Seven Things to Do in Metro Vancouver Nov. 29-Dec. 5: festive plays, ‘90s punk, and more
Credit to Author: Shawn Conner| Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2019 19:00:15 +0000
Whether you’re looking for date ideas, free things to do or just something fun to do in downtown Vancouver, you can’t go wrong with our list of events happening around Metro Vancouver between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5.
Headlining this week’s picks is the Arts Club’s holiday special It’s a Wonderful Christmas-Ish Holiday Miracle.
For more ideas, click HERE for our coverage of Vancouver’s arts scene, or HERE to search our entertainment listings database.
Here are seven things to do in Metro Vancouver this week:
When: until Dec. 22
Where: BMO Theatre Centre
Tickets and info: $29 at artsclub.com and 604-687-1644
Marcus Youssef has been a busy playwright in 2019. Not only did he pen another East Van Panto (Pinocchio), but he’s also behind this festive concoction. In what the Arts Club describes as “It’s a Wonderful Life meets Modern Family,” Esther (Nicola Lipman) is a recently departed spirit who is sent back to Earth to deal with her unfinished business. This involves her estranged daughter Miriam (Jennifer Lines), Miriam’s ex-husband Steven (Jovanni Sy), and their two children: rebellious teen Chloe (Matreya Scarrwener) and her precocious little brother Simon (Glen Gordon). Director Chelsea Haberlin says that the play “doesn’t put a shiny veneer on the holiday season — though our set itself is very shiny.”
When: Nov. 29, 7 p.m.
Where: The Cultch
Tickets and info: $25 at tickets.thecultch.com
Daphne Roubini and Andy Smith are tireless promoters of the ukulele. Besides owning and operating local ukulele store Ruby’s Ukes, they record and perform as Ruby & Smith. Following the success of last year’s sold-out show, they’re putting on another showcase of ukulele music. The first set features the duo performing a set of vintage jazz, blues and folk, while the second features Ruby’s Ukulele Orchestra, a 45-piece uke machine with a repertoire that ranges from Led Zeppelin to Argentinian tango composer Astor Piazolla.
When: Dec. 5 at 8 p.m.
Where: Fox Cabaret
Tickets: $15 plus fees at ticketweb.ca
Originally a 2012 home recording project from Southern California-based singer-songwriter Melissa Brooks, the Aquadolls re-emerged last year with a new lineup and a second album. The 19-song The Dream and the Deception mixes elements of shoegaze-y pop, garage and punk. So far this year, the band has released a single, Suck On This, and a 20-minute documentary about their adventures on the 2019 Warped Tour.
When: Dec. 4-Dec. 15
Where: Jericho Arts Centre
Tickets and info: $25 at theatrewire.com, $30 at the door
After 400 years, the Scottish king returns to tell his story one more time, via some of Vancouver’s top comedic, theatrical and improvisational talents. Vancouver TheatreSports’ David C. Jones heads a group that includes Brent Hirose, Aiden Wright, Bridgette May and Ese Atawo, all members of Instant Theatre (the improv show Shakespeare After Dark). The performers promise that no Shakespeare expertise is required to enjoy their deconstruction of one of the Bard’s best-known and most-performed plays.
When: Dec. 3
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Tickets and info: From $50.25 at ticketmaster.ca
On its Wonder of Christmas Tour, the multiplatinum Canadian sensation is performing a selection of songs from their two Christmas albums, along with other festive favourites. Recent recordings include The Christmas Song, on which the trio can be heard singing along with — thanks to the magic of modern recording technology — the late Bing Crosby (and the still-living London Symphony Orchestra).
When: Nov. 30
Where: Abbotsford Centre
Tickets and info: starting at $41.50 at ticketmaster.ca
Co-headlining a cross-Canada tour, the two punk rock bands have been leaving a trail of suburban arena mosh pits in their wake. The Offspring (pictured) is the bigger of the two, having sold over 40 millions records (10 million more than Ontario’s Sum 41) on the basis of ‘90s hits like Come Out and Play (Keep ’Em Separated) and Pretty Fly (For a White Guy). The California band’s last album of new material was 2012’s Days Go By which received middling reviews; a new album is expected next year. Sum 41, meanwhile, released its seventh album, Order in Decline, this past summer. The UK’s Dinosaur Pile-Up is also on the bill.
Cast members Kate Dion-Richard and Matthew MacDonald-Bain return to the Arts Club’s remount of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley at the Granville Island Stage Dec. 5-Jan 4.
When: Dec. 5-Jan. 4
Where: Granville Island Stage
Tickets: from $29 at artsclub.com
The Arts Club brings back last year’s holiday hit. Riffing on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is set after Lizzy Bennet (Lauren Jackson) has married Mr. Darcy (Chris Walters) and comes to live on his estate. Family complications and hijinks ensue when her sisters, other relatives, and various hangers-on show up. American writer Lauren Gunderson wrote the piece, which was one of the top 10 most-staged plays in 2017, and has received the stamp of approval from the Jane Austen Society of North America.
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