What was it that attracted you to the One Thousand Cranes story?

Because it is a beautiful story with a strong anti-war message.

What prompted you to bring the play on tour to Canada in 2012?

As you know “One Thousand Cranes” was written by Colin Thomas, a Vancouverite, and premiered by Green Thumb Theatre of Vancouver. I wanted to have the play make a sort of home-coming to its birthplace.

What is it that makes Sadako Sasaki’s story relevant to today’s audiences?

Despite the public cry against it, nuclear armament and nuclear power generation have not been abolished yet. I do hope “One Thousand Cranes” reminds people of potential disaster the nuclear armament and/or power generation might bring about.

Is One Thousand Cranes a production that audiences of all ages will appreciate?

Yes, the show is for all ages. In Japan 70% of the audience was grown-ups on an average except when the show is presented in schools.

One Thousand Cranes is a sad story in some ways, but do you think it ultimately has a hopeful message?

Yes, it has a very positive and hopeful message. After all Buddy, the Canadian boy, decides to take part in the peace march and Sadako’s friends decides to erect a peace monument in memory of Sadako.

What experiences have you had in the past bringing a Japanese-speaking cast to Canada on tour?

In the past I invited two Japanese shows to Victoria. Both times the artists billeted at private homes and beautiful, long-lasting friendship developed between the host families and artists. Some of them are exchanging letters and Christmas greetings over the years. A girl even married with an artist and now lives in Japan with a kid between them.

You’ve translated over 30 Canadian plays to Japanese, why do you think it is important to create cultural connections between disparate countries through theatre and literature?

I came to Canada in 1970 as a businessman. My business thrived thanks to the help, cooperation and patronage Canadian people accorded me. I wanted to do something in reciprocation and started introducing Canadian theatre to Japanese theatre practitioners and audiences. Up until that time, no Japanese knew Canada had such an excellent theatre of high artistic quality.

One Thousand Cranes is on at the Metro Studio on Thurs Feb 16 and Fri Feb 17 at 8pm. Tickets are $18/23/31 (student + senior/adult/arts karma) and can be purchased through Ticket Rocket online or by phone (250 590 6291, W-S, 2 -6pm).

(we’ll make this pretty tomorrow)

"Intrepid Theatre is the lynch-pin of the city's arts scene." (Times Colonist)

Intrepid Theatre is giving you the once-in-a-lifetime chance to leave your mark on the Metro Studio and support live theatre in Victoria. All donations of $100 or more between now and March 31, 2012 will be recognised with a brass plaque on a chair in the Metro.

We are at a critical turning point and need your help more than ever before to be able to continue bringing exciting live theatre to the island (read more about why here). If you believe in the work of Intrepid Theatre, we urge you to consider sponsoring a chair in the Metro Studio. There is a limit of 191 seats! >>Donate online now.

WHY DONATE?

Intrepid Theatre is a non-profit organisation that contributes to the vibrancy of our city by  developing work by talented emerging artists, presenting alternative theatre from around the globe, and providing affordable venues for local performers. We are able to do this because of the generous support provided by individual donors who believe in the importance of live theatre.

DONATE NOW

CLICK HERE to donate online (this helps us keep admin costs down) or buy a ticket to one of our upcoming shows online, and when you pay for your order, you can add a donation. You can also make a phone donation (250 383 2663) or drop by our offices (1609 Blanshard).  When you donate $20 or more we send you a charitable tax-deductible receipt.

WAYS TO DONATE: PHONE – 250-383-2663   |   ONLINE   |   IN PERSON – 2-1609 Blanshard (at Fisgard)

Monthly, Intrepid Theatre Club

What started out as a humble new-work incubator project has turned into a thriving program that heralds Victoria’s most exciting new theatre creators and introduces local audiences to original works-in-development. Intrepid Theatre is pleased to announce the 2012 YOU SHOW season:

Jan 21 – The Other Guys Theatre Co. will be workshopping Cougar Annie Tales,  a musical play by local singer/actress Katrina Kadoski about the West Coast pioneer. Katrina lived for several years at the Cougar Annie farm site and has used her unique insight to create songs and narrative to illustrate this amazing local character. Ticket details here.

Feb 11 – Broken Rhythms will be premiering Spark, a movement and dance based piece on the theme of human evolution. The simplicity of the basic primal cell would transform into the complexity of multi-cellular animal life, eventually giving way to robotic patterns through the progression of this performance.

Mar 10 -  Scrumpy Productions presents a workshop staging of Julian Cervello’s (Canterbury Cocktails, Fringe 2011) new one-man show The Wyf of Bathe. Of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, none are more accessible than the Wife of Bathe. Performed entirely in its original Middle English, this raunchy and explicit, yet deeply moving 600-year-old comedy about the life of a Medieval woman named Alisoun demonstrates how timeless the structure of a ‘contemporary one-woman show’ really is. The original desperate housewife of the English theatre was written and acted by Chaucer himself, and she is still recognizable today.

April 21 – Marina Legace will premiere a workshop staging of  Mad Actress (working title), an intimate look into the private life of a performer; one who struggles to distinguish between fantasy and reality, with an inclination towards madness.

