Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre's SPOTLIGHT Series has a list of live shows coming up

Photo: Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre

The Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre Society’s SPOTLIGHT series is delivering live performances that include acrobat stars and Juno award-winning musicians.

“This is a special series for us and for our community,” says Jim Harding, executive director, VDPAC.

“We’ve all missed the chance to gather and be entertained in this really innate and important way, and our team can’t wait to turn on the lights and draw the curtain on this season in a safe, inviting and truly theatrical environment.”

There will be fourteen performances, with eight special presentations including world-renowned Afrique en Cirque, Canada’s beloved Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.

They will have two dance performances including the UK’s Bromance, a story of friendship told with parkour and acrobatics and three theatre performances which include The Invisible-Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare about women operatives.

“We felt like this was a series to go all out—to give audiences absolutely mesmerizing performances that will really let us all escape and imagine and feel that thrill of what’s possible with the human body as we bring stories to life,” says Erin Kennedy, artistic director.

Here is a full list of VDPAC’s 2022 SPOTLIGHT Series:

• Frazey Ford (the solo folk singer formerly of Be Good Tanyas) – Jan. 16
• Something is Rotten (a comedic, two-person retelling of Hamlet with a barbecue fork) – Jan. 18 Blackie and the Rodeo Kings (celebrated roots rock band) – Feb. 9
• Lantern Celebration (a Chinese dance celebration of the Lunar New Year) – Feb. 11
• Raven (a warm and funny theatrical exploration of motherhood) – Feb. 16
• Ballet Jorgen’s Romeo & Juliet (the classic Shakespeare tale of love and revenge) – Feb. 18
• The Ugly Duckling (electroluminescent characters create unforgettable theatre) – Feb. 26 Afrique en Cirque (daring acrobats, circus virtuosity & rhythms of Guinea) – March 3
• I am Woman, Hear me LAFF! (starring standup comedian Erica Sigurdson) – March 12
• Iskwe (Juno-winning post rock sound that mixes jazz, trip-hop and R&B) – March 13
• North Okanagan Children’s Festival (pay-what-you-can family performance fun) – March 19-20 Big Little Lions (Juno-winning infectious folk pop music) – March 31
• Bromance (a physical heroics tour-de-force in which backslaps become backflips) – April 19
• The Invisible-Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare (a musical of seven female spies)– May 11

“Beyond a lot of just jaw-dropping theatrics, we also wanted the performances of this series to reflect many different kinds of stories and voices, and we’re excited about the richness of the diversity,” says Kennedy.

“We’re also really looking forward to our brand-new pay-what-you-can children’s festival in March so families can just come together and enjoy some fun and inspiring performances and activities with us.”