OUTstages returns to Victoria for its sixth year of queer art and theatre. The festival always promises a broad range of voices and genres, and this year is no exception.
While it’s too late to catch this show, the festival kicked off over the weekend with Where The Two-Spirit Lives by Theatre Outré which broke down Two-Spirit identity in modern life and “decoloniz[es] gender fluidity through isolation and ritualization.”
Created and performed by Marshall Vielle, this performance combined drag, commentary, and deeply personal storytelling while exploring the intersection of race and queerness.
“How do we learn to forgive our parents for the wood of the family tree?” Emilee Nimetz’s How to Build a Home unpacks the trauma of coming from a broken home and how it can persist as one attempts to create one of their own.
The show has been presented in pieces all across Canada. Watch the first full-length iteration as well as a talkback with Nimetz after this play reading on Wednesday, February 12th at 8 p.m..
On the other hand, eat your heART out Cabaret is a campy, high-energy romp that explores the highs and lows of Valentine’s Day. The creators of Fringe Festival favourite GRL PWR team up with Riot Grrrls Burlesque for a wild night of music and art, love and heartbreak on February 14th at 8 p.m.. ASL interpretation is available for this show.
See also: 8 Valentine’s Day events happening in Victoria this month
All of these shows and more are happening this week at Intrepid Theatre Club and Metro Studio Theatre. There’s even a free event where you can see items from and learn all about UVic’s Transgender Archives, which boasts the world’s largest collection of documents, publications, and memorobilia created by and for transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit people.
While their Youth OUTreach ticket program is closed for the 2020 festival, LGBTQ2S+ folks and allies under 25 years old are encouraged to sign up for more info about free youth tickets come 2021.
Intrepid also has a donation matching campaign, which means that all donations made to the Intrepid Theatre Company Society during OUTstages will be doubled (up to $1000) thanks to an anonymous donor.
Check out any number of OUTstages’ electrifying shows this week and let yourself be dazzled. Get your tickets now!
OUTstages
- When: February 8th-16th
- Where:
- Intrepid Theatre Club, 1609 Blanshard Street
- Metro Studio Theatre, 1411 Quadra St
- Tickets: available online or at Ticket Rocket, 1050 Meares Street (Monday — Friday, 10 a.m. — 5 p.m.)
