Good hooch & hoofin’ it up

Shhh! Keep ‘er hush hush, there’s an underground cocktail party coming up at the Firehall Speakeasy. Guys Suit Up! Dolls Dress to Kill! It’s $25 to get past the Big Mutt at the door. That price also gets you your first Dubh Glas Distillery cocktail, and a seat for the show: The Jazz Cafe Trio! Don’t spill the beans, we don’t want our Prohibition Bash to get busted!

Prohibition Bash! Speakeasy Cocktail Party
w/ the Jazz Cafe Trio
Saturday, April 27
7 p.m.
Firehall Brewery
6077 Main Street, Oliver
Tickets $25

Dance “stretches” across styles

Experience Montreal’s vibrant dance scene first-hand when RUBBERBANDance Group presents Vic’s Mix at Oliver’s Venables Theatre on Saturday April 13. Reflecting the freedom and openness of the ebullient Quebec dance scene, this one-of-a kind dance troupe will bring their unique style and choreographic method to BC this spring.

Founded in Montreal in 2002 by artistic director Victor Quijada, RUBBERBAND was immediately recognized for its complex, physically demanding choreography which brings together breakdancing, classical ballet and dance theatre.

Since then, RUBBERBAND has become a touring sensation, representing Canada at the Expo is Japan and presenting many hundreds of performances throughout Quebec and Canada along with frequent tours to Holland, Belgium, the United States, Mexico and England.

In 2016, the company brought Vic’s Mix to the stage with both humorous and serious moments, Vic’s Mix is a kind of “best of” the company’s work and orchestrating the creative clash between urban pop and classical composition. The performance spans the immense territory explored by RUBBERBAND, extracting jewels from their creative repertoire.

Choreographer and artistic director Victor Quijada was born in California in 1976 to Mexican parents. Over the past dozen years, he has developed a unique style of choreography that extols the various artistic influences that stimulated him as a dancer – the power and spontaneity of hip hop, the rigour and virtuosity of ballet, along with the evocative power of contemporary dance. Vic’s Mix also features the lighting design of Yan Lee Chan, original music by Jasper Gahunia along with the “mix” of various classical composers and costume design by Camille Thibault-Bédard.

RUBBERBANDance Group is presented by Venables Theatre with the support of the Community Presenters Assistance program (of the BC Arts Council and BC Touring Council) along with the Coast Oliver Hotel.

Don’t miss RUBBERBANDance on Saturday April 13th at 7:30pm at the Venables Theatre, 6100 Gala Street, Oliver. Tickets are only $29 (students $15) and are available online at www.venablestheatre.ca

SOAP Theatre sets stage for O-Zone Festival

SOAP Theatre’s finale for the 2018-19 season is Lawrence & Holloman by Canadian playwright Morris Panych, staged at the Venables Theatre April 26 – May 4. It is also their entry into the Okanagan Zone (:”O-Zone”) Festival (May 17 – 25, in Salmon Arm).

Lawrence & Holloman is the dark and twisted story of a cynical and suicidal accounting clerk (Holloman) who gets taken under the wing of a happy-go-lucky, ever-optimistic suit salesman (Lawrence).

​Lawrence the optimist tries to teach Holloman the pessimist how to live happily and remain positive, until his own good luck starts to turn… Lawrence’s fiance dumps him, his car is demolished, his dog goes missing, he loses his job, and his apartment is burned to the ground… and that’s just the beginning!

Cast & Characters

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Vance Potter plays LAWRENCE, the overly-optimistic, self-absorbed suit salesman who is simply blind to or in denial of anything that can go wrong.

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Jim Dinwoodie plays HOLLOMAN, the cynical accounting clerk that can only take so much of Lawrence’s cheery optimism before taking matters into his own hands.

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Lisa GLudovatz plays AN, who precedes D in name only. She is a Jill-of-all-trades, and has a talent with crayons and noise-making devices.

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Diane Gludovatz plays D, who has a knack for showing up unexpectedly and making strange, thought-provoking sounds.

Is happiness determined by our outlook on life? Or can our destiny be changed… by another?
​”The dramatic universe of… Morris Panych is an exquisitely well ordered place. Genuinely funny… smart… carefully crafted… and neatly delivered.” — Globe & Mail