Live Documentary Tackles Oilsands Drama

When Tim Carlson was in Grade 5, he remembers the class receiving info packages from Syncrude, with baggies of actual tar stapled inside. “That image stayed with me,” the Theatre Conspiracy artistic