The Georgia Straight - Spring Arts - Feb 27, 2020

FREE | FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020

Volume 54 | Number 2718

Spring Arts

Shay Kuebler’s Epilogos lights up the Vancouver International Dance Festival; plus, Ballet BC’s new leader, and our forecast of the best in theatre, music, and more this season

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Shay Kuebler’s supercharged new Epilogos is one of the shows turning Vancouver into dance city this season.

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6

COMMENTARY

An economist who has been contracted by ICBC calls David Eby’s proposed no-fault-insurance scheme “folly”.

By Nicholas Coleman

9

THE BOTTLE

Here’s your definitive guide to the 12 tasting tables you must visit at the Vancouver International Wine Festival.

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24 MOVIES

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Vancouver’s News and Entertainment Weekly Volume 54 | Number 2718 1635 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1W9 T: 604.730.7000 F: 604.730.7010 E: gs.info@straight.com straight.com DISPLAY ADVERTISING: T: 604.730.7020 F: 604.730.7012 E: sales@straight.com

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Here’s what people are reading this week on Straight.com.

1 2 3 4 5

Realtor gets snipped in housing dispute with his hairstylist.

RCMP locates vehicle owned by missing 40-year-old woman.

Pet Shop Boys and New Order play Vancouver this fall.

A look inside the new Fresh St. Market at Vancouver House.

LNG Canada lobbyists register on same day matriarchs arrested.

GeorgiaStraight @GeorgiaStraight @GeorgiaStraight

The Georgia Straight is published every Thursday by the Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp. Copies are distributed free every week throughout Vancouver, Burnaby, North and West Vancouver, New Westminster, and Richmond. International Standard Serial Number ISSN 0709-8995. Subscription rates in Canada $182.00/52 issues (includes GST), $92.00/26 issues (includes GST); United States $379.00/52 issues, $205.00/26 issues; foreign $715.00/52 issues, $365.00/26 issues. Contact 604-730-7087 if you wish to distribute free copies of the Georgia Straight at your place of business. Entire contents copyright © 2019 Vancouver Free Press, Best Of Vancouver, Bov And Golden Plates Are Trade-Marks Of Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp. SUBMISSIONS The Straight accepts no responsibility for, and will not necessarily respond to, any submitted materials. All submissions should be addressed to contact@straight.com.

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pdce.educ.ubc.ca/summer-institutes FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 5

RECRUITING PEER SUPPORT VOLUNTEERS

COMMENTARY

New ICBC scheme will discriminate

A

by Nicholas Coleman

s a consulting economist, I provide reports to the courts at the request of British Columbians as well as at the request of ICBC. I take great pride in providing triers of fact with necessary evidence to assist them in making accurate awards that compensate collision victims fairly. Our reports are, by rule, nonadversarial.

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> Go on-line to read hundreds of I Saw You posts or to respond to a message < LOOKING FOR A NON-CHAIN CAFE NEAR BURRARD STATION

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 22, 2020 WHERE: Corner of Granville and Dunsmuir Sts I was waiting to cross the road on the corner of Granville St and Dunsmuir St. You came up to me and asked if I knew if there were any quiet cafes nearby. We found a Starbucks and a Tim Hortons before I pointed at a non-chain cafe across the road in the Pacific Centre. You then asked me if I wanted to have a coffee and I said maybe another time. I’m really sorry, you caught me off guard. If you do read this, I would be interested in having a coffee sometime.

TD BANK - CATHY?

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 22, 2020 WHERE: TD Bank Main and 18th I think your name’s Cathy and you work at TD. I find your demeanour kind and inviting.

You’re also very pretty. I bumped into an old acquaintance in line today and we shared a hug. Drop me a line for a beverage? -From the black leather biker jacket, band t-shirt, grey toque clad human being who was helped by another.

FAT TUG PURCHASE

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 18, 2020 WHERE: KINGSGATE mall You were walking behind me and we entered KINGSGATE mall. You were wearing a beige hate, dressed in black, nice beard - slightly salt and pepper, with your head phones on.

We made eye contact and You just seem lovely. We went into the liquor store. You bought a big bottle of Fat Tug, my fave beer. I bought wine. We went up the stairs and you went into Buy Low. I'm blond, had glasses and a long black coat. I wanted to follow you and talk about vegetables but I'm a bit shy. Would love to share a Fat Tug with you.

CITY SQUARE AREA

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 21, 2020 WHERE: west 11th and 12th City square Tall, black hair, black leather jacket, with a heavy accent. I see you also left late work late tonight. Say hi.

YOU PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 19, 2020 WHERE: main & terminal skytrain station rush hour, skytrain sardine can, we were shoved in. your hand flew up and punched me in the face, you then held my face and apologized. I thought it was cute, I thought you were cute. but there was too many people around. holler at me.

YOU WERE SITTING NEXT TO ME AT THE PINT

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 19, 2020 WHERE: The Pint I was alone and you were with a friend. It's the pint so obviously we kept knocking elbows. I thought we were gonna keep apologizing to each other until we died.

Eventually you asked me about the game and we exchanged sports notes or lack thereof. A while later you asked me about the spreadsheet I was looking at but I wasn't quick enough in the moment to respond well given I hate spreadsheets. That was the end of our encounter and you proceeded to move a seat away. Though maybe we had a good thing going though and I liked our exchange. You were pretty engrossed in your friends conversation (reasonably so) and so I left it at that.

DAZZLED AT A PUPPET SHOW

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 11, 2020 WHERE: Main and Cordova (ish) We held a tight rope in a puppet show, and you took my breath away.

PARK ROYAL WHOLE FOODS

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 16, 2020 WHERE: Park Royal Whole Foods You: handsome 6ftish man with young son. Me: Hawaiian woman. I was lined up behind you at the till with the chatty and friendly cashier. I felt like there was mutual attraction there? Let me know.

GINGER BEARD AND DOGGOS

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 15, 2020 WHERE: Pandora You were walking your two dogs in the morning. Wearing a green toque and flannel. You had a large fluffy black and tan dog and a smaller brindle dog.

I think you’re real cute and I wanna touch your butt.

IXTAPA

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 17, 2020 WHERE: Ixtapa Mexico First saw you behind us on the beachs... you were adjusting your lounge chair “of course you were”. We spoke in the water playing in the waves... you’re from Hamilton (Richmond). I used to teach there... saw you last at the buffet. We smiled at one another. Would love to know your name... your smile is beautiful!

SWEET PHARMACIST AT THE MACDONALD'S PHARMACY ON BROADWAY

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 12, 2020 WHERE: Macdonald's Pharmacy You are a pharmacist at the MacDonald's on Broadway and helped me out by putting a rush on my order. I thought you were really cute and chatting with you made my day. Was it just me, or was there a spark? If yes, give me a shout. I'm the red head with the big smile who'd love to hear from you.

Visit straight.com to post your FREE I Saw You _ 6 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020

CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS ICBC claims that the cost of claims has risen by 43 percent in five years.

However, a significant portion of this increase has been a result of inflation, changes to the prescribed discount rate, and an increase in the number of claims.

The period from 2013 to 2018 saw inflation of about 8.5 percent, and in 2014, there was an amendment made to the prescribed discount rates used to calculate the present value of future losses to more accurately reflect the current market rates. This change was made in the interest of fairness. For a 30-year-old individual, the changes to the discount rate could easily increase the value of their award by 20 percent or more.

Although we cannot be sure whether the per-claim cost has changed, the number of claims reported has increased: from 917,000 in 2013 to 1,021,000 reported claims in 2018-19 (an increase of 14 percent). The number of ICBC–reported crashes has also increased, from 265,000 in 2013 to 315,000 in 2018 (an increase of 19 percent).

These three factors, taken together, appear to account for the increase in the cost of claims and therefore suggest that it is unlikely that there has been an increase in the real cost per claim. That is, on average, claims are settling for the same amount as they have settled for in the past.

Any attempt to hide the real cost of driving to society, whether by artificially lowering the value of victims’ claims or by other means, is a disservice to all British Columbians.

NOT NO-FAULT SCHEME When Premier John Horgan and the minister responsible for ICBC, David Eby, announced their new ICBC scheme, I immediately read the technical briefing presentation that was published on the ICBC website. I looked at the proposed scheme through a nonpartisan lens and I was actually pleasantly surprised until I looked further into the actual plan and thought about what was not highlighted in the presentation. At this point, I realized that I had been hoodwinked by a piece of propaganda.

This is not a no-fault insurance scheme in the traditional sense because those who are at fault will have their premiums increase; it is nofault in the sense that those who are at fault will still be compensated by the insurance. Studies have shown that the accident rate increases when no-fault insurance systems are introduced. British Columbians should expect this to be the case under the new ICBC scheme because it rewards at-fault drivers with compensation.

The biggest downfall of the new ICBC scheme will be that people will not have any recourse if ICBC determines their loss to be less than what they believe it to be. In effect, people will have to trust that ICBC will not rip them off when it will, invariably, shortchange people, because of budget pressure, political reasons, or a predisposition to err on the side of conservative losses.

On top of the trust issues, the proposed scheme calls for compensating people for only 90 percent of their wage losses. Thus, every person involved in a motor-vehicle collision in B.C. who suffers a wage loss will be undercompensated by law.

The proposed scheme places a value on the life of each British Columbian, awarding: • $60,000 to $500,000 to their spouse (tied to deceased’s age and

Economist Nick Coleman says part-time workers, women, young folks, the jobless, and minorities could suffer when ICBC is overhauled. Photo by Michael Jin/Unsplash

year. For the reasons set out above, this new ICBC scheme is not worth 80 percent of our current premiums.

But putting this assertion aside, the proposed scheme will rely on private disability insurance to compensate injured parties for their wage losses— whereas previously, private disability insurance was recoverable from the person at fault in the collision. The private disability-insurance issuers are undoubtedly going to raise rates in response to this change. This rate increase will be borne by British Columbians either through premiums or, for those whose employer pays for disability insurance, through lower wages. It is not clear what average amount people in B.C. will save on DISCRIMINATION The proposed premiums for insurance as a result of scheme actively discriminates against this change, if any, but premium savmany British Columbians, including: ings will most certainly be less than 1. The unemployed. Wage-loss 20 percent. benefits for these people will be based on the average earnings of British ALTERNATIVE WAYS FORWARD Columbians, or about $50,000 per Notwithstanding the above, we agree year. This will be the case for all of that there are inefficiencies within the unemployed—even those wait- the current system and that some reing for a job to start that might have form could improve results for both ICBC and collision victims. paid them well above that average.

The best way forward would be 2. People who are not participating in the labour force—including parents to keep the current ICBC scheme of young children. If the person was but change the adversarial approach not in the labour force at the time of the taken by ICBC toward injury claims. accident (not working and not looking Making collision victims fair and for work), they will not be entitled to timely settlement offers would greatwage-loss benefits. There are many ly reduce the number of cases that reasons one might not be participating lawyers are involved in, and even in the labour force at a given time but among the cases in which ICBC and still have the intention to return to the the collision victim engage counsel, labour force in the future (parenting, it would reduce the number of cases extended vacation, nonpermanent dis- that go to trial. Similarly, making ability, et cetera). People who are not fair offers to plaintiffs (or accepting participating in the labour force will fair offers from plaintiffs who have not be entitled to a wage-loss benefit retained counsel) would reduce the number of cases that go to trial and under the new ICBC scheme.

3. Students. Wage-loss benefits the number of cases where the plainfor these people will be based on tiffs are awarded double costs.

Additionally, or alternatively, the the average earnings of British Columbians, or about $50,000 per year. most effective way to reduce ICBC’s Many students, especially those en- deficit without artificially lowering rolled in postsecondary education, the value of victims’ claims is by rehave the potential to earn much ducing the number and severity of vehicle collisions. Given the pace of more than $50,000 per year.

4. Young people. Wage-loss bene- technological advances in the auto fits for these people will be based on industry and in the world in genertheir earnings at the time of the col- al, there are many ways ICBC could lision. As a person gains experience, take action to reduce the number of their wages increase. Young people (and the severity of injury resulting will be locked into a wage-loss bene- from) car collisions. We list the most fit that is sure to underrepresent their obvious of these here: • introduce mandatory continuing earning capacity. education for drivers; 5. Part-time workers, including parents of young children. Again, • tie insurance rates to real-time driving performance and distance there are many reasons a person driven; might choose to work part-time at one time but fully intend to return to • increase minimum insurance rates for people driving older full-time work in the future. vehicles, because these vehicles 6. High earners. The proposed have fewer safety features, and scheme will only compensate wage provide greater incentives to get loss up to about $93,000 per year. older vehicles off the road; Those who earn more than this • introduce barriers for high-risk amount will be undercompensated. drivers to maintain the privilege 7. Women and minorities. of driving; Women and minorities experience a discrimination-based wage gap. • lower speed limits and implement variable speed limits across the In 2018, women earned 13.3 percent province; less per hour than men. Under the current system, compensation for • reintroduce photo radar and traffic cameras; wage loss cannot take into account historical and present discrimina- • increase distracted-driving and drunk-driving enforcement; tion; however, the wage benefit under the new ICBC scheme will be based • and increase traffic violation penal ties to make them more punitive. on this existing discrimination.

I will be writing each MLA in B.C. SAVINGS OF “20 PERCENT” The and I urge everyone who is able to see government has announced that ICBC the folly of this proposed scheme to premiums will fall by 20 percent next do the same. g income at time of death) or, if no spouse, any dependants; • $30,000 to $60,000 to a dependant (based on age of surviving dependant); • $28,000 to a dependant with disabilities (based on age of surviving dependant and in addition to the dependant benefit noted above); • and $14,000 to a nondependant child or parent.

In effect, British Columbians are getting all the downside of a tort system (premium increases after an accident) and all the downside of a nofault system (undercompensation and increases in the number of accidents).

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Asset cap to get subsidy may go up

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by Carlito Pablo

ouseholds with assets of up to $100,000 may soon be able to live in subsidized housing provided by the regional government.

The Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation (MVHC) has received a revised tenant-selection policy that includes a change to the eligibility of residents. At present, households with assets of no more than $25,000 can qualify for rent-geared-to-income housing.

The proposed new tenant-selection policy raises the asset ceiling from the current $25,000 to $100,000.

Rent-geared-to-income housing is a type of subsidized housing in which rent is calculated based on the tenant’s income. Rent-gearedto-income rates are set to 30 percent of a tenant’s gross annual household income before taxes. The new asset ceiling will apply for both rent-gearedto-income and low-end-of-market housing. Low-end-of-market housing is a type of subsidized housing in which rent is calculated based on market rental conditions.

For Metro Vancouver housing, low-end-of-market rates are generally set between 10 and 20 percent below market rental rates.

