisted immortality.

BOGOTÁ — Andrea Peña & Artists (Canada)
DANCE
Jan 31 & Feb 1 at 8pm | Vancouver Playhouse
Post-show talkback Jan 31
Presented with New Works in Partnership with Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre
Western Canadian Premiere

BOGOTA. Credit Felixe Godbout Delavaud.

Visceral and transgressive, BOGOTÁ constructs a brutalist landscape from choreography inspired by Colombia’s political and spiritual heritage. This raw, physical experience of transmutation and resurrection explores embodied origins, inherited mythologies and mortality, honouring the rebellion of deviant bodies and paying tribute to resilience within the post-colonial era.

De glace (From Ice) — L’eau du bain (Canada)
THEATRE
Jan 31–Feb 2 (in French: Jan 31 at 7:30pm + Feb 2 at 2pm / in English: Feb 1 & 2 at 7:30pm + Feb 1 at 2pm) | Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre
Post-show talkback Jan 31 (French) + Feb 1 at 2pm (English)
Presented with Theatre la Séizieme & Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Western Canadian Premiere

De glace (From Ice) — L’eau du bain. Jonathan Lorange.

Step into a frozen otherworld where friendship transcends the mortal realm in this mesmerizing tale of two girls bound by an unbreakable connection. Inspired by a Nordic literary gem, From Ice weaves its enchantment through smoke, light and dreamlike disorientation as ethereal voices guide spectators through snowy obscurity.

Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun + The Rite of Spring — Compagnie Marie Chouinard (Canada)
DANCE
Feb 3 at 7:30pm | HUB International Theatre, Chilliwack Cultural Centre
Presented with Chilliwack Cultural Centre
Canadian Premiere

Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun

Marie Chouinard presents two unorthodox performances inspired by Ballets Russes masterpieces and reimagined into viscerally provocative experiences. Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun interprets the lustful flirtations of a half-goat creature with raw, primal physicality and The Rite of Spring captures the explosive energy of creationin a vivid celebration of dance as it bursts into modernity.

Dune Wars Kiki Ball — Van Vogue Jam (Canada)
VOGUE, MUSIC, DANCE
Feb 2, 3pm-9pm | The Birdhouse
Presented with Van Vogue Jam

Van Vogue Jam’s Dune Wars Kiki Ball, Photo By Simone Chnarakis.

On February 2, the cosmic forces of Van Vogue Jam and PuSh Festival converge for a showdown of galactic proportions: Dune Wars Kiki Ball. This astro-glam extravaganza celebrates the creativity of marginalized communities through otherworldly performances of cosplay self-expression, where contestants storm the runway in extraterrestrial hair sculptures, metallic robot chic and sandworm couture. As prophecies are fulfilled and legends unfold, it’s going to get spicy!

Dances for a Small Stage — Small Stage (Canada)
DANCE
Feb 4 & 5 at 6:30pm | Please Beverage Co (Tent)
Post-show talkback Feb 5

DANCES FOR A SMALL STAGE. Nicole Rose Bond.

PuSh Festival and Small Stage unite for an eclectic showcase of ten experimental, short dance pieces by femme and non-binary artists from different generations and dance practices. These short works prove that brevity is the soul of wit, but don’t let their length fool you: big things come in small packages on
this intimate stage that turns minimal space into a canvas for boundless creativity.

BORN IN FLAMES — Lizzie Borden (USA)
FILM
Feb 6 at 6pm | SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
Post-show talkback with Director following the reception
Presented with SFU's Vancity Office of Community Engagement

Shot in 1983 with low-fi guerrilla filmmaking aesthetics, Born in Flames is a pioneering work of feminist sci-fi cinema that unfolds in an alternate United States where groups of militant women rise against injustice in a genre-defying indictment of real-world patriarchy. Co-presented with SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement, the screening will be followed by an in-person Q&A with filmmaker Lizzie Borden, offering audiences a rare opportunity to engage with the visionary filmmaker of this incisive critique of institutional power and systemic inequality.

Dimanche — Focus & Chaliwaté Companies (Belgium)
THEATRE
Feb 6–8 at 7:30pm | Vancouver Playhouse
Presented with The Cultch
Canadian Premiere

Dimanche. Mihaela Bodlovic.

Between dreamlike fiction and stark reality, Dimanche paints a sharp yet tender portrait of humanity caught off guard by devastating natural disasters. It depicts the ingenuity and stubbornness of humans as they cling to habits amid ecological collapse, asking: how much longer can we ignore the storm at our door?

Inner Sublimity — Chimerik 似不像 (Canada/Taiwan/UK)
DANCE, MULTIMEDIA, VISUAL ART
Run Feb 7–9 (Feb 7 & 8 at 9pm + Feb 9 at 7pm) | Vancouver Art Gallery
Post-show talkback Feb 9
Presented with The Vancouver Art Gallery
World Premiere

Inner Sublimity - Sheng Ho

Inner Sublimity traverses currents of Eastern and Western philosophy through dance, creating a dynamic dialogue between traditions preserved across generations. Through this synthesis of paradigms, the artists spark new connections between disparate cultural backgrounds, carving an artistic practice that challenges colonial narratives and enriches contemporary explorations of spirituality.

