MyWestworld

HIVE 3

Posted on 25. Mar, 2010 by Rob Howatson in Living

HIVE has got to be one of the strangest, most invigorating, chaotic experiments in the history of Vancouver’s live theatre scene. I missed the event’s 2006 debut at Chapel Arts, a former Strathcona funeral home that now serves as a cultural hub, but caught the show when it resurfaced in 2008 at its current venue, the Centre for Digital Media Warehouse at the Great Northern Way Campus. And beginning March 11, the HIVE will buzz again with 12 site-inspired, installation-based performance pieces from Vancouver’s coolest theatre companies.

The super-short pieces (none longer than 15 minutes) run in continuous, rapid rotation around a central lounge area. The audience wanders around the warehouse and chooses which performances they wish to see. It is virtually impossible to see all 12 bits in a single evening, but guests have a lot of fun trying.

HIVE: One of the strangest, most invigorating, chaotic experiments in the history of Vancouver’s live theatre scene. Photocourtesy The Electric Company Theatre

Two years ago, at HIVE 2, I saw four actors in a shadowy room perform a post-apocalyptic skit that cleverly morphed from frightening to hilarious. (Cozy Catastrophe by Rumble Productions & Theatre Melee.) I then stumbled into The Box Show by Felix Culpa, a play set, literally, inside a giant cardboard box. From there, I strolled across the warehouse to watch a surreal drama unfold down a narrow corridor (The Flannigan Affair by The Electric Company). The evening continued that way with small clumps of audience members bouncing from one bizarre vision to the next.

HIVE nights always end with live music, with this year’s lineup of eight Canadian indie bands including The British Columbians, Rich Hope and The Sadies.

HIVE 3 runs March 11-14, 17-20 at 577 Great Northern Way. Tickets are $25 for adults,
 $20 for students/seniors.

Lead photo courtesy The Electric Company Theatre.

Tags: HIVE3, Vancouver Theatre