The revised tenant-selection policy is revealed in a report to the MVHC

by Laurel Cowan, program manager for housing policy and planning.

“Increasing the asset limit will better support tenants to save money, encouraging those who are able to transition towards market housing, while regular asset and income testing will ensure that rental subsidy goes to those who need it most,” Cowan wrote.

Cowan also stated that the proposed asset ceiling will align with that of B.C. Housing. A Metro Vancouver document about its housing policy notes that B.C. Housing introduced a $100,000 asset limit for the provincial body’s buildings in 2009.

Cowan’s report recommends approval by the MVHC of the new tenant-selection policy. “Priority will be given to applicants with lower household assets,” Cowan wrote. MVHC directors meet Friday (February 28).

The proposed tenant-selection policy defines assets to include equity in real property or a business, personal property valued at more than $10,000, funds held in a financial institution, stocks, bonds, exchangetraded funds, cash, and other items of a potential income-earning nature.

Assets that are excluded include: bursaries or scholarships for any household member in school; Registered Education Savings Plans, Registered Retirement Savings Plans, and Registered Disability Savings Plans; trade and business tools essential to continue employment, including vehicles; assets derived from compensatory packages from government; and interest in discretionary trusts. g

HOROSCOPES FEBRUARY 27 TO MARCH 4, 2020

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by Rose Marcus

ave you noticed? This is no ordinary moment along the time line. First, there’s Mercury retrograde to contend with for another two weeks. Mercury has been travelling retrograde in Pisces, the elusive, hard-to-contain archetype that also rules the immune system and matters to do with oil.

We’ve had plenty of examples of Mercury’s workings in recent weeks.

Still, there’s something more significant at play: namely, Venus in Aries going to battle with heavyweights Pluto (agent of change) on Friday and Saturn (time and authority’s rule, karmic and actual) on Super Tuesday. Venus continues through Aries, the “do battle” archetype, to next Wednesday. On Thursday, the moon in Aries hits cutto-the-chase with Venus, Pluto, and Saturn. By Friday, the moon slips into Taurus to make it more worthwhile.

Do not underestimate the karmic potency of circumstances, along with the decisions you make and the actions you take. What is set up now will be the feature of the last six months of the year.

Be brave. Choose to build a new reality; don’t stick to the old and outdated one.

Mercury dips back into Aquarius on Wednesday to finish retrograde.

Also on Wednesday, Venus enters Taurus, giving us a better feel for what holds truest value.

A

ARIES

March 20–April 20

F

VIRGO

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LIBRA

July 22–August 23

Does it have a hold on you? If you can’t stop thinking about it, trust your instincts and go for it. Friday evening through Saturday, easygoing hits it right. Sunday onward, there’s more to consider, say, and do. Hit it hard first thing Tuesday and let the rest of the day unfold. Wednesday/Thursday, you’re instantly onto a next phase.

August 23–September 23

A big push is on. The positive side is seeing your creativity, determination, and drive. The downside is extra pressure. By Friday, you should feel you have accomplished something worthwhile. Pump up on reward this weekend. Tuesday morning takes you over the finish line. Wednesday sets you immediately onto a next page.

September 23–October 23

Venus in Aries turns a corner with Pluto on Friday and Saturn on Tuesday morning. Do you have what it takes? The value in the act is to prove it to yourself. The past serves you well as a springboard, not as a dead weight. Next Wednesday onward, Mercury’s backtrack into Aquarius pushes the refresh button.

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B

I

C D

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CANCER

December 21–January 20

It’s been an uphill battle all week. There is more to face, but for No matter how tough it gets, now set your boxing gloves aside for there’s value in the act. No matter how a couple of days and put quality livlimited, there’s always something you ing into your weekend. Tuesday can dish up something important, even momentous. A destiny-in-the-making transit, Venus/Saturn sets the next phase of reality into play.

June 21–July 22

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8 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020

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LEO

By Friday, you’ll have pushed past plenty. There will be more to get through in the first portion of the new week, but for now, here comes the weekend. Go out or stay in: on Friday night, it’s all good. Relax Saturday. Get on it SCORPIO first thing Tuesday morning. Mercury’s October 23–November 22 backtrack into Aquarius on Wednesday Despite the week just past stimulates something fresh. Venus into and what’s yet to be accomplished, Taurus makes it worthwhile. you aren’t out of steam yet! Friday TAURUS evening, you are great company or April 20–May 21 well entertained on your own. TuesThursday could be a grind, day morning, you’ll push past a finbut by Friday/Saturday, the moon in ish line, tough spot, or difficult task.

Taurus sets you onto a better swing. Mercury’s backtrack into Aquarius, Friday, Venus/Pluto can hit a nerve or starting Wednesday, helps you to a trigger. A change of mind, plan, or gain perspective and objectivity. tactic could put you on the upswing. While Mercury retrograde continues, Tackle it first thing Tuesday. As of resume, review, renew, revise.

Wednesday, Mercury’s backtrack into SAGITTARIUS Aquarius and Venus into Taurus set November 22–December 21 you up for something fresh and timely.

Feeling blocked or grappling GEMINI with something difficult? Perhaps it May 21–June 21 is time to cut apron strings or karmic Starting next Wednesday, cords, or to free yourself from that Mercury’s backtrack into Aquarius which you label as obligatory rather can prompt a new line of thinking. than passion-oriented? Thursday/ It could speed up a process or get it Friday, Venus/Pluto sets you onto an moving in some positive way. Perhaps upswing. Friday night, keep it light. there’s something to look forward to. Tuesday, Venus/Saturn can bring you The transit is a reminder that the future to an important finish line or breakisn’t all that far away. Now and over the ing point. Wednesday, hit it fresh. next two weeks, watch for news, more CAPRICORN opportunity, and/or greater clarity.

INDUSTRIAL FURNITURE

*Some Exclusions May Apply

can do to help yourself along. Take the weekend to replenish. Tuesday morning requires an extra push. Past that, the day smooths out. Wednesday, you’ll gain fresh impetus. Next Thursday, the pressure is on. There’s no choice but to show up for it/yourself.

K

AQUARIUS

L

PISCES

January 20–February 18

Mercury retrograde takes you on a remeet of your past. Venus in Aries makes pivotal contacts to Pluto on Friday and Saturn on Tuesday.

You’ll gain a fresh perspective on the past and fresh incentive regarding the future. Starting next Wednesday, Mercury retrograde in Aquarius brings it back to life, but with a twist.

February 18–March 20

Thursday/Friday, go by first instinct or impression; be the first to broach the subject or test the waters.

Saturday, go easy on it. By Tuesday, Venus/Saturn brings you to a conclusion and cements something important. Mercury backs out of Pisces on Wednesday, but it’ll return to inspire you in the second half of March. g

DRINK AFGHAN HORSEMEN

A clip-and-save guide to the wine fest

RESTAURANT SINCE 1974

H

by Kurtis Kolt

ere we are again: it’s Vancouver International Wine Festival week, this time celebrating its 42nd edition.

Although there are numerous seminars, dinners, and other shindigs going on around town, it all culminates in four International Festival Tasting Room sessions at the Vancouver Convention Centre West this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (February 27 to 29). The grand tasting features all 163 participating wineries, including 42 from France, with principals from each winery pouring a host of favourite selections. Hit up VanWineFest.ca to nab the last few remaining tickets.

I’ve pored over the program and have chosen my can’t-miss tables, wines to sip, and folks to meet.

Don’t forget to eat a good meal beforehand, don’t wear strong perfumes or scents, and make sure you spit as often as possible so you can taste with stamina and stay sharp the whole course.

22. HUGEL & FILS Alsace, France

Jean Frédéric Hugel, who is part of the 13th generation of the proprietary family, is such an enthusiast for his family wines and the Alsace region in general. Have him take you through their bright and aromatic wines, particularly the Estate Riesling 2015, which should just be hitting its stride.

23. JEAN-LUC COLOMBO Rhône,

France Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Bartavelles 2016 is a herb-and-spice-driven blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre.

Have owner-winemaker Jean-Luc Colombo share why this combo of grape varieties works so well that we now see this blend all around the world, from Australia to California.

24. MAISON JOSEPH DROUHIN

Burgundy and Beaujolais, France Laurent Drouhin is not only a member of the proprietary family but is also the house’s global export director, and he’ll be happy to tour you through everything from Chablis Réserve de Vaudon 2018—a stunning barrel-aged Chardonnay—to his Morgon 2018 out of Beaujolais, an elegant Gamay full of cherries and plums.

31. DOMAINE MICHEL GASSIER / LES HALOS DE JUPITER Rhône,

France If there’s anything at all you’d like to learn about the Rhône Valley, don’t miss the opportunity to bounce queries about anything Grenache, Syrah, Viognier, and more off vigneron Michel Gassier—he’s a wealth of infor-

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The Vancouver International Wine Festival is upon us. Photo by Christine McAvoy

mation and tales. While you’re chatting, don’t miss his Domaine Michel Gassier Nostre Paīs Blanc 2018, a flinty and floral white blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, and more.

offering evidence of the Island being the Next Big Thing in global pinnacles of the variety.

41. CHAMPAGNE TAITTINGER

Winemaker Nik Weis crafts lovely internationally lauded Rieslings with a local connection. It was cuttings from St. Urbans-Hof that crossed the ocean to become the foundation of old-vines Rieslings from B.C. favourites like Tantalus, Sperling, and more.

His Goldtröpfchen Spätlese Riesling 2018 will stop you in your tracks.

Champagne, France Clovis Taittinger, general manager and member of the founding proprietary family, will be pouring his Taittinger Prélude Grands Crus NV, a pitch-perfect combo of Pinot and Chardonnay that spent more than five years on the lees before disgorgement. Get in line and wait as long as you have to.

45. BODEGA CATENA ZAPATA

For reservations visit www.afghanhorsemen.com or call 604.873.5923

99. WEINGUT ST. URBANS-HOF NIK WEIS Mosel, Germany

120. TIBERIO Abruzzo, Italy

Winemaker and proprietor Cristiana Tiberio is a champion of her local indigenous grape varieties. I can guarantee you this Vancouver winetrade favourite’s eyes will light up as she pours and shares the stories behind her crisp and citrusy Pecorino IGT 2018 and her game-changing Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC 2018, a pink wine I’ve bought more than any other this year.

Mendoza, Argentina While the Argentina-raised, Vancouver-based Marina Castillo, export manager for Catena, is listed as the official principal at the table, rumour has it her loveliness and charm will be supplemented by family proprietor Laura Catena, who will be zipping through town on the weekend. Their Malbec Argentino 2017 is an old-vine wonder 130. FONSECA Douro, Portugal of purity and grace.

Terra Prima Organic Reserve Port 52. MAJELLA WINES Coonawarra, NV is at the beginning of a new wave Australia of organic port production. Export Proprietor Brian Lynn is embarking director Jorge Ramos will be on hand on his tenth Wine Fest appearance, to share the strides Fonseca had to and he’ll be eager to share Coonawarra take to make it happen. lore and tell you why Cabernet is king in their iron-rich terra rossa soils. The 159. ROBERT MONDAVI WINERY Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is bound to Napa Valley, California The first-ever Vancouver Wine Festibe a gem, natch. val was centred around one winery, 87. UNSWORTH VINEYARDS and it was Mondavi. All these years Cowichan Valley, B.C. later, their Napa Valley wines still No need to catch a ferry; proprietor turn heads and score big points. Mark Tim Turyk is crossing the Salish Sea de Vere, master of wine and director to pour his fresh and breezy odes to of education for Mondavi, is at once a Vancouver Island terroir. Charme de charismatic winery ambassador and l’Ile NV is a fun and fizzy sparkler, Napa Valley wine historian. Step up but don’t miss his Pinot Noir 2017, and taste history. g

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Beethoven’s Sonatas at the Vancouver Playhouse

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March 4 5 6 7 Choreography by Medhi Walerski

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DANCERS EMILY CHESSA & BRANDON ALLEY. PHOTO BY MICHAEL SLOBODIAN.

10 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020

spring arts

Kuebler taps power of persuasion at VIDF

V

by Janet Smith

ancouver dance artist Shay Kuebler has been watching a lot of political speeches lately, and not just those of a certain American president on the nightly news. He’s studied the gestures of people in power through history, but he has to admit the man behind the MAGA hats has had an almost inescapable effect on his dynamic new piece about rhetoric, Epilogos.

“Trump definitely has an influence on his audience,” he observes, speaking to the Straight from his company Radical System Art’s tour stop in Vernon, before heading to Vancouver. “He had just been running for office when I started working on the piece, and then he got elected. There’s a lot of bad stuff around the man, but he has this way of manipulating people—even when he’s making himself a victim. There’s an interesting conversation in the show about being a villain and the victim, and how they can be forms of persuasion.”

In the multimedia Epilogos, Trump’s and others’ gestures of persuasion get amplified and distilled through Kuebler’s own explosively physical language. The movement of the six performers, with a bowlerhatted Kuebler as their catalyst, called “the orator”, triggers sound and walls of pixellated light via biomechanical sensors. And the performance becomes a piece of propaganda itself.

Kuebler has borrowed gestures from dictators and others at the podium through history. He uses pointing a finger as an example: “We call it the ‘Uncle Sam’..…And with the point you can have the body completely centred, or when you put yourself off your centre, you create a sense of urgency.”

In signature fashion, Kuebler, who began studying martial arts at the age of four and has pursued everything from tap to hip-hop, has layered multiple concepts into the show. One is

In Radical System Art’s new Epilogos, dancers find wildly physical ways to amplify the rhetoric. Photo by David Cooper

Aristotle’s ideas on rhetoric. Another is the moral code of Bushido, the way of the samurai. Each section finds the dancers persuading us to see the value in duty, integrity, compassion, courage, honour, truth, and morality.

At first, Kuebler played with those concepts in front of video screens, but he wanted to push the idea further.

That’s when he started seeing the potential of light walls—the strands of LED lights often used in storefronts.

“It’s a show within a show. We’re trying to convince the audience, and

video projections just didn’t have the impact,” he recounts.

“With the light walls, in one way you’re seeing light bulbs, but at the same time, if you put video into it, it becomes digital and pixellated. So it has this vaudevillian, kind of analogue-era look with digital media, so there’s a crossover of different eras.”

The biggest challenge has been the brightness. “We started at 20 percent and I think we all had goggles on,” Kuebler says with a laugh. “There’s a slow process of revealing them [the

lights] in the show. I think we only use them at seven or 10 percent now.”

As excited as he is about this new technological ground, Kuebler stresses his work is not just about production elements. “For me, the biggest production element is still the performer,” says the artist, who has danced for Kidd Pivot and the Holy Body Tattoo.

By way of example, he goes back to July 2017, when he created a work at the American Dance Festival in North Carolina. “Over 300 students from all over the world,” he

says, adding they get to audition for the works, like his, that are created.

