A QUEER THEATRE FESTIVAL
april 24 - 30
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
🎟️ Regular - $25
🌈 Rainbow - PWYC
* Online ticket sales will end 5 HOURS prior to the start of each show
Wednesday, April 26th @ 6 : 00 pm
Friday, April 28th @ 7 : 15 pm
Saturday, April 29th @ 12:45 pm* & 8 : 30 pm
*TalkBack & ASL @ 12:45 pm
Sunday, April 30th @ 2 : 15 pm
🕒 | 75 MINS
* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *
PARRY RIPOSTE PRODUCTIONS
PLAYWRIGHT l PERFORMER: Margo MacDonald
DIRECTOR: Marry Ellis
COSTUME DESIGN: Vanessa Imeson
LIGHTING DESIGN: Laura Wheeler
POSTER DESIGN & PROMOTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: Andrew Alexander
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER & PRINT DESIGN: VW Titus
THE ELEPHANT GIRLS
WRITTEN + PERFORMED BY: MARGO MACDONALD
The true story of the all-female gang that once terrorized London, England. Clever, organized, devious and daring, The Elephant Girls stole from the rich and gave to themselves. A fascinating piece of lost women's history, the play focuses on the 1920s when the gang was at the height of its power—and when the events took place which would mean its downfall.
★★★★
“…brilliantly written and exceptionally performed”
—Fringe Guru (Edinburgh)
“Right here, right now, for one night only, I’ll tell you something special I ain’t never told no one before; I’ll tell you the truth.” (Maggie Hale, The Elephant Girls)
The truth. Told in a pub over a three-night bender by Maggie Hale, the gang's suit-wearing, bloody-knuckled, girl-chasing, “enforcer”. She’ll tell you all—who they were, what they did, how they got away with it, and how it all came crashing down. But do you trust the words of someone who’s made deception their stock and trade? Should you ask what you really want to know? Just how much are you sure you want to hear?
★★★★★
“Stampede—do not walk—to The Elephant Girls…
a ferocious, charismatically intense performance.”
—CBC Manitoba
Wrapping issues of power, class, gender, and violence around the story of Maggie Hale, the show uses history to grapple with issues our society still struggles with today.
CONTENT
14+, strong language, reference to violence and sex
🎟️ Regular - $15
🌈 Rainbow - PWYC
* Online ticket sales will end 5 HOURS prior to the start of each show
Thursday, April 27th @ 6:00 pm
Friday, April 28th @ 9 : 00 pm
Saturday, April 29th @ 7 :45 pm
Sunday, April 30th @ 12:45 pm
*Note
All performances will be accompanied by ASL.
🕒 | 60 MINS
* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *
CONTEMPORARY
DANCE SOLO
CREATED + PERFORMED BY: Robert Azevedo
Contemporary Dance Solo is a solo dance show with a hint of bouffon, wherein the performer (Robert Azevedo) recreates 18 dance solos from various youth dance competitions. Sometimes the young dancers are projected alongside the performer, allowing for easy comparison of the dancing bodies.
The young dancers in the videos are virtuosic and talented – clearly they are good dancers. Theirs are the kinds of bodies you think of when you imagine a dancer: young, flexible, feminine, wiry. Meanwhile, Azevedo's body is very unlike theirs. As they move through these solos – which itself is a feat of endurance, artistry, and skill – they are asking themselves and the audience:
Who do you think of as a dancer?
What makes a good dancer?
Am I a good dancer too?
Contemporary Dance Solo was first presented by Upintheair Theatre's rEvolver festival in 2019 with support from The Happening Dance Company. Robert Azevedo (they/them) is an Atlantic dance artist currently residing in ktaqmkuk / Corner Brook, NL. Their practice begins with the liveness of the connection of audience and performer. As a dancer and creator, they enjoy defying the expectations of what dance is and can be. Exhausting, fun, “weird”, and always curious – every project is different but these values remain constant."
