The Firehall Arts Centre is thrilled to announce its 39th season, and Artistic Producer Donna Spencer has proudly programmed it as a Reunion Season.
“We have heard from Firehall audiences how much they miss theatre and dance in their lives,” says Spencer. “And in our 2021-2022 season, we are looking forward to having a reunion – a reunion with them and with the artists and creative teams we have missed so much. In some instances, the productions will be reuniting the Firehall with artists we haven’t worked with for a long time, and in others, our creative teams will be exploring stories that reunite characters with their past.”
The Firehall’s 2021-22 Reunion Season opens with the world premiere of Raven Spirit Dance’s Chapter 21 from September 29 to October 3. Choreographed by Starr Muranko and directed by Yvette Nolan, Chapter 21 explores what happens when a vibrant, powerful artist comes face to face with a crippling collision of events. A dance/theatre piece, Chapter 21 is a reflection on the days that have come to pass and the art of becoming.
Paddle Song, running November 9-21, tells the story of Mohawk poet, Pauline Johnson, in this energetic and humorous one-woman musical starring Cheri Maracle, and created by Dinah Christie and Tom Hill. Published and hailed by the literati of England at a time when it was ruled by white men, Pauline Johnson toured for over 30 years across Canada, the U.S., and Great Britain during the late 1800s.
From December 2-12, the Firehall Arts Centre, in association with Touchstone Theatre Flying Start Production, presents Lights. Written by Adam Grant Warren, Lights is a humorous and heartfelt story of a tight-knit family adapting to profound life changes.
The Firehall’s Solstice Greetings returns for a fourth year from December 16-18 to share stories, poems, and songs created by the Grade 6 and 7 students from Lord Strathcona Elementary School in celebration of the holiday season.
The first production of 2022 is a powerful dance/theatre piece that enjoyed sold out performances at the 2019 Dancing on the Edge Festival – John. Scheduled for January 12-15, John is a memoir of Walkley’s oldest brother, who disappeared from Vancouver in May 1969, never to be heard from again. John is choreographed by Helen Walkley and performed by Josh Martin and Billy Marchenski.
Makambe K Simamba’s Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers is a protest for all Black life beyond headlines and hashtags, a prayer for all families left behind, and a promise to the community that all Black lives matter. Running January 20-22, this Tarragon Theatre and Black Theatre Workshop co-production is based on the world premiere production by b current Performing Arts and presented by the Firehall Arts Centre, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, and Touchstone Theatre.
From January 27 to February 20, Elaine Ávila’s FADO – The Saddest Music in the World returns to the Firehall stage after its wildly successful, sold out run in 2019. Part concert, part theatre, the story of a young woman confronting her country’s Fascist past and her own identify is interwoven with the heartbreaking national music of Portugal, known as Fado, which means “fate”. FADO – The Saddest Music in the World is produced by the Firehall Arts Centre and Puente Theatre.
The Firehall Arts Centre presents the world premiere of Manami Hara’s new work, Courage Now, March 2-13. Courage Now tells the story of Japanese Consul Chiune Sugihara who helped over 6000 Polish and Lithuanian Jews escape the Nazis in 1940. Going against his government orders, he issued more than 2000 handwritten visas, risking both his life and his career. Some of those whose lives were saved have families living in British Columbia today. Courage Now is produced by the Firehall Arts Centre in association with Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.
White Noise will take the stage from April 16 to May 1st. Written by the late Taran Kootenhayoo, White Noise is a comedy about two families who have dinner together for the first time during Truth and Reconciliation Week. It explores what is means to live in Canada from two different paradigms and asks us to consider: How do we deal with internalized racism? Do we keep pushing it away and pretend to live safely in our day-to-day? White Noise is produced by the Firehall Arts Centre and Savage Society.
The Firehall’s 2021-22 Reunion Season closes with the presentation of its production Yellow Fever from May 14 to 28. Written by R.A. Shiomi, Yellow Fever takes audiences into the world of post-war Powell Street as hard-nosed detective ‘Sam Shikaze’ sets out to find the missing ‘Cherry Blossom Queen’ and discovers racism in the local police force.
Tickets not yet on sale.
Passes for the Firehall Arts Centre’s 2021-22 Reunion Season are on sale now and available online at www.firehallartscentre.ca or by phone at 604.689.0926. Four-show passes start at $79.
COVID-19 protocols will still be in place and all patrons will be required to show proof of vaccination upon arrival at the box office.