“They said, ‘You can have video or whatever technical elements you want,’ and I was like, ‘I don’t need video! I want 28 people!’ ” he relates.

It’s that kind of ambition and vision that is keeping Kuebler busy these days. His last work, the tap-dancedriven Telemetry, continues to tour the world, even as Epilogos opens.

“Telemetry’s 45th show is in Serbia on April 7,” he enthuses. “It’s pretty amazing. With these shows, there’s a lot of work to get them off the ground, and it’s nice to see them have a life.”

Kuebler is quick to credit his team, including the dancers who have committed to his pummelling movement.

“I have so much love and appreciation for them,” he says. “They bust their asses in the show. This work really needed a strong ensemble connection, because it really talks about the value system in the group. An idea is only as powerful as the people behind it. It’s a beast of a show.”

Still, at this moment, it’s difficult to imagine anyone working quite as hard as Kuebler. On this day, he’s helping to haul out the giant strands of lights from the Epilogos tour’s three cargo vans. He’s not just choreographer and dancer in the show, but he’s directed it and composed the score.

“I have very big ambitions; I’m kind of an asshole to myself sometimes,” he says. “I haven’t opened a show in Vancouver for three years. And then after this, it’s back to Europe with Telemetry. It’s a little terrifying. But we’re building the momentum. And I’m really proud of the work; it’s really attaining what I thought it could.” And, like the orator in Epilogos, he’s awfully persuasive. g The Vancouver International Dance Festival presents Epilogos at the Vancouver Playhouse on March 6 and 7.

Ballet BC’s Walerski readies for new chapter

by Janet Smith

I

n retrospect, it feels like everything happened by some grand design. When Medhi Walerski created the beautifully eccentric Petite Cérémonie in 2013, it was an instant favourite in the Ballet BC repertoire, garnering standing Os. When artistic director Emily Molnar invited Walerski back three years later to remount it as part of an entire evening of his work, the Parisian-born, The Hague–based dance artist admitted to the Straight that the company already felt like home. He enjoyed the freedom of the West Coast, far removed from the European scene.

“It was a side turn from what I was doing, and I had fun and wanted to do it again,” the choreographer said in 2016. “There’s something in Canada that I need. I can try different things.”

Walerski would go on to stage his first story ballet two years later—a fresh and striking Romeo and Juliet, which will soon see a return to the Queen E. stage. And in January came the big news that he’ll replace Molnar, officially starting as Ballet BC artistic director in July. In a balletically graceful bit of choreography, Molnar will take the coveted helm of Nederlands Dans Theater, where Walerski made his name as a dancer and choreographer, while he heads here from there, to lead the troupe she’s built into an internationally acclaimed force.

“I definitely plan to honour the vision that Emily has created and I want to bring it further,” Walerski says over the phone, in town to remount Romeo and Juliet. “The company now has such an upward trajectory. I want to give fresh challenges for the audience and the dancers.

“At the moment it’s as exciting as it is overwhelming, working on Romeo and Juliet and preparing for my new position,” he adds with a laugh.

“I don’t even have time to think because I’m in it.”

I feel right now there is a buzz, a lot of artistic growth.

– dance artist Medhi Walerski

Preparing to take Ballet BC’s helm in July, Medhi Walerski is in town to restage his Romeo and Juliet.

Still, Walerski says the time couldn’t be better for him to make the big leap.

“I feel right now there is a buzz, a lot of artistic growth,” he remarks, adding he caught a bit of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival when he arrived earlier this month.

“There’s a great energy here.”

That energy extends to Ballet BC, which has rebuilt spectacularly since Molnar’s takeover in 2009. It now regularly tours the planet to acclaim. This week, just before Romeo and Juliet, the troupe is hitting Los Angeles; in June it heads to the famed Sydney Opera House. Last year it appeared everywhere from Stuttgart to the Jacob’s Pillow festival in Massachusetts.

Molnar, here till the summer, has already plotted out next season, and Walerski is getting ready to shape the new creation he’ll stage for Ballet BC on that roster. He says he’s also excited to be launching a choreographers’ lab, bringing in creators from here and abroad. He reasserts Molnar’s own priority of staging women’s work, a hot topic considering he’s replacing someone celebrated as one of the world’s few major female artistic directors. It’s an issue where he’s walked the talk. Faced with a small furor surrounding Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 2018, when that troupe put him on an all-male program devoted to choreography about women, he withdrew his piece. “I strongly support a more visible presence of my fellow female choreographers,” Walerski posted.

That tells you a lot about Walerski. So does the fact that, though he earned a spot at the legendary Paris Opera Ballet, he moved on quickly to Nederlands Dans Theater. “I didn’t stay so long at the Paris Opera Ballet because I was not so in touch with the hierarchy. I wanted to be somewhere where everyone had a chance,” he stresses. “That’s why I went to NDT, and that’s why I connect with Ballet BC, where everybody

has a voice and there’s so much collaboration.”

Watch Walerski build his work in the studio, and you realize how much input he draws from the dancers—an approach he attributes to being a dancer for so long. When he created NATUS here in 2016, his starting point was asking the corps to write down their ideas of celebration.

Though he knows all the ins and outs of tours and jetés from the rigorous Paris years, he’s also found the freedom here to draw on whatever he needs to express his ideas. In Petite Cérémonie, dancers juggle, shuffle their feet, and even speak.

Now he eagerly returns to his hugely ambitious Romeo and Juliet, a work with a striking set that plays black off white. Walerski retains Sergei Prokofiev’s lush original score and roots the ballet in the deeply expressed emotion of its characters. The latter is why this spring’s version, with new dancers in some of the leading roles, is so different and surprising to him. Emily Chessa reprises Juliet, but alternates with Kristen Wicklund, while newcomers Justin Rapaport and Dex van ter Meij take turns as Romeo.

“It’s exciting to see what these new artists bring to the role and how it affects how we look at the story,” he reveals. “The story is still very universal, but it’s interesting to see it through the physicality of someone else.”

Amid all of this, Walerski is trying to scope out a place to live. “Mount Pleasant, the North Shore—I know it’s very difficult to find a place here, but all of these areas are really exciting,” he says. Somehow, given how things have played out already, we know he’ll find just the right spot to call home. g Ballet BC presents Romeo and Juliet at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre from next Wednesday to Saturday (March 4 to 7).

FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 11

ARTS

Brazil’s distinct traditions fuel Grupo Corpo’s dance

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t’s never too late for a spiritual awakening. At 63, Rodrigo Pederneiras—cofounder of Grupo Corpo, one of Brazil’s and the world’s great dance troupes—decided to delve into the Afro-Brazilian religion of Umbanda to create a new work. The faith has thrived in poverty-stricken pockets of his home country, blending African traditions, brought to South America by slaves, with Roman Catholicism, Indigenous American beliefs, and spiritism. In some of its rituals, mediums channel spirits and move around the room in a trancelike state to music.

One of Pederneiras’s company members, an Umbanda follower, took the choreographer to a service in a part of Belo Horizonte, the landlocked city where Grupo Corpo has been based since 1975.

“I really didn’t know about it—I had a very strong Catholic education,” Pederneiras tells the Straight over the phone from a tour stop in Eureka, California. “I went every day to the place the rituals happen, and I really learned a lot with these people—they’re very, very poor people, but very big people.

So I started to have the religious experience with them. It was fantastic and it has changed my life.

I still go there.

“They receive the spirits in their bodies, and they remember nothing that happened,” he explains. “In this small space there were sometimes 40 people dancing with closed eyes, and they don’t touch each other while they’re turning around and around.

And each entity has a very personal way to dance. Being in the middle of it, I was really fascinated.”

The experience illustrates how the choreographer, over decades, has pushed to immerse himself in Brazil’s wildly diverse cultural worlds.

The work Gira, which grew out of the Umbanda experiences, is not a literal reenactment but a bold and polished contemporary expression of its ritualistic rhythms. To the Brazilian punk-fusion sounds of São Paulo band Méta Méta, bare-chested dancers build to an almost ecstatic state as they whirl and kick around the stage in white flowing skirts.

That deep devotion to Brazil’s distinct flavours has been part of Grupo Corpo’s success over the decades—making it part national treasure, part artistic ambassador.

Pederneiras also seems to retain an insatiable curiosity, always trying to find some new inspiration in his home country’s endless rich wellspring of ideas.

But the choreographer also points out Grupo Corpo’s other secret to longevity: working like a close-knit family—often literally. The choreog-

Grupo Corpo’s Gira is inspired by Umbanda rituals. Photo by Jose Luis Pederneiras

rapher founded the company with his brother Paulo Pederneiras, and their sister Miriam as one of the dancers, first basing the troupe out of their parents’ home.

That atmosphere set a tone for a company where everyone feels part of the clan. “My assistant used to be a dancer for 20 years; one of the technicians—he’s German—used to be a dancer for many years,” he says.

His love for his members is evident in the story behind Dança Sinfônica, another work Grupo Corpo will bring here on a double bill.

Created in 2015 to celebrate Grupo Corpo’s 40th anniversary, it pulls together dazzling excerpts from some of the company’s best repertoire, centred on a breathtaking pas de deux. The piece features a set with photos of hundreds of people who have worked for the troupe. But Pederneiras reveals a more personal reason for creating the piece. It is devoted to one particular dancer, whose young daughter died of cancer.

“It was a piece that was very emotional for me,” he says. “I used to make rehearsals and the little girl would sit on my lap. It was very difficult for all the company, and especially for the mother, who is still a dancer. I decided to create the tribute to this ballerina.”

With this kind of passion, the Grupo Corpo family continue to thrive in the unlikely metropolis where they have built an international force. “We decided to stay in Belo Horizonte because it was more of a quiet city,” Pederneiras reflects. “It was important to focus in our work and on what we really wanted to do, because in Rio or São Paulo it would be more difficult to do this. Maybe impossible.” g DanceHouse presents Grupo Corpo on Friday and Saturday (February 28 and 29) at the Vancouver Playhouse.

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FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 13

SPRING ARTS Dance takes a walk on the wild side

by Janet Smith

DANCE CRITICS’ PICKS

d THIS SPRING, the dance scene gets wonderfully warped and weird. Nothing could qualify as “traditional” or “normal” on the list below—not even programs where you would expect it.

So thank the dance gods that you don’t live in a boring city. And bring on the collapsing dollhouses, the bondage-outfitted bailaoras, and the electronically wired tap dancers. Here are the hottest tickets this spring.

DOLLHOUSE (At the Scotiabank Dance Centre from March 12 to 14) Embrace the chaos as a man’s world falls down around him in this Dance Centre and Vancouver New Music presentation. Mousetraps, plastic glassware, and a jacket pierced with arrows make for a wild trip into the off-kilter world of Canadian contemporary-dance master Bill Coleman.

The Draw: Everything from bowls of water to mechanical objects and ECG electrodes conjures the score.

Target Audience: Experimentalists, anarchists, and the prop-curious.

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HILLEL KOGAN APRIL 23 25 PRESENTED WITH THÉÂTRE LA SEIZIÈME

EVER SO SLIGHTLY (At the Vancouver Playhouse on March 20 and 21) Hip-hop, martial arts, and contemporary dance meld in RUBBERBAND’s sometimes dark exploration of stress, oppression, and aggression, all set to a haunting electronic score. In this DanceHouse presentation, performers dressed in coveralls ignite choreographer Victor Quijada’s explosive moves. The Draw: Composer–DJ Jasper Gahunia and violinist William Lamoureux’s live music gives the movement extra fire.

Target Audience: Urbanites under pressure, and the hip-hop nation.

white bata de cola to macho woman sporting an S&M harness to goldbolero-wearing matador in kneepads.

Target Audience: Iberophiles who like their flamenco five-alarm dangerous.

dancers use only parts of the body that contain a designated vowel (the jaw or calf for the letter A, say). The Draw: A multimedia performance that rethinks movement as much as it works your brain. Target AudiWE LOVE ARABS (At the Scotiabank ence: Wordsmiths, bookworms, and Dance Centre from April 23 to 25) In those who like poetry in motion. this dance-theatre work that dramatizes the rehearsal process for a new ETM: DOUBLE DOWN (At the Vanwork, Israeli choreographer-dancer couver Playhouse on May 15 and 16) Hillel Kogan conscripts an Arab per- The last time New York City’s Dorformer, Adi Boutrous. Cue cultural rance Dance came to the DanceHouse missteps, power struggles, and biting program, audiences were blown away political satire, as the effort to make by the way the troupe both pays triba dancework about peace turns into ute to tap’s roots and also turns the cleverly comedic conflict. The Dance form on its head. Now they’re back Centre presents it with Théâtre la with new Electronic Tap Music platSeizième. The Draw: Complex Middle forms that push even further into the East politics on an intimate scale. Tar- future, using trigger boards that proget Audience: Peace activists who can duce all kinds of cool live sound from the lightning footwork. The Draw: check their idealism at the door.

Some of the world’s most charismatic PROGRAM 3 (At the Queen Elizabeth hoofers. Target Audience: VancouTheatre from May 7 to 9) Ballet BC be- ver’s vast contingent of tap lovers, and comes the first company on the contin- discerning contemporary-dance fans ent to perform Batsheva Dance Com- who don’t think they’re tap lovers. pany legend Ohad Naharin’s hypnotic Hora. Featuring sensuously undulating WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE IF bodies, the work is defined by an em- YOU GROW UP (At Left of Main erald-green set and synthesizer adap- from June 3 to 6) Plastic orchid factations of the classics. It finds a perfect tory presents a multimedia solo by companion in Batsheva alumna Sharon James Gnam, whose ambitious subject Eyal and Gai Behar’s strange and alien is growing up during the Cold War Bill, with its army of dancers in nude and that historical chapter’s effect on body suits. The Draw: Gorgeous Gaga the current climate crisis. The Draw: (Naharin’s revolutionary movement Video touches like atomic-age publiclanguage). Target Audience: Batsheva safety propaganda, not to mention fans, plus balletomanes who like to take iconic ’80s tunes. Target Audience: Children of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. a walk on the wild side.

EUNOIA (At the Firehall Arts Centre from May 13 to 16) Veteran Toronto choreographer Denise Fujiwara boldly adapts Christian Bök’s booklength poem of the same name— playing a similar game of language.

Just as Bök limits himself to words that use a single vowel for each of the book’s five chapters, Fujiwara’s

FAMILIARS (At the Moberly Arts Centre from June 25 to 28) In this Dumb Instrument Dance show, Ziyian Kwan, Kelly McInnes, Rianne Svelnis, and taiko drummer Eileen Kage join forces to explore the theme of witches.

