Everything tastes better when it’s juicy!
Juicy XXL is a fresh, exhilarating, comedic burlesque show. Join Stretch-Marks-The-Spot as she shares her naked-ish truth. Come for the laughs, and leave with some gems. The only rule on planet Juicy is that you celebrate yourself.
Image submitted by artist.
ASL interpreted performance.
AUDIENCE ADVISORY: The performance is suitable for ages 19+.
8 PM
Theatre Aquarius190 King William St, Hamilton
Writer / Performer / Choreographer
Director
Jun 6, 2024 to Jun 6, 2024
Jun 7, 2024 to Jun 8, 2024
Jun 7, 2024 to Jun 7, 2024
Jun 8, 2024 to Jun 8, 2024
Written by composer/lyricist: Kath HalingDirected by Christopher LaneProduced by Perfect Pitch/Global Musicals (SIX, 42 Balloons)
Sunshine puts us in the room, and in the memories, of Matthew as he navigates his last 30 minutes with his partner, Harrison, before they remove Harrison’s life support. This compassionate, tender, and inspiring musical lets us bear witness to the resilience of love and the power of finding beauty, and peace, in grief.
This VR experience is a Proof of Concept and presents the first 13 minutes of Sunshine.
12 PM to 5 PM30-minute slots throughout the day
REGISTER FOR A TIME SLOT HERE
Written by Kath HalingDeveloped by Perfect Pitch/Global Musicals
Cast:
Matthew – Jack ReitmanHarrison – Kayne Lee Harrison
VR Demo Production Credits:
Director – Christopher LaneAssociate Director and Dramaturg – Katharine FarmerMusical Director and Orchestrator – Eamonn O’DwyerTechnical Director – Andy PurvesProducer – Debbie Hicks for Perfect PitchGuitarist – Kobi PhamRecorded at Perry Vale Studios, London, UK.Audio mixed and mastered by Eamonn O’DwyerLocation – The Hospital Studios, London, UK.Sound – Better Sound Ltd, London, UK.
Perfect Pitch/Global Musicals:
Executive Producer: Andy BarnesCreative Director: Wendy BarnesProducer: Debbie HicksDigital Producer: Josh Bird
Five young Hamilton professionals spend most of their waking hours in the office at Blast-Off: a boutique start-up advertising firm run by an enigmatic wunderkind CEO who’s never really around. As the lines between work and life blur, can these ambitious ‘rise-and-grinders’ get ahead in a capitalist hellscape on a dying planet without losing grip on themselves? Oh, and why does the office keep quaking like it’s going to explode?
Written by Voaden Prize-winning playwright Michael Kras, The Start-Up is a frenetic, funny new play tackling toxic hustle culture, internalized capitalism, and millennial/Gen-Z loneliness at world’s end.
AUDIENCE ADVISORY: The performance contains strong language and sexual content. Suitable for ages 16+.
4 PM
Playwright/Director
Min
Heidi/Pippa
Jeric/Voice
Richard
Dad
Cabaret featuring 10-minute readings by:
Includes ASL-interpreted performance.
7 PM – 9 PM
“Piindigen”, which means “Come In” in Ojibwe, is a first-of-its-kind mentorship program for First Nations, Metis, and Inuit students at Theatre Aquarius, supported by the Government of Canada Community Services Recovery Fund. The Piindigen students will be presenting a short piece for Brave New Works, co-ordinated by Carly Anna Billings and Shane Pennells.
Artists: Amber Fenton, Jordan Longboat, Abbey Keays, Ryan Sero, Kendra Pierroz, Chyler Sewell, Fallon Noakes
Coordinator
In April 2016, fishermen in central Vietnam wake up to the disturbing sight of 115 tons of fish carcasses washed up along 200 kilometres of their shores. This terrible environmental disaster, the worst in the nation’s history, spawns one of its largest ever protest movements. Tensions are high between the nominally communist government, eager foreign investors, and the people of Vietnam — but everyone is hoping to get it all sorted before the US president’s big visit next month.
Playwright & Lyricist
Composer
Guenevere thought it would be easy: girl meets cactus, girl loves cactus, cactus loves girl back. She never meant for it to go this far. In this darkly comedic new play, battle lines will be drawn, and blood will be shed. THE PRICK is a love story — you’ve been warned.
Playwright / Director / Performer
Fertility is a collectively created 10-person monologue anthology featuring stories of menstruation, menopause, miscarriage, abortion, endometriosis and more. Fertility uplifts the voices and stories of Women, Non-Binary, and Trans artists, and opens the door on conversations often shrouded in shame and secrecy. Fertility was born from personal reflections on our own reproductive timelines, and realizing the need to bring private discussions about fertility into the public sphere. The stories we tell and their impact are more relevant now than when we started writing in 2020.
This ambitious project has been generously support by The Ontario Arts Council as well as Canada Council for the Arts. Fertility will see its first full scale production in 2024/2025.
Interdisciplinary Artist
Multidisciplinary artist Courage Bacchus explores her art through shadow and dance in a burlesque performance.
Blending stand up and theatre, Fit But Not Hot is a comedic work-in-development written and performed by Madeleine Brown.
Madeleine is the kind of girl who drinks a glass of cold milk before bed.
Not the kind of girl who gets cat called.
In Fit But Not Hot, Madeleine recounts a memorable run in her neighbourhood as she unpacks her failures at all things girl.
So take a seat and a slug of some that good old 2%. But definitely do not take any of Madeleine’s advice.
