Are you part of The Tyee's critical 1%?

Thanks for reading The Tyee today — we hope this article added to your day in some way. Our team of independent journalists takes pride in doing in-depth reporting and taking time to get it right.

We're able to focus our attention on publishing impactful journalism in the public interest, and publish it for free for all to read, because we have the support of Tyee Builders. Tyee Builders are readers who contribute a bit of money — at a level and frequency of their choice — to support our editorial budget.

This core of supporters — making up about 1 to 2 per cent of our daily readership — enables us to pay our writers, keep our articles free and open to all, and not bombard our readers with annoying ads while you try to read.

Instead of focusing on what kind of articles will attract the most advertising dollars, we can spend time devoted to researching and writing stories that our readers find most valuable and make the most positive impact in our region.

If you'd like to join thousands of readers who help make independent journalism possible, consider joining Tyee Builders. Thank you.

— Jeanette Ageson, Publisher

Click here to Join Tyee Builders

Help us un-break journalism in Canada

You made it all the way through the article — I hope that means you liked it (or if not ‘liked’ it, gleaned some useful information from it). Tyee articles are known for being quite lengthy, so we appreciate when people spend some quality time with our work.

Listen, I’ll get to the point — the article you just read was made possible because our non-profit newsroom was able to pay a talented journalist to research and write it. And we can only afford to do that because of our business model, which relies on a certain percentage of our readers signing up for our paid membership program called Tyee Builders.

The traditional business model for journalism in Canada has been completely disrupted, and we’re witnessing a slow collapse as corporate newsrooms buy up distressed publications, lay people off, and suck the value out of them before declaring bankruptcy. And it doesn’t help that tech giant Meta has blocked Canadian news on their Facebook and Instagram platforms.

There is another way and we are carving the path.

Between 1 to 2 per cent of people who visit The Tyee contribute financially, but amazingly, that small percentage is enough to fund half of our overall budget. And it means we can operate without a paywall, too. 1 per cent of people giving means 99 per cent of people get access to quality, fact-based journalism from a talented team of journalists who live and work in B.C., Alberta, and across Canada. We think that’s pretty remarkable.

If you’re concerned about the way journalism is heading in Canada and you’d like to do something about it, consider joining Tyee Builders and contributing an amount that works for you.

— Jeanette Ageson, Publisher

Click here to Join Tyee Builders
Marking 20 years
of bold journalism,
reader supported.
support us subscribe free
Events, contests and other initiatives by The Tyee and select partners.

The Cultch Unveils New Season to Light up Your Winter and Spring

Experience funny, thought-provoking plays and explosive dance, in-person and online.

The Cultch 7 Feb 2022TheTyee.ca

BowtTrailRetrospekStill.jpg
Rhodnie Désir in BOW’T TRAIL RETROSPEK. Image by Kevin Calixte.

It is time to emerge from winter isolation, awaken the soul and experience the togetherness of live theatre — The Cultch’s winter/spring 2022 season is here!

Following a mostly digital lineup, The Cultch, which oversees the Historic Theatre, the York and the Vancity Culture Lab, has announced a joyous season of live in-person performances and digital works from February to May 2022.

The season starts off with the fifth annual Femme Festival. Now in its fifth year, this festival highlights the power of female-identifying voices.

Sea Sick, a story of climate change and the oceans from award-winning science journalist Alanna Mitchell, opens the festival on Feb. 9 to 19.

This is followed by Beautiful Man, a razor-sharp satire that imagines a world in which women are the ones doing the catcalling, from Feb. 24 to March 5.

In Response to Alabama, an intimate piece where performers share the stories of their abortions, runs March 3 to 12.

Performed in English and Spanish from March 10 to 19 in-person, and available online from April 5 to 10, Clean/Espejos tracks the collision of two women from different worlds — a Mexican hotel employee and a Canadian wedding guest.