The Draw: Dance in a public-park field house. Target Audience: Those who want to fall under their spell. g Photo credit: Chris Herzfeld

FALLEN FROM HEAVEN (At SFU Woodward’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts from April 1 to 4) Feral, intense, fragile, ferocious—Spanish flamenco rebel Rocío Molina has been called all of these things as she’s performed around the world. If you saw Impulso, the unforgettable documentary about her at VIFF 2018 (it’s screening again on March 11), you know this show is unmissable. Expect theatrics, as four male musicians provide live accompaniment to this DanceHouse–SFU Woodward’s copresentation in partnership with the Vancouver International Flamenco Festival. The Draw: Molina’s ability to transform herself from unearthly creature in a surreal

At the Dance Centre, Bill Coleman destroys a Dollhouse. Photo by Daniel Paquet

A SIMPLE SPACE GRAVITY & OTHER MYTHS

MAY 25 - MAY 31, 2020 ON GRANVILLE ISLAND, VANCOUVER

CHILDRENSFESTIVAL.CA TICKETS GO ON SALE - MARCH 4TH Premier Sponsor

14 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020

SPRING ARTS

Classical treats go far beyond Beethoven

by Alexander Varty

MUSIC

CRITICS’ PICKS d GIVEN THAT THIS YEAR marks the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth, it would seem churlish to complain that much of the spring concert season honours the legacy of a dead white male. So we won’t. Instead, let’s give thanks that we’ll have many opportunities, some of them quite innovative, to reassess Beethoven’s legacy, and to remind ourselves that although the great German did sometimes take aristocrats’ commissions, he was a resolute lover of freedom and a foe of despots. Let’s rejoice, too, that spring in Vancouver also offers an occasion to celebrate our own musical diversity, which here finds expression in everything from rock operas to shamanic singing to the very newest of the new.

BEETHOVENFEST (At various Vancouver venues from March 7 to 21) The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra opens its long-awaited celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday at the Orpheum on March 7, with a program titled Beethoven the Modernist—the implication being that while his music might be old, it’s far from fusty. The Draw: Two symphonic masterworks: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with rising-star virtuoso Alina Ibragimova as soloist.

Target Audience: The undeaf.

DIAMANDA LA BERGE DRAMM (At the Post at 750 on March 21 and April 7) Music on Main introduces its 2020 artist in residence, violinist Diamanda La Berge Dramm, with a kitchenpartystyle concert. The Draw: Not only is the Amsterdam-based Dramm

Master pianist András Schiff brings new textures to Beethoven and Bach, while violinist Diamanda La Berge Dramm throws a party (photo by Brendon Heinst).

winning accolades all over Europe, her parents—composers Anne La Berge and David Dramm—have some serious cred of their own. Target Audience: Explorers and geneticists.

pieces. The Draw: With the Vancouver Cantata Singers, Vancouver Bach Choir, and Vancouver Chamber Choir joining an expanded edition of the PBO, this really will be celebratory.

Target Audience: Old-school—really ANDRÁS SCHIFF (At the Chan Cen- old-school—party animals. tre for the Performing Arts on March 22 and the Vancouver Playhouse on THE PEACEABLE KINGDOM: March 24) Would you rather hear one SONGS OF EARTH (At the Blusson of the world’s deepest pianists play Jo- Spinal Cord Centre on April 18) Shahann Sebastian Bach or Ludwig van manism, protest, and harmony all Beethoven? The choice is clear: see factor into the final concert of the Vanboth. The Draw: If funds or time allows couver Cantata Singers’ season, with for only one of these Vancouver Recital one possible highlight being local comSociety shows, András Schiff’s Gold- poser Iman Habibi’s Iranian-flavoured berg Variations, at the Chan, might be Colour of Freedom. The Draw: The Blusthe more revelatory performance. But, son atrium’s extraordinary acoustics, still, you’ll want to see both. Target and the voice of soloist Amir Haghighi.

Audience: Anyone who’s ever tickled Target Audience: Loving souls. or been tickled by the ivories.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL: BEETHOVEN, MOZART & HAYDN THE OPERA (At the Queen Elizabeth (At the Chan Centre for the Performing Theatre from April 23 to May 2) VanArts on April 5) Celebrate a trio of couver Opera opens its annual festisignificant birthdays—Ludwig van val with a splashy, Quebec-generated Beethoven’s 250th, Early Music Van- reconceptualization of Pink Floyd couver’s 50th, and the Pacific Baroque mastermind Roger Waters’s most Orchestra’s 30th—with a festive selec- iconic album. The Draw: A “serious see next page tion of baroque and classical master-

VETTA CHAMBER MUSIC

Joan Blackman

Artistic Director

2019-2020 34TH SEASON

BEETHOVEN’S BIRTHDAY Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata Korngold Suite for Two Violins, Cello and Piano, Left Hand Jane Coop piano Joan Blackman violin Jason Ho violin Rebecca Wenham cello

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FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 15

from previous page

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5PM

A WILDERNESS OF SEA

ELMER ISELER SINGERS

LYDIA ADAMS, CONDUCTOR

7:30PM | FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020

PACIFIC SPIRIT UNITED CHURCH, 2205 W 45TH AVE AT YEW ST

WITH THE

ELMER ISELER SINGERS

Two of Canada’s premier ensembles take the stage together – an event not to be missed! The broad theme is the sea and the Vancouver Chamber Choir will present two new works on that theme, with both choirs joining forces in a magical work that has all too long gone unnoted: Toivo Kuula’s Meren virsi (The Hymn of the Sea).

1.855.985.ARTS (2787) vancouverchamberchoir.com

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN SOPRANO SHARON HARMS with PIANIST JOAN FORSYTH

George Crumb’s Apparition (Walt Whitman), and works

by Frank Brickle, J. Benjamin Jones, Jocelyn Morlock, Stephen Chatman, Yehudi Wyner, Rodney Sharman

FRIDAY, APRIL 3 / 7:30 PM New works written for Bowers Fader by Vancouver composers Rodney Sharman, Frank Brickle, Stephen Chatman, setting new poems by Tara Wohlberg, and works by Erin Rogers, Paul Salerni, Judith St. Croix, Martin Rokeach, David Claman

PYATT HALL, VSO SCHOOL OF MUSIC, 843 SEYMOUR STREET

“Benjamin Grosvenor may well be the most remarkable young pianist of our time.”

– Gramophone

TICKETS FROM

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BENJAMIN GROSVENOR piano

SUN MAR 15 at 3pm I VANCOUVER PLAYHOUSE This talented young British pianist is celebrated for his electrifying performances and has been a darling of the critics ever since he burst on to the music scene in 2004 at the age of 11. Come and hear what the fuss is about when he returns to Vancouver to perform a program of

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THE VOICE OF THE SKY (At St. Philip’s Anglican Church on April 24) The adept and innovative musica intima choir looks at the mysterious power of the world above our heads, in a program that will range from the airy to the thunderous. The Draw: New music from Turning Point Ensemble cofounder Owen Underhill, with texts by sky-scraping architect Antonio Gaudí. Target Audience: Listeners in need of uplift.

THE LOST WORDS: A SPELL BOOK (At the Orpheum Annex on May 6 and 7) The Elektra Women’s Choir hosts a multimedia realization of author Robert Macfarlane and illustrator Jackie Morris’s charming and otherworldly alphabet book, The Lost Words, with music from 10 acclaimed Canadian composers. The Draw: Music, art, and natural history combine in a loving celebration of life. Target Audience: Those who look outside their screens.

THIS DELICATE UNIVERSE (At the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on May 8) The Vancouver Chamber Choir wraps up a strong first season under new artistic director Kari Turunen by joining forces with its junior associates in the Vancouver Youth Choir. The Draw: The deathless poetry of the Egyptian writer Constantine Cavafy, set to equally compelling cross-cultural music from Seattle’s Eric Banks. Target Audience: Text lovers and texturalists.

THE DREAM TRIO (At West Point Grey United Church on May 14 and 15, and at Pyatt Hall on May 17) Vetta Chamber Music violinist and artistic director Joan Blackman isn’t kidding; when pianist Arthur Rowe and cellist Eugene Osadchy join her for these three concerts, she really will be living the dream. The Draw: The remarkably attentive musical interplay of three masters. Target Audience: Close listeners.

BOWERS FADER DUO

EVENINGS OF SONG

M’ANAM (At the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on April 24) At once ancient-sounding and thrillingly contemporary, Ireland’s M’ANAM joins Vancouver’s Chor Leoni for the opening concert in the latter’s annual VanMan Male Choral Summit.

The Draw: Stunning voices exploring a more contemplative side of Celtic music. Target Audience: Men, and those of any gender who love them.

ADRIAN VERDEJO (At the Orpheum Annex on May 9) Fierce on electric and tender on acoustic, guitarist Adrian Verdejo is developing a unique new voice on the world’s most overplayed and underexploited instrument. The Draw: This Vancouver New Music presentation features new and nearly new compositions from Rodney Sharman, Peter Hannan, and the appropriately named Wolf Edwards. Target Audience: Eclectic adventurers.

SUNDAY, MARCH 8 / 7 PM

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music” treatment of some serious music, with themes that are even more relevant today than they were in 1979.

Target Audience: Anybody out there.

SUPPORTED BY

IN THE DISTANCE (At SFU Woodward’s Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre on May 16 and 17) Thanks to a two-year collaboration with Zagreb’s Cantus Ensemble, Vancouver’s Turning Point Ensemble presents a rare survey of Croatia’s compositional scene. The Draw: Cantus’s Berislav Šipuš will conduct, to ensure genuine Croatian flavour. Target Audience: Slavs to the rhythm.

SOUND OF DRAGON FESTIVAL (At the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre and the Orpheum Annex from June 4 to 7) Vancouver’s biennial festival of innovative Asian music returns, with highlights including the PEP duo of erhu virtuoso Nicole Li and pianist Corey Hamm; a cross-country collaboration between our own Orchid Ensemble and Montreal’s ultradiverse OktoEcho; and Mongolian master Tamir Hargana. The Draw: Throat singing and horsehead fiddle.

Who could ask for more? Target Audience: Ears wide-open. g

SPRING ARTS

Trans stories, tsunamis, and a spectacle in the park

by Andrea Warner

Please recycle this newspaper.

Brefny Caribou and Raes Calvert bring Urban Ink’s Sedna to Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park, complete with music and large-scale lantern puppets. Photo by Tim Matheson

THEATRE CRITICS’ PICKS

d AS THE BUDS BLOOM and the trees flower, life reveals itself anew.

Spring is hope. But the truth is, hope is a complicated thing. Who gets to have it? Who has to fight for it? How do we hold on to it? Can it sustain us?

The complexity of hope—the struggle, the urgency, the reward— is at the centre of many stories unfolding on Vancouver stages this spring. Be it a remount of a beloved musical about black women in a Toronto salon (the Arts Club’s ’Da Kink in My Hair), a “glittery bomb” of boylesque and cabaret (Briefs at the Cultch), an autobiographical one-person show (Boca del Lupo’s Inner Elder at Performance Works)

by Gemini Award–winning Cree artist Michelle Thrush, or one of the highlights below, it’s hard not to feel a bit of hope about the scope of representation and lived experiences gracing the boards this season.

TRANS SCRIPTS, PART I: THE WOMEN (At the Firehall Arts Centre from March 12 to 21) The Frank Theatre and Zee Zee Theatre copresent the Canadian premiere of this groundbreaking work, which Paul Lucas wrote based on 70 interviews with transgender women from around the world.

It promises to be tender, funny, fraught, and human. The Draw: The show stars seven local transgender artists, activists, actors, and politicians, including Quanah Style, Morgane Oger, and Julie Vu. Target Audience: Everybody who is interested in witnessing the real life experiences of transgender women in their own words.

CARRIED AWAY ON THE CREST OF A WAVE (At the Stanley Industrial Alliance Theatre from March 19 to April 19) David Yee’s Governor General’s Award–winning play tells the story of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people in 12 countries. The Draw: The scope of this tragedy is almost incomprehensible, but Yee brings it back to the people. The play unfolds in a series of vignettes based on interviews Yee himself did with survivors, as well as other survivors’ accounts. Target Audience: Literary nonfiction and drama enthusiasts, other survivors, first responders.

WHITE NOISE (At the Firehall Arts Centre from April 18 to May 9) The new play from Denesułįné and Nakoda Sioux artist Taran Kootenhayoo, copresented by Savage Society, might have one of the most daring premises of the spring: it’s a comedy about internalized racism, set during the very first dinner between two different families during Truth

and Reconciliation Week. The Draw: Award-winning playwright, actor, and spoken-word poet Kootenhayoo, who hails from Treaty 6 territory in Alberta, is one of the most exciting new voices in contemporary literature. Target Audience: Comedy lovers, Indigenous people and settlers, fans of tense but funny, highstakes dining scenarios.

SEDNA (At Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park from April 22 to May 10) This new work from Urban Ink bills itself as “an Indigenous musical spectacle”, and if that’s not enough to hook people, note the promise of “large-scale lantern puppets” to help tell the story of an Indigenous woman who is struggling to figure out how she feels about a pipeline coming to the territory of her people.

The Draw: Those puppets! And, of course, a new musical score from award-winning composer Corey Payette (Children of God, Les Filles du Roi), all amidst the backdrop of beautiful spring nights in Stanley Park. Target Audience: Indigenous storytellers, artists, land protectors, and theatre lovers; settlers interested in decolonizing; musical-theatre and puppet enthusiasts alike; all-weather adventure seekers (outdoor theatre in April/May!).

PRESENTS

GRUPO CORPO (BRAZIL) DANÇA SINFÔNICA & GIRA

“GRUPO CORPO IS REMARKABLE.” NEW YORK TIMES

MADE IN CANADA: AN AGRICULTURAL OPERETTA (At Performance Works from May 8 to 23) This is the world premiere of a new operetta from Rice & Beans Theatre cofounder Pedro Chimale that aims to illustrate the reality of temporary farm workers and the laws that allow these workers’ ongoing exploitation. The Draw: A new musical in both Spanish and English is always a thrill. There’s also something to be said for an opportunity to be confronted by our complicity in the human cost of where and how we get our food, particularly because farmto-table dining and sustainability are obsessions for many different types of Vancouverites. Target Audience: Musical lovers, socially conscious environmentalists, labour organizers, and anybody who eats.

PARADISE LOST (At Bard on the Beach’s Howard Family Stage from July 10 to September 20) This marks the Western Canadian premiere of Erin Shields’s wildly innovative play based on the epic poem by John Milton. In Shields’s adaptation, which the Toronto Star called “brilliant” as well as “irreverent, extremely funny and stingingly contemporary”, Satan escapes hell in order to upend humanity and get revenge on God. The Draw: Jessie Award–winning actor Colleen Wheeler plays Satan.

