By: Petra Chase, Art & Culture Editor

Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story recollects Jewish refugee history in Canada (Tickets $45)
When: December 1–11
Where: SFU Goldcorp Centre for The Arts

This love story follows two Jewish Romanian refugees in Canada in 1908. This music-theatre hybrid performance features an energetic folk soundtrack by Jewish genre-bending songwriter, Ben Caplan. The “humorously dark folktale woven together with a high-energy concert” is part of the programming for Chutzpah, Vancouver’s annual Jewish arts festival. It was developed by SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs and 2b Theatre. 

In My Day shows the multifaceted history of the AIDS crisis in Vancouver (Tickets from $29)
When: December 2–11
Where: Historic Theatre

Presented by Zee Zee Theatre, a company dedicated to telling the diverse stories and perspectives of people in the LGBT2SI+ community, this “historic theatre” production recounts true stories about individuals impacted by the HIV pandemic in Vancouver. From “extraordinary victories to heartbreaking failures,” In My Day serves as a memorial for those in the community who have been impacted by the pandemic, including the stories of “women, people of colour, Indigenous folks, trans people who use[d] injection drugs, and others, alongside those of cis-gender gay men.” It’s based on a University of Victoria community-based research project conducted in 2017, in which oral accounts were collected from the community to understand this important piece of history.

Szepty/Whispers depicts a neurodivergent person’s mental health journey (Tickets $15 – $25)
When: December 1–4
Where: Pi Theatre

Szepty/Whispers is an important account of a neurodivergent artists’ grapple with mental health and the family’s lack of openness regarding mental health issues, revealing how “culture, migration, and trauma shape generational perspectives of disability.” Using narrative devices, multimedia, and documentary media, this performance also features captions and audio descriptions for those who are deaf or blind. Support a diverse, neurodivergent, disabled, and non-binary creative team in understanding this personal experience. Learn more about their accessibility on their website, including their COVID-19 guidelines.