Pipelines, power tools, puppets, and poop – 2018 undercurrents festival line-up announced
15 November 2017 — Ottawa Fringe is pleased to announce the lineup for the 8th edition of undercurrents: theatre below the mainstream, running February 7-17, 2018 in Arts Court Theatre, Arts Court Studio, the National Arts Centre, and outdoors!
The 2018 undercurrents festival will host artists from three provinces and present 30+ performances of original work. Opening the festival are Vancouver’s Savage Society and ITSAZOO Productions with their award-winning and thought-provoking show The Pipeline Project on Wednesday, February 7, at 7:00 pm. A meta-theatrical look at Canadians’ addiction to oil, Pipeline was co-created and will be performed by National Arts Centre Artistic Director of Indigenous Theatre, Kevin Loring.
The 2018 line-up also features two world premieres by Ottawa playwrights, both created as part of the Fringe’s under development* program: Gabrielle Lazarovitz and Brad Long bring us Little Boxes, introducing a precariat-class couple facing a moral dilemma in the wake of tragedy; and David Benedict Brown, Will Somers and Madeleine Boyes-Manseau’s Forstner & Fillister Present: Forstner & Fillister In: Forstner & Fillister, a story of power tools, sawdust and sibling rivalry.
Wakefield’s STO Union make their undercurrents debut with The Twilight Parade, a film starring puppets handmade by members of their Quebec community, with actors performing voiceover live on stage. The production is directed by Nadia Ross, 2016 winner of the Siminovitch Prize for Directing.
Having toured all across Canada and into the States, Ireland and the UK, How to Disappear Completely opens in Ottawa at 9:00 pm on Wednesday, February 14. A deeply personal story about creator/performer Itai Erdal and his mother’s battle with cancer, CBC calls the piece “… intelligent, dense, emotionally powerful.”
The festival is also proud to once again partner with National Arts Centre English Theatre, who will co-present Adam Lazarus’ Daughter – a darkly satirical piece about toxic masculinity. Daughter will be performed in the NAC’s new Rossy Pavilion, for two performances only on February 9 & 10.
The line-up is as follows, with show descriptions and tickets available at www.undercurrentsfestival.ca.
The Pipeline Project by Sebastien Archibald, Kevin Loring & Quelemia Sparrow (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Forstner & Fillister Present: Forstner & Fillister In: Forstner & Fillister by David Benedict Brown, Will Somers & Madeleine Boyes-Manseau (Ottawa, Ontario)
Little Boxes by Gabrielle Lazarovitz & Brad Long (Ottawa, Ontario)
The Twilight Parade by Nadia Ross with the people and puppets of Wakefield, Quebec and area (Wakefield, Quebec)
How to Disappear Completely by Itai Erdal, James Long, Anita Rochon & Emelia Symington Fedy (Vancouver, British Columbia)
The Shit Show by Luna Allison (Ottawa, Ontario)
Snack Music by Ginette Mohr, Elliott Loran, Andrew G. Young & Ingrid Hansen (Toronto, Ontario)
Daughter by Adam Lazarus, Ann-Marie Kerr, Jiv Parasram & Melissa D’Agostino (Toronto, Ontario)
Indigenous Walks by Jaime Koebel (Ottawa, ON)
New Play Tuesday featuring new works by Ottawa playwrights J. Katrina Wong, Pierre Brault, and Joanne John
“I am extremely pleased to be able to bring artists of this calibre to Ottawa for
,” says Patrick Gauthier, Festival Director. “This year’s shows are all deeply personal and political – dealing with contentious debates, feuding families, and finding community. You won’t find these stories on any other Ottawa stages, and I can’t wait to share them with our audience.”
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