COMPLETED PRESENTATIONS - 2018
A Vancouver Guldasta
Oct 2-21, 2018
SACHA
Culture Lab
Presented with The Cultch
A Vancouver Guldasta focuses on the Dhaliwals—a Punjabi family in Vancouver in the early 1980s—as they navigate through the experience of trauma and violence occurring in Punjab, and their daughter’s complicated friendship with Andy, a Vietnamese refugee teen who lives in their basement. The story takes place during the Indian government’s armed invasion of the “Golden Temple”—the holiest shrine of the Sikhs—in the epicentre of the Sikh diaspora, South Vancouver, BC, Canada. A Vancouver Guldasta is an examination of common experience, identifying home, and processing trauma.
Showtimes:
Oct 02, 8PM: Preview
Oct 03, 8PM: Opening
Oct 04 – 06, 09 – 13, 16 – 20, 8PM
Oct 07 & 14, 7PM
Oct 07, 14, 21, 2PM
Playing to sold-out houses in 2017, A Vancouver Guldasta allows you to eavesdrop on conversations otherwise reserved only for the privileged ears of living room walls
Diwali in Vernon
Oct 9 – 13, 2018
Presented with the Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre
As a part of the 2018/19 SPOTLIGHT Special Presentation Series. We are thrilled to announce the inaugural annual Diwali in Vernon Festival 2018, taking place at multiple locations in Vernon. The Festival will culminate in a multicultural showcase of diverse artists from different backgrounds. Activities throughout the week shall include workshops, discussions, dance performances, musical performances, cultural activities, crafts and a wide range of other possibilities.
The festival's final show will be at the Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre on Saturday, October 13th at 7:00 pm. Shiamak Vancouver will be the headliner for this event.
Pre-show activities begin at 5 PM.
The main showcase begins at 9pm.
Consider joining us for Indian Buffet Dinner with the performers after the show. $30 per. Tickets at ticketseller.ca, At the Curry Pot from 9 PM.
Week Long Mini-Festival in Vernon:
October 9 : Festival Launch at 7 PM at the Okanagan Regional Library.
October 10 : Lantern Making workshop at the Vernon Community Arts Centre from 10 AM to 12 PM & 1 PM to 4 PM
October 11 : Kids Workshop from 3:30 PM at the Okanagan Regional Library
October 12 : Stars and Mythology at the Okanagan Science Centre from 3:30 to 4:30 PM.
October 12 : Rangoli Art Activity at the Vernon Public Art Gallery from 10 AM to 5 PM.
October 12 : World Dance Concert: Zimbamoto at the Record City from 7 PM.
October 13 : Pop up Performance at the Okanagan Regional Library from 2 PM.
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This production is supported by BC arts council and co-presented by Vancouver Tagore Society with Mandala Arts and culture as the media partner.
This show was picked and featured as a part of the Georgia Straight Fall Arts Preview, read more here.
SHYAMA
Oct 27, 2018
YORK THEATRE
Co-presented with Vancouver Tagore Society and in Community partnership with Mandala Arts & Culture with support from BC Arts Council
A Bharatanatyam interpretation of Tagore’s epic Bengali dance drama Shyama. This dance theatre piece is a tribute to the first non-European Nobel-laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore and his magically visual poetry and music of love. The romantic tragedy of Tagore is based on the story of Shyama, a powerful royal court dancer. Shyama falls in love with a foreign merchant who is falsely imprisoned by the King’s guard. The story slowly unfolds as Shyama travels great lengths to save her love from unjust execution. Dance artist Arno Kamolika has been collaborating with choreographer Jai Govinda, musician Shankhanaad Mallick and with director Rohit Chokhani for over three years on this production, and Diwali in B.C. will debut their most current version of this poetic, deep philosophical story that will be performed on stage with other Bharatanatyam dancers in B.C.
