undercurrents 2023 productions
Mainstage Lineup
Click on each show title to learn more!
Beth-Anne, Ottawa (February 16-18)
Created by Nicholas Leno and Monica Bradford-Lea. Middle part ponytail. Meet Beth-Anne, a horse loving girl who can’t work up the confidence to ask her crush on a date, even after practicing on magazine cutouts of sexy male models. So, in an effort to become more desirable, she decides to transform herself ー into a horse. Of course. Beth-Anne must become a horse.
Ça rime avec vinaigre, Toronto (February 9-11)
(English Captioned Performance)
Créé par Katia Café-Fébrissy. À la croisée du TED Talk, de la poésie slam et de la performance théâtrale, le spectacle solo Ça rime avec vinaigre, aux saveurs “david-et-goliath-esques” raconte une histoire de racisme systémique qui aurait pu être une histoire de racisme comme les autres, sauf que celle-ci, c’est l’histoire du fils de l’autrice…
Created by Katia Café-Fébrissy. At the crossroads of a TED Talk, slam poetry and theatrical performance, the solo show Ça rime avec vinaigre (It rhymes with vinegar), with its “David-and-Goliath-esque” scope, tells a story of systemic racism that could have been a story of racism like any other, except that this one is the story of the author’s son…
Dressed as People, Ottawa/ Toronto (February 15-18)
Performed by Margo MacDonald. A school haunted by troubled children, the mysterious disappearance of a friend in the forest, an encounter with the unknown on open waters. Three characters, three time periods, three tales of abduction and the intrusion of the uncanny into the lives of those who are taken, those who do the taking, and those who are left behind.
Léna, Ottawa (February 9-12)
(English Captioned Performance)
Créé par Ferline Regis. Dans un cabaret, la flamboyante chanteuse Léna raconte ses aventures au Canada à travers la musique, des chants et de la danse. Elle fait un portrait de son départ d’Haïti vers le Canada pour réaliser son rêve de chanter sur une grande scène nord-américaine.
Created by Ferline Regis. In a cabaret, the flamboyant singer Léna recounts her adventures in Canada through music, song and dance. She portrays her departure from Haiti to Canada to realize her dream of singing on a big North American stage.
Pest Me Pet Me, Toronto (February 10-12)
Created by the Animacy Collective, Pest Me Pet Me follows two raccoons who face off with two female roommates undergoing a suspicious ‘renoviction’ from their downtown apartment. United by ongoing compost bin wars and racoon Instagram funerals, the two species find themselves with more in common than previously thought. This is a horror-comedy that explores themes of displacement, female rage, and the housing crisis.
Why Worry About Their Futures, Ottawa (February 8-12)
Why Worry About Their Futures presents three short plays by Keith Barker, Lawrence Aronovitch and Sanita Fejzić. They have in common a shared concern for the kinds of futures adults cultivate for their children. A short play is like a first kiss or a sudden heartbreak—it has the potential to change us forever. These short plays promise to puncture the status quo and cross worry with hope, tragedy with beauty.
Would Virginia Woolf Contemplate Suicide if She Were Filipino?, Montreal (February 16-18)
Raunchy award-winning Montreal gay comedy kicks off Canadian tour at nation’s capital Inspired by the Boys’ Love phenomenon in Asia, Would Virginia Woolf Contemplate Suicide if She Were Filipino is a one-act play that tackles issues of intimacy, sexuality, and race through the eyes of two gay Filipinos in Montreal: Lemar, a fresh-off-the-boat migrant, and Warren, the son of rich immigrants.
DISCOVERY SERIES
Juliana, Ottawa/Dover (February 16-18)
Created by Cullen Elijah McGrail & Alli Harris. Juliana just wanted to write another best-selling book about animals. Sister Philippa just wanted to be Juliana’s most devoted follower. But was it God or Nature who led the two Sisters deep into the forest? Who separated them and sent them paths full of trials, tribulations, and musical numbers? Who is going to make sure they leave the woods as completely different women…
‘QiGongidaa!, Villiers (February 17-18)
Created by Hilary Wear. Qi gong may be an unregrettable, calming-energizing practice. A seasonally-directed, culture grounded method to support and sustain wellbeing, it is being offered by this Clown as a trustworthy shared experience activity to do, alone or together. Winter is a period of stillness & these playful movements can maintain our warmth and tranquility. The theatrical Clown piece uses Anishinaabemowin and different musical styles/ silence.
Small Tortures (I love you), Ottawa (February 9-11)
Created by Ludmylla Reis, this is a dance-theatre piece that invites you to see the underlying dynamics of relationships. What happens when we learn the language of power?
Three Plays For The End Of The World, St. John’s / Montreal (February 10-12)
A collection of plays written by Cole Hayley and directed by Chelsea Dab Hilke. Although the plays were not initially designed to be performed together, their thematic threads have revealed themselves over time, inspiring the team to envision each play as being a part of a larger trilogy involving the dread and helplessness of our current age. They include a poetic exploration about violence in the theatre, and theatre as violence; an examination of the gray-space between personal morality and vigilantism; and a one-person monologue that explores the loneliness brought on by the pandemic and our climate crisis. Three Plays For The End Of The World is not a premonition of what’s to come, but instead an offering of what has already arrived.
Schedule & Buy Tickets
undercurrents_2023_calendar_updatedFor the English plain text schedule, click here.
For the English daily visual schedule, click here.
Pour l’horaire en clair du festival en français, appuyer ici.
Pour horaire quotidien français, appuyer ici.
undercurrents tickets are sold on a “Pick Your Price” model at $5, $10, $20, $50, or $75 ($75 tickets come with a tax receipt; HST is included in all prices). Choose your own price, no questions asked.