Playwright / Actor
I Come From Death is a charming, dark-comedy exploring how one can still live, even after they’ve come out the other side of a death. Or…many deaths. Grief surrounds us all, and the only way out is through. With humour and high spirits, Comeau explores the things that haunt her and invites you to come along for the dark and twisty ride.
Ashley Comeau (She/Her) is an award-winning actor, writer, and producer. She is a Canadian Comedy Award-winner, a Dora-nominated actor, and an alumna of the Second City Mainstage. She was named ‘Best Female Improviser’ from NOW Magazine and her comedy troupe The Lusty Mannequins were named ‘Best of the Fest’ at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, and ‘Best Comedy Characters of the Year’ during the Edinburgh Fringe.
Artist: Ashley Comeau (Playwright and Actor)
Trigger Based Lighting Networks is a project that puts control of DMX stage fixtures in the hands of actors, performers, or guests. This custom system uses wireless touch and impact sensors to detect user interaction and sending DMX signals to any compatible fixture at a fraction of the cost of commercial alternatives. This means that advanced lighting can be accessible to smaller companies, and can adapt to unconventional spaces and theatrical niches that be otherwise difficult to accommodate. At Brave New Works you can test drive a sample of this system in place and experience the real life magic for yourself!
Image provided by artist.
12 – 6 PMDesign Installation
PHOTO BY Joshua Arcari
Concept Sketches
Art Director
Show Home is a satirical work of fiction from Carlyn’s experience working in supported living over the past decade and is not a reflection of any specific organisation. Show Home endeavors to tell a story about the complexity of disability and support work and to create conversations that can lead to self-advocacy and social change.
2 PM
At Show Home, we are working to accommodate as many of our audience needs as possible. Here are some things to know:
1. Show Home embraces a Relaxed Performance Space, where the ‘rules’ of theatre are relaxed. Audiences are welcomed to enter and exit the theatre, move around, make noise or sounds, and keep their phone on as long as it is on silent or vibrate. There will be some light over the audience, meaning the theatre will never be dark. Sound, light, projections, and other elements of the performance are designed to be friendlier to audiences who are sensitive to sensory stimulation.
2. Theatre Aquarius is a wheelchair accessible building with a non-gendered, single-user bathroom. The studio theatre is accessed by a half-flight of stairs, with an elevator available for those who need. Seating in the studio theatre is flexible, meaning audiences using wheelchairs or other mobility devices will be able to choose where they would like to sit. If you need assistance finding a spot that is comfortable to you, please contact one of the Theatre Aquarius ushers or Open Heart staff who will be located near the front door of the theatre.
3. Service animals are welcome! While not required, we’d love to know in advance if you will be bringing a service animal. Email Rose at rose@openheartartstheatre.com to give us a heads up.
4. If you require American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, please contact Rose at rose@openheartartstheatre.com and we will do our best to arrange an interpreter.
Do you have questions or have other needs to help you best participate in Show Home? Email Rose at rose@openheartartstheatre.com or connect with us on Instagram @openheartartstheatre.
When Darryl and his friend Niko get caught using a pellet gun in the alley beside an elementary school, it triggers a full active shooter response. Darryl and his mother Miranda feel the full force of justice, political, and education systems as well as the court of public opinion until Stevens, the police officer who was first on scene at the school and already suffering from PTSD, takes justice into his own hands.
Playwright
Stage Manager
Savage is a Word in the English Dictionary follows a young Indigenous woman who is asked to give a presentation at her old elementary school for their “Indigenous Studies” unit. Arriving at the school she is confronted with the memories of her own school days. When nostalgia and reality collide, she realizes that history doesn’t smell as good as the textbook.
7 PM
Writer / Performer
Ready your taste buds for Koli Kari, a queer South Asian drama created by award-winning theatre artist Ganesh Thava and Pink Banana Theatre.
To save his failing cooking show, Ravi is forced to reveal the secret recipe for his mouthwatering Koli Kari (Chicken Curry). But when the Chicken comes to life and conjures up the recipe’s true creator, Ravi must confront someone he thought he’d never see again — his Amma. Magical, queer, and full of flavour, Koli Kari asks what is ours to share… and at what cost?
Pink Banana Theatre serves up new QTBIPOC stories while pushing the boundaries in how they are told. Working with a brilliant cast of South Asian artists, Koli Kari hopes to spark conversations between generations about the things we leave unsaid, whether that’s coming out, sharing our dreams, or even just saying, “I love you.”
Performed by Pink Banana Theatre
Creator/Actor (RAVI)
Actor (ANIKA)
Actor (JAYA)
Producer
Mask Designer
Dramaturg
In the throes of the global pandemic, Tommy Taylor, a Hamilton-based theatre artist and activist, found himself on the frontlines of homelessness services. His latest work, You Should Have Stayed Home Too, unveils a raw and shocking narrative. From dire events in Toronto’s downtown encampments to his role at the Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre, Tommy exposes our fragility and unpreparedness. Deaths of friends, battles with politicians, and the epidemic of toxic drug deaths—all woven into a cautionary tale shared by the world. As You Should Have Stayed Home Too evolves, a staged reading at Brave New Works becomes a vital space for exploration, audience feedback, and confronting COVID fatigue. Tommy’s urgent call to action reverberates from deeply painful to darkly humourous, urging us to learn, act, and change course before it’s too late.
Written by Tommy Taylor
Writer