Transpofagic Manifesto — Renata Carvalho (Brazil)
THEATRE
Feb 7 & 8 (Feb 7 at 8pm + Feb 8 at 7pm) | Waterfront Theatre
North American Premiere
Presented with Latincouver

Transpofagic Manifesto - Renata de Cervalho - Trema Festival - Foto Danilo Galvão.

Transpofagic Manifesto is a courageous and thought-provoking work that challenges perceptions of gender non-conforming and transfeminine people. Through a radical expression of empowerment, Renata Carvalho subverts the obsessive scrutiny of trans bodies, distilling this gaze and transforming it into art, literature and education. 

OUT — Ray Young (UK)
DANCE, THEATRE
Feb 8 & 9 (Feb 8 at 9pm + Feb 9 at 5pm | Performance Works
Post-show talkback Feb 9
Canadian Premiere
Presented with the frank theatre co.

OUT. Cred Rosie Powell.

OUT is a defiant challenge to the status quo that bravely carves out a new kind of space, reclaiming and celebrating our queer future. This performance dances in solidarity alongside global 2SLGBTQIA+ movements, breaking down violent histories to imagine something new. Something liberated. Something delicious.

Renata Carvalho Film Retrospective — Renata Carvalho (Brazil)
FILM
Feb 9, 12pm-7:30pm (multiple screening start times) | SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
Post-screening talkback at 6:45pm, following the final film
Supported by SFU

Immerse yourself in Brazilian queer cinema with six films exploring themes from forbidden desire and sexual health to transphobia and the struggle for equality amidst the rise of far-right politics. Complementing her Transpofagic Manifesto performance at the festival, each film features Renata Carvalho, a leading voice for trans advocacy in Brazil and beyond, who will host an in-person discussion about her film Body: Its Autobiography, exploring cinema’s unique significance for queer communities.

RESIDENCIES/RELATED EVENTS

Joseph K. KasauWa Mambwe (Democratic Republic of Congo) / Majula Drammeh (Sweden) / Thabiaso Kubheka Persson (Sweden)
ARTIST RESIDENCY AND INTERACTIVE THEATRE INSTALLATION
What is already here? 
Throughout the Festival
Studio Showing and Discussion: Feb 7, 5pm-7pm | VIVO Media Arts
Presented with VIVO Media Arts Centre

What is already here. Majula Drammeh.

In a world fixated on unyielding technological progress, this interactive theatre installation in-development urges audiences to reconnect with the tangible through a resounding affirmation of collective belonging. Set in a subterranean laboratory built from discarded electronic waste, the work-in-development draws on ancestral wisdom and Afrofuturist visions, inviting participants to challenge their digital dependencies and rediscover what it means to be human in a time of digital alienation.         

The public is invited to a studio showing of this work-in-progress for a special glimpse into the artists’ creative process, providing a unique opportunity to engage in a collaborative conversation between audience and creators.

Andréane Leclerc/Nadère arts vivants (Canada)
ARTIST RESIDENCY AND ARTIST TRAINING
Throughout the Festival

Andréane Leclerc has developed a somatic practice inspired by contortion for over 25 years. She deconstructs the physical language of spectacle and explores limits as structure to create transdisciplinary scenic works based on cooperation, listening and relational ecology.

Throughout the Festival, Andréane will be sharing her practice through a variety of workshops and consultations for students and professionals.

ACTIVITIES/RELATED EVENTS:
Contortion: Opening Amplitude and Movement of the Spine February 3, 5, & 7, 9:30am-12pm | Scotiabank Dance Centre
For professional dance artists
Drop in. Visit pushfestival.ca/push-in-the-community/ for information on fees and more.
Presented with Training Society of Vancouver

Contortion: Opening Amplitude and Movement of the Spine is for all physical performers to develop hyper-consciousness of the body's inner sensations and an intimate dialogue with its limits as allies. In order to demystify the movement and amplitude of the spine, Andréane Leclerc offers tools for flexibility and addresses breathing, posture and endurance to explore the possibilities of amplitude in a safe and respectful way.

DRAMATURGY CLINICS
Feb 2–4, various times
For professional artists of the performing arts 
Application required.
Presented with Playwrights Theatre Centre 

The Dramaturgy Clinics are free dramaturgical consultations for local artists of any performing arts or interdisciplinary practice currently engaged in a creative process. One of the 2025 Dramaturgy Clinics’ dramaturgs, Andréane Leclerc will be offering consultations from her practice as circus and interdisciplinary dramaturg, movement consultant and researcher on scenic writing from a somatic and inter-relational perspective. Inspired by Festival Trans Amériques Cliniques dramaturgiques, this program nourishes individual practices while enriching our collective definitions and applications of dramaturgy. 

Many other activities and events featuring artists being presented at the 20th PuSh Festival will be offered over the course of the Festival. For full details, please visit https://pushfestival.ca/push-in-the-community/

LISTING INFORMATION 20th Anniversary PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

Dates: January 23–February 9, 2025

Ticket Prices:

$15 - $39 plus FREE events
$49 - Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun + Rite of Spring/  Compagnie Marie Chouinard at HUB International Theatre, Chilliwack Cultural Centre
+ Top-tier ticket options available for Dimanche and Bogotà at the Vancouver Playhouse

Location: Various Vancouver Venues

Audience Services: 604.449.6000 / tickets@pushfestival.ca

Website: pushfestival.ca

 

 

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