SATAN! Target Audience: Lovers of the classics, literary innovators, people who like to laugh. g

FEBRUARY 28 & 29 8PM VANCOUVER PLAYHOUSE TICKETS FROM

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PRODUCTION SPRONSOR

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© JOSE LUIZ PEDERNEIR AS

FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 17

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ST. JOHN PASSION Exquisite 17th century music for women’s choir and instruments by seven women composers from Northern Italy

ZACH FINKELSTEIN GUEST TENOR SOLOIST

7:30PM | GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2020

THE ORPHEUM, 601 SMITHE ST AT SEYMOUR ST

WITH ZACH FINKELSTEIN, GUEST TENOR SOLOIST AND PACIFIC BAROQUE ORCHESTRA The longevity and success of Bach’s passions are based on their deep grasp of humanity. The range of emotions and the psychological acuity of Bach make the story arresting time after time. The St. John Passion is the more dramatic and concise of the two Bach passions, which are an important part of the cultural inheritance of mankind. While Bach’s works are easy to find in recordings, the intensity of this music needs to be experienced in concert.

1.855.985.ARTS (2787) vancouverchamberchoir.com

A collection of groundbreaking drawings by the celebrated, third-generation Inuk artist

ON VIEW UNTIL MAY 24 TICKETS AT VANARTGALLERY.BC.CA Generously supported by Gary R. Bell

The exhibition and tour are supported by The TD Ready Commitment

Shuvinai Ashoona: Mapping Worlds is organized and circulated by The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto and curated

by Nancy Campbell, PhD, with assistance from Justine Kohleal, Assistant Curator, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

18 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020

Shuvinai Ashoona, Composition (Attack of the Tentacle Monsters), 2015, Fineliner pen and coloured pencil on paper, Collection of Paul and Mary Dailey Desmarais Ill

ALSO ON VIEW UNTIL MAY 18 Over 80 artworks from the permanent collection exploring the idea of the self in relation to the natural world featuring a new perspective on the work and lives of Sewinchelwet (Sophie Frank) and Emily Carr

SPRING ARTS Drink in the diversity at spring exhibits

by Robin Laurence

MARCH 2020 UBC OPERA BALL FUNDRAISER Fri Mar 6 at 6:30pm Lyse Lemieux redefines drawing (left, photo by Blaine Campbell); Ying-Yueh Chuang’s ceramic Seed Creature #1 at the SAG.

VISUAL ARTS CRITICS’ PICKS

d IT’S AS IF THE wide world were convening in Vancouver this spring— at least through the visual arts. Local, national, and international artists draw interest and inspiration from the multitude of peoples, places, and cultures that we, as a society, are composed of. They also take on some of the most pressing and universal issues of our day, making the personal political—and vice versa. That so many upcoming exhibitions at public galleries and artist-run centres are photo-based is testament to the ongoing success of the Capture Photography Festival, which runs again in April this year.

DON HUTCHINSON AND YINGYUEH CHUANG: PASSAGES (At the Surrey Art Gallery to June 14) The late Don Hutchinson, who started his long career as a production potter, developed into a ceramic sculptor whose often whimsical work drew inspiration from the natural world, his extensive travels, and the ancient cultures of Europe and Asia. Ying-Yueh Chuang, who arrived in Canada in the 1990s from her birthplace, Taiwan, expresses her sense of cultural hybridity by sculpting exquisitely complex, multicomponent ceramic works that improvise on natural forms. These may range from seedpods to sea anemones, and from calla lilies to crab claws. The Draw: Passages is a great title for this inspired pairing, which brings journeys and cultures together through the surprisingly versatile medium of ceramics.

LYSE LEMIEUX: NO FIXED ABODE (At the SFU Gallery to May 7) This acclaimed Vancouver artist confounds

GOHAR DASHTI: DISSONANCE (At the West Vancouver Art Museum from March 18 to May 9) Tehranbased photographer and video artist Gohar Dashti references themes of home and sanctuary to remind us of the plight of our planet’s millions of refugees. Her photographs document attempts by the displaced and dispossessed to create living spaces within inhospitable landscapes.

Dashti also shoots images of plants invading and overtaking crumbling domestic environments that have been abandoned by their occupants.

Born in Iran near the border with Iraq, Dashti frequently draws on childhood memories of the eightyear war between those two countries. The Draw: With images pouring in daily of civilians fleeing the civil war in Syria—and with the PAO HOUA HER: EMPLOTMENT world’s stateless people numbering (At the Or Gallery from March 28 to some 12 million—Dashti’s subjects May 16) Through her scent-based in- could not be more relevant. stallation at the Or and photographs in the gallery’s front window linked ANNA BINTA DIALLO: WANDERto those in transit shelters throughout INGS (At the Access Gallery from Vancouver, Hmong-American art- April 4 to May 30 and the Waterfront ist Pao Houa Her examines the idea Canada Line Station from April 1 to of tebchaw, or “land place”, cherished September 1) Anna Binta Diallo, by the diasporic Hmong people. As a who was born in Dakar, Senegal, minority, the Hmong have suffered grew up in St. Boniface, Manitoba, persecution in southern China and and is based in Montreal, has cresoutheast Asia, and their alignment ated an immersive exhibition of with the losing side during the Viet- photographic collages that draw nam War and related conficts did not on folk stories and a wide range of help their situation. Her, who was born image sources to, as she says in her in Laos in 1980 and fled with her family statement, “create new mytholoto the U.S. through refugee camps in gies”. Her art uses the folkloric to Thailand, is acclaimed for portrait grapple with identity and come to and still-life photographs that speak an understanding of community to Hmong history and culture. The while also disrupting and inverting Draw: Remember Clint Eastwood’s colonial narratives. The Draw: film Gran Torino, in which an old Diallo adapts her installation, first white guy saves the day for his Hmong developed during a residency at the neighbours? Well, Her creates work Banff Centre, to each new space in from inside the Hmong-American ex- which she exhibits. Expect to be both challenged and beguiled. g perience. The day is Her’s to save.

our notions of what drawing might be, erasing distinctions between subject and object, figuration and abstraction, two dimensions and three. She also messes creatively with traditional drawing media and unexpected materials such as fabric and fur. The title of her exhibition alludes to a Franz Kafka short story in which a formless and elusive entity called Odradek lurks everywhere and lives nowhere.

Lemieux spins the tale into works of both spatial and narrative ambiguity, through wall-mounted drawings, executed in oil stick and felt, and “bundles” composed of found and treasured textiles. The Draw: Lemieux goes from strength to strength with this powerful follow-up to her smashing show of painted drawings at Wil Aballe Art Projects last summer.

Closes Sunday, March 29

DIANNE REEVES: BELEZA BRAZIL Sun Mar 8 at 7pm

Presented by the Chan Centre Jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves performs her interpretations of Brazil’s finest musical treasures alongside instrumentalists Romero Lubambo, Itaiguara Brandão, Rafael Barata, and John Beasley.

IBRAM X. KENDI

Tue Mar 17 at 6pm Presented by the Phil Lind Initiative Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Awardwinning historian and author of Stamped from the Beginning, speaks as part of the Phil Lind Initiative’s Thinking While Black series.

PARIS! THE SHOW

Wed Mar 18 at 8pm Presented by Directo Productions Producer and creator Gil Marsalla presents a brand new concert experience, highlighting the best of French music with songs by Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Lucienne Boyer, and more.

BEETHOVEN’S EROICA Mar 20 + 21 at 8pm

Presented by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Conductor and violist Brett Dean leads both his own work, inspired by Beethoven’s Testament, and the German composer’s beloved Symphony No. 3.

SIR ANDRÁS SCHIFF, PIANO Sun Mar 22 at 3pm

moa.ubc.ca

Media Sponsor

Presented by the UBC School of Music Dinner and dancing on the Chan Centre stage accompanied by members of the UBC Opera Ensemble and the Dal Richards Orchestra.

Presented by the Vancouver Recital Society Experience Sir András Schiff’s monumental and mesmerizing interpretation of J.S. Bach’s iconic Goldberg Variations, first published in 1741.

RIDGE

Thu Mar 26 at 7:30pm

PLAYING WITH FIRE

Presented by the Chan Centre Storyteller and musician Brendan McLeod explores the Battle of Vimy Ridge in a work commemorating Canadian soldiers while taking a searing look at the futility of war. Telus Studio Theatre

CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 6265 Crescent Road, Vancouver (UBC)

chancentre.com SERIES SPONSOR:

Ceramics of the Extraordinary FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 19

FR ‫ ݗ‬M ALASKA CANADIAN DRAMA

By Sébastien Harrisson Translated by Leanna Brodie

T ICKE T S from

29

$

M AN US E IC W AL

LIVE ONSTAGE · $35,/ ৰ৵ ৱ৴

A Firehall Arts Centre World Premiere Production

TALKING Q SEX ON SUNDAY

Sara-Jeanne Hosie Music by Sara-Jeanne Hosie & Nico Rhodes Arrangements & Orchestrations by Nico Rhodes Book & Lyrics by

Spencer

Starring Janet Gigliotti, Jennifer Lines, Sara Vickruck, Irene Karas Loeper, Caitriona Murphy, Katrina Reynolds and Seana-Lee Wood

FEB 14 - MAR 8 Tue-Thu 7:30pm | Fri-Sat 8pm | Sat & Sun 3pm Wed 1pm PWYC (Feb 19, Feb 26 Mar 4)

604.270.1812 GATEWAYTHEATRE.COM

280 E Cordova Street

firehallartscentre.ca | 604.689.0926

Audience advisory: Profanity and mature subject matter. Recommended age: 13+ Jason Sakaki. Photo: David Cooper.

Broken Tailbone Created and Performed

by Carmen Aguirre March 11-14, 2020

Social Docent Created and moderated by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard April 1-4, 2020

Inner Elder Created and Performed

by Michelle Thrush April 29-May 2, 2020

Some Assembly Theatre Company Presents

Written & Directed by Valerie Methot with Metro Vancouver youth and industry professionals

MAY 8 & 9 @ 7:30PM

Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre Reservations: www.someassembly.ca • Info: 604-684-8807

For more information and tickets

bocadellupo.com 20 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020

uite rightly, actor and playwright Darrell Dennis suggests the timing could not be better for Inheritance, a choose-your-adventure production that asks audiences to think seriously about the issue of land ownership.

As seen on the news each night, Canadians of all ethnicities are currently banding together to support Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who’ve opposed pipelines running through their traditional territories. Attend a cultural event in Vancouver, and odds are the night will start with the acknowledgment that residents of the city are living on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Squamish, TsleilWaututh, and Musqueam nations.

Those realities help set up Inheritance, which was written by Dennis and his costars Daniel Arnold and Medina Hahn. In the production, the colonial property rights to a remote rural estate are available, with audience members to decide if those rights will go to an urban couple (Arnold and Hahn) or an Indigenous character played by Dennis.

“This could not be more timely with all the protests and blockades,” says the B.C.–raised Dennis, reached in his adopted home of Los Angeles.

“It’s a play that asks who has the right to develop on land, who has the right to own land, and who has the right to say that the land is theirs. These are all issues that have been a part of Canada’s legacy since its inception, and it continues today. That’s something that we really go into great detail about.”

Dennis, who is from the Secwepemc Nation, said the beginnings of Inheritance can be traced back a half-decade, to when he was working on a Harold Pinter play in Kamloops with Arnold and Hahn.

“That’s where we all met, and Daniel started telling me about this idea, and how he wanted to do a play about the idea of land, and land ownership, and who has access to land and the right to it,” he recalls. “Obviously, when talking about issues like that, he wanted to put an Indigenous element into it. So we began sharing ideas.”

In Inheritance, audience members use handheld electronic devices to vote on over 50 options that determine the direction the performance will take.

“What our play allows is the group collective to let their anonymous opinions come through to choose the directions the characters will take and how the play will end,” Dennis says. “That also gives a sense of where Canadians are at on this issue of land and who gets to share it. So it’s not only an interesting theatrical experience, but also kind of a thought experiment on how people think in this regional area of British Columbia.”

That anonymity is important.

“When we were doing workshops, obviously we didn’t have the technology for this that we do now to guide the action,” Dennis says. “Participants in the workshops had little signs that said ‘1’, ‘2’, or ‘3’, and they used those to choose the path. You could see people nervously looking around to see what the other people were going to choose before they made their decision.”

What he likes about Inheritance is that it challenges without sermonizing: “It’s not two hours of going in there and getting a lecture,” he continues. “There’s comedy and humour, and it’s a fast-paced story that progresses like choose-your-own-adventure books. Anything that happens comes out of the choices that we’re giving the audience. It sounds like it could be ‘Come and get a lecture, and then choose another lecture,’ but it’s absolutely the opposite.” g

Uprooted

BOCA DEL LUPO PRESENTS Three amazing shows by three incredible women.

Inheritance puts timely land rights in viewers’ hands

by Mike Usinger

Directed by Donna

The heartwarming story of an unlikely connection.

ARTS

Touchstone Theatre and Alley Theatre present Inheritance at the Orpheum Annex from Tuesday (March 3) to March 15, in association with Vancouver Moving Theatre.

ARTS

Talking Sex is a big-hearted, horny delight THEATRE

TALKING SEX ON SUNDAY

Book and lyrics by Sara-Jeanne Hosie. Music by Sara-Jeanne Hosie and Nico Rhodes. Directed

by Donna Spencer. A Firehall Arts Centre presentation. At the Firehall Arts Centre on Thursday, February 20. Continues until March 8

d TALKING SEX ON SUNDAY is an ambitious new musical from Sara-Jeanne Hosie and Nico Rhodes that’s as big-hearted as it is horny, and as hilarious as it is vulnerable.

The premise—a sex-toy party for a long-time group of women friends— might feel a bit dated, but the subject matter is relevant, thanks to existing stigmas around women’s sexuality, and myriad related topics like loneliness, shame, agency, and intimacy.

The show has barely started when Hosie rhymes penis with genius, and it’s an inspired moment that forecasts a lot of the unhinged musical joy in Talking Sex on Sunday, which covers everything from masturbation to Gspots. But Hosie, who wrote the book and lyrics, doesn’t just go for one-note jokes, risqué puns, or flat characters titillated by Kegels and dildos.

We feel like we know these women.

Margot (Janet Gigliotti) has hosted this unusual group of friends the first Sunday of every month for the past 10 years. She and her husband haven’t

had sex in a long time and she wants this party to help her reconnect with her own desires at least, if not revive her love life. There’s also Olivia (Jennifer Lines), Margot’s sister, who has a secret new man in her life; widower Sissy (Irene Karas Loeper); divorced Carol (Caitriona Murphy); young, queer feminist Frankie (Sara Vickruck); and devout book lover June (Katrina Reynolds). Odessa (SeanaLee Wood) is the sex-toy saleswoman who’s been doing this job for 25 years.

