The Vancouver Fringe Festival is back in town. These are our picks and what we’re catching at the festival this year.
Alia Ceniza Rasul: Moro Girl
In this heartfelt and irreverently funny show, Filipina comedian, Alia Ceniza Rasul shares stories about growing up half-Muslim, half-Christian and obsessed with her very Catholic country of birth. The show is looking to push beyond just representation and confronts what it means to look/be/seen as Filipin*.
The Moro people or Bangsamoro people refers to the 13 Muslim-majority groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro. As Muslim-majority ethnic groups, they form the largest non-Christian population in the Philippines and comprise about five percent of the country’s total population.
Alia is technically a “Moro” but never quite felt like that label fit, but then none of them really fit. All she knows is that she was a Filipina Muslim whose Christian mom would send her to Sunday School. Now mid-thirties, grappling with her seemingly conflicting identities, she is looking to finally figure out who the heck she is, and why she likes charcuterie so darn much (her bank account wants to know), why every single school she went to was haunted and whether or not she really was descended from pirates.
Buy tickets here.
God’s a Drag
God’s A Drag explores the art of drag performance as an expression of spiritual ritual. Neveah, a young queer woman in a small BC town meets Luz, a genderqueer pastor who starts a drag prayer hour in the town’s church. This little piece of heaven, a place where Neveah affirms her queerness and spirituality, doesn’t last long as protestors show up. After some unexpected consequences — and guided by two queer saints — Neveah goes on a journey of self-discovery to become who she was always meant to be. With a sprinkle of drag as prayerful worship, this story celebrates what it is to be unapologetically queer and holy.
Buy tickets here.
James Roque: Champorado
The Filipino son of New Zealand comedy brings his latest show CHAMPORADO back to Vancouver for his Fringe Festival debut.
What actually matters in life? What should we really care about? And what do these questions have to do with a breakfast chocolate rice pudding?
Comedy veteran James Roque serves up an hour of his trademark sweet-and-salty stand-up.
Buy tickets here.
Young Widow
“Young Widow” is a gripping solo performance that plunges you into a whirlwind of love, loss, and unexpected humour. Follow a young widow as she navigates the traumatic and absurd aftermath of her 27-year-old husband’s death from cancer, and the bizarre experiences that follow. Inspired by a blend of real and fictionalised traumatic events, this dynamic show masterfully blends raw honesty with dark humor and absurdism, delving into fears of death and the quest for hope and connection. Don’t miss this unforgettable story that balances deep emotional insights with surprising joy and laughter.
Happy Go Lucky
Award-winning one-woman puppetry show all the way from Tokyo, Japan. It won Producer’s Choice Encore by voting in Cincy Fringe 2023 with an additional show with a full house standing ovation.
‘… that’s like watching a Pixar animated short come to life.’ – Orlando Sentinel
Some short stories with the brilliant characters. All puppets are created and operated by Yanomi Shoshinz, one of the Fringe favorites in North America since 2007, known as a creator of Kiss Around Pass Around and A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup.
Buy tickets here.
