“My years of writing school and traditional ideas about theatre come barging in; when is the performance going to start? When will the curtains draw and the acting begin? I soon realize that this isn’t a red velvet curtain masquerade. I’m not here to see a re-enactment, neither am I here to witness a reproduction of memories. I’m here to see how Tetsuro interprets, responds to, and shares [a] fascinating life... in real time.”
Read MoreVIFF, you've nearly come and gone. We still have a few more days of bliss! As it turns out, festival season is busy (didn't you know?), and so we're very lucky to have writers who dedicate their spare time to reflecting on great cinema. Here's a reflection on Yorgos Lanthimos' latest feature, The Killing of a Sacred Deer.
Read More"Some of the rushed quality in the work actually takes a long time to get right! It’s hard work to sound as stupid as I do. I’ve always liked imperfect poems, or poems that are intentionally inelegant and awkward in rhythm, because to me that’s more exciting than a beautiful thought succinctly expressed. If you refine something too much, I think it loses some of its naked horse death energy, which is what I love poetry for. That’s one of the reasons Emily Dickinson is so great, because there’s something uniquely off about her work. I also am interested in unfunny jokes that go on for too long, which is something I stole from Stewart Lee.
Read MoreKari Kristensen came to Vancouver from Ontario for vacation and—lived the story we all hear occasionally—never left.
Read MoreI was drawn to the western for a few reasons. One: it’s a genre that very often seems to represent Indigenous peoples in problematic, stereotypical ways. Two: there are thousands of western novels that are now in the public domain, but it is also a genre that is still very much alive today. Three: many North Americans have a deep and troubling nostalgia for the genre (which is also often intertwined with a kind of romanticizing of colonization that could also been seen as a romanticizing of Indigenous genocide).
Read MoreThe saltwater and terrain of Bowen Island is where I’ve been most successful in writing poetry/prose. As an artist, I feel most grounded and inspired by the complexity of Japan, and when I’m in Singapore, I’m grounded in the sense that I’ve eaten too much food and can’t move.
Read MoreI believe that my characters have a longing to a home they once had; an innocent, heartfelt home that meant the world to them, and that they idealized in their own imagination to the point that it’s impossible to be true. Syria is this ideal loving place that once existed before the world became harsh, and rather rude, to their borderline naïve view of life. By being together, they kept that impossible place alive inside of their collective narrative, and now that they’re facing the reality of their departure from one another; they’re clinging to the details of that memory they had.
Read MoreOur second and final batch of Fringe 2017 reviews is here, and it's ready for you to read on! A little bit serious, a little bit funny—Fringe has always been a well-rounded theatrical experience, and we cherish it for that.
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