The Café

Demolition by Polytoxic. Photographer Joel Devereux.

RE/PLAY

Available Now | Cultch RE/PLAY Feature Presentation
as part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

Available now | Cultch RE/PLAY Feature Presentation
as part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

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Produced by Aphotic Theatre and ITSAZOO Productions
In partnership with RE/PLAY, The Cultch’s Digital Playground
Created with support from the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

The Café is an invitation to be a voyeur; to eavesdrop on private conversations; to witness intimate relationships up close and personal. The Café invites audiences to explore seven vignettes by nine playwrights of various ethnicities, ages, beliefs, sexual orientations and gender identities. The sold out, critically lauded live production has been transformed into an online immersive experience that allows audience members at home to wander through the virtual Café using only a web browser.

With content performed in various languages, The Café is a day-in-the-life exploration of the cultural mosaic of a Vancouver coffee shop. Audience members are free to stay at one table and watch a scene reach its conclusion or take a journey around the virtual coffee shop and experience other scenes – a theatrical choose-your-own-adventure.

the Plays

Mango Cake
by Amy Lee Lavoie & Omari Newton
A mixed-race couple suddenly faces the underlying racial tension in their marriage.

Father’s Day
by Sebastien Archibald
An elderly francophone man struggles to reconcile with his anglophone son after a 25-year absence.

50 Cent Lemonade
by Kelsey Kanatan Wavey
An Indigenous woman guides her autistic brother through a tumultuous relationship.

Submission
by Fay Nass & Diana Garcia
In a case of mistaken identity, two women accidentally “interview” each other for the wrong (or right?) reasons.

Space Aliens and Tropical Ducks
by Derek Chan
A single parent attempts to reconnect with their depressive ex-partner.

Anna’s Story
by Manami Hara
Two best friends console each other in the face of a strained marriage and a family crisis.

Przyjaciółki
by Anais West
A Polish woman struggles to appease her Canadian partner after divulging an uncomfortable secret.

COMPANY CREDITS

Production Credits:
Concept: Fay Nass
Direction: Fay Nass & Chelsea Haberlin
Dramaturgy: Fay Nass & Sebastien Archibald
Stage Management: Jenny Kim
Assistant Stage Manager: Liam Kearns
Production Management: Paige Louter
Associate Producer: Claire Love Wilson
Costumes: Donnie Tejani
Props and Digital Interaction Designer: Ariel Slack
Sound: Piotr Wieczorek
Virtual Tour Creator: Kris Boyd
Videographer: Cameron Anderson
Digital Production Support: Pippa Mackie

Cast
Meghan Hemingway (Mango Cake)
Kwasi Thomas (Mango Cake)
Joey Lespérance (Father’s Day)
Ben Elliott (Father’s Day)
Chelsea Rose (50 Cent Lemonade)
Frankie Cottrell (50 Cent Lemonade)
Montserrat Videla Samper (Submission)
Jacqueline Korb (Submission)
Melissa Oei (Space Aliens and Tropical Ducks)
Alison Ward (Space Aliens and Tropical Ducks)
Genevieve Fleming (Anna’s Story)
Yumi Ogawa (Anna’s Story)
Paloma Kwiatkowski (Przyjaciółki)
Claire Love Wilson (Przyjaciółki)

Support

PuSh Performing Arts Festival

RAVE REVIEWS for The Café

“It’s magical!”

-Colin Thomas, review of The Café live performance

Meghan Hemingway and Kwasi Thomas (Mango Cake)
Joey Lespérance and Ben Elliott (Father’s Day)
Chelsea Rose and Frankie Cottrell (50 Cent Lemonade)
Montserrat Videla Samper and Jacqueline Korb (Submission)
Melissa Oei and Alison Ward (Space Aliens and Tropical Ducks)
Genevieve Fleming and Yumi Ogawa (Anna’s Story)
Paloma Kwiatkowski and Claire Love Wilson (Przyjaciółki)