BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition October 2018

THEATRE
PLACES, PLEASE
YOUR MONTHLY THEATRE GUIDE
LEAH SIEGEL
Theatre lovers of Vancouver, rejoice! Between the
shorter days and the return of the rain, we no longer
have to feign enthusiasm for the outdoors. This
October, we travel back and forth in time, explore
the rust belt, and talk about sex. In the immortal
words of Marvin Gaye, “Let’s get it on.”
Incognito Mode: A Play About Porn at
Studio 58 September 27-October 14
Pornhub was founded a little over ten years ago,
and since then its influence has swelled. Enlarged.
Erm, hardened. In 2017, it had 81 million visits per
day. What does it mean to have grown up with the
internet and such easy access to porn, and what does
it entail for the future?
Director Chelsea Haberlin says she was drawn to
the project because of the taboo of pornography. “I
am sure this show will spark conversation,” she says.
“This is the kind of show that people will love or hate
but no one will feel indifferent.” The folks over at
Neworld Theatre and Langara’s Studio 58 have been
workshopping this original drama since last spring,
so there’s bound to be an interesting take on it.
Honestly, though: when is porn not interesting?
A Vancouver Guldasta at the Cultch
October 2-21
Director and playwright Paneet Singh wanted to
explore the idea of politicizing trauma in his new play
put on in collaboration with SACHA. In A Vancouver
Guldasta, or A Vancouver Bouquet, we follow a local
Punjabi family living in the 1980s, with a Vietnamese
refugee family residing in their basement. From
across the world they watch the unfolding of
“Operation Bluestar,” India’s armed invasion of the
Sikh’s sacred Golden Temple, and must navigate
transnational political, religious, and cultural turmoil.
However, this story is ultimately about community:
“Sprinkled among many of the enclaves in Vancouver
are countless inter-cultural stories that exist because
of the way we live here,” Singh says over a Facebook
message, and “what results is a genuine bouquet
of human experience.” He adds, “I am hoping that
audiences will really allow themselves to revel in a
truly Vancouver experience, and leave feeling like
they’re taken part in a conversation which they
otherwise would never have had the privilege to be
a part of.”
A Brief History of Human Extinction at
The Cultch October 10-20
It’s 2178, and an insidious fungal plague (and no,
that’s not a nickname for Donald Trump,) has
effectively made it impossible for life to continue on
Earth. The last man, woman, and otter have found
safety in some science-lab-thingamjig that will
theoretically transport them to a different planet. At
least, that’s the plan. Things get complicated when
they hear something moving outside of the lab, and
it sounds like it wants in. If you watched Interstellar
and thought it could have been improved by an
otter puppet (an odd, but understandable opinion),
you’re in luck.
Sweat at Artsclub
October 18-November 18
American playwright Lynn Nottage won the Pulitzer
in 2017 for Sweat, a play that has been hailed by The
New Yorker as “the first theatrical landmark of the
Trump era.” In it, we travel to Reading, Pennsylvania,
a mid-size city with one of the highest poverty rates
in the states. (It is also, unrelatedly, the birthplace
of Taylor Swift.) In the year 2000, factory workers
Tracey, Jessie, and Cynthia find their friendship
weakened when Cynthia (who is African-American)
is promoted, while their own jobs are threatened by
outsourcing. In their envy, Tracey and Jessie claim
there’s unfair affirmative action at work behind
Cynthia’s upward mobility, and this sets the scene
for a racial tension that divides the town for years to
come. Timely, no?
Javaad Alipoor (UK)/Presented with Diwali in BC
THE BELIEVERS
ARE BUT BROTHERS
An electronic maze of fantasists, meme
culture, 4chan, the alt-right, and ISIS
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THECULTCH.COM
A Brief History Of Human Extinction will give you something to live for Oct 10 to 20 at the Cultch.
10
October 2018