🎟️ Regular - $15
🌈 Rainbow - PWYC
* Online ticket sales will end 5 HOURS prior to the start of each show
Wednesday, April 26th @ 7:45 pm
Thursday, April 27th @ 8 : 45 pm
Saturday, April 29th @ 6:00 pm
Sunday, April 30th @ 4 : 00 pm
🕒 | 60 MINS
* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *
CREATOR/PERFORMER: Nathaniel Hanula-James (he/him)
DRAMATURG: Jacob Margaret Archer (they/them)
SOUND + LIGHTING DESIGNER: Ryan Wilcox (they/them)
COSTUME + PROPS DESIGNER: Hannah Fisher (she/her)
UNTITLED
FLAMINGO PLAY
CREATED + PERFORMED BY: Nathaniel Hanula-James
Featuring one performer, a collection of toys, and one sarcastic sock puppet, UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY follows two children, Addison and Helen, and their search for queer role models in a big scary normative world.
The universe of this play is zany and irreverent: eight-year-olds quip like Oscar Wilde; kids use grindr on the playground; stuffed animals dispense questionable advice. Beneath all the hijinks, however, UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY has a purpose: to invite audiences into a hilarious story of growing up queer, in which coming out is just the beginning.
A first draft of UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY was developed in Playwrights' Workshop Montreal's Young Creators' Unit, with the mentorship and dramaturgy of Jesse Stong. This first draft was featured in PWM's 2019 Queer Reading Series, in partnership with the Centaur Theatre. The Canada Council for the Arts and the National Theatre School of Canada's TEC program provided funding for future drafts, one of which was filmed in September 2020 for archival purposes. In March 2022, Talk is Free Theatre presented a new, fully realized version of UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY at the Five Points Theatre in Barrie.
🎟️ Regular - $15
🌈 Rainbow - PWYC
* Online ticket sales will end 5 HOURS prior to the start of each show
Wednesday, April 26th @ 9:15 pm
Thursday, April 27th @ 7 : 30 pm
Friday, April 28th @ 6:00 pm
Saturday, April 29th @ 2:45 pm
🕒 | 45 MINS
* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *
PLAYWRIGHT + ROLE of A: Trisha Dhar Malik (she/her)
DIRECTOR: Rooks Field-Green (he/they)
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Griffin Bjerke-Clarke (he/him)
STAGE MANAGER: Jessica Hannaford (they/them)
SOUND DESIGN: Keith Morrison (He/Him)
ROLE of B: Linda Meian (she/her)
DESIGNER: Cat McCluskey (they/she)
WATER, BABY
CREATED BY: TRISHA MALIK
Water, Baby! is the story of two friends navigating their relationships in the water. In writing this story, I wanted to a dreamscape-y narrative of swimming; playing with the bittersweet poetics of anxiety and not-knowing, as well as the simplicity and complication of friendship. I was also very interested in the brownness of this piece’s protagonist—I wanted it to be important and significant, without it being the central concern of the story.
I suppose I didn’t want it to actively affect anything, but I wanted it to affect everything. Ultimately, I wanted this to be a story of love between two people, and it felt important to me that the protagonist was brown, as well as just trying to do love (whatever that is)—without there being an active interest in the politics of her brownness. I feel as a young brown person in Canada, I long for such content; to see my people in spaces that are not angry and political and reformatory—although that is so important and exciting too!—but instead just engaging in the mess of human existence.
I think if I am trying to do anything with this piece, it just is that.
FREE / Donation
We ask that folks please register in advance so that we have an estimated number of attendees.
Saturday, April 29th @ 11:00 am
🕒 | 60 MINS
* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *
THE SKELETON DANCE
Created + Performed by: Ella MacDonald & Emma James
The Skeleton Dance is a creative movement play for all ages about death.
