The sixth annual Femme Festival takes place across The Cultch’s three stages in April and May in a celebration of female-identifying voices. This year’s festival features seven performances from women in music, theatre, dance, comedy, and circus.
It is going to be a huge celebration of female-identifying voices. The biggest in the city. – Heather Redfern
Headlining the festival with a run in The Cultch’s York Theatre is Raven, a contemporary circus act from the German circus collective still hungry. Raven is a show that presents the balancing act of being a mother and an artist, exploring the German concept of “Rabenmutter” (raven mother, a selfish, neglectful mother) with high-flying acrobatics.
Music bookends the festival with performances from Juno-nominated artists Jill Barber as part of the tour for her new album Homemaker and Amanda Sum, who presents New Age Attitudes: Live in Concert.
On the Vancity Culture Lab stage comes Bird by Kylie Vincent. This solo comedy show explores the challenges of being a young female-identifying stand-up while her past trauma continues to peck its way into the present.
Another show bringing comedy to the festival is the dance show Body Parts by local choreographer Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg. Known for her unique performance style, combining comedy and dance, Body Parts looks at “how body dysmorphia plays a role in how we all perform in society while also celebrating what our bodies can do.”
On the theatre side, the festival presents ūtszan (to make better), a story about Indigenous language reclamation in which a young woman starts to pursue language fluency when her auntie, who is at the end of her life, decides to stop speaking English.
This year’s festival also includes In Response to Alabama on The Cultch’s digital playground, RE/PLAY. Presented in person at the 2022 Femme Festival, this encore online presentation looks at true stories of abortion.
We are so excited to bring you this year’s Femme Festival,” says Cultch executive director Heather Redfern. “It is going to be a huge celebration of female-identifying voices. The biggest in the city.”
The Cultch presents the 6th annual Femme Festival across The Cultch’s three venues (Historic Theatre, Culture Lab & York Theatre) from April 15 through May 15. Visit thecultch.com for tickets and more information.