The whole ensemble is deeply talented, and they truly feel like a tight-knit group of friends under Donna Spencer’s direction. There are some standout performers, including Reynolds, who nails a showstopping, tear-jerking solo when June wrestles with her faith and her desires. Vickruck makes the most of every moment and her performance is playfully sexy and funny.

Gigliotti is terrific at conveying the nuances of Margot’s complicated arc as she copes with significant betrayal.

There are a few rough moments in Talking Sex on Sunday. Sissy’s character feels half-realized, and the conflict between Carol and Frankie is underdeveloped. Some of the songs feel unnecessary, and the sex it does talk about is pretty vanilla and heteronormative. But it’s a starting point, and there is a lot to love about Talking Sex on Sunday. Go see it so that we can start talking freely and healthily about sex every day of the week.

by Andrea Warner

BIG SISTER

By Deborah Vogt. Directed by Jamie King. A Rapid Pitch Productions presentation. At the Vancity Culture Lab on Thursday, February 20.

Continues until February 29

d BIG SISTER HAS been described as a play about sibling relationships and body image. It’s all that, but it’s also a fascinating exploration of truth—the fluid way we remember it, the methods we use to bend it, and the energy we take to suppress it.

The one-woman show is something of a quest for brutal honesty, one that implicates the audience as much as it engages it. Starring Naomi Vogt and written by her younger sister Deborah, it’s a sometimes painfully candid account of Naomi’s extreme weight loss as an adult. She talks not only about how she was treated before and after her body’s reshaping, but also about her deeply conflicted feelings around that.

The Vogts’ Vancouver Fringe– born piece upends the notion of a two-hander. Naomi confesses all her

feelings and memories through her sibling’s perspective—interjecting her own truth when it contradicts the story being told. Deborah (who lives in England) is an ever-present force—not just via the script but through voice-overs and letters pulled out of a red mailbox.

Naomi, who has done comedy, has a casual, slightly sarcastic delivery that draws a bit from standup—that vibe underlined by a drum sting that at times punctuates her dry punch lines.

One of her big strengths is the way she subtly conveys her own defence mechanisms—she hates body shaming, but still faces an internal struggle.

The clever script speaks directly to millennials with touchstones on everything from Facebook’s “honesty box” to Draco from Harry Potter.

Some of her anecdotes resonate in a heartbreaking way, such as the story of how Naomi gamely goes to camp each summer. That’s first presented as her sister remembers it (as traumatic), and then as Naomi does: “I am who I am because no one chose me for capture the flag.”

The feeling of being let in on deepest secrets is heightened by the

intimate space of the Vancity Culture Lab, where Naomi can make eye contact with audience members.

In its quest for truth, BIG Sister gets the closest I’ve seen to the reality of most siblings’ love-hate relationships—people who are not entirely open with each other, who can speak the most cutting criticisms to each other’s faces, but who are the first to step in as protectors when outsiders attack. In one anecdote, Deborah clearly is more upset with an acquaintance criticizing Naomi’s pizza-eating than her sister is. “Did you call him out?” she demands. Naomi’s response, like the rest of this work, captures all the complexity of why she didn’t, mulling over the reasons such a thing would come up long after she’d lost her weight.

BIG Sister digs into why women wear shame and blame for their bodies, but it doesn’t serve up easy answers. It’s rather the start of a conversation between two sisters, and also between us as audience members and the world we live in.

by Janet Smith

Coming soon — Opens May 8

SHAME AND PREJUDICE A Story of Resilience

By Kent Monkman

The Daddies (detail), Kent Monkman, 2016.

May 8 – October 12, 2020 moa.ubc.ca This exhibition is produced by the Art Museum at the University of Toronto in partnership with the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, and has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Ontario Arts Council. Lead Sponsor: Donald R. Sobey Foundation.

Media Sponsor

FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 21

ARTS LISTINGS ONGOING TALKING STICK FESTIVAL Celebration of Indigenous artistry, expertise, and talent from around the world. To Feb 29, various Vancouver venues. Free to $30.

COASTAL DANCE FESTIVAL 2020 Dance festival celebrates the future of Indigenous culture and emergence of intergenerational leadership.

Feb 25–Mar 1, various venues.

THEATRESPORTS Two teams of players are pitted against each other in competitive improv matches. To Feb 29, The Improv Centre on Granville Island. From $10.75.

SHUVINAI ASHOONA: MAPPING WORLDS A selection of drawings created by the acclaimed Inuk artist over the past two decades.

To May 24, Vancouver Art Gallery.

PLAYING WITH FIRE: CERAMICS OF THE EXTRAORDINARY Exhibition of works by 11 celebrated B.C.–based artists. To Mar 29, Museum of Anthropology at UBC. From $16.

ACTS OF RESISTANCE Artwork of seven Indigenous artist-activists from the Pacific Northwest. To Jul 1, Museum of Vancouver.

CIPHER World premiere of a play about a forensic toxicologist trying to solve a Vancouver Island cold-case murder. To Mar 7, Granville Island Stage. From $29.

MADAMA BUTTERFLY Burnaby Lyric Opera presents the tragic story of a young geisha. To Feb 29, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. $15/36.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 HANDS AND FEET Germany’s Theatre Wrede presents a music-and-dance adventure for kids aged two to six. Feb 26–Mar 1, Presentation House Theatre. $22/18/12.50.

LE NOSHOW VANCOUVER An interactive showcase on the backstage of theatrical creation. Feb 26–Mar 1, Performance Works.

TALKING SEX ON SUNDAY New musical comedy by Sara-Jeanne Hosie and Nico Rhodes. To Mar 8, Firehall Arts Centre. From $25.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27

STEEL MAGNOLIAS Boone Dog Productions presents the comedy-drama about six southern women and their steadfast friendships.

To Mar 8, 8 pm, the Nest.

THE WEDDING PARTY Comedy about a wedding where the two families are at each other’s throats. Feb 27–Mar 22, Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre. From $29.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28 DANÇA SINFÔNICA & GIRA DanceHouse presents a two-part program from iconic Brazilian contemporary-dance company Grupo Corpo.

Feb 28-29, 8 am, Vancouver Playhouse. $35.

BEST OF ENEMIES Civil-rights drama about the battle between an activist and a KKK leader. Feb 28–Mar 21, 8:30-9:30 pm, Pacific Theatre. $20-36.50.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29

FEB 28

FEB 27

TIM & ERIC American comedy duo composed of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim.

Feb 29, Vogue Theatre. $39.50.

THE HOUSE AT POOH CORNER Stage adaptation of A.A. Milne’s children’s book blends puppetry and music to transport audiences into the Hundred Acre Wood. Feb 29–Mar 29, Waterfront Theatre. $18/29/35.

CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES The Viano String Quartet performs works by Haydn, Whittle, and Dvořák. Feb 29, 7:30 pm, Anvil Centre Theatre. $38.

FANTASTIC FUNGI 4:00 pm A consciousness-shifting doc that takes us on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet. Minors OK! Also Feb. 29 1:15 pm, March 2 6:30 pm.

FEB 29

VIMFF: Race Face Presents Creator Series

7:30pm More Information about ticket prices and show times at : www.vimff.org THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW 11:15pm Lets do the time warp!!!

Costume contest and prop bags! Hosted by the Geekenders! Minors OK in balcony

JOJO RABBIT 4:00 pm "It's Waititi's ability to balance unassailably goofy moments with an acknowledgment of real-life horrors that makes the movie exceptional."

(Time Magazine) Oscar-winner Taika Waititi wrote, directed, and stars in this satirical coming of age tale about a young German boy whose imaginary spirit guide through the devastating turmoil of WW2 happens to be... Adolf Hitler. With Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell. Minors OK! Also March 2 8:45 pm, March 4, 6:45 pm.

MAR 4 MAR 3 MAR 1

JOJO RABBIT LES MISERABLES

3:30 pm "Transcends its unwieldy story with compelling ideas and an infectious energy that boils over during a thrilling final act." (Rotten Tomatoes) Tense and darkly comic Oscar-nominee (Best International Film), English subs. Minors OK!

THE BIG LEBOWSKI

6:30 pm We can totally abide with this double bill featuring the Coen Brothers classic followed by THE JESUS ROLLS , the film's "spiritual sequel" starring John Turturro. See one, or see 'em both! (Check Site for price) (And yes, we're rolling with a White Russian drink special!) Minors OK! present A VIEW TO A KILL 9:30 pm Vancouver's favourite movie-riffers are gonna shake things up (and maybe dance into the fire) with this 007 classic featuring Sir Roger Moore as Her Majesty's favourite super spy.

With Christopher Walken, Grace Jones. Minors OK!

THE GENTLEMEN HECKLERS

STUDIO 58’S PROFESSIONAL THEATRE TR AINING PROGR A M. The application deadline is April 14.

Learn more about the audition process at one of our information sessions. March 5 (at Langara) & March 17 (online).

Register for an information session. studio58.ca

PHOTO CREDIT: THE C A ST OF SHAKESPEARE’S ANTONY AND CLEOPATR A (2019); PHOTO BY DAVID COOPER

SUNDAY, MARCH 1 RESOUNDING JOY: BEETHOVEN’S NINTH SYMPHONY The Vancouver Academy of Music celebrates its 50th season with Beethoven’s work. Mar 1, 2 pm, Orpheum Annex. $10.

WILLIAM GIBSON Cyberpunk author discusses his latest book, Agency. Mar 1, 7:30-9 pm, Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. $50/30/15.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4 THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) Are you ready to experience all 37 Shakespearean plays in 97 minutes? Neither are we. Join our three madcap actors in tights as they weave their wicked way through all of Shakespeare’s comedies, histories, and tragedies in one wild ride that will leave you breathless with laughter. Mar 4-14, 7:30 pm, Havana Theatre. $20 + fees.

TELEMANN & C.P.E. BACH CHAMBER WORKS Canadian violinist Marc Destrubé is featured in a chamber-music concert of C.P.E. Bach and Telemann. Mar 4, 7:30 pm, Christ Church Cathedral. From $18.

GYWNNE DYER’S NEW TALK: PLANETARY MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS What might fix the climate? Something big. Something now. Noted author speaks about geoengineering—massive interventions in the atmosphere, such as mirrors in space to deflect sunrays—as a way to keep temperatures down: “Global warming is physics & chemistry, and you can’t negotiate with science for more time to solve the problem.” Mar 4, 8 pm, The BlueShore at CapU. $20/17.

THURSDAY, MARCH 5 DISCOVER DANCE! IMMIGRANT LESSONS Young dance collective uses a mashup of styles to tell stories of new immigrants facing questions of identity and belonging. Mar 5, Scotiabank Dance Centre. $15-22.

ANNA BELLA EEMA Sol Theatre Collective presents Lisa D’Amour’s play, directed by Charles Siegel. Mar 5-15, 8 pm, Vancity Culture Lab. $30.

MAR 6

MAR 5

SUNDAY, MARCH 8

PAUL ANTHONY'S TALENT TIME Truth Convention 8:00 pm

The government is lying to you about everything, but Talent Time has uncovered the truth - and they're ready to share it with you! Learn what's really behind about crop circles, bagel holes, global warming, dial tones, and iKandee's mysterious disappearance.

Featuring the Flat Earth Band and real comedians, conspiracies, scientists, the house band, and even co-host Ryan Beil!

Minors OK!

THE GEEKENDERS PRESENT: A MARVEL-OUS COMIC STRIP 8:00pm

Nerds, assemble! Vancouver’s favourite nerdlesque troupe present their newest nerdy production, a burlesque show that celebrates the Marvel characters you know and love (and secretly Google sexy fan art of in your spare time) with energetic dancing, comedy, and cheeky satire - created by artists as nerdy as you are!

HARDWARE 11:00 pm

MAR 7

director Richard Stanley (Color Out Of Sapce) made a name for himself in 1990 with this cyberpunk thriller, that has since evolved into something a cult-classic in Perfect for Friday Late Night Movie viewing! Minors OK!

RIDE YOUR WAVE 1:00 pm “Ride Your Wave’ confirms Masaaki Yusa’s place

among the most interesting directors working in animation today.” (Los Angeles Times) Minors OK! Japanese with English subs

THE LODGE 8:45pm “Riley Keough’s work is so strong, so effective, that by

the time we learn the ultimate fate of Grace, we would have bought into any of the possible options.” The latest white-knuckle thriller from the team behind arthouse horror hit Goodnight Mommy” (Chicago Sun-Times) Minors OK! Also March 8 7:00pm

GHOST IN THE SHELL 11:30 pm Anime looks better on the big screen!

Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 landmark. Minors OK! With English subs

22 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020

7TH ANNUAL CHOCOLATE AND BEER TASTING This annual fundraiser for Parkinson’s Society British Columbia will pair local handcrafted @takeafancychocolate bean-to-bar chocolate confections with Moody Ales and The Bakery Brewing local craft beer to create new pops of flavour and combinations that will change the way you think about beer and chocolate for years to come. Mar 8, 1-3 pm, Moody Ales. $50 advance/$60 at door.

PAVEL HAAS QUARTET AND BORIS GILTBURG, PIANO Winners of the Gramophone Magazine Chamber Music Award for their Dvorak Piano Quintet recording will play this plus Tchaikovsky Quartet No.3 and Cekovska Midsummer Quartet. This young Czech quartet is one of the most exciting ensembles you can hear today. Mar 8, 3 pm, Vancouver Playhouse. $60 early, $70 at door.

THURSDAY, MARCH 12 BARE NAKED COMEDY A comedy-variety show that celebrates all bodies with all manner of entertainment, including standup, storytelling, musical acts, and more! Mar 12, 8-9:30 pm, Historic Theatre. $15 advance/$18 at the door.

ARTS LISTINGS are a public service provided free of charge. Submit events online using the event-submission form at straight. com/AddEvent. Events that don’t make it into the paper due to space constraints will appear on the website.

MOVIES

The icky cabinet of Mackenzie King REVIEWS

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Starring Dan Beirne. In English and French, with English subtitles.

Rated 14A

d TO GET the most out of The Twentieth Century, you pretty much need to 1) be Canadian and/or have an intense interest in Canadian history; 2) have some working knowledge of silentmovie tropes and the kind of theatrical storytelling favoured in the time of Metropolis and later by filmmakers under the spell of retro-obsessive Guy Maddin and the Winnipeg School of Warp-o-Matic Silver Screen Time Machines; and 3) enjoy gender-fluid representation of history in which sex and ethnicity run closer to Monty Python and Benny Hill than they do to Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein.

Congratulations! If you meet these criteria, you’re ready for the 90 whirligig minutes of confusingly titled cinematic madness for the fatally discriminating viewer. Just prepare for the reality that you will get lost no matter how much, or how little, you know about the actual life and political history of William Lyon Mackenzie King, 10th prime minister of Canada—the longest-serving and perhaps least understood of the bunch.

