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Game-inspired ‘Tetris’ dance show and more at 2018 Surrey International Children’s Festival

Seven ticketed shows announced for next spring’s event at Surrey Arts Centre/Bear Creek Park
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Members of The Netherlands-based Arch8 dance company in a promo photo for “Tetris,” coming to the 2018 Surrey International Children’s Festival next spring.

SURREY — The entertainment lineup for the 2018 Surrey International Children’s Festival is now detailed on the event’s website, surrey.ca/childrensfestival.

Seven ticketed shows, including Baking Time, Tetris and Ruploops: The Human Radio, will be staged during the annual festival, held from May 24 to 26 at Bear Creek Park and Surrey Arts Centre.

The Netherlands-based Arch8 dance company created Tetris with inspiration from the video game. “This extremely physical dance quartet explores how we connect with one another, building a private language to communicate, and then invites others to enter into the dancers world,” says a post on the festival website. “It is for the kids who can’t sit still, for the ones who like to climb the walls, and those who can imagine further than they can see.”

From Quebec, Puzzle Theatre’s Plastique puppetry show is described in this way: “What is more surprising than a plastic bag world where funny and colorful creatures are born and transform themselves as much as they like! They fill themselves, they empty themselves, they fly, they eat each other, they are bored… They exist. Step by step they reveal their nature. They are primitive, naive and funny and they resemble us a little bit… maybe.”

Baking Time, a collaboration between B.C.’s Presentation House Theatre and the U.K.’s Oily Cart Theatre, features live music and real baking. The show finds two playful bakers, Bun and Bap, “sifting through magical flour storms, with mischievous doughy characters amidst shelves of baking ingredients and utensils.”

Baking Time Promo-HD 1080p from Timothy Carson on Vimeo.

Green Thumb Theatre’s Celestial Being focuses on Celeste, who is having a hard time at school. She can’t seem to make any friends in her class, so she decides she must be from outer space. That’s when Celeste meets Martin, a new boy at school, and their adventure takes a new turn. “Celeste explores the world of a young girl with a big imagination and her struggle making social connections. As we see the world through her eyes, and the tremendous colour and joy that her inner world presents, we realize that seeing things differently can be a wonderful gift.”

The B.C.-based Ruploops: The Human Radio show is described as “a fun and captivating way to explore the universal language of music.” Rup is a vocal percussionist, rhythmic rhymer and live looping performer and music educator from Vancouver. “Through body percussion and beatboxing, Rup demonstrates and teaches how the body is indeed a musical instrument. Rup is a master at engaging kids from the opening beats until the end of the show,” which takes audiences “on a journey of sound exploring anatomy, geography and culture with a mix of hip-hop, blues and bhangra.”

Quebec’s Kif-Kif Sisters are identical twins who “fight giant pink monsters, practice the art of snacking and ensure the triumph of the umbilical cord.” The performers mix surprising comedy and audience interaction with enough happiness to make vegetables explode, apparently. “These sisters have been inseparable since the womb and have many years of performing all over the world, from the Americas to Asia. They have performed in many schools around the world, notably as part of the Théâtre de l’Aubergine.”

Also at the 2018 festival, celebrated Métis author and literacy advocate David Bouchard helps kids get hooked on books during his performances. “Using native flutes, song, poetry and storytelling, David will invite kids in to his magical world where they will see first-hand how their imaginations are more colourful and vibrant than even the most popular movie. With contagious excitement, he’ll share his proud Aboriginal heritage and selections from his more than 70 books, many of which are award-winning bestsellers.”

School and group tickets for the festival go on sale Nov. 7. For details, call 604-501-5598.



Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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