2010
24
Jan
Play nice – Cultural Olympiad News : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics
Vancouver will be a hotspot for world-class theatre starting January 22 when mythical creatures, historical figures and cultural icons take centre stage for the 2010 Cultural Olympiad’s dramatic lineup.
After working as part of the creative team behind the opening ceremonies for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, performance art superwoman Laurie Anderson is back on the Olympic radar with her new solo opera, Delusion. Known for experimental performance pieces, including her 1981 hit O Superman, and for being NASA’s first artist-in-residence, Anderson’s new CODE-commissioned work is a series of short plays that weave between reality and mythology using music, visuals and electronic puppetry.
Based on the explorations of renowned Haida artist Bill Reid, Beyond Eden is the story of two friends who set out to rescue dilapidated totem poles from a deserted village off the north coast of British Columbia. The world première of this musical, starring Spirit of the West singer John Mann, illustrates the struggles, as well as joys, of two men on a particularly daunting journey.
Another first for Canadian theatre is arriving in the form of the 1987 opera Nixon in China, a dramatization of the American government’s first official visit to China. With dialogue pulled directly from 1972 headlines of the visit, this modern opera accurately portrays the historical visit with a libretto and musical score sure to please history and opera buffs alike.
Passengers with flight phobia will share their darkest fears through songs, monologues and movement on one bumpy cross-Canada plane ride in Fear of Flight. Recently named as one of Canada’s top 10 theatre artists by Toronto’s NOW magazine, Newfoundland-based director Jillian Keiley has collaborated with some of the country’s top playwrights for this remarkable performance.
Finally, no Canadian theatre roster would be complete without work from homegrown Quebecois director and playwright Robert Lepage. The Blue Dragon brings character Pierre Lamontagne back to life from Lepage’s 1986 hit The Dragon’s Trilogy. After living in Shanghai for 20 years, Lamontagne is visited by an old Canadian friend, whose presence challenges both characters’ preconceptions of culture and identity.
For more information or to buy tickets to all the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad events, please visit our listings page.