ARTS
PuSh Fest provides valuable pathways for empathy
C
by Charlie Smith
ultural producer, performance creator, and choreographer Gabrielle Martin is feeling good about this year’s PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. As the new director of programming, the former Cirque du Soleil star has ensured there are plenty of pathways for audiences to gain insights into the experiences of people from a wide range of backgrounds. “I think one of the amazing things about the performing arts is it can build empathy and it can stimulate our imagination by putting us in the shoes of others,” Martin tells the Straight by phone. One of many examples is a show called Aalaapi, by Quebec-based Collectif Aalaapi, which integrates theatre and a radio documentary to show how two women from Nunavik (Angel Annanack and Ulivia Uviluk) are living their lives. Martin says that her father, who grew up in the Northwest Territories, felt a great sense of comfort from this show, which is at the Waterfront Theatre, because it rekindled memories of his past. “It shows the diversity of contemporary Inuit experience,” Martin notes. “And a lot of Canadians aren’t familiar with that.”
PuSh International Performing Arts Festival’s new director of programming, Gabrielle Martin, likes the way that hypertopical shows can put us in others’ shoes. Photo by Jeremiah Hughes.
A show at the Firehall Arts Centre, Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers, explores the afterlife of a Black teenager
whose life was taken far too soon. Written and performed by Toronto theatre artist Makambe K Simamba, it was inspired by
the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida and the subsequent acquittal of his shooter, which kicked off the Black Lives Matter movement. The show goes beyond the headlines to show the experiences and aspirations of a teenage Black male. “It is a necessary work, and Makambe is an incredible performer,” Martin says. “I think we’re really lucky to see her at work. I think it’s a challenging subject matter that is really handled very masterfully.” Yet another performance that can help audiences walk in the shoes of others is trans musician-writer–visual artist Vivek Shraya’s theatrical memoir, How to Fail as a Popstar. Playing at Performance Works, it’s a fun show, Martin says, punctuated with a range of musical genres. “It’s a pretty touching autobiographical work that lays in the margins between pop appeal and failure,” Martin adds. “I think everybody can identify with failure, so there’s a lot of really beautiful comic moments.” A fourth show that reflects PuSh’s appreciation for empathy-building artistic experiences is I Swallowed a Moon Made of Iron, at the Waterfront Theatre. It tells the story of a Chinese factory worker, Xu Lizhi, who had see next page
01.15.2022
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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
JANUARY 6 – 13 / 2022
