Almighty Voice and His Wife photo by Nadya Kwandibens
By Caitlin Dawson
Cure those winter blues with the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. The 19-day fest mounts more than 100 groundbreaking performances in theatre, dance, music and the visual arts showcasing local and international talent to more than 2,000 theatre-goers.
There is something on the billing to suit most tastes, whether you’re interested in global issues or seeking out the unconventional. The acts are varied, but always genre-busting, stimulating and intent on pushing boundaries. After all, in what other setting could you watch Dostoyevsky’s masterpiece The Idiot one night, and a performance of Craigslist personal ads set to music the next?
Our top picks from the festival include: Looking For A Missing Employee, a provocative performance puzzle by Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué; quirky duo Bill Richardson and Veda Hille’s Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata, featuring ditties such as “Slugs for lease” and “Dead moose, free for the taking;” Almighty Voice and His Wife, exploring a tragic intersection of white and native cultures by First Nations playwright Daniel David Moses; and Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot, by Vancouver’s Neworld Theatre.
The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival runs Jan. 17-Feb. 4. Venues and show times at pushfestival.ca.
Stay, Dine, Do
