The Advance Theatre Festival produced by Ruby Slippers Theatre in association with The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, comes to the stage for 5 days, February 7-11.
An utterly unique experience that seeks to “advance the radically inclusive stage”, the festival presents dramatic readings of five new plays over five days that are written and directed by historically marginalized voices. Female identifying and gender non-conforming IBPOC playwrights and directors take centre stage to tell their stories in these never before produced, new works
The intimate festival invites audiences to be part of the creation process by witnessing the reading and participating in the post read talk backs! Stories such as these can go on to receive professional productions, such as Ruby Slippers’ ground-breaking production “we the same”, staged this past fall at the Cultch.
Curated by Nyla Carpentier, Ruby Slipper’s 2021 Artist-In-Residence, the festival’s line-up includes:
Monday, February 7: Bibliomancer by Scheherazaad Cooper
A young girl with a love of books discovers a family secret that reveals a buried past – and hidden powers.
Tuesday, February 8: In The Shadow of The Mountains by Valerie Sing Turner
It’s 1998. A family gathers to figure out what to do about Ester, a Chinese-Canadian WWII veteran, as they can no longer ignore her growing dementia.
Wednesday, February 9: Dil Ka by Lee Nisar
Dil Ka (Urdu for ‘of the heart’) follows a potential bride-to-be, Zahra, a 26 year old Pakistani woman who is attempting to make biryani for a potential suitor.
Thursday, February 10: Black Skin Deep by Shayna Jones
A real-life revelation of one woman’s reckoning with her black skin, her mother, and a mermaid.
Friday, February 11: A Funny Thing Happened On My Way To Canada by Grace Chin
An epically everyday Gen X immigrant tale.
Full festival information and tickets are available online at rubyslippers.ca/current-season
Note: seating is limited in accordance with public health guidelines, proof of vaccination and masks are required in the auditorium.