With performance venues now allowed to reopen after the COVID-19 omicron wave, Public Energy Performing Arts has announced three in-person performances at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough this winter and spring.
“After a 23-month period in which we presented just two events in our favourite venue, we are back with three major presentations over three months,” read a media release from Public Energy. “From February 17 to April 20 Peterborough audiences will once again experience the best cutting-edge artists from across Canada with works of dance, theatre, and interdisciplinary performance.”
Recognizing the financial impact of the pandemic and with the goal of eliminating cost as a barrier to attending the performing arts, Public Energy is instituting a pick-your-own-price policy for each of the three events. Tickets will be sold at a sliding scale beginning as low as $5.
“In-Ward” by Ebnflöh (February 17 and 18)
Public Energy’s Market Hall series begins on Thursday, February 17th and Friday, February 18th at at 7:30 p.m., with In-Ward by urban dance company Ebnflöh from Montreal.
“In-Ward” sees ground-breaking hip-hop choreographer Alexandra ‘Spicey’ Landé taking the dance of the streets to new artistic heights. With a raw and precise physicality, Landé plunges us into the deep waters of the conscious and unconscious with six accomplished dancers.
Forced to live together and form a group, they navigate between the temptations of solitude and of closeness, and the threat of conflicts. Accompanying the dance and constantly propelling it forward is a sound design by renowned hip-hop beat maker and producer Shash’U.
“In-Ward” draws on influences from Montreal’s world-famous contemporary dance scene, while maintaining the essence of hip-hop in a show about the human psyche.
“OUFF” by Alexis O’Hara (March 23)
The second show in the Market Hall series is the hard-hitting OUFF from Montreal transdisciplinary artist Alexis O’Hara, which takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 24th.
In “OUFF”, O’Hara and her collaborator/designer Atom Cianfarani tackle themes of white privilege, late capitalism, and perimenopause with humour and a disconcerting honesty. They have created a true spectacle in which a solitary but fragmented femme negotiates her role, as victim and victor, pawn and princess, in a commodity-crazed-brink-of-collapse world propped up by the violent dominance of whiteness.
“Set in an unsafe place between satire, observational comedy, and scathing social commentary, OUFF makes us laugh, contemplate and cringe a little as an audience, not quite sure we’re in on the joke or even want to hear the kernels of truth that make it work,” writes Robyn Fadden for the culture website Bible Urbaine.
O’Hara has toured internationally with performances that comprise elements of cabaret, pop music, spoken-word, stand-up comedy, vocals and electronics, drag, photography, and installation.
“Deafy” by Chris Dodd (April 19 and 20)
The final show in Public Energy’s Market Hall season is Deafy, written and performed by Edmonton actor and playwright Chris Dodd, with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19th and Wednesday, April 20th.
In “Deafy”, Deaf public speaker Nathan Jesper has arrived at his venue desperately late. As he launches into his speech, he soon realizes that things are not what they seem. A poignant and humorous storytelling piece blending American Sign Language (ASL), the spoken word, and surtitles, “Deafy” reflects on the experience of what it is like to be a Deaf person in a hearing world and leads you on an unexpected journey of what it really means to belong.
“Deafy”, which premiered at the 2019 SummerWorks Performance Festival in Toronto to critical acclaim, has confirmed Dodd’s place as an important and influential artist in Canadian theatre. His remarkable 20-year career began as the first Deaf graduate of the University of Alberta’s Drama program. He is the founder and director of SOUND OFF, Canada’s only theatre festival devoted to the Deaf performing arts, is an artistic associate with Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre in Edmonton, and was recently awarded the prestigious Guy Laliberté Prize by the Canada Council for the Arts in honour of his exceptional work in Deaf theatre.
Note: Public Energy is providing ASL interpretation at the box office for each performance to accommodate people who are deaf and hard of hearing.
All shows in Public Energy’s Market Hall series are contingent on gatherings and events being allowed under public health restrictions. To gain access to the Market Hall, you will have to wear a mask and show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as required by law. No refunds will be issued for those who fail to produce proof of vaccination at the door.
For tickets to all three upcoming performances, visit publicenergy.ca.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a long-time media sponsor of Public Energy Performing Arts.
