The Cultch Announces 24/25 Season!

The Cultch announced its 2024/2025 season, full of must-see theatre, dance, circus, puppetry, and comedy. There are groundbreaking spectacles, shows that tackle big questions, and plays that spark the full spectrum of emotions, from tears to side-splitting laughter. With this 51st season of programming, The Cultch continues its legacy of bringing Vancouver the best and most groundbreaking performances from local, national, and international artists.

The season will start with the winner of the 2023 Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, Cliff Cardinal’s As You Like It, or the Land Acknowledgement (Crow’s Theatre); an impactful examination of land acknowledgements.

Following that, two world-class dance productions will feature in the early fall. Dancers of Damelahamid (creators of Mînowin and Flicker) are returning to The Cultch for the world premiere of their highly anticipated tribute to Elder Margaret Harris, Raven Mother, a newly choreographed multi-media Indigenous dance work. Then, Quebec’s Tentacle Tribe (creators of Ghost) returns with Prism, a new contemporary conceptual hip-hop performance in their signature style.

Powerful stories from local theatre companies are bountiful this season at The Cultch with longtime collaborators Zee Zee Theatre producing Canadian play Every Day She Rose; vAct co-presenting Bad Muse Collective’s Love You Wrong Time; Kevin Loring and Savage Society’s Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer; the return of Corey Payette and Urban Ink’s Children of God; plus The Search Party’s production of Pulitzer prize nominee Dance Nation. Joining this impactful local mix is a world premiere from Niall McNeil, who identifies as an artist with Down Syndrome, called Beauty and the Beast: My Life.

Another local favourite, Theatre Replacement’s East Van Panto returns to the York Theatre for the 12th year. East Van Panto has become a favourite holiday tradition in the city, and this year’s Panto is East Van Panto: Robin Hood, an irreverent and political twist on the classic outlaw folktale, from returning writing duo Jivesh Parasram and Christine Quintana.

The Cultch is known for programming world-renowned acrobatics and wild spectacles, and this 24/25 Season is no exception. Partnering with DanceHouse once again, The Cultch is excited to be bringing a new work from Circa (the company behind 2023’s Sacre) called Duck Pond, a family-friendly circus interpretation of Swan Lake, to the Vancouver Playhouse. Also playing at the Vancouver Playhouse, in partnership with PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, The Cultch will present Dimanche (from Belgium’s Company Focus & Chaliwaté). In the spring they will be presenting N.Ormes, from Quebec’s genre-bending duo Agathe & Adrien, and will cap off the season with a sexy and hilarious circus examination of fast fashion from Aotearoa/NewZealand’s The Dust Palace called Haus of YOLO.

From the very large spectacle of the circus to spectacle on another scale, Governor General award-winning puppeteer Ronnie Burkett is back on The Cultch’s Historic stage with Wonderful Joe, a brand-new production told by a masterful storyteller through beautifully hand-crafted marionettes.

With so much happening across their three stages, there is much for Cultch fans to look forward to this year.

“The Cultch has always been and will remain a place that fosters curiosity, community, and meaningful conversations. People come here to experience culture in all of its extraordinary—and unexpected—forms. We can’t wait to keep bringing you incredible, inspiring, edge-of-your-seat performances from around the world.” —Heather Redfern, Executive Director

 

As You Like It, or the Land Acknowledgement

Crow’s Theatre (Toronto)

September 25-29, 2024

York Theatre

 

A devastating yet laugh-out-loud examination of land acknowledgements by cultural provocateur Cliff Cardinal.

 

Raven Mother

Dancers of Damelahamid (Vancouver)

October 9-12, 2024

Historic Theatre

 

A newly choreographed multi-media Indigenous dance work, celebrating the legacy of the late Elder Margaret Harris.

 

Prism

Tentacle Tribe (Montreal)

October 23-27, 2024

Historic Theatre

 

Conceptual hip–hop with a contemporary twist. Limbs, reality, and illusion intertwine in this kaleidoscopic voyage.

 

East Van Panto: Robin Hood

Theatre Replacement (Vancouver)

November 20, 2024-January 5, 2025

York Theatre

 

East Van’s wackiest all-ages theatre tradition returns with a very merry take on Robin Hood!

 

Duck Pond

Circa (Australia)

January 22-25, 2025

Vancouver Playhouse

Presented with DanceHouse

 

The world’s most romantic ballet—Swan Lake—is re-imagined as a contemporary circus spectacular, full of Circa’s signature physicality and shot through with cheeky humour!

 

Wonderful Joe

Ronnie Burkett (Toronto)

February 4-23, 2025

Historic Theatre

 

Ronnie Burkett brings the story of a man and his dog on a grand adventure to life with his signature style of beautiful puppetry.

 

Dimanche

CHALIWATÉ COMPANY AND FOCUS COMPANY (Belgium)

February 6-8, 2025

Vancouver Playhouse

Presented with The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

 

Between dreamlike fiction and factual reality, a witty and tender portrait of a family surprised by the uncontrollable forces of nature.

 

Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer

Savage Society (Vancouver)

March 6-16, 2025

York Theatre

 

A wickedly funny satire and modern trickster story by Governor General’s Award-winning Playwright Kevin Loring.

 

Children of God

Urban Ink (Vancouver)

March 21-29, 2025

York Theatre

 

A gorgeous and powerful musical by Corey Payette about an Oji-Cree family whose children were taken away to a residential school.

 

Beauty and the Beast: My Life

Niall McNeil (Vancouver)

March 28-April 6, 2025

Historic Theatre

 

Niall McNeil, who identifies as an artist with Down Syndrome, transports audiences into a vibrant world full of fantasy, music, and whimsy.

 

Dance Nation

The Search Party (Vancouver)

April 23-May 4, 2025

York Theatre

 

This 2019 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama tells the story of an ambitious team of pre-teen competitive dancers.

 

N.Ormes

Agathe & Adrien (Quebec)

April 24-27, 2025

Historic Theatre

 

Circus performers, Agathe and Adrien, push the limits and expectations of their own bodies and gender norms.

 

Love You Wrong Time

Bad Muse Collective (Toronto)

May 1-11, 2025

Historic Theatre

Presented with Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre

 

Using music, true stories, and hilarious stand-up comedy, two friends look for love while contending with the fetishization of Asian women.

 

Every Day She Rose

Zee Zee Theatre (Vancouver)

May 1-11, 2025

Vancity Culture Lab

 

The personal becomes political when the Black Lives Matter protest and the 2016 Toronto Pride Parade collide.

 

Haus of YOLO

Dust Palace (Aotearoa/NewZealand)

June 5-15, 2025

York Theatre

 

High fashion meets high-flying acrobatics in this crazy fun show, bursting at the seams with stunning acrobatics and banging party tunes.