Transform: A Cabaret Festival features over 50 Indigenous and non-Indigenous performers
Credit to Author: Stuart Derdeyn| Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2019 18:18:42 +0000
When: Oct. 2 to 12, various times
Where: York Theatre, 639 Commercial; The Historic Theatre; and Vancity Culture Lab, 1895 Venables
Tickets and information: From $15 at tickets.thecultch.com
A straight-up definition of cabaret is along the lines of “an entertainment held in a nightclub or restaurant that is presented while patrons drink and dine.” The contemporary meaning of the word is anything but straight-up. Coming of age in the Roaring ’20s, cabaret became associated with non-traditional venues, radical and protest movements, and freedom of expression outside so-called social norms. The world being the place it is, cabaret festivals have emerged all over as a way for participating in political discourse for those who are frequently denied access to the mainstream.
Pushing boundaries, cabaret performances are where tough topics get turned inside-out and audiences are along for the ride.
From righteous burlesque to raucous storytelling, singers to stylish drag, Transform: A Cabaret Festival aims to bring the spirit of the genre to the three theatres at the Cultch. Over 50 Indigenous and non-indigenous artists from multi-disciplinary backgrounds will launch the new event over nine nights. Transform is co-curated by The Cultch’s executive director Heather Redfern and Urban Ink artistic director Corey Payette. Musqueam artist Quelemia Sparrow is the Indigenous Protocol Keeper/host ,and Australian cabaret star and Hot Brown Honey co-creator Lisa Fa’alafi is the director/host.
Heather Redfern (left) and Corey Payette are the co-curators of the TRANSFORM: A Cabaret Festival.
Inspiration for launching the event came from the co-curators taking in the vibrant and potent cabaret scene in Australia and wanting to see similar entertainment showcased here. Often, Indigenous and other non-traditional artists encounter barriers trying to get a foot in the door at venues, as it can take years to get a show produced. Opening up the Cultch’s established stages for performances that might not otherwise get seen outside of underground spaces gives the artists and the audience a much-needed meeting place.
“It’s something that has really been needed as an outlet, because the time, fundraising and work required to bring something like Children of God to the Cultch can be an enormous barrier for Indigenous artists,” said Payette. “So this is really a fantastic opportunity to open that door to an enormous amount of Indigenous and non-indigenous talent that are extremely talented and have really important things to share, but can’t necessarily fill a three-week slot at one of these theatres. Giving them a couple of nights on a main stage gives them and their fans and a new audience the chance to experience varied and important voices.”
Across Canada, Indigenous artists represent one of the fastest-growing communities of culture creators. Immigrant communities are also increasingly visible in arts and culture. As someone who has worked with, or presented at, festivals from coast to coast to coast showcasing Indigenous artists, Payette says that the changing demographics means expanding opportunities.
“We’ve been working in our silos for years and years, and now the mainstream audience is becoming familiar with the work that Indigenous artists are engaged in and there is a hunger for it, not just at specific events or times of the year,” he said. “A lot of Indigenous artists are breaking through the door and the audience wants to see that work on all stages and times. A lot of the inspiration for this came from the many cabaret festivals that have happened for a very long time in Australia and why don’t we have that platform, that tradition, here.”
Transform: A Cabaret Festival aims to become a vehicle for artists to work more in the cabaret and also to move onto larger formats. Payette notes that many of the artists appearing at the event are big names who have been touring Canada and performing internationally for many years.
A quick scan of the talent appearing brings up names such as Canadian Comedy Award-winner Martha Chaves (Oct. 4 and 5, 7:30 p.m., The Women of Comedy, York Theatre), Juno Award-winning Dene singer/songwriter Leela Gilday (Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m., York Theatre; Oct. 11, 7 p.m., Historic Theatre) and Payette (Children of God, Les Filles du Roi) presenting the Corey Payette Musical Songbook (Oct. 12, 7 p.m., Historic Theatre). From circus acts to the Queens of East Van’s Drag Transforming (Oct. 12, 7 p.m., York Theatre) and Vancouver’s all-Indigenous burlesque troupe Virago Nation: Stripping for Sovereignty (Oct. 5, 8 p.m.; Oct. 11, 9:15 p.m., Historic Theatre), the variety is obvious. It’s also an effective tool of change.
“Bringing together all of these artists in the festival gives them a chance to come together and discuss the challenges and successes that they are facing working in the world, and push the whole reconciliation idea into something that is an actionable item and not just something we hope will happen,” he said. “And then that can go to the audience, and we can keep that rich conversation going and make something that is ongoing. Bringing in the best of the best from all over means that we can make something here that is uniquely West Coast, but that is also shaped and shared with these important international artists like Lisa Fa’alafi.”
As someone once sang: What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play. Life is a cabaret, old chum. Come to the cabaret!