K.IA. Productions Presents
Cătun’s
Lia & Dor
by Cristina Tudor
Immerse yourself in the mysterious world of Romanian folklore sprung from the mind of
award-winning Romanian performer and playwright Cristina Tudor in this love letter to her Grandparents
and her culture. Come on the journey as she explores the memories of family, the meaning of homeland,
and the fables we tell each other about ourselves and the past in a collaboration with Vancouver-based
K.I.A. Productions (founded in Edmonton in 2005). Lia & Dor interweaves a Romanian fairy tale with a
surprising and salacious family history. At Performance Works September 8 – 16, 2023. Tickets and
showtimes at https://www.vancouverfringe.com/events/lia-dor/ and more info at kiaproductions.com.
High resolution images can be downloaded at this link.
There is a word in Romanian which has no English equivalent. Dor. It means something like longing. It
encompasses both melancholy and joy and hope. A feeling that drives you to take a new journey, fall in
love, come back home. You know this feeling, we all do. In a Romania that both is and isn’t today, a girl
is compelled by Dor to take a journey. What she enters is a fairy tale that challenges her to face her
family’s past and draw strength from her cultural traditions to trace a path into her future.
★★★★ “A whimsical, mesmerising journey!” – Edmonton Journal
“Ingenious in its simplicity!” – Liz Nicholls, 12thNight.ca
“I loved this production for the music, the theatricality of the actors, and the interesting interplay
of folk mythology and Romanian village life!” – The Jenny Revue
“[An] exquisite expression of a Romanian folk tale!” – UMFM Winnipeg
“A colourful, entertaining surprise!” – The Jenny Revue
“Tudor and Forsyth bring great skill and emotion!” – Winnipeg Free Press
Cristina met fellow performer Alexander Forsyth while both were pursuing Master of Fine Arts degrees
at East 15 Acting School in London, UK. In 2019, Cristina came to Vancouver to work with Alexander
and his wife and collaborator, director Keltie Forsyth to develop the first iteration of the script that would
become Lia & Dor. Postponed first by the pandemic and then by the war in Ukraine, the work is now
touring the Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Vancouver Fringes.
Lia & Dor will be at Performance Works September 8 – 16, 2023. Tickets are $18 ($15 + $3 service fee).
The production is appropriate for ages 10 and up. More info at kiaproductions.com and tickets at
https://www.vancouverfringe.com/events/lia-dor/.
CRISTINA TUDOR (she/her) – Performer/Playwright
Cristina is a Romanian actress, playwright and movement artist. She graduated the MFA Acting
International Program at East15 Acting School in London.
Her experience encompasses the collaboration with Romanian theatre & performing arts companies Cu
Timp Pentru Cultură, Cultură’n Șură and Delazero, as well as a residency at Shakespeare’s Globe,
London. She is an associate artist with GoldenBoi Screendance – a project based in London exploring
dance and movement in film – and Béznă Theatre – a British-Romanian theatre collective.
Cristina is the founder of Cătun, a theatre company creating work that invites audiences in a space of
introspection, empathy and connection. “Lia & Dor” is the second play in a series inspired by Cristina’s
family history.
The idea emerged after several meaningful discussions with her parents, grandparents and other members
of her family. The experience of listening to their stories opened new perspectives on communication
between generations, as well as a better understanding of the cultural heritage which transcends them.
ALEXANDER FORSYTH (he/him) – Performer
Alexander is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist with focuses in the performing, written, and visual
arts, living and working on the stolen traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm,
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations. Both Alex and the company he founded – K.I.A. Productions –
originate in ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐊᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ on the traditional territories of the ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ, Denesuliné, Îyâaabe, and
Niitsitapi Nations and within the Métis homelands and Métis Nation of Alberta Region 4, colonially
known as Edmonton. Here he began writing, producing, and performing plays that have toured nationally
and internationally in collaboration with his wife and co-artistic director Keltie Forsyth.
Acting credits include Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (WB), Charmed
(CBS), Genetic Drift (Pi Theatre), and Juice (The Cultch). Playwrighting credits include 7 Ways to Die, a
love story (with Keltie Forsyth), Bedlam (Junior Jester Cap Award, Calgary Fringe Festival), and
Whiskey, Gin, and Pints of Beer.
Alex holds a Master of Fine Arts with Distinction in Acting from East 15 Acting School (London, UK)
and a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and Creative Writing from the University of Alberta.
KELTIE FORSYTH (she/her) – Director
Keltie theatre director of settler ancestry based out of the traditional and unceded territories of the
Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, colonially known as Vancouver. She holds an MFA in
Theatre Directing from UBC and is a graduate of the University of Alberta Department of Drama and
participant in the Robbin’s Academy Professional Theatre Program. She is also the 2022 Jessie Award
recipient of the Ray Michal Award for Outstanding Work and/or Body of Work by an Emerging Director.
Select directing credits include: Beautiful Man (Pi Theatre), In Response to Alabama (Little Thief
Theatre), Viet Gone, The Red Priest (United Players of Vancouver), Superior Donuts, In the Next Room
or the vibrator play (Ensemble Theatre), The Audition (HealthPitch UK), She Kills Monsters, Eurydice,
The Dumb Waiter, Marion Bridge (UBC), Juice, All in the Timing, Closer, Bedlam, Kafka’s
Metamorphosis (K.I.A. Productions), Minding Dad, Love and Death and Passages (THEATrePUBLIC).
Keltie was the General Manager of Workshop West Theatre and co-curator of its Canoe Theatre Festival,
the Associate Artistic Director of Pi Theatre in Vancouver, and is an Artistic Associate at Ensemble
Theatre Company. She is currently the Director of Operations at the PuSh International Performing Arts
Festival.
DAVID JOHNSTON (he/him) – Stage Manager
David is pleased to be making his debut partnership with KIA Productions and touring two crazy shows
across Canada. A Vancouver-based actor, writer, improviser and aerialist, David has been itching to
remount this show for years now. He recently returned to his hometown of Edmonton to perform in The
Office: A Pop Rock Parody (Jubilations/Celebrations). Other select Credits include: The 11 O’Clock
Number (Grindstone Theatre) and Vietgone (United Players). David is a graduate of Studio 58.
His hit fringe comedy Let’s Talk About Your Death will also appear at this year’s Vancouver Fringe,
playing at Arts Umbrella from September 7 – 17. The play is written and performed by Johnston and
directed by Alexander Forsyth.
Lia & Dor will be at Performance Works September 8 – 16, 2023. Tickets are $18 ($15 + $3 service fee). The production is appropriate for ages 10 and up. More info at kiaproductions.com and tickets at https://www.vancouverfringe.
Media release and image provided by Alexander Forsyth, Kia Productions. Photo credit: Brendan Brown
