Neanderthal Arts Festival: theatre that knows how to grunt

Andrew Templeton
To be or ugh (prepare Vancouver for a series of caveman jokes...)

As reported here at PLANK at the beginning of the year, Vancouver is about to experience a new arts Festival. An initiative of Left Right Minds and Upintheair Theatre the inaugural Neanderthal Arts Festival takes place this summer at the Cultch.

Running from July 21 to August 1 and modelled after Toronto’s successful SummerWorks Festival, Neanderthal will feature four local and two national companies as part of the 2010 Mainstage Series.

The local series includes the following shows:

  • Nigeria, The Nigeria Project
  • The 4H Club, Genus Theatre
  • Tiny Replicas, Thirty Below
  • The Hanging Judge, Spectral Theatre Society

The national series includes the following:

  • Country Shaped Like Stars, Mi Casa Theatre from Ottawa
  • Highway 63: The Fort Mac Show, Emergency Architect Theatre from Edmonton

More information on the shows is available at the Neanderthal website.

The Festival will also include a revamped Walking Fish Showcase, a series of short pieces by emerging theatre artists. A full list of shows included in this year’s showcase, now entering its eighth year, will be announced shortly.

Festival Co-producer Allyson McGrane says:  "We're looking forward to our inaugural Neanderthal Arts Festival at the Cultch - it's a fabulous opportunity to bring new summer theatre shows, ones featuring new work and cutting edge performances, to Vancouver audiences. The support we’ve already received for the Festival has been overwhelming".

Neanderthal is a curated, developmental festival, providing a platform for theatre artists and companies to showcase and try out new and experimental work. The goal is to encourage work that takes risks, is creative and has a clear artistic vision.

Neanderthal Arts Festival is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the City of Vancouver, 2010 Legacies Now and the Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation.

Keep tuned to PLANK as we keep you up to date with developments at the Neanderthal Arts Festival. You can also follow reports from the cave directly on Twitter and Facebook.