the birth of the circus in Montréal at the turn of the 20th century.
The Cultch’s Historic Theatre is proud to present Barbu, a retro circus rave produced by Cirque Alfonse, as part of their 50th anniversary season.
Imagine a fairground where spectators are left spellbound by remarkable performances, outrageous feats, and unexpected eccentricities! Music, video, circus, and kinds of craziness collide as each performer wows the audience with a showcase of spectacular skills. May the boldest heart and the best beard win!
General tickets are available for purchase on July 17th. Season tickets may be purchased here.
Venue accessibility information may be found here.
For more information about Barbu, see HERE.
The 50th Anniversary Season
With a full season of in-person shows, online productions on its digital platform RE/PLAY, and several special 50th-anniversary events—two announced today and more to follow—The Cultch’s golden anniversary promises to be an entire season of celebration!
"As we look forward, we have had to look back and remember what the live arts bring to the human spirit,” says Cultch Executive Director Heather Redfern. “We bring everyone together to celebrate our own and each other’s stories. We put messages of empathy, tolerance and hope into plays, dances, circus, music, puppets, storytelling and send it out into the universe for each person to find in themselves and to share with their communities. We are rebuilding and celebrating together."
Over the last 50 years, The Cultch has built long-lasting relationships with many local, national and international companies. This anniversary season is an opportunity to celebrate these integral relationships while also celebrating new productions from new voices. In 2023 and 2024, The Cultch is thrilled to present the world premieres of Parifam from Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre (vAct) and Medusa Theatre, Homecoming from Urban Ink and You Used to Call me Marie… from Savage Society. These three premieres from up-and-coming playwrights Kamila Sediego (Homecoming), Aki Yaghoubi (Parifam), and Jessie Award-winning Tai Amy Grauman (You Used to Call me Marie…) are personal tales of family, community, lost memories, and healing.
Cultch audiences will recognize many other local companies in this landmark season. From The Search Party, who will kick off the season with Pulitzer Prize-winning Fairview (in partnership with b current Performing Arts, Toronto), to Neworld Theatre, who are presenting a brand new stand-up/storytelling dissection of fatphobia by Cheyenne Rouleau called Fat Joke; from the frank theatre, whose production of Trey Anthony’s (‘Da Kink in My Hair) How Black Mothers Say I Love You explores complicated family dynamics, to Monster Theatre (Vancouver) whose Juliet: A Revenge Comedy is a hilarious retelling of the famous tragedy by Pippa Mackie and Ryan Gladstone, all of these companies (and more) have helped to make The Cultch the top destination for theatre in East Vancouver.
Perhaps one of the most cemented relationships is The Cultch’s longstanding one with Theatre Replacement, the award-winning local company which has been bringing Vancouver its most beloved holiday tradition since 2013. Now in its 11th year, the East Van Panto is back again with a twist on Beauty on the Beast. This year's Panto is written by Jivesh Parasram and Christine Quintana, directed by Anita Rochon, with music by Veda Hille.
Other returning friends to The Cultch’s stages are circus companies from farther afield. Contemporary circus performance has become an important part of The Cultch’s programming in the past decade and this year The Cultch brings three massive performances to Vancouver audiences starting in the fall of 2023 with one that they co-commissioned with Urban Ink (Vancouver). Te Tangi ā te Tūī, a world premiere from Aotearoa (New Zealand), created by Te Rēhia Theatre Company and The Dust Palace (The Goblin Market), is a collaboration of circus and Māori storytelling that will fill the York Theatre with spectacle.
Another circus show, this one presented with DanceHouse, who have been partnering with The Cultch since 2019, is The Mirror, from Australia’s Gravity and Other Myths. And finally, capping off the anniversary year is Cirque Alfonse’s Barbu, an Electro Trad Cabaret from Montreal’s favourite family circus troupe.
Concurrent with their in-person productions, a dynamic line-up of digital shows will be presented on RE/PLAY: The Cultch’s digital playground. As a leader in digital theatre, The Cultch is committed to producing high-quality online works in order to provide innovative and accessible performances available on demand. The feature presentations which will be available for audiences around the world are Zee Zee Theatre’s National Queer & Trans Playwrighting Unit, Juliet: A Revenge Comedy (Monster Theatre), Bird by Kylie Vincent, How to Believe in Anything (2022 Cultchivating the Fringe winner), Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream (Indian Ink Theatre), East Van Panto: Beauty and the Beast (Theatre Replacement), and the return of Clean/Espejos ( Neworld Theatre).
There will be many more events, initiatives, and surprises announced throughout this anniversary season, but one exciting promotion starts today. In celebration of 50 years together, The Cultch is thrilled to offer their patrons a gift for their ongoing loyalty. Patrons who purchase a Season Ticket Package before July 16, 2023, will receive one free Bring-a-Friend ticket for a show of their choosing (some limitations apply)!
50th ANNIVERSARY EVENTS:
50th Anniversary Open House, Aug 26, 2023
50th Anniversary Gala, Mar 2, 2024
ABOUT THE CULTCH:
Since 1973, The Cultch (formally the Vancouver East Cultural Centre) has been one of Vancouver’s most diverse and innovative arts and cultural hubs. The organisation operates three theatrical venues, a gallery, various ancillary spaces in the heart of East Vancouver, as well as our RE/PLAY digital platform that reaches international audiences. The Cultch offers dynamic contemporary programming in theatre, dance, music, and the visual arts, bringing world-class cultural presentations to thousands of citizens each year through its own programming and through providing rental opportunities for community users. Our purpose is to provide a venue for performance that serves a diverse and engaged public and provides space for artistic experimentation and development, building an audience for local companies and presenting cutting-edge national and international work.