First look at week 3 from the curatorial department
January 27, 2014
We’re into the home stretch, the culmination of PuSh’s 10th aniversary edition. All of us here at the PuSh office have analogies to describe how we experience the Festival from the inside. Norman has described it like putting on a wedding every night. Some nights are like weddings that are grand extravaganzas with crystal stemware and white linen tablecloths. Others are barefoot in the park.
My analogy comes from my time in the restaurant industry. It’s like the longest serving shift ever, there’s a line up at the door and you’ve got to keep the tables turning and the people happy. In this final week of the festival, it’s like that point in the night where you’ve sat your last table and it’s the late night crowd, the familiar neighbourhood characters hunker at the bar. Just when you see the end of your shift in sight, a group of 15 just walks in the door just before last call, and with this gang the night has just begun.
Grab a seat. Have a drink.
Here’s a quick run down of what I’m looking forward to in the final week of the Festival:
The Future Show: Deborah Pearson
Don’t try looking for this one in the program guide, it’s not there. We’re presenting The Future Show as a ‘pop-up’ performance as part of the PuSh Assembly. It’s a gift, kind of like when your server brings you dessert on the house, just because. I saw The Future Show last year at Forest Fringe at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It was the very last show I saw before returning to Vancouver. It’s a simple monologue performed by Deborah Pearson that begins with the final words of tonight’s show, and followed by the prediction:
“As soon as I say this, you will clap”.
The Future Show is rewritten for every performance. It is simple, beautiful and bittersweet, playing with the promise of what could like ahead and what is ultimately unknowable about the future.
Inheritor Album
This is the hometown team playing for the hometown crowd. Inheritor Album has been selling so well that we’ve added an additional show at 4pm on Sun, Feb 2. If you missed the Vancouver premiere at the Vancouver Playhouse last year, be sure to catch it this time around. If you have seen it already, as I have, then you probably can’t wait to see it again re-envisioned for The Dance Centre’s stage. How will all that explosive movement translate to a smaller stage? Here’s a recent interview with artistic co-directors of 605 Collective, Josh Martin and Lisa Gelley.
Free Events
Feeling a bit light in the pocket because of all of the shows you’ve seen so far at the Festival? Don’t forget that this year’s programming is full of ways to have a great PuSh experience on the cheap. PuSh Assembly events are free, but don’t wait until the last moment. Some events, such as the Breakfast Series, have very limited capacity. Our final two films of the PuSh film series are this Thursday and Friday. This week each film is paired with performances in the main program. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner is a great choice if you are seeing Nanook of the North. And for all the hardcore fado fans, we’ve paired Fados with Antonio Zambujo.
The Festival Hub
This is the week to be a bar fly at Club PuSh. Our visiting presenters are in town this week and the Club becomes the post-show central meeting point. Meet someone new, show them some fantastic Vancouver hospitality, and share your Festival experience. On Saturday night, join us for the closing party! Cue up your favourite karaoke song and get ready to belt it out with Weekend Leisure.