By Brad Simm
Inside the new Las Vegas landmark where the origins of DIY culture are on full display without that funky mosh pit aroma.
One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo is returning to Calgary for its 37th edition this year from January 16 to February 5, and it promises to once again bring a series of boundary-pushing and unexpected performances that play with the form of theatre itself. With spoken-word poetry, dark comedy, and of course, music, here are our can’t-miss shows of this year’s festival.
Ontario-born, UK-based playwright Christopher Brett Bailey is bringing his work back to his home country after racking up awards the world over, and presenting a three-part series of plays in association with The Sleepwalk Collective. From the beat poet-inspired spoken-word of THIS IS HOW WE DIE to indictments of what we want from our stories in Amusements and Psychodrama, these productions should prove to be a mind-bending experience. | TICKETS
Although it’s the fourth in local creator Karen Hines’ series of plays centred around her Pochsy character – who has also appeared in her short films – you don’t need to have seen the rest of them. Hines is famous for her dark comedy, and her take on the future of humankind might make you laugh through the tears. | TICKETS
Preparing to make the leap into matrimony can lead to some other big decisions and realizations along the way. As a bachelorette party and a boys’ night out on the town intersect on one fateful night, Amanda Cordner’s play finds its characters rethinking themselves as gender melts away and the actors begin fluidly switching roles. | TICKETS
Part of this year’s Curious Yellow Cabaret, Turning the Key contains what is advertised as the most “raw and risky” offerings of a festival already touted for its experimental spirit. This particular show doesn’t give too much away about its contents, but it has us intrigued as it invites Calgary artists like Sunglaciers, Conrad Belau and Cowtown Collection to push a grand piano to its burning limits. | TICKETS
In conjunction with the Calgary Philharmonic and returning after its debut in 2019, conductor Steve Hackman’s time-travelling musical mashup of Radiohead’s OK Computer and Johannes Brahms’ 1876 opus Symphony No. 1 will have a full orchestra and three vocalists on hand. | TICKETS
For more information and the full schedule of events, check out hprodeo.ca
By Brad Simm
Inside the new Las Vegas landmark where the origins of DIY culture are on full display without that funky mosh pit aroma.
By Cam Delisle
Experimental voices and genre-bending sounds take the stage at Ottawa’s multidisciplinary arts celebration on Dec. 14.
By Prabhjot Bains
The director shares his take on how German expressionism, Burial, and the cyclical nature of time informed his twisted adult fairytale.