The show is a highly physical, energetic, and light-hearted play with elements of clown and puppetry. It is created and performed by Emma James (they/she) and Ella MacDonald (she/her). With an approximate run time of 40 minutes, the performance invites structured audience participation and is always followed by a meet-and-greet or talk back as well as cool-down activity.
The Skeleton Dance has been in development since 2019 and originated as a university vocal masque assignment for co-lead artists Emma James and Ella MacDonald.
It was developed in a private dance apprenticeship with their mentor, Véronique MacKenzie, before being presented in an entirely sold-out run at Halifax Fringe 2021, where it was met with positive acclaim and great interest.
Since then, the work has been further developed and is currently touring free, all-ages shows with support from the Canadian Council for the Arts. During this stage of production, it has been work shopped with outside directors as well as grief professionals to best support our communities.
Through the hardship of the Covid-19 Pandemic, Emma & Ella believe that everyone has grieved something, be it a loved one, important events, or normalcy. The goal of The Skeleton Dance is to provoke thought about the ways in which we respond to hardship and comfort one another.
🎟️ Regular - $10
🌈 Rainbow - PWYC
* Online ticket sales will end 5 HOURS prior to the start of each show
Sunday, April 30th @ 11:00 am
🕒 | 50 - 60 MINS
* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *
76 CM (STAGED READING)
WRITTEN BY: Xaiver campbell
Samson and Abe are a long-term mixed-race couple. Their love is undeniable, but so is the tension between them.
Amidst constantly howling winds and rolling blackouts, this relationship is put to the test as the couple finds themselves trapped in their basement apartment during St. John's record-breaking snowstorm of January 2020. What will end first, the storm or them?
Bunni Lapin and Mya Foxx are joining hosts Morgan Smith and Adam Myatt for an evening of improv comedy. The show will include games, music, costume changes, dance, and audience participation.
Grab your tickets now because before the night is over, we promise to leave you gagged!
SUPPORT FOR RRANS
We are excited to announce that $5 from every individual ticket sold will be donated to RRANS.
RRANS makes possible LGBTQI+ refugee resettlement and supports safer communities of belonging through advocacy, education, and sponsorship.
90 mins
Tues April 25th @ 8:00 pm
🎟️ Regular - $20
🌈 Rainbow - PWYC
* Online ticket sales will end 5 HOURS prior to the start of each show
Tuesday, April 25th @ 8:00 pm
🕒 | 90 MINS
* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *
$5 Tickets can added / purchased when buying individual show tickets.
Tuesday, April 25th @ 7:30 pm
🕒 | 30 MINS
* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *
TWO-SPIRIT STAGE
Patricia Vance-Meehan - Poetry
Patricia will be performing at the beginning of each night (5:45 pm - 6:00 pm) and from 10:45 am - 11:00 am) on the weekend. When purchasing tickets for individual shows, patrons will have the opportunity to add/purchase a $5 ticket. These funds will go to Two-Spirit Artists, as well as help us develop and expand our Two-Spirit Stage.
BIOGRPAHY
As a 24 year old who identifies as African Canadian, Russian, Metis Inuit, as well as a member of the LGBTQ2S community as a Two-Spirited Bisexual; I have discovered that writing is my form of expression and form of art that I choose to use in order to send very in-depth and positive mindedness as a part of my poetry.
For someone who also struggles with quite a few Mental Health issues including BPD, Bipolar, and Major Depressive Disorder, being the big diagnoses it is, my value to spread the awareness of the mental health system and show other individuals that may be suffering that the best thing you can do for you is asking for help when you notice it's something you need.
In all of my pieces, I aim to become an important and positive minded advocate for the movements which are labelled;
> Black Lives Matter Movement
> Mental Health Awareness Foundation
> Children Lives Matter
> LGBTQ2S Human Rights
> Stand with Ukraine- but also Russians.
Not all of us are bad. Putin was the one who created the stigma that the Russians are terrorists, my goal is to attempt to break those cultural stigmas with my words.