The South Asian Arts Society has announced the line-up for its tenth anniversary Monsoon Festival of the Performing Arts running August 7-17.
The multidisciplinary arts festival is filled with exciting performances, thought-provoking discussion, workshops and more. Audiences are invited to witness the creative power within the South Asian community by attending events, learning about the artists and their processes, and experiencing a stunning range of creative practices.
“This is a monumental year for our organization, as the Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts returns for its 10th season and we also celebrate the 20th anniversary of South Asian Arts Society, an organization I co-founded with Raakhi Kapur in 2005. We’re going back to our theatre and comedy roots, beginning with two locally developed theatre pieces on the opening weekend of the festival. One is an immersive and interactive site-specific play called Gemini, and the other is a Punjabi language play called Sikligar. For the second weekend, we’re bringing comedy back to the festival. Internationally-acclaimed Punjabi comedian, Manpreet Singh, (AKA The Comic Singh), hits the Surrey Arts Centre stage for a family-friendly standup comedy show. And as always, we are offering workshops and dance lessons by donation as well”, says South Asian Arts Society Executive Director and Monsoon Festival Producer, Gurpreet Sian.
Running for ten days in August, the festival celebrates South Asian arts in the world, offering a diversity of great programming options including the following highlights;
OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION: Celebrate the opening of the Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts 2025, Thursday, August 7 at 7:30pm
The Cultch Historic Theatre, 1895 Venables Street
GEMINI: A one-person play written and performed by Andy Kalirai
Friday, Aug. 8 at 7:30pm
The Mezz Warehouse, #106 – 6680 152A Street, Surrey
MOMENTUM: The second iteration of the Monsoon salon series, Momentum*, this year celebrating award-winning actress Nimet Kanji and her body of work.
Saturday, August 9 at 4pm
The Cultch Founders Lounge, 1895 Venables Street
SIKLIGAR: A Punjabi play written and directed by Bir Btaalvi. Performed by Bir Btaalvi and Prince Goswami, with music by Premdeep
Saturday, August 9 at 7:30pm
Surrey Arts Centre Studio Theatre, 13750 88 Avenue, Surrey
THE COMIC SINGH: NA SIRR NA PAIR
Experience a unique stand-up comedy show in Punjabi with internationally acclaimed comedian, Manpreet Singh, (AKA The Comic Singh) and his popular show, “Na Sirr Na Pair” (Neither Head nor Tail).
Saturday, August 16 at 7pm
Surrey Arts Centre Main Stage, 13750 88 Avenue, Surrey
The 2025 Monsoon Festival also features a series of workshops and lessons including dance lessons, Bhangra Dance with Raja Singh on August 10, Bollywood Fusion Dance with Rohan D’Silva on August 17 and a writing workshop Soundtrack as Story writing workshop: Remembering and Remixing the Songs that Shaped U with Preeti Kaur Dhaliwal
The tenth anniversary Monsoon Festival of the Performing Arts runs August 7-17, 2025 at venues around Metro Vancouver. For full schedule, details and tickets visit monsoonartsfest.ca.