Original Concept: Arno Kamolika and Jai Govinda
Original Choreography by Jai Govinda
Additional Choreography by Arno Kamolika
Directed by Rohit Chokhani
Performances by an all-female cast:
Arno Kamolika
Grihalakshmi Soundarapandian
Jayalakshmi Ravindra
Malavika Santhosh
Vidya Kotamraju
Music credits:
Vocals: Shankhanaad Mallick, Suranjana Hoque
Sitar: Firoze Khan
Flute: M. Moniruzzaman
Esraj: Asit Biswas
Tabla: Swarup Hossain
Mridangam: Sayenden Supramaniyam
Sound Recording: Chhayanaut (Dhaka), Sajjadur Rahman, Avik Dey
Conscious Monday
Sweetery Café + Dessert
October 15, 5:30 - 8:30 PM
Diwali can't be complete without food - introducing Conscious Monday organized by our board of director Kalarupini Koraljka Roy and supported by the singing vocals of another one of our board of directors - Neeraja Aptikar - Join us for not just any meal but a healthy conscious lifestyle choice which has the spirit of Diwali at its heart - we are calling it Conscious Mondays. It is our very first pop up dinner at Sweetery Cafe + Dessert!
Join us to feast around an Indian inspired vegan buffet and enjoy talented singer Neeraja Aptikar's beautiful music during this special evening co-hosted by Diwali BC.
Doors open at 5:30.
You hate lineups? Come by later, we guaranty you the buffet will still be full!
This is a ticketed event!
The Believers Are But Brothers
Oct 30 – Nov 10, 2018
CULTURE LAB
Javaad Alipoor and Kristy Housley
Presented with The Cultch
Generously supported by Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio, UK
Co-directed by Javaad Alipoor and Kirsty Housley. Written and performed by Javaad Alipoor. An electronic maze of fantasists, meme culture, 4chan, the alt-right, and ISIS. We live in a time where old orders are collapsing: from the postcolonial nation states of the Middle East, to the EU and the American election. Through it all, tech-savvy and extremist groups rip up political certainties. Amidst this, a generation of young men find themselves burning with resentment, without the money, power, and sex they think they deserve. This bold one-man show explores the smoke and mirrors world of online extremism, anonymity, and hate speech.
Showtimes:
Oct 30, 8PM: Opening
Oct 31 – Nov 03, Nov 06 – 10, 8PM
Nov 03-04 & 10, 2PM
Nov 04, 7PM
Post-show Artist Talkback: Nov 01 & 06
★★★★★
"Complex…Masterly…One of the most fascinating shows I have seen in an age ” — Financial Times
Part of the Ceasefire Series: an exploration of past and present warfare to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the armistice of WWI.
Diwali in BC at Maple Ridge
Nov 10, 2018
The ACT Arts Centre
Presented with The ACT - Arts Centre
We are excited to be presented for our inaugural year to bring Diwali in BC Celebrations to Maple Ridge. This South Asian evening features classical as well as contemporary dance and Live music performances. Our headlining group for the evening will be Shiamak Vancouver, A local company created by the Bollywood Star Choreographer Shiamak Davar. We will be curating the evening as well as be the host for this showcase of some of the best Canadian artists to share the multicultural celebration with the community of Maple Ridge. Stay tuned for the additional lineup announcements! Happy Diwali - Share your inner Spirit and Truth!
“This is one of the most harrowing, unsettling, and mesmerizing plays I’ve ever seen. Ten hours after leaving the theatre, I’m still shaken by its uniquely poetic horror, and marvelling at the complexity of what acclaimed playwright Anosh Irani weaves in Bombay Black’s dense 75 minutes. The performances are all stellar, but Kanji is unforgettable as the diabolical Padma, who belongs in the hall of fame of horrifying fictional mothers “
– Andrea Warner for The Georgia Straight
BOMBAY BLACK BY ANOSH IRANI
A Three City remounted Presentation
The lives of an Indian exotic dancer and her embittered mother are altered when a blind stranger visits them. Poetic, mythic, and brave, Anosh Irani’s 2006 multiple Dora Award-winning Bombay Black is a searing play set in the bitter reality of India. Funny, violent, humane, and directed by Mumbai-born, Jessie and Fringe award-winning Indo Canadian producer Rohit Chokhani. In this re-imagination, it is for the first time the play is being presented from the perspective of the blind man. An early version of this production won the Pick of the Fringe award at Vancouver Fringe Festival 2017 and had a sold-out run after the first show wowed audiences with its unique vision. It was picked by the Georgia Straight amongst the 20 best shows on Vancouver stages in 2017 and was also one of the runners-up for the Georgia Straight Critics' Pick award for Vancouver Fringe festival in 2017.
Showtimes :
November 8 – 10 at Evergreen Cultural Centre
Presented with Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam
November 15 – 17 at VIU’s Malaspina Theatre
A Theatre One Presentation in Nanaimo
December 5 - 15 at Firehall Arts Centre - Vancouver
A Firehall Arts Centre presentation in Vancouver