Bunny, by award-winning playwright Hannah Moscovitch, will then dive boldly into sex, desire and social mores from March 17 to 27.

Closing out the festival is a co-production with Vancouver International Dance Festival, BOW’T TRAIL RETROSPEK, from Montreal’s Rhodnie Désir and RD Créations, exploring African cultures and rhythms of peoples deported to the Americas through sublime dance choreography.

Outside of the festival, The Cultch is presenting Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer, a trickster story for the modern world, Bad Parent, a comedy from Ins Choi, creator of the hit CBC sitcom and play Kim’s Convenience, and Himmat, a multigenerational meditation on immigration and familial ties.

In April, the musical tour-de-force The Invisible: Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare will storm the stage with the incredible true story of female special operatives during the Second World War.

960px version of CleanEspejosStill.jpg
A hotel employee and a wedding guest feel their worlds collide in Clean/Espejos. Image of Alexandra Lainfiesta and Genevieve Fleming by Sewari Campillo.

The Cultch will be welcoming audiences back, masked and vaxed, following provincial health orders. To help theatre-lovers purchase tickets and subscriptions with confidence, The Cultch is offering a ticket guarantee that allows audience members to obtain an exchange, credit, gift certificate or refund if a show is cancelled prematurely.

Through constant experimentation and by embracing digital, The Cultch managed to keep its stage lit and continue to bring live theatre to its audiences during a challenging couple of years.

“When we couldn’t gather physically, we went online and brought our stages into our patrons’ living rooms,” says Heather Redfern, the organization’s executive director. “All that innovation has produced something new and at the start of 2022 we were thrilled to announce RE/PLAY — The Cultch’s digital playground — showcasing diverse, edgy online theatre.”

Through RE/PLAY, The Cultch has announced a special presentation of TM, a rule-breaking one-on-one work from celebrated Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed. Available on-demand as part of the RE/PLAY digital series or individually are the frank theatre’s Be-Longing, a theatrical film and a reflection on home, the digital version of Neworld Theatre’s bilingual Clean/Espejos and Can I Live?, an outstretched hand in the storm of climate change anxiety.

“These worlds of creativity and imagination will lift us out of isolation and into togetherness,” says Redfern.

For showtimes, tickets and season subscriptions, visit The Cultch website. [Tyee]

Read more: Media

This article is part of a Tyee Presents initiative. Tyee Presents is the special sponsored content section within The Tyee where we highlight contests, events and other initiatives that are either put on by us or by our select partners. The Tyee does not and cannot vouch for or endorse products advertised on The Tyee. We choose our partners carefully and consciously, to fit with The Tyee’s reputation as B.C.’s Home for News, Culture and Solutions. Learn more about Tyee Presents here.

  • Share:

Facts matter. Get The Tyee's in-depth journalism delivered to your inbox for free

Tyee Commenting Guidelines

Comments that violate guidelines risk being deleted, and violations may result in a temporary or permanent user ban. Maintain the spirit of good conversation to stay in the discussion.
*Please note The Tyee is not a forum for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, denying its existence or minimizing its risk to public health.

Do:

  • Be thoughtful about how your words may affect the communities you are addressing. Language matters
  • Challenge arguments, not commenters
  • Flag trolls and guideline violations
  • Treat all with respect and curiosity, learn from differences of opinion
  • Verify facts, debunk rumours, point out logical fallacies
  • Add context and background
  • Note typos and reporting blind spots
  • Stay on topic

Do not:

  • Use sexist, classist, racist, homophobic or transphobic language
  • Ridicule, misgender, bully, threaten, name call, troll or wish harm on others
  • Personally attack authors or contributors
  • Spread misinformation or perpetuate conspiracies
  • Libel, defame or publish falsehoods
  • Attempt to guess other commenters’ real-life identities
  • Post links without providing context

LATEST STORIES

The Barometer

Do You Agree with BC’s Decriminalization Rollback?

Take this week's poll