With more than two decades of presenting theatrical works from the cutting edge behind it, the PuSh Festival returns with a program of international interdisciplinary works designed to challenge the boundaries of live performance. Often experimental and provocative, PuSh has historically introduced many of Vancouver’s most audacious events to the city’s stages. Though it’s impossible to predict what will prove to be this year’s big hit, here are five productions to seek out.
Rainbow Chan
Currently Musician in Residence at the Banff Centre, Hong Kong Australian artist Rainbow Chan brings her politically charged, swooping electropop—dubbed “an uncompromising slice of art pop” by The Guardian—to town. It’s a one-night-only affair in support of the Chinese Canadian Museum’s Dream Factory: Cantopop Mandopop 1980s-2000 exhibition.
Expect an exuberant disco diva evening filtered through Chan’s astute take on subjects ranging from the diaspora to feminism to resilience, culminating in her hosting a karaoke open mic.
As she herself writes on Instagram : “Surrounded by photos, costumes and memorabilia from the golden age of Cantopop, I honestly cannot think of a more me space to perform in!!!!”
Split Tooth: Saputjiji
Anyone lucky enough to have experienced Tanya Taqaq performing live—not least her unforgettable score of Robert J. Flaherty’s 1922 documentary Nanook of the North at the 2014 festival—knows what a fearless, uncompromising, and mesmerizing presence the Inuk artist is.
This time at PuSh, the multihyphenate, internationally lauded artist performs Split Tooth: Saputjiji, a live adaptation and amalgamation of her debut novel (Split Tooth) and latest album (Saputjiji). Directed by NYC-based Kaneza Schaal who works in theatre, opera, and film, the performance is presented for one night only at the Chan Centre.
Orpheus
Quebec City’s Alan Lake Factor(ie)’s Orpheus premiered last year in Montreal. Lake, a choreographer known for engaging all the senses, takes the opportunity offered by the Greek myth for an immersive exploration of the transition between Earth and the underworld. Léa Villalba for Montreal’s Le Devoir called it “A heartwarming work that offers a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.”
Trouble Score
“A family conflict that drags on for years, a psychedelic trip gone terribly wrong, and Algirdas Greimas’s semiotic square: these are the ingredients of the Casellas’ ‘theatre concept,’ topped with ingenious laser lighting and text animation.” So writes Klaas Tindemans for Belgium’s arts criticism website Pzazz.
An ambitious-sounding project, Trouble Score leans on magic realism, aiming to create a hypnotic, multisensory experience that explores familial strife against a backdrop of racial segregation and military dictatorship. Presented as part of Encuentro: PuSh programming centring Latin American artistic impression.
Eight Short Compositions on the Lives of Ukrainians for a Western Audience
From Prague’s Archa—Centre of Documentary Theatre comes Eight Short Compositions on the Lives of Ukrainians for a Western Audience. Based on the writings of Ukrainian playwright Anastasiia Kosodii, the work is intended to drive home the fragility of everyday life during wartime, how even the smallest, mundane acts become evidence of human resilience.
Employing projections, music, movement, and light, the production’s aim is to honour the experiences of those forced to live under siege while finding beauty in the everyday.
PuSh 2026 runs from January 22 to February 8 at multiple venues in Vancouver. Read more arts stories.
