So, what’s up at Firehall next season – A LOT!
The season will open with a presentation of Stranger to Hard Work, written and performed by Cathy Jones, one of the funniest people on television (This Hour Has Twenty-Two Minutes). Familiar and beloved faces from the past season will return with Tracey Power’s Miss Shakespeare making its Firehall debut and the hard-hitting but funny The Motherf..ker with a Hat will be back. Nicole Nattrass’s Mamahood: Turn and Face the Strange explores the good, bad and ugly alongside the funny, absurd and joyful side of motherhood.
From Toronto, Theatre Passe Muraille’s Dora Moore Award nominated ELLE, adapted from Douglas Glover’s award-winning novel, tells the story of a French noblewoman abandoned on the Isle of Demons (off the coast of Newfoundland) in 1542. Mary Vingoe’s eye-opening and powerful play, Refuge tells the emotional story of a child soldier from Eritrea and his experience as a refugee in Canada. Circle Game created by Andrew Cohen and Anna Kuman and inspired by the songs of Joni Mitchell features six young hipsters in search of meaning.
The Firehall Arts Centre dance programming is full of rich treats as well with Out Innerspace Dance Theatre bringing their trail blazing movement to the Firehall in Major Motion Picture andCompany 605 creating an intimate double bill program with Brussels-based long-time Ultima Vezcompany member German Jauregui. The Mars Hotel (first premiering at Dancing on the Edge 2015) and a new work Kwan Yin features the choreography of Ziyian Kwan (dumb instrument dance) and the music of Peggy Lee. Hong Kong Exile will premiere a new work, ROOM 2048 and finally BC BUDS, Firehall’s Spring Arts Festival will be back for its 13th year with readings, theatre, dance and music performances throughout our 109 year old heritage building.
We invite you to join us and become part of the Firehall family of friends. We look forward to seeing you at the theatre!
▪ Donna Spencer, Artistic Producer
September 27-October 8
Stranger to Hard Work
Written and Performed by Cathy Jones
A Firehall Arts Centre Presentation
Canadian cultural icon, comedienne and one of the funniest women on television, Cathy Jones (This Hour Has Twenty-Two Minutes) brings her one woman show to the Firehall stage. In this funny, thought provoking look at what she’s learned in life so far, Cathy gets personal as she shares her unique perspective on food, money, troublesome people and the benefits of laughter.
October 12-15
Major Motion Picture
Out Innerspace Dance Theatre, Vancouver
A Firehall Arts Centre Presentation
Exploring themes of surveillance, territory, propaganda and belief through the creation of eccentric and lawless characters, Major Motion picture draws on influences from Charlie Chaplin to Orson Welles.
With trail-blazing movement seven dancers fight for control of space, losing and gaining the grounds for their power, identity and desire.
October 19-29
Mamahood: turn and face the strange
Written and performed by Nicolle Nattrass
A Firehall Arts Centre Presentation
“Now Mary, she was a good mother huh? Yup. Why? She had the perfect baby. Jesus. You can bet Jesus slept through the night” – an excerpt from Mamahood: turn and face the strange.
Nicolle Nattrass is the mother of a pre-schooler, playwright and actress. In this witty and moving ode to motherhood, she explores the good, the bad and the ugly and the funny, absurd and joyful side of motherhood.
November 5-26
Miss Shakespeare
Written by Tracey Power with music by Steve Charles
A Firehall Arts Centre Production in association with The Escape Artists
It’s the 1600’s and women are banned from the stage, but the suppressed female mind is difficult to stay …well, suppressed. Daddy’s had his turn and the mind of Judith Shakespeare explodes in a saucy new musical as six women explore the seductive power of theatre behind the dingy walls of The Cage Tavern.
“With humor and heart, Miss Shakespeare imagines an underground world of women who broke the rules, first quietly and then brazenly, changing the landscape forever.”- Vancouver Sun
December 7-10
Untitled
Company 605
A Firehall Arts Centre Residency Presentation
Company 605 unveils their newest commissioned collaboration with Brussels-based, long-time Ultima Vez company member German Jauregui within this intimate double-bill program
January 11-28
The Motherf**ker with the Hat
by Stephen Adly Guirgis
A Firehall Arts Centre production in association with Haberdashery Theatre
When this production opened with controversy, audiences flocked to see what was up in this funny but hard-hitting story of Jackie, out on parole and newly sober and his childhood sweetheart and unrelenting coke addict Veronica.
“The language is spectacular and so is the acting”. -Georgia Straight
February 7-18
Elle
Adapted from Douglas Glover’s novel by Severn Thompson
Theatre Passe Muraille
A Firehall Arts Centre presentation
Elle is the story of Marguerite de La Rocque de Roberval, a French noblewoman who set out in 1542 for Canada with her uncle, Jacques Cartier to colonize the new-found country. However, she finds herself abandoned on the deserted Isle of Demons (off the coast of Newfoundland) as punishment for taking a lover during the voyage. In the lead role, Thompson “holds the audience’s attention in a vice grip with her precision, depth and hilarity. Her script is beautifully poetic, and is a master of delivery”. -Mooney on Theatre
February 22-25
The Mars Hotel & Kwan Yin
dumb instrument dance
A Firehall Arts Centre Presentation
Based on a short story by P.W. Bridgman, The Mars Hotel was commissioned for the 2015 Dancing on the Edge Festival and received rave reviews. Set to the music of Peggy Lee and performed by choreographer Ziyian Kwan and performer Noam Gagnon, the work is humorous and highly enjoyable work. Kwan Yin, a new choreography, will complete the program.
March 18-April 1
Refuge
Written by Mary Vingoe
A Firehall Arts Centre Production
What happens when you come to Canada from a war- torn country expecting to be welcomed and discover that things are very different from what was imagined? Refuge tells the emotionally riveting story of a former child soldier from Eritrea who seeks out his mother, a recent immigrant to Canada, and meets people who try to help him. “An important, powerful and eye-opening play”- Halifax Chronicle Herald.
April 8-29
Circle Game
Created by Andrew Cohen and Anna Kuman
Inspired by the songs of Joni Mitchell
A Firehall Arts Centre Production
The enduring music of Joni Mitchell is re-imagined in this energetic musical experience. Conceived and Directed by Vancouver’s theatrical powerhouses (and spouses) Andrew Cohen & Anna Kuman, CIRCLE GAME reintroduces Mitchell’s iconic songs like “Big Yellow Taxi”, “River”, “California”, and “A Case of You” through the eyes and ears of a new generation.
June (dates TBA)
Room 2048
Hong Kong Exile
A Firehall Arts Centre Residency Presentation
This multi-media dance theatre piece explores the socio-political realities of the Cantonese diaspora, sourcing themes of loss, nostalgia and desire that re-occur with selected works of Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai. From the creators of NINEEIGHT.