The man was cryptic by nature, and the performance of Fargo’s Dan Beirne as a youthful version of the mother-fixated PM doesn’t exactly illuminate him. In the reckoning of writer-director Matthew Rankin—a Winnipegger who relocated to Montreal—the pre-Parliament King is a kind of holy virgin, destined to lead a semigreat nation out of the old-stock Commonwealth and onto the world stage. Or something. He’s also a kind of northern Jack Tripper, pulling an awkward Three’s Company with the plain nurse who loves him (Sarianne Cormier) and the golden goddess (up-and-comer Catherine St-Laurent) who’s just too far above him.

The latter’s a daughter of Canada’s surprisingly all-powerful governor general (Seán Cullen), standing in for everything the new country needs to get away from. Or something. Intimations of incest, gay love, and interracial dynamics in a tale utterly unmindful of any First Nations presence tend to be a bit on the icky side, and take place against the kind of primitive cutout sets that Dr. Caligari dreamed of in muted colour. In any case, it all ends in a surprisingly bloody battle royale on the ice. Because what else could it do? And that’s without getting into the parade of ejaculating cactus plants. O, Canada.

Dan Beirne plays Canada’s weirdest ever prime minister in The Twentieth Century.

other. When the official (Killing Eve’s Kim Bodnia) talks about earning money, one Inuk man says to another in his own language, “I heard about it but I don’t understand it.” But the hunters aren’t ignorant, joking about the way the “Boss” must be a “slow learner” if he can’t speak Inuktitut, and worrying about leaving the only home they have ever known—the vast ice fields they’re standing on.

Neither is the white man one-note; Bodnia makes him empathetic and in awe of this place, even as he pushes relentlessly.

In his signature spectacular style, Kunuk first establishes the happy rituals of the hunters—set against the endless snow in fur-lined white parkas and bulky kamiks. As they head out on the ice under a bright winter sun, they laugh and race alongside the dogsled to jump on it, stopping to eat frozen fish and drink hot tea while they scout out seal holes.

Scenes like that give you a sense of dread—of the beauty and freedom that’s about to be lost.

The conversation itself lasts more than an hour, a slow, blackly comic, and intensely important study in all that got lost in translation.

by Janet Smith

THE JESUS ROLLS

Starring John Turturro. Rated 14A

d THERE ARE perhaps worse ideas than spinning off side characters from the Coen brothers’ cult fave The Big Lebowski. But why it needed to be hair-netted bowling bully Jesus Quintana is known only to John Turturro, who wrote, directed, and starred in this bizarre mishmash. The veteran actor’s previous directorial efforts have all been duds, despite being able to rope in the talents of pals like Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, and Steve Buscemi (the Donny who

definitely shuts the fuck up here).

In The Jesus Rolls, occasional appearances by Jon Hamm, Christopher Walken, Sónia Braga, and Pete Davidson raise some giggles. But what does any of this have to do with Lebowskis, big or small? I knew going in that Turturro shared script credit with Bertrand Blier, French upstart of the ’70s, still making films with overblown bad boy Gérard Depardieu. Still, it was surprising to find that much of the new film is a scene-by-scene remake of Blier’s Going Places, in which Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere prowled the French countryside committing petty crimes, sometimes in the triadic company of an amiable airhead played by the delightful Miou-Miou.

This was daring, if already dubious, stuff back in 1974, when its rapey, nihilistic vibe could at least be identified with the aimless machismo of the post-’68 generation. Indeed, the actors were in their early 20s, and what was merely gross back then is rendered downright Kryptonian by recasting late-middle-agers as these soul-dead shitheels today.

Of course, the very Italian Turturro also gives his Coen character a thick Spanish accent. Here, Jesus’s more timid sidekick is Bobby Cannavale, taking one goofy second banana too many. Most of all, it is shocking to see Amélie’s Audrey Tautou, seminaked for most of the movie, as a wacky ditz who sleeps with everyone (“so no one will get jealous”) but has never had an orgasm. That’s her entire character arc in one sentence.

Also Rolling is Susan Sarandon, as a sombre older woman who briefly beds them both. It was Jeanne Moreau in the original, and Isabelle Huppert was the teenage daughter our guys helpfully “def lowered”. Turturro skips this part of the story because,

see next page

Black History Month

VIFF‘19

by Ken Eisner

ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF NOAH PIUGATTUK

Creator Talk

Starring Apayata Kotierk. Rated G

d HE COMES bearing sugar, pipe tobacco, saltine crackers, and Red Rose tea. The Inuit seal hunters happily descend on his offerings when they meet the white stranger on the ice fields, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be easily bought.

That’s the setup in Inuk director Zacharias Kunuk’s new One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk: an Indian agent arriving by dogsled with a translator to persuade a man, his family, and their neighbours to move off the open land into a permanent settlement in the south, so their children can attend school. It’s a fateful day based on a true event—one that will mark the end of millennia-old traditions and the beginning of a new, toxic dependency on the colonial state. Kunuk, who was born in the real Piugattuk’s camp at Kapuivik in 1957, learned of the 1961 meeting via oral history.

Don’t expect the kind of breathless-thriller pace of Kunuk’s Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner or Maliglutit, though. Instead, the director takes his time to focus on the nuance of what is essentially a nondiscussion between two men who can’t comprehend each

VIFF‘19

Vancity Impact Talk

VIFF‘19

LIMITED SEATS - Special Event

Meet & Greet with Martin Barre & the band after the show

Tickets available online at TicketsTonight.ca or by phone 1-877-840-0457 FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 23

MOVIES

from previous page

Parkland teens rise against gun lobby

I

by Adrian Mack

t would be impossible to make a film about the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, and walk away unchanged. “I crossed the line from filmmaking into something that I relate to very personally,” says Cheryl Horner McDonough, reached by the Georgia Straight in New York City.

“Once you’ve seen it and you can’t unsee it, you can’t just walk away.”

Before she made Parkland Rising, McDonough’s experiences as an American parent were sadly typical.

Her stepson was only 10 minutes away from Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut during that killing spree in 2012. Regular lockdown drills are practised at the Manhattan school attended by her two daughters. In the wake of Parkland, which killed 17 people, McDonough followed survivors and parents, mobilized by student David Hogg, as they campaigned for gun reform and electoral change. In the film’s more alarming moments, the high-school senior is confronted with armed counterprotests and death threats. From a car, someone hollers: “Fuck you, David Hogg, you fuckin’ bitch. God bless the NRA!”

MAY

3

“We showed enough to say this is happening but not enough to say this is a film about it,” McDonough remarks.

“It’s a small minority of vocal extremists who make it their business to try to intimidate and threaten. But as time went on and I had a chance to look at footage from one protest after another, what does start to reveal itself is that it’s not a 50-50 issue in this country.

I think in a lot of cases the media does us all a disservice by pretending that there are two equal sides, but the numbers just don’t bear that out.”

Parkland Rising leans indomitably toward the positive. The MSD shooter remains conspicuously unnamed in the doc, and after a harrowing start, in which students recall their experiences alongside video and audio from the day, the film focuses entirely on action. The Parkland activists monitor each new tragedy as their campaigns proceed from city to city— there were 23 school shootings in 2018—but they also score impressive victories, including the suspension of campaign contributions from the Publix supermarket chain to NRA– friendly congressman Adam Putnam.

“I came in thinking, ‘We’re so

entrenched,’ ” McDonough says. “But I walked away thinking, ‘Oh, no—this can be fixed.’ I see the path, and that’s truly why I’m so committed to it.”

Significantly, as the film draws to a close, McDonough captures a brief but poignant moment of normalcy and innocence. Hogg and his cohort are visiting an arcade when they learn that Virginia congresswoman Barbara Comstock has been unseated in the 2018 midterms. Hogg’s sister Lauren remembers having the door “slammed in my face” by the NRA– shilling Republican. “And now she got voted the fuck out,” her brother says, beaming. But the celebration is brief: Lauren needs a dollar for the more immediate business of gaming.

“I love that you picked up on that!” McDonough says with a laugh.

“A couple people said you should just move faster here and take that out, but no: you should never forget that these are kids.” g Cheryl Horner McDonough will be in attendance when Parkland Rising screens as part of the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival at the Vancity Theatre next Thursday (March 5).

hey, he’s gotta draw the line somewhere.

But did I mention that there’s only one scene in a bowling alley?

by Ken Eisner

EMMA.

Starring Anya Taylor-Joy. Rated PG

d JANE AUSTEN’S last complete novel began with Austen’s dare to herself on the eve of her 40th birthday, when she wrote, “I am going to [create] a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” The writer died less than two years later, leaving several posthumously published works and the unfinished Sanditon—and the less said about its recently aired Masterpiece Theatre rendition, the better.

Simpler than the groundbreaking author’s earlier books, and less touched by tragedy, Emma has seen at least eight television treatments since 1948, with the two most recent starring Kate Beckinsale and Romola Garai. The Beckinsale version screened in 1996, the same year as the best-known film adaptation, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and those arrived just a year after Clueless, the Beverly Hills–set update that may have best captured Austen’s mix of the frivolous and the reluctantly introspective.

And that brings us along to Emma., notable for that full stop.

Maybe it’s meant to imply something definitive, but the movie is an oddly punctuated muddle. Working from a hit-and-miss script by playwright Emma Catton, the poetically named Autumn de Wilde (who has mostly directed music videos so far) does not have a firm grip on the material.

The two-hour tale lurches from farce to darkish social satire to thoughtful character study with few indicators that the main narrative can support that kind of carriage-shifting.

Relative newcomer Anya TaylorJoy conveys the arrogance of the very privileged title character—who thinks everyone should be as happy getting her advice as she is giving it— but she’s an elusive presence with a whispery delivery that is sometimes

Anya Taylor-Joy stars in the latest if not greatest take on Jane Austen’s Emma.

hard to follow. In the book, Emma Woodhouse fills her time with classsorted matchmaking, but that part of the story gets truncated, and we mostly see how her selfish vision affects Harriet Smith (Mia Goth), a lass she plucks from poverty to toy with.

As presented here, it’s never clear why people are gaga over either one of them, which interferes with the “comedy” when everyone keeps falling madly in love with everyone, and the usual confusion ensues. (Intriguingly, neither lead is quite as Anglo as she seems; Taylor-Joy was initially raised in Argentina, Goth in Brazil.)

Bill Nighy is wasted as Emma’s father, whose only character trait is fear of the weather. Moreover, the film’s view of stifling class and sex restrictions is played for laughs more than insight.

This update does get stronger in the final stretch, however, and its best card is in the casting of Mr. Knightley, the next-door neighbour she has known platonically since childhood (much like Jo March and Laurie in Little Women). Musician turned actor Johnny Flynn is considerably closer to Emma’s age than in earlier versions, and his volatility brings needed energy to a version that just doesn’t rank with the classics. Period.

by Ken Eisner

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24 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5 / 2020

MUSIC LISTINGS CONCERTS JUST ANNOUNCED FESTIVAL DU BOIS Come to a festival full of lively French-Canadian and francophone music and dance, great traditional food, and fun on-site activities for the whole family! Hear the Yves Lambert Trio, Tipsy 2, Flo Franco, Beauséjour, Cristian de la Luna and others. There’s the Metis Experience, performers in the Children’s Tent, craft vendors, and more! Mar 6-8, Mackin Park. $8-$20/day.

TOOL Grammy-winning alt-metal band from L.A. May 31, 7 pm, Rogers Arena. Tix on sale Feb 28, 10 am.

THE WEEKND R&B/hip-hip superstar from Toronto. Jun 11, 7 pm, Rogers Arena. Tix on sale Feb 28, 10 am.

KRAFTWERK Electro pioneers celebrate their 50th anniversary. Jun 20, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tix on sale Feb 27.

KING BUZZO Melvins frontman performs with Mr. Bungle’s Trevor Dunn. Jul 2, 9 pm, Fox Cabaret. Tix on sale Feb 28, 10 am, $25.

BACHMAN CUMMINGS Canadian rock legends Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings. Jul 7, 7:30 pm, Rogers Arena. Tix on sale Feb 28, 10 am.

BILLY BRAGG English folk-punk singer-songwriter and political activist. Jul 22-24, 9 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. Tix on sale Feb 28, noon, $55/45 (three-show tix $135).

PET SHOP BOYS AND NEW ORDER British electro-pop bands from the ‘80s. Sep 24, 7 pm, Rogers Arena. Tix on sale Feb 28, 10 am, from $45.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS American alt-rock band. Oct 1, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale Feb 28, 10 am, $35.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 CELTICFEST 2020 Festival showcases Celtic music, dance, and spoken word. To Mar 28, various Vancouver venues.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27 LAWRENCE Soul-pop band from New York City. Feb 27, 7 pm, Imperial Vancouver. $20-80.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28 THUNDERCAT Funk-jazz artist from L.A. Feb 28, Vogue Theatre. $35.

BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT Portland-based Swinomish/Iñupiaq indie-rock singer, with guest Eden Fine Day. Feb 28, 7 pm, Fortune Sound Club. $20.

POLYRHYTHMICS Instrumental eight-piece blends funk, soul, psychedelic rock, R&B, progressive jazz, and Afrobeat. Feb 28, 8 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $20.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29 AMERICAN NIGHTMARE Hardcore-punk band from Boston. Feb 29, Imperial Vancouver. $20.

HOTEL MIRA Local alt-rock band, with guests Adam Mah and Sleepy Gonzales. Feb 29, Biltmore Cabaret. $15.

THE MUSIC OF CREAM Blues-rock act featuring guitarist-vocalist Will Johns and drummer Kofi Baker. Feb 29, Rickshaw Theatre. $30.

HOLLOW COVES Australian indie-folk band.

Feb 29, 8 pm, Venue. $18.50.

SUNDAY, MARCH 1 LITTLE JESUS Indie-rock band from Mexico City, with guests Los Wálters. Mar 1, 8 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $15.

DAVIDO Afrobeat singer-songwriter from Nigeria. Mar 1, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $45.

THURSDAY, MARCH 5 THE STROKES New York City guitar-rock band, with guests Alvvays. Mar 5, 7:30 pm, Rogers Arena. $125/99.50/75/49.50.

MUSIC LISTINGS are a public service provided free of charge. Submit events online using the event-submission form at straight. com/AddEvent. Events that don’t make it into the paper will appear on the website.

