Produced by Upintheair Theatre, The Revolver Theatre Festival returns this May, and features “newly created works by emerging artists from recent university grads to people emerging on the national stage,” said managing artistic producer Daniel Martin.
Building on the successes of both the Walking Fish Festival and Neanderthal Festival, Martin explained the Revolver Festival brings together “people who are doing interesting, innovative work.” As Martin’s co-artistic producer Dave Mott stated, the festival is known for showing high quality art — the audiences that come out enjoy themselves. This year’s festival includes a mix of premiere shows, productions that are in progress, and one show, The Progressive Polygamists, that will be closing.
Hosted at The Cultch, a gorgeous playhouse in Vancouver with multiple theatres and a wonderful atmosphere, the festival will run from May 20 to 31. This year is unique for the festival, as Martin states there is a broader range of artists. “I think last year the artists were in the earlier stages of their careers,” he says; “this year there are some that are a bit more established.”
The shows range from shadow puppetry by Caws and Effect company to the “cowboy opera musical,” Hell of a Girl. As Mott explains, one very unique show called The Stranger is “a show for one audience member. It tours through the city of Vancouver on a walking trip while the artists lead each individual.
“There’s a great drag opera piece,” he added, called Cocktails with Maria, “based on verbatim sex stories from the queer communities across BC.”
One show featuring many local artists is Double Recessive — “a very funny show with serious themes” about the oppression of redheads, said Mott. The festival will also feature “a new experimental storytelling and physical movement performance by an SFU artist,” he continued. “It’s a really intriguing and interesting observation into the world of memory and storytelling.”
On top of these unique performances, the festival adds two new elements into the mix. A cabaret space will be set up in the Cultch’s Founders Lounge, where a storytelling event will occur. Also, the festival will feature the West Coast premier of the Demo Stage, a place where artists can “crowdsource solutions to their creative problems,” said Martin. In this free event, says Mott, “you come, you sit, and have a beer and have a chat with some artists.”
The Revolver Festival promises to once again bring entertaining and thought provoking theatrical works to Vancouver. With a diversity of performances, and many determined, talented artists to be featured, Mott promises that audiences will have a great time, and “see some excellent work that pushes the boundaries.”
The Revolver Theatre Festival will be presented by Upintheair Theatre from May 20 to 31 at The Cultch. For more information, visit upintheairtheatre.com.