May 12 – Andrew Wade will  create a script-in-hand staged reading of his first full-length, two act play, The Romantics. Andrew is becoming a well know local Fringe performer and this script won the Vancouver Young Playwrights award. This presentation will be the first time the public will see the work and feed back is welcome after the reading.

The YOU SHOW started in 2010 and has presented 10 new plays to date, including Justin Carters’ Son of Africville (which went on to become a hit Uno Fest show and has been picked up to tour the Maritimes) and Ingrid Hansen’s Little Orange Man (the Canadian Fringe circuit hit that won Pick of the Fringe in Vancouver and Victoria). >>Read more about what became of past YOU SHOWs.

October 28 + 29: 5-9PM + October 30: 12-5PM

Advance Tickets: $10 (child/School Student), $15 (adult), $40 (family pass). Available at ticketrocket.org / 250 590 6291.

Heritage Acres: 7321 Lochside Drive, Central Saanich

Join us for some spooky Halloween family fun, as we convert a beautiful heritage farm into a Halloween wonderland, complete with costumed performers, handcrafted lanterns, carved pumpkins, Halloween-themed décor,  live music, haunted train rides, children’s crafts and seasonal treats like delicious caramel apples. This delightfully eerie event is brimming with enough festive fun and entertainment to make it a treat for visitors of all ages. Children 4 and under are free. Enchanted Halloween at Heritage Acres is co-produced with Shine*ola Communications. Proceeds benefit Intrepid Theatre.

>>Read More  | BUY TICKETS  |  Volunteer for Enchanted  | Facebook Page

Michelle Loewen Photography

The 2011 Fringe broke all previous records, with a total attendance of 27,000 people (4,000 more than last year) and individual donations reaching $8,651.70 during the festival. Read details of who won this year’s Pick of the Fringe Awards here.

We look forward to Fringing with you again next year. But don’t be a stranger – keep in touch with us via Facebook, twitter, our e-news or better still, pop into Intrepid Theatre to say hi.

• How to Fringe
• List of Shows and Venues in the Fringe
• Buy Tickets & Passes
• Volunteer!
• Join the Fringe Flash Mob
• Get the free 2011 Fringe App for iPhone

THREE NIGHTS ONLY! Don’t Miss THE SHOW THAT WON BEST COMEDY  AT LAST YEAR’s FRINGE!
Die Roten Punkte KUNST ROCK (Art Rock)

August 18, 19, 20 at 8PM,
Metro Studio
Tickets ON SALE NOW
$20 (student+senior)
$22 (regular)

Order Online at Ticketrocket
(250)590-6291
(10-5, Mon-Fri)

Victoria’s favourite Berlin punk rock duo Astrid and Otto Rot are back for a limited three-night run as part of a world tour (in between Astrid’s visits to rehab). They will not be appearing at the Victoria Fringe this year, so this is your only chance to see them. “Pitch perfect pop parody, if there’s a fan club, I’m joining!” The Scotsman(*****). “Orgasmic rock-und-roll experience.” – Monday Magazine (*****). Save the date – don’t miss out on the pre-fringe fun! dierotenpunkte.com

Visit the Die Roten Punkte You tube channel to see their videos!

Most overall votes / FAVOURITE MUSICAL: Z-Day: Anthem for the Post-Zombie Apocalypse (Bring Back Pluto Productions)

2nd most overall votes / FAVOURITE COMEDY: Die Roten Punkte: Kunst Rock (Art Rock)

3rd most overall votes / FAVOURITE COMEDY: Antoine Feval (Chris Gibbs)

FAVOURITE SOLO SHOW: Lucky 9 (TJ Dawe)

FAVOURITE DRAMA: Thank You My Love, Goodbye (Creative Alliance)

FAVOURITE PHYSICAL THEATRE: 7 (x1) Samurai  (David Gaines)

FAVOURITE SHOW FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES: Pinocchio (Story Theatre Company)

FAVOURITE SPOKEN WORD:  The Genghis Khan Guide to Etiquette (Rob Gee)

INNOVATION AWARD: Small Town: A Pickup Musical (Theatre SKAM)

And special thanks to Chris Gibbs, our “Fringe Bean-a-factor,” for his special benefit performance of “Gibberish” at Lanham Court Theatre! Proceeds raised will benefit Intrepid Theatre, producers of the Victoria Fringe.

How the voting system worked: This year the audience was asked to place a bean in a tin after a show to tell us which shows they enjoyed. They could vote for every show they liked. The artists selected a category in which they wished to be nominated. At the end of the festival, we weighed the cans for each show, making adjustments for the size of venue, and awarded the prizes in the corresponding categories.  The three shows with the most votes won prizes regardless of category, so this year there were two “Best Comedy” awards.

Yes, we heard tell of “bean stuffing” and sometimes people forgot to put a bean in for a show they liked – but the level of participation went up from about 100-150 ballots submitted each year (not a true cross-section of the audience) to nearly 20 kilos of beans! (Chili cook-off, anyone?)