91Ô­´´

ON STAGE

What: 10th annual Spark Festival
When: March 8 through March 24
Where: Belfry Theatre, 1291 Gladstone Ave.
Tickets: $30 (discounts for students and seniors) by phone from 250-385-6815 or online at
Information: For a full lineup, including free performances, visit

The Belfry Theatre’s Spark Festival begins its 10th edition Friday with a full slate of activity emanating from its Gladstone Avenue hub. The pace won’t ebb until March 24, when the last of the 53 genre-blurring performances on the program come off the books.

Spark offers the widest variety of theatre programming in Victoria apart from the annual Victoria Fringe Festival. Where this venture differs from others of its ilk is that more than half of what is being provided is either free of charge or by donation. When that includes everything from play readings and professional development workshops to hootenannies, finding something of interest won’t be an issue for anybody.

Here’s a rundown of the six main-stage events leading the way at Spark.

Mama’s Boy (March 8-9). Victoria favourite Mike Delamont has won raves for his comedy, but he turns the spotlight on himself — with heartfelt results — in this autobiographical piece. Mama’s Boy has not been added to Delamont’s regular repertoire, so take the opportunity to see him ride the edge between real and really funny in this winner.

Good Morning, Viet Mom (March 12-16). The thread of family is strong in filmmaker Franco Nguyen’s Good Morning, Viet Mom, which sees the Toronto artist visit his family’s native Vietnam for the first time and find inspiration in corners he never expected. The solo show about Nguyen’s Vietnamese-born, non-English-speaking mother has won raves.

Sound of the Beast (March 12-16). Donna-Michelle St. Bernard stars in this performance piece about the roads — cultural and otherwise — that make hip-hop what it is today. In her guise as Belladonna the Blest, the rapper and playwright (whose work has earned a Governor General’s Award and Dora Mavor Moore Award) shares her perspective about the hip-hop community in Toronto, and the role political activism plays in her profession.

Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story (March 20-24). A hit production from Halifax’s 2B theatre company, this acclaimed musical created by Hannah Moscovitch, Ben Caplan and Christian Barry was inspired by the true story of Moscovitch’s grandparents, whose journey to Canada in 1908 is told by way of a klezmer musical. East Coast Music Award winner Caplan is a performer of the highest energy, so strap yourself in for a wild ride.

Pathetic Fallacy (March 19-23). Anita Rochon will be known to some as the co-artistic director of The Chop, the experimental 91Ô­´´ company. The actor-director is bringing her green screen theatrics to SPARK in order to create an hour of cutting-edge content (and vibrant discourse) around global warming, with help from several local actors and well-known personalities.

Belfry 101 Live (March 24). A showcase for public and private high school students enrolled in the Belfry 101 program, this festival-closer will present the students’ unique take on Belfry productions from this season. A talkback with students will follow the discussion, adding an extra layer of insight into the future artists and actors coming who will soon populate the Victoria theatre community.