Employment EMPLOYMENT Careers Codejitsu Development Studio Ltd is looking for Administrative Assistant Job location: 207-20559 Fraser Hwy, Langley, BC V3A 4G3.Perm, F/T, wage - $22.00 /hr Requirements: high school, good English, clerical experience 1-2 yrs.Main duties: Provide general administrative and clerical support; Assist with generating and maintaining documents; Set up and maintain electronic and hard copy filing system,Compile data and co-ordinate the flow of information; Answer telephone and electronic enquiries; Order office supplies and maintain inventory; Schedule and confirm appointments; Handle sensitive information in a confidential manner.

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straight.com

MUSIC

Black Belt Eagle Scout stays curious

Iceland’s Ásgeir ensures nothing’s lost in translation

F

by John Lucas

or Ásgeir Trausti Einarsson, songwriting is often a family affair. The Icelandic musician, who goes by the mononym Ásgeir, is the son of a poet— Einar Georg Einarsson, who has also worked with composer Ólafur Arnalds—and often calls upon his father’s talents.

It’s a collaboration that has worked out nicely: Ásgeir’s first LP, 2012’s Dýrð í dauðaþögn, for which Einar wrote most of the lyrics, not only reached the top spot on the Icelandic album chart, it became the best-selling debut album by a domestic artist in the country’s history.

“I usually find that my father’s lyrics kind of lift the song up to another level, for me,” Ásgeir says, calling the Straight from a tour stop in Oslo.

“I have this melody before the lyrics come in, and the song means something in that way; it’s expressing feelings and stuff just through melodies and music, but when the lyrics come it sort of gives it another dimension.

And usually I think it’s something that everyone can relate to in some way.”

When the time came to craft songs for his third LP, Sátt (the English version is called Bury the Moon), Ásgeir called on his friend and frequent collaborator Júlíus Aðalsteinn Róbertsson for lyrical help. For the really personal stuff, though, he went to his dad again. Among the results are “Eventide”, written in memory of a family member who passed away, and “Youth”, a delicately wrought reminiscence of growing up in the tiny village of Laugarbakki.

The latter neatly encapsulates everything that’s great about the album. It starts out with gently rolling acoustic guitar before building to a lush swirl of brass and shuffling drums, all topped by Ásgeir’s lilting vocal melodies.

To create the English-language version of the record, Ásgeir worked with American transplant John Grant (formerly of the Czars), a noted polyglot who now calls Reykjavík home.

“I started with my own rough translations of the lyrics before going to him, because it was very important to me for the lyrics to flow naturally, so they would be very nice to listen to and to sing, and not feel like translations.”

As for which renditions of the songs you’ll hear if you go see Ásgeir and his band play live? Well, that’s entirely dependent on geography.

“In Scandinavia, I sing most of the songs in Icelandic,” he says. “We’ve played in Sweden and in Denmark, and now we’re in Norway. After that we go to Germany, then I will sing maybe three or four songs in Icelandic, but the rest in English. So it depends on where I am.” g Ásgeir plays the Imperial on Wednesday (March 4).

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by Mike Usinger

efore she became highly touted indie breakout artist Black Belt Eagle Scout, Katherine Paul attended college wondering if she’d end up an anthropologist, her upbringing having instilled a lifelong curiosity about different people around the world.

“My mom was an anthropologist, and also a lawyer—that was her main job,” Paul says, speaking on her cellphone from her adopted home of Portland, Oregon. “When I was younger she would take me to these conferences around the world, where she would lecture about her identity as a Native woman, and do crosscultural examinations of different communities of Indigenous women, particularly in Guatemala and Brazil. Taking me to these conferences really gave me an interest in learning about different cultures—how it’s important to respect them, and also to be aware of how other people live.”

Paul grew up in the Pacific Northwest, on the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community reservation near La Conner, Washington. But as insular as that community could be, the time spent travelling helped shape the way she looked at the world.

“I was really interested in anthropology because I wanted to learn about culture—other cultures that are similar and different to mine,” she reminisces. “I think it was also a way to get closer to my culture as well, because I was able to do projects about my language, my tribe, and my identity, and that was really meaningful.”

A creative path eventually won out over academic life. Paul was raised in a highly artistic family, and her interest in music was encouraged early on.

After playing in bands around Portland while attending Lewis & Clark College, she decided to front her own project. The transition to Black Belt Eagle Scout started with writing songs that helped her process a world that was shifting dramatically around her.

Major events that coloured her meditative, grey-skies debut, Mother of My Children, included the crumbling of a significant queer relationship, Standing Rock pipeline protests across the States, and the death of a mentor known as Geneviève Castrée, who’d helped encourage her as an artist.

Last year’s follow-up, At the Party With My Brown Friends, is also heavy, but in a more hopeful way, with its theme of celebrating friends and community. Playing everything— guitar, keyboards, bass, piano, and percussion both modern and traditional—Paul again doesn’t shy away from the personal. She pays homage, for example, to her unbreakable bond with her mother on the lo-fi love letter “You’re Me and I’m You”. And, over shimmering rainy-day guitars and ghost-world synths, she celebrates the beauty of a woman in “Run It to Ya” with “You have eyes just like mine/ And your hair the blackest shine.”

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Katherine Paul was inspired by the grunge and riot grrrl scenes. Photo by Sarah Cass

It makes sense that Paul went a proudly DIY route with Black Belt Eagle Scout. By the time she was in her early teens, she was proficient on both the drums and guitar—old VHS tapes of Pacific Northwest legends like Bikini Kill and Nirvana having opened her up to a world where anyone could make records and play shows.

“I was super into the strong emotions that Nirvana and the bands within the riot-grrrl scene had,” she recalls. “It was also a personal thing because that scene was really close to home. All that stuff was happening within hours of where I grew up.”

Both grunge and riot grrrl started out as small and fiercely devoted scenes that brought like-minded and politically progressive folks together.

The power of that stuck with Paul.

“The bands and culture of grunge and riot grrrl was really a jumpingoff point for me to find out what I wanted to do with music,” she recalls. “But most of the bands that were part of those scenes were white—I don’t really remember very many bands within Washington that had people of colour in them.”

Paul continues: “Back then, that wasn’t something that I really thought about—my mind was still growing in the way that it does when you’re young and experiencing life. But it’s something that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. When I look back, I think, ‘Dang—I wish there were more people of colour that had been playing music when I was younger.’ ” Like, she says, an Albuquerque band called Weedrat that she’s become a huge fan of.

“They’re a Navajo punk-rock band that I took on tour for a little bit last year,” she gushes. “Watching them I would think, ‘If I had this band growing up, I feel like I would have seen music in a different way.’ As far as Indigenous people playing music, there was really just Buffy Sainte-Marie.”

So, with few musicians like herself, Paul became the kind of artist she wished that she’d had when she was younger.

“I like that Nirvana and the riotgrrrl bands were trying to make space for women,” she says. “And they were trying to make space for an alternative culture that wasn’t capitalist, but instead was more community-oriented.

Riot-grrrl bands seemed really radical

A MDABC peer-led support group

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A MDABC peer-led support group is a safe place to share your story, your struggles and accomplishments, and to listen to others as they share similar concerns. Please Note: Support groups are not intended to provide counselling/therapy. ?

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to me at the time, but when I look back on it I wonder, ‘Was it really that radical?’ They could have been far more radical, talking about Indigenous issues to help Indigenous people. Now I see ways that things could be better.”

With Black Belt Eagle Scout, Paul is on a mission to help raise awareness.

“When people go to shows or tour,” she says, “I wonder if they think about how they can acknowledge Indigenous land and be supportive of us. There are a lot of bands, even political ones, that don’t do that, which is weird when you consider yourself political but won’t acknowledge you’re doing something on stolen land. Indigenous people can be lifted up through music.”

And perhaps suggesting that there’s still a budding anthropologist somewhere inside her, she’s seeing that things are at least moving in a positive direction. Consider, she suggests, the support shown for Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in Canada’s current pipeline protests.

“I think we’re seeing everyday people trying to make a better world by standing up for one another, especially by standing up for Indigenous people. I’ve been watching what’s happening up in Canada, and that’s been wild and intense. Part of me was hesitant to come play in Vancouver because I didn’t want to disrupt anything. But people reached out and told me that they’re excited for me to come. It’s nice people want to experience what I have to share.” g Black Belt Eagle Scout plays Fortune Sound Club on Friday (February 28).

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We are a group of women that draws upon each others knowledge and strength to grapple with this sometimes trying condition. Through mutual support and honest conversation we aim to address the physical and emotional health implications of this virus and how it affects romantic relationships, sex, dating & life in general. Contact: ghsupportgroup@gmail.com Drug & Alcohol Problems?

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Women who experienced any form of male violence CALL Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter 604-872-8212

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SAVAGE LOVE

You can learn to love giving sloppy oral

by Dan Savage

NEW

b I’M A 31-YEAR-OLD cis bisexual woman. I’m hetero-romantic and in a monogamish relationship with a man.

We play with other people together.

I’ve never liked giving blowjobs because I was taught that girls who give blowjobs are “sluts”. Phrases that are meant to be insulting, like “You suck,” “Suck it,” “Go suck a dick,” et cetera, created a strong association in my mind between blowjobs and men degrading women. (Men take what they want and women get used and called sluts.) As such, I never sucked much dick—and if I did, it was only briefly and never to completion. I also find spit and come kind of gross. Even when I get really wet during sex, it’s a bit of a turnoff, and I hate that it makes me feel gross and wish I could change my thinking around it. Early in our relationship, my husband noticed the lack of blowjobs and confronted me, saying they were really important to him. At first I felt a little insecure about being inadequate in this area, but then I decided to do some research, because I honestly thought it wasn’t just me and most women don’t like giving blowjobs. (Because how could they? It’s so demeaning!) But I learned lots of my female friends enjoy giving blowjobs— they like being in control, giving a partner pleasure, et cetera—so I googled ways to start liking blowjobs and I’ve started to get into them! It’s great!

Except I still don’t like when he comes in my mouth or if a blowjob gets super spitty. But my husband loves sloppy blowjobs; he says the lubrication feels good and he enjoys the “dirtiness” of it. If I know he’s getting close to coming or if it gets super wet and I have spit

N OW H IR IN G

- Sloppy Oral Always Keeps Erections Drenched You play with

other people together, SOAKED, but have you tried observing—by which I mean actively observing; by which I mean actually participating—while your husband gets a sloppy blowjob from someone who really enjoys giving them? If someone else was blowing your husband while you made out with him or sat on his face or played with his tits or whatever might enhance the experience for him—and you watched another woman choke that dick down—you might come to appreciate what’s in it for the person giving the sloppy blowjob.

Most people who were taught that girls who give blowjobs are sluts were also taught that open relationships are wrong and women who have sex with other women are going to hell.

You got over what you were taught about monogamish relationships and being bisexual years ago, SOAKED, and recently got over what you were taught about women who enjoy sucking cock. While some people have physical limitations they can’t overcome—some gag reflexes are unconquerable—watching someone enjoy something you don’t can make you want to experience it yourself.

But even if your observations don’t trigger a desire to get down there and get sloppy and swallow his load yourself, your husband would be getting the kind of blowjobs he enjoys most and you would be an intrinsic part of them. If you set up the date, you’d be making them happen, even if you weren’t doing them. And if you were into the scenario and/or the other woman—if the whole thing got you off, not just off the hook—then there would be something in it for you, too.

And take it from me, SOAKED, to be kissed with both passion and gratitude by, say, a husband (ahem) who’s really enjoying something someone else is doing for/to him—whether or not that something is something you also enjoy doing for/to him from time to time—is really fucking hot. So even if you never come around—even if sloppy blowjobs are something you have to outsource permanently—you and your husband can enjoy years of sloppy blowjobs together, with the assistance of a series of very special (and very slutty) guest stars. And you can always get those blowjobs started—the nonsloppy, nonspitty initial phase—before passing the baton off to your guest star. b MARRIED 40-YEAR-OLD gay guy here. I hate beards—the look, the feel, the smell—and I miss the good old days when the only beards gay dudes had were metaphorical. When I got back from a long business trip, my hot, sexy, previously smooth husband of many years was sporting a beard.

Unsurprisingly, I hate it and find it to be a complete turnoff. However, he

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all over my face, my gag reflex activates and it’s hard to continue. I feel like I’m at an impasse. I want to give him the blowjobs he wants, but I don’t know how to get around (or, hopefully, start enjoying!) the supersloppy-throughto-completion blowjobs he likes. Do you have any advice?

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says this is controlling behaviour on my part; it’s his body and his choice, and he’s hurt that I’m rejecting him.

He also says I’ll get used to it and he doesn’t plan to keep it forever. I agree that it’s his body and his choice, but I think he should still take me into consideration and that it’s actually him who’s rejecting me by choosing the beard over me. What’s your take?

- Spouse’s Hairiness Averts Virile Erection I’m with you, SHAVE, but I’m also with him. It is his body, and growing a beard is something he can choose to do with the face section of his body. But that “my body/my choice” stuff cuts both ways: your body is yours, and what you do with your body is your choice. And you can choose not to press your body against his—or press your face against his—while he’s got a beard.

If long business trips are a regular part of your life, maybe he could grow his beard out in your absence and shave when you get home. (Full disclosure: I have a pronounced antibeard bias, which means I’m not exactly impartial.)

b I’M A 30-YEAR-OLD queer cis woman and a late bloomer. My first relationship—with a hetero cis man—began when I was 28. He was my first sexual partner. I fell in love hard, but he broke up with me after almost two years.

Months later, I know I’m not ready to fall in love again, but I have a high sex drive. I masturbate frequently, but when I think about playful/romantic sex, the only memories I have are with the ex, which makes me sad. So I watch

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rough porn, which keeps me from thinking about the ex. But watching bondage videos alone isn’t the sex life I want. Should I Tinder or Lex up some rough casual sex? Get drunk and get some more memories in the mix? (I don’t think I could get out of my head enough to do this sober.) Assuming I minimize the risks of pregnancy and STIs and partners that are bad at consent, what’s the risk of going for it? How does it compare to the risk of getting stuck in this nowhere land and never finding a new love/sex buddy?

Or maybe I need to get drunk and jerk off alone without the porn and just feel all my feelings and avoid any risk of crying on some poor stranger?

- I Need A Plan Today Do it all, INAPT.

Masturbate to kink porn and feel dirty; masturbate to your memories and feel sad; and put yourself out there on Tinder and Lex and see if there isn’t someone who intrigues you. But stop telling yourself you can’t find romance with a partner you first met up with for rough sex.

I know lots of people who first met up with someone for rough sex, clicked on a deeper level, started dating, and have since enjoyed years of sex that’s both rough and loving. Finally, booze has a way of intensifying feelings of sadness—so if you don’t want to wind up sobbing on the shoulder of some poor stranger, don’t get drunk before that hookup. g

On the Lovecast, all things weed with Lester Black: savagelovecast.com. Email: mail@ savagelove.net. Follow Dan on Twitter @ fakedansavage.

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