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Stir Arts & Culture Vancouver
@createastir.ca
340 followers 22 following 730 posts
Vancouver’s freshest hub for local arts and culture—music, dance, theatre, film, visual arts, books, and much more
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"I remember seeing my mom filming and crying the whole time, and it was just like....'This is what I was made to do,'" Ruby Chopstix tells Stir of becoming the first-ever drag queen to receive an arts residency in Canada.

www.createastir.ca/articles/car...
Ahead of the Family Forward Festival, Ruby Chopstix praises their mom’s unconditional support — Stir
In a short documentary, the Vietnamese Canadian queen reflects on becoming the country’s first drag artist-in-residence
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February 3, 2026 at 8:44 PM
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www.createastir.ca/articles/jus...
Justine A. Chambers wins 2025 VIVA Award, while Lorna Brown receives 2025 Alvin Balkind Curator’s Prize — Stir
Dance artist has explored gesture and her Black matrilineal heritage, while curator has made her mark at Artspeak Gallery, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, and far beyond
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February 3, 2026 at 7:24 PM
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I like to talk about my style as braiding. It brings together the traditional First Nation sense, the contemporary experience as a professional dancer and the classical ballet into one.”
www.createastir.ca/articles/cam...
Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods braids Indigenous storytelling with classical dance — Stir
Rising Tla’amin choreographer Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe draws on a tale he heard growing up for a large-scale work that joins Carmina Burana on a double bill
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February 2, 2026 at 9:52 PM
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www.createastir.ca/articles/van...
Fluevog Shoes unveils pretty pink heels to mark Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival’s 20th annual event — Stir
The sakura-inspired look is just one of the styles on offer at a February 5 shopping-night fundraiser for the fest
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February 2, 2026 at 6:56 PM
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"We're petty, we fall in love, we fall out of love, and we make fools of ourselves. And I think that's what makes this play so much fun," says Jörgen Dance choreographer Bengt Jörgen.

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Ballet Jörgen gives Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream a ’50s Albertan twist — Stir
Fun riffs on the classic include a moose-headed Bottom wearing buffalo plaid and an appearance by a royal couple
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January 30, 2026 at 10:28 PM
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A couple reminisces about five decades of anniversaries on their cozy cottage deck, at @artsclub.bsky.social. Here's our review: www.createastir.ca/articles/the...
Theatre review: Arts Club's The Golden Anniversaries weaves a tender story about love and memory  — Stir
With strong performances and set design, Mark Crawford’s dramedy from playwright relives a marriage’s milestones on a lived-in cottage’s cosy front porch 
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January 30, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Stir Arts & Culture Vancouver
robertkuanghome.bsky.social
It was a pleasure speaking with drag artist Wet Mess ahead of their sold-out Canadian premiere of TESTO at @pushfestival.bsky.social.

My latest for @createastir.ca:
January 30, 2026 at 6:52 PM
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Stir speaks to the artist behind TESTO, a show that's about “being able to lean into confusion and the mess of it, being transparent about the complexities...” @pushfestival.bsky.social
www.createastir.ca/articles/tes...
Celebrated drag artist Wet Mess leans into confusion and complexity with TESTO — Stir
The London-based performer reveals the struggle and growth behind the bold, disarming visions of their latest show, now on its way to PuSh Festival
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January 29, 2026 at 11:32 PM
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"We’re unpacking together what it means to gift a present, what it means to receive a balikbayan box..." Anjela Magpantay speaks about her new, 50-cardboard-box show at the upcoming #HOLDONLETGO festival, put on by @theatrereplacement.bsky.social and Company 605:
www.createastir.ca/articles/hol...
At HOLD ON LET GO, Anjela Magpantay unpacks the weight of gifts and absence — Stir
In her show titled it is for when you meet me , the creator and performer explores what it means to give and receive through the Filipino tradition of pasalubong and balikbayan boxes
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January 29, 2026 at 7:15 PM
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"The idea that I could just write and then surprise myself with what I came up with, and to have something a little bit left-field, was so fun and freeing," says playwright-actor Faly Mevamanana.

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Actor-playwright Faly Mevamanana embraces the weird in The Baking Show Show: The Play — Stir
In this left-field comedy, the obsessive lead character is driven by the same perfectionism that her creator has learned to leave aside in life
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January 28, 2026 at 11:12 PM
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"It's really at the heart of the musical centre in Europe, and I’m incredibly proud that we were actually invited in the first place.”
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Vancouver Symphony Orchestra announces first European tour in April — Stir
Stops include a three-night residency at Austria’s Salzburg Easter Festival, as well as Croatia, Slovenia, Liechtenstein, and Germany
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January 28, 2026 at 9:04 PM
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www.createastir.ca/articles/wai...
Dance review: Coregulation and calm, as Action at a Distance’s WAIL sculpts vocal sound and movement — Stir
In this PuSh Fest, Music on Main, and Dance Centre premiere, humming songs, whispered words, and hypnotic movement bring a sense of serenity and connection to a chaotic world
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January 28, 2026 at 8:39 PM
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www.createastir.ca/articles/cos...
Cosí fan tutte gets a vintage-Canadian refresh under director Robert Herriot at Vancouver Opera — Stir
The Winnipeg artist brings experience as a tenor to a Mozart opera reimagined in a 1930s Rockies resort, complete with Mounties and log drivers
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January 27, 2026 at 9:22 PM
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"If I didn’t have that feeling of the brutal joy, I would die—there would be nothing left of me," says dance artist Justine A. Chambers. The Dance Centre and PuSh International Performing Arts Festival are co-presenting her work on February 5 and 6.

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In The Brutal Joy, Justine A. Chambers channels the overwhelming beauty of Black living — Stir
With staging that evokes a Chicago jazz bar, the Dance Centre and PuSh Festival co-presentation draws on matrilineal fashion and line dancing
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January 27, 2026 at 7:08 PM
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www.createastir.ca/articles/you...
Theatre review: You’re Just a Place That I Know is a moving musical reflection on family and memory — Stir
Based on Adrian Glynn McMorran’s album of the same name, the show at the Arts Club’s BMO Theatre Centre is more than just a concert
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January 27, 2026 at 12:55 AM
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"For anyone who grew up watching sitcoms like Bewitched, I Love Lucy, or I Dream of Jeannie, or caught them later in reruns, there’s something cozily familiar in...the trope of a free-spirited woman married to a more old-fashioned man..." www.createastir.ca/articles/met...
Theatre review: Comedic snap of Metro Theatre’s Barefoot in the Park gives retro setting a timeless resonance — Stir
Sharp dialogue and restless energy, prodded on by the little irritations of married life, result in cozy yet unsettling laughs
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January 26, 2026 at 7:43 PM
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Lots to talk about in this fearless PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and New Works copresentation. Last show tonight:
www.createastir.ca/articles/jez...
Dance review: JEZEBEL challenges the stereotype of the booty-poppin’ backup dancer — Stir
In a riveting PuSh Festival and New Works copresentation, Belgium’s Cherish Menzo plays with repetition, chopped-and-screwed music, and flashing dental grillz
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January 24, 2026 at 12:56 AM
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"People tell me all the time, 'I watched you for the first 20 seconds to see if your lips were moving, and after that, my focus was entirely on the puppet—because you gave it a personality,'" says ventriloquist Michael Harrison ahead of his Anvil Theatre show.

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Ventriloquist Michael Harrison embraces the magical escapism of puppetry — Stir
Ahead of his Anvil Theatre show, the long-time cruise-line performer talks about dispelling childhood fears with lovable characters
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January 23, 2026 at 7:48 PM
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"The Hungarian troupe’s visually stunning meld of contemporary dance and circus acrobatics centred around a shape-shifting blue-black fabric that rippled and swelled around the performers. Sometimes it resembled a lava flow that swallowed up the performers..." www.createastir.ca/articles/rec...
Review: Liquid limbs and mesmerizing visual magic at Recirquel's Paradisum — Stir
In DanceHouse and The Cultch copresentation, the Hungarian company is full of flowing bodies and rippling fabric
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January 23, 2026 at 1:52 AM
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www.createastir.ca/articles/fir...
Blackout Art Society’s English looks at language and belonging, January 23 to February 1 at the Firehall — Stir
Sanaz Toossi’s play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2023 for its look at four students preparing for the TOEFL
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January 21, 2026 at 10:43 PM
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"The seven humans really collaborate with this creation: What is your small hell?" says choreographer Alan Lake, whose piece Orpheus is having its Western Canadian premiere at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.

www.createastir.ca/articles/pus...
At PuSh, Alan Lake Factori(e)’s mythologically driven Orpheus paints a visceral picture of loss — Stir
In the deeply moving production, dancers embody the ancient tale of death and longing by tapping into their own experiences of tragedy
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January 21, 2026 at 7:04 PM
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“It’s really kind of incorporating her voice as another string instrument in a lot of ways." Stir speaks to Fretless ahead of its Kay Meek Arts Centre show:
www.createastir.ca/articles/kay...
Folk-rooted string quartet the Fretless finds a voice in singer-songwriter Madeleine Roger — Stir
Collaborating with vocalists taught the acclaimed, formerly all-instrumental group new ways of listening and working
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January 21, 2026 at 1:34 AM
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www.createastir.ca/articles/eas...
Eastside Arts Society secures funding to purchase its headquarters at 716 East Hastings — Stir
Vancouver City Council greenlights $2,665,000 for acquiring the property, with funds from the False Creek Flats Amenity Share Reserve
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January 20, 2026 at 11:48 PM
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"It's really exciting to see us build our own Latin Canadian identity, especially in theatre," says Guatemalan-born theatre artist Alexandra Lainfiesta. A staged reading of her play Bella Luz will be at the Advance Theatre Festival on January 29.

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At the Advance Theatre Festival, Alexandra Lainfiesta uses magic realism to explore the personal sacrifices of immigration — Stir
Latinx theatre artist’s debut script unfolds across three worlds: Toronto, Antigua Guatemala, and a realm in which the immigration system functions like a game show
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January 19, 2026 at 11:15 PM
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www.createastir.ca/articles/you...
You’re Just a Place That I Know retraces a refugee story through song, at the BMO Theatre Centre from January 21 to February 1 — Stir
Adrian Glynn McMorran’s moving theatre-concert pays tribute to his Ukraine-born grandparents, complete with a choir and traditional instruments
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January 19, 2026 at 6:54 PM