ON STAGE
What: UNO Festival
Where: Various venues, including the Metro Studio Theatre and Intrepid Theatre Club
When: May 1-11
Tickets: $18-$25 daily at and or in person at Ticket Rocket (1050 Meares St.)
Ticket sales are ahead of schedule heading into next week鈥檚 UNO Festival, which is clearly a win for the team behind the 22nd annual festival of solo performance.
But Heather Lindsay, executive director of the Intrepid Theatre Company, which produces the 11-day event, is equally over the moon about pushing the needle forward in terms of programming.
Mental health is a topic discussed in many of the productions, which come from across Canada. The festival, which opens May 1, is known for its cutting-edge content and Lindsay is pleased that the festival fosters meaningful discussions.
鈥淭he themes of some of these shows might be a bit difficult, whether it be mental health or broken hearts, but all of these shows resonate with hope,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the heart of the festival is this year, celebrating hardship through laughter.鈥�
Audiences will have plenty of reasons to laugh 鈥� and cry 鈥� during any one the festival鈥檚 14 productions, from My Dear Lewis (May 10, Intrepid Theatre Club), a multi-media presentation that showcases the awe-inspiring talents of 91原创 puppeteer Kyle Loven, to Heatseeker, an in-progress production about the pitfalls of online dating (May 11, Metro Studio Theatre) from Victoria鈥檚 Hank Pine and 91原创鈥檚 Jenson Kerr.
The festival will have its share of inspiring stories as well. Life With Tulia (May 2-3, Intrepid Theatre Club) features storyteller Kim Kilpatrick and her guide dog, Tulia, while Adrenaline (May 3, Metro Studio Theatre) will showcase the stage talents of Syrian refugee Ahmad Meree, who made his way from Egypt to Ottawa. He will be performing Adrenaline in Arabic with English subtitles for the first time in Western Canada.
鈥淚 hope those who come will have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a refugee, particularly a Syrian refugee,鈥� Lindsay said. 鈥淗e was about to take one of those terrible boats we all hear horror stories about, but he wound up being sponsored by a theatre company in Canada.鈥�
UNO Fest is a breeding ground for artists looking to make a bigger splash down the road. The festival spotlights new productions that have been created within the past year, with the plan being that UNO Fest serves as a springboard to launch both creators and their newest projects, Lindsay said.
Inner Elder (May 1-2, Metro Studio Theatre) is pegged as the biggest sure thing of UNO Fest, as creator-star Michelle Thrush, a Cree artist from Calgary, is already established.
But there鈥檚 a significant buzz about Trophy (May 11, Fernwood Square), which has the characteristics of a production on the verge. The brainchild of Ottawa artists Sarah Conn and Allison O鈥機onnor, the free 60-minute performance installation joins audience members with nine local artists, who will each share three-minute stories of change inside two-person tents in Fernwood Square.
鈥淭rophy started for me as the heart of the festival, because I鈥檓 trying to push the boundaries of what solo performance can be,鈥� Lindsay said. 鈥淏ut we don鈥檛 go into planning UNO Fest with a specific theme. The shows end up giving the festival a theme once they are selected. The amazing thing about UNO Fest is it鈥檚 very progressive, very contemporary. It's a very on-the-pulse festival. It鈥檚 the newest, hottest work in Canada. No two artists or stories are the same and the work is top-notch. We鈥檙e looking for the best.鈥�
Homegrown performances will fit nicely alongside touring productions from Calgary, Ottawa. Kitchener, Edmonton, Winnipeg and 91原创, according to Lindsay. She gave Victoria performer Carey-OK an extra platform for his musical show about anxiety, Timeless Timely Tunes (May 2-4, Intrepid Theatre Club), after he showed promise at last year鈥檚 Fringe Festival, which Intrepid Theatre also produces.
鈥淚t deserved another launch. It was one of those shows that did very well in the Fringe, but people found out about it a bit too late. It's a show with a lot of heart and joy.鈥�
An updated Realboy (May 7-11, Metro Studio Theatre), from Victoria favourite Britt Small, falls into the category of new works in development, an UNO Fest staple. Small introduced the play as Bonhomme: A Male Renaissance in 32 Acts during last year鈥檚 festival, but had more to add this round, resulting in an updated version complete with new title.
鈥淲orks in development need an audience, especially for a solo performer,鈥� Lindsay said.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have an another artist on stage, to see how the show is doing, they only have the audience. That鈥檚 what festivals and live performance do very well. You are bringing everyone into room, and instead of watching it through television, we鈥檙e all experiencing it live together. It brings up conversations.鈥�
