Mine. Claire Haigh photo.
A new play that looks at mother-son relationships through a gaming perspective is among the theatre highlights for March. Also, look for the Arts Club’s production of the award-winning Carried Away on the Crest of a Wave, about the devastation wrought by the 2004 tsunami.
New:
The Wedding Party (Feb. 27-March 22 at Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre—A cast of six play 20 characters who are attending a wedding in this new farce from Toronto playwright Kristen Thomson. An Arts Club/Prairie Theatre Exchange co-production. (Tickets:from $29 at artsclub.com and 604-687-1644)
Jasmine Chen and Andrea Del Campo in a scene from The Wedding Party. Matt Duboff photo.
Best of Enemies (Feb 28- March 21, Pacific Theatre, 1440 W. 12th Ave.)—Mark St. Germain’s play about an African-American woman who confronts a KKK member of public schools in Durham, North Carolina in 1971. (Tickets: $20-36.50 at pacifictheatre.org and 604-731-5518)
The House at Pooh Corner (Feb 29-March 29, Waterfront Theatre)—Winnie the Pooh and his friends embark on a string of adventures in this adaptation of A.A. Milne’s book. Puppetry, music included. Recommended for ages 3 to 8. (Tickets: $18-35 at tickets.carouseltheatre.ca or 604-685-6217)
Pooh Corner. Tim Matheson photo.
Inheritance: a choose-your-adventure experience (March 3-15, Annex Theatre, 823 Seymour St.) – The audience decides the fate of a property in remote BC. At key moments, the three actors halt the play and offer multiple plot choices to the audience. Daniel Arnold, Darrell Dennis, and Medina Hahn wrote and star in the piece, which is an Alley/Touchstone Theatre co-production and developed with the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre. (Tickets: from $19 at theatrewire.com)
Medina Hahn, Daniel Arnold, and Darrell Dennis wrote and star in Inheritance: a choose-your-adventure experience March 3-15 at the Annex.
Emily Cooper photo.
Broken Tailbone (March 11-14 at Performance Works)—Local writer/actor Carmen Aguirre leads the audience in a dance lesson and tells the story of how she broke her tailbone. (Tickets: $20-25 at bocadellupo.com)
Carmen Aguirre. Erin Brubacher photo.
Mine (March 18-22, Cultch Historic Theatre, 1895 Venables St.)—From Vancouver’s Theatre Replacement comes this spring break-ready show with a group of gamer/performers aged 11 to 47 enacting different mother-son narratives—from Bambi, to The Terminator, to the Beowulf saga, all using the video game Minecraft. Mine is live-operated from start to finish, and is described as an “intergenerational performance that both interrogates and recognizes the role technology plays in our modern parent-child relationships.” (Tickets: from $26 at tickets.thecultch.com)
Carried Away On the Crest of a Wave (March 19-April 19 at the Stanley, )—David Yee’s play unfolds in a series of breathtaking vignettes in an attempt to grapple with the devastation caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that claimed over a quarter of a million lives and devastated coastal communities in a dozen different countries. Yee wrote the play, winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama and the 2013 Carol Bolt Award from the Playwrights Guild of Canada, after conducting interviews with and reading accounts from survivors. (Tickets: $29 at artsclub.com and 604-687-1644)
Ongoing:
Dear Evan Hansen (until March 1, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 630 Hamilton St.)—The winner of six 2017 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Dear Evan Hansen is one of the biggest Broadway hits of the decade. Find out more here.
Le NoShow (until March 1, Performance Works on Granville Island)—Théâtre la Seizième presents this interactive experience which asks (among other things): “How much are spectators willing to pay for their ticket to Le NoShow Vancouver?” (Tickets: from $0 at seizieme.ca and 604.736.2616)
Cipher (until March 7, Granville Island Stage, 1585 Johnston St, Granville Island)—A toxicology professor and a mysterious young man attempt to unlock the mystery of the Beacon Hill Body, a fictional, 63-year-old Vancouver Island cold case. This Arts Club co-production with Calgary’s Vertigo Theatre is a daring, sexy and ultimately satisfying experience. Recommended. (Tickets: $29 at artsclub.com or the Arts Club Box Office at 604.687.1644)
Steel Magnolias (until March 8 at The Nest, 1398 Cartwright St., Granville Island)—Six local female actors in the play that inspired the hit film adaptation starring Julia Roberts. (Tickets: $28 at steelmagnoliasvancouver.com)
Talking Sex on Sundays (until March 8, Firehall Arts Centre, 280 E. Cordova St)—A new musical comedy about a group of women who decide to have a sex-toy party. (Tickets: From $25 at firehallartscentre.ca and 604-689-0926)
Forget Me Not (until March 20, secret location)—One hundred people, 100 puppets, a secret location. This is the Vancouver premiere of Forget Me Not, the fourteenth production from Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes. ($94 at tickets.thecultch.com and 604-251-1363)
