> ARTS TIME OUT

May 2023

OUR TRUE NATURE May 4 to 25, White Rock Gallery. White Rock Gallery Artists, Allan Hancock, Janice Robertson, Laura Harris, and Nikol Haskova, each convey their interpretation of our intrinsic human connection with nature through the medium of paint.

LITERASIAN 2023 May 4 to 27, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen

Classical Chinese Garden. LiterASIAN returns with established and emerging literary voices coming together for a month of commemoration, celebration, and conversation showcasing the resilience and growth of Asian Canadian voices in CanLit.

SONGS FOR NOBODIES May 4 to 20, Deep Cove Shaw Theatre. This one-woman powerhouse performance, starring Sheila Sharma and a live band, weaves the music of legendary divas Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, and Maria Callas.

UNTITLED PETER TRIPP PROJECT May 4 to 6, TBA.

A physical and poetic interpretation of Peter Tripp’s dilemma, this work highlights the natural interdisciplinarity of performance by composing an atmosphere that activates space, breath, gesture, voice, light, and sound with equal importance.

SHALEM’S FAIR May 4 to 20, Jericho Arts Centre.

As a “touching comedy” that offers pause for thought about death, dementia, and our true heroes of yesteryear, Shalem’s Fair is a real place, especially in the minds of those who believe in the miraculous.

ABOVE, FROM BELOW May 5 to 14, Paneficio Gallery + Studios. Ilena creates vessels using locally hand foraged clay and found objects, alongside archival information, maps, and photos of historic brickworks to spin a tale of how this city was built and those who built it.

HILMA To May 11, Vancity Theatre. Hilma af Klint was an abstract artist before there was abstract art… not that she would describe her paintings that way: the C19th Swede believed her brush was directed by the spirits; she was mapping an invisible terrain. A feminist, a lesbian, and a spiritualist, she was decades ahead of her time.

CRAZY FOR YOU To May 14, Massey Theatre. A classic romantic comedy about a boy, a girl, and a theatre in need of salvation, it is full of humour, larger-than-life characters and some of the greatest show tunes of all time.

MARGARET ATWOOD IN CONVERSATION WITH

IAN WILLIAMS May 7, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. The legendary Margaret Atwood joins author Ian Williams to discuss Old Babes in the Wood, her extraordinary new collection of short fiction.

SPEAKEASY STAND-UP COMEDY May 10, Addah Dusty Searcy is headlining.

CALL ME CC May 12, Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret.

CALL ME CC is your chance to meet Climate Change itself, live and in person in a form that we can relate to, CC is equal parts charming and disgusting, graceful and garish, irresistibly fun, and coldly egotistical.

LAUGHTER LAB: A NIGHT OF IMPROVISED THEATRE May 12, Conscious Lab. Introducing Laughter Lab—a monthly variety show that brings together the best improvisors in town to unite the local community for a night of comic relief and good fun.

ANDREA TUCKER ALL IN MY HEAD

May 13 to June 3 Elissa Cristall Gallery. Highly-detailed, portrait-style oil paintings draw from Andrea Tucker’s interest in tattoo imagery, tarot cards, and spiritual and mythological symbolism.

KAREN’S DINER ON TOUR: VANCOUVER

May 13 to 21, Zawa Restaurant. It’s an absurd, unique environment full of laughs, banter, and top-notch American diner-style grub! We pride ourselves on our terrible service, rated 1* by Karen herself.

THE RIO THEATRE BURLESQUE & VARIETY SHOW

May 13, Rio Theatre. A copious cavalcade of top notch talent and captivating cabaret awaits at The Rio Theatre Burlesque and Variety Show on Saturday, May 13.

AERIOSA May 18, Scotiabank Dance Centre.

The Dance Centre’s Discover Dance! series features aerial dance company Aeriosa. New Artists and Approaches in Vertical Dance will share theatre-based works by company members, Deaf Theatre Artist Landon Krentz, and Butterflies In Spirit.

THE CANADIAN PREMIERE OF INTO THE LITTLE

HILL May 19 to 20, Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre. Astrolabe Musik Theatre, in partnership with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs, presents the Canadian premiere of Into the Little Hill.

MAY - JUNE 2023

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

May 23, June 9, Vancouver Playhouse Coastal City Ballet, established in 2011, closes its 2022-2023 season with the famous fairy tale “The Sleeping Beauty,” May 23 at The Vancouver Playhouse and June 9 at Surrey Arts Centre.

CATFISH (AN ASL/ENGLISH PLAY)

May 24 to June 1, Vancity Culture Lab. Deaf without her hearing aids, Michelle is catapulted into a wave of lies as she misrepresents herself online and uses her hearing friend’s voice to entice the new guy at high school. Join her in this vibrant and delightfully earnest exploration of identity and self-love.

HAPPY VALLEY

May 25 to June 4, Firehall Arts Centre. Through text, song, multimedia and music, Happy Valley is a new performance piece that dissects the historic, political, and cultural context surrounding Hong Kong’s current democratic struggles.

SPRING AWAKENING

May 25 to June 10, The Shop Theatre. Spring Awakening is a Tony Award-winning musical that tells the story of young adults in Germany in 1891 as they navigate their way through adolescence and discover their sexuality.

MATRIARCHS SEEN AND UNSEEN

To June 25, Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art. Featuring over 20 striking portrait photographs of matriarchs of the Northwest Coast, the exhibition celebrates and honours the work of aunties, mothers, and grandmothers in Indigenous communities, showcasing their strength, wisdom, and deep connections.

LISTINGS ARE A PUBLIC SERVICE PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE, BASED ON AVAILABLE SPACE AND EDITORIAL DISCRETION. 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.