Announcing the 2015 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

November 12, 2014

For Immediate Release: November 12, 2014

Announcing the 2015 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival January 20–February 8, 2015

Theatre | Dance | Multimedia | Music

The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is Vancouver’s mid-winter festival presenting acclaimed local, national and international artists. The PuSh Festival presents groundbreaking work in the live performing arts with theatre, dance, music, and various forms of multimedia and hybrid performance.

In 2015 the PuSh Festival marks its 11^th edition—and there’s lots on offer as we embark on our second decade. The 2015 PuSh Festival takes place January 20 to February 8 at venues across Vancouver. This year’s Festival includes works by artists and companies from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, and the United States.

The 2015 Festival features almost 200 performances and events over 20 days, including 22 Main Stage shows, three weeks of performances at Club PuSh, networking events at the PuSh Assembly, the free PuSh Film series, dinner/theatre experiences with Dine Out Vancouver, and many artist talks and other ancillary events. Details at pushfestival.ca

Les 7 doigts de la main (Canada)
SÉ́QUENCE 8

Presented with Théâtre la Seizième & Tom Lightburn
January 22–24 | Vancouver Playhouse
$39–55: ticketstonight.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

An awesome display of contemporary circus that will have you on the edge of your seat. Back from a sold-out run in London, this is the latest from the renowned Quebec troupe.

Tim Watts (Australia)
THE ADVENTURES OF ALVIN SPUTNIK

Presented with the Vancouver International Children’s Festival
January 21–24 | Waterfront Theatre
$15–25: ticketstonight.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

The oceans have risen and Alvin Sputnik is on a mission to save the world. This delightful work of puppetry and animation evokes the enchantment of childhood wonder and age-old storytelling.

Lisbeth Gruwez / Voetvolk (Belgium)
IT’S GOING TO GET WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE, MY FRIEND

Presented with The Dance Centre
January 22–24 | Scotiabank Dance Centre
$31 early bird / $36: ticketstonight.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

In a bravura display of skill, an ecstasy of movement, dancer Lisbeth Gruwez reminds us of the power of language as she brings gesture to the words of preacher Jimmy Swaggart.

Grace Schwindt (Germany)
ONLY A FREE INDIVIDUAL CAN CREATE A FREE SOCIETY

Presented with the Contemporary Art Gallery
January 23–February 15 | Contemporary Art Gallery | Free

A film installation that challenges viewers to question the notion of freedom and who has access to it. Nothing is neutral; every word and gesture has social, political or economic implications.

Sylvain Émard Danse (Canada)
LE GRAND CONTINENTAL®

Presented with the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre and The Dance Centre
January 24–25 | Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza | Free

Community dancers from across Vancouver come together for a massive public line dancing performance. Infectious and joyful, it’s a pleasure and a beauty to behold.

Anita Majumdar (Canada)
THE FISH EYES TRILOGY PART I & PART II/III

Presented with The Cultch
January 27–31 | The Cultch | Tickets from $19: thecultch.com / 604.251.1363

Wunderkind Anita Majumdar plays three teen girls growing up in small-town Canada. The dancing is superb, the writing sharp, and the politics provocative.

Kate McIntosh (Belgium)
DARK MATTER

Presented with SFU Woodward’s
January 28–30 | SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
$31 early bird / $36: ticketstonight.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

Kate McIntosh takes the weightiest issues—time, space and existence—and turns them into wild, anarchic play. A triumph of words, physical performance and imagination.

Studios Kabako (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
LE CARGO

Presented with The Dance Centre
January 29–31 | Scotiabank Dance Centre
$31 early bird / $36 : ticketstonight.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

Faustin Linyekula is a spellbinding dancer and storyteller who transports us to his homeland of the Congo. A thought-provoking reflection on memory, heritage and history. Supported by Consulate General of France in Vancouver, Institut français.

STO Union (Canada)
7 IMPORTANT THINGS

Presented with Neworld Theatre and SFU Woodward’s
January 29–31 | SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
$31 early bird / $36: ticketstonight.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

George Acheson was a rebel with a cause. He lived the ’60s and ’70s counterculture and scraped through the years that followed. Now he’s telling his story, a story about the things worth fighting for.

Dries Verhoeven (The Netherlands)
FARE THEE WELL!

Supported by Performing Arts Fund NL
January 30–February 8 | Location TBA (downtown Vancouver) | Free

In this installation, look through telescopes at a distant location where valedictions like “Farewell Libido” and “Farewell to the Idea of Infinite Growth” scroll. An epic yet intimate experience that explores loss on a civic scale.

Iva Bittová (Czech Republic)
IVA BITTOVÁ

Presented with Music on Main
February 2–3 | The Fox Cabaret (19+)
$15–39: ticketstonight.ca / 604.879.9888

Iva Bittová is an avant-garde composer who sings and plays violin infused with the spirit of Eastern European folk music. Praised the world over for her expertly improvised fusion of old world and new music.

Alanna Mitchell (Canada)
SEA SICK

February 3–4 | Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre
$31 early bird / $36: ticketstonight.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

Journalist Alanna Mitchell tells the story of our oceans and the huge risk their degradation poses to human life. Personal, scientific and political—on all three counts it’s a revelation.

Lotte van den Berg (The Netherlands)
CINEMA IMAGINAIRE

Presented with the Contemporary Art Gallery | Supported by Performing Arts Fund NL
February 4–8 | 110-750 Hamilton Street (meeting point)
$31 early bird / $36: pushfestival.ca / 604.605.8284 ext 200

In small groups, at an outdoor location, we are taken on a sensory adventure. A reintroduction to the pleasures of the senses. Beauty is all around us—all we have to do is look.

MACHiNENOiSY (Canada)
TIME MACHINE

Presented with The Dance Centre
February 4–7 | Scotiabank Dance Centre
$31 early bird / $36: ticketstonight.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

Featuring eight children and seven professional dancers, this new work upends ideas about age, ability and the border between dance & theatre.

Fight with a Stick (Canada)
STEPPENWOLF

February 4–8 | Russian Hall
$31 early bird / $36: ticketstonight.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

Inspired by Herman Hesse’s novel of self-reflection, the audience is seated before a row of mirrors. Somewhere within the reflection, the story begins and viewers become the viewed.

Mariano Pensotti (Argentina)
CINEASTAS

Presented with SFU Woodward’s
February 5–7 | SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
$31 early bird / $36: ticketstonight.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

The lives of four Argentinian filmmakers, and the four movies they create, are the premise of this inventive work about art as a part of life, as the creation of life. A comedic farce celebrating the human spirit.

red diva projects with Visceral Visions (Canada)
THE ROAD FORWARD

Presented with The Cultch and Touchstone Theatre
February 5–7 | York Theatre
Tickets from $19: thecultch.com / 604.251.1363

A multimedia blues/rock musical inspired by BC’s groundbreaking Native Voice newspaper. Rollicking singing, music and historical images come together in a powerful evening.

Partnered Presentations

HUMAN LIBRARY

Presented with Zee Zee Theatre
January 23–25, 30–31 / February 1, 6–8
Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch | Free

A simple yet compelling premise: borrow a book, discover a life. Engage in an eye-opening conversation with a ‘human book’ with topics like “Hitchhiker” and “Invisible Minority.”

FUSE

Presented with the Vancouver Art Gallery
January 30 | Vancouver Art Gallery
$20: vanartgallery.bc.ca / Free: PuSh Passholders

Vancouver’s favourite art and social event! An unforgettable night of visual art animated with theatre, dance & music performances by PuSh artists.

Loose Leaf Collective (Canada)
PHANTASMAGORIA: CIRCUS OF DREAMS

Presented with Capilano University, Douglas College, Langara and Vancouver Community College
January 29–31 | Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre
$18.25: ticketstonight.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

A sign marks the entrance to another world: Phantasmagoria—Circus of Dreams. Inside, the acts are perplexing, intoxicating and the line between reality and the imaginary blurs.

January 22-24, 29-31 / February 1, 5-7
Performance Works (19+)
$22-24 early bird / $25-29: pushfestival.ca / 604.684.2787 ext 2

Club PuSh is the social hub of the PuSh Festival. Catch amazing performances alive with experimental spirit. Meet up with friends, grab a few drinks and watch a startling show, capped with music and dancing at Late Nights at Club PuSh on most nights.

Gender-blending, booty-pounding queer perversion with Christeene; a double-bill of ingenious musical storytelling; the greatest hits of the ’50s and ’60s relived with Vancouver’s music legends; an original live score to Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf; a night of South Asian hip hop; an invented history of a tar sands ghost town; a keynote about foreign property investment; an all-tomboy musical journey with Ivan Coyote; and infectious urban-Cali sound from Las Cafeteras. Full schedule and details at pushfestival.ca/clubpush.

Presented with Simon Fraser University’s Institute for Performance Studies

The PuSh Assembly is an open invitation to industry insiders and arts aficionados alike to gather together in convivial settings to share best practices, ideas and perspectives. It’s the perfect social setting to connect with colleagues from across Canada and around the world.

The 2015 PuSh Assembly draws on the participation of visiting and local artists and curators. PuSh Assembly events—including dialogues, case studies, workshops, public forums, roundtable discussions and networking events—take place throughout the three weeks of the Festival.

Free (except artist and touring workshops). Full schedule and details at pushfestival.ca/assembly.

PuSh Youth Program for 16- to 24-year olds, including the popular Youth Passport to see select shows for only $5 each; Free PuSh Film Series to complement the themes and ideas of the live performances; Experience Spheres by Tangible Interactions will challenge you to see your surroundings anew. Find these pop-up installations throughout the city each weekend of the Festival; PuSh Feasts communal meals at Vancouver’s trendiest restaurants followed by a show; PuSh Conversations post-performance talks with artists; and more!

PuSh Passes

PuSh Passes are the best way to experience the PuSh Festival. Save up to 30% off individual tickets. PuSh Passes are flexible so Passholders can book tickets and make exchanges online at anytime. Limited quantities. PuSh Pass early bird rate ends on December 11 at 5pm PST.

Four-show Pass: $103 Early bird rate / $119 Regular rate
Six-show Pass: $148 Early bird rate / $176 Regular rate

Tickets

Can’t commit to a PuSh Pass? Then single tickets are your best bet. You can still save money with the new early bird rate on single tickets to select shows! Tickets early bird rate ends on December 18 at 5pm PST.

Please check individual performance details or pushfesival.ca for specific information on how to buy tickets to each PuSh Festival event. (The PuSh Festival Box Office sells individual tickets to select performances only.)

For groups of 10 or more, PuSh Festival offers discounted ticket prices. Email access@pushfestival.ca, or visit pushfestival.ca for details.

More Information

For more information pick up a comprehensive 60-page program guide at any location of JJ Bean, and other select locations. You can also reach us at pushfestival.ca, info@pushfestival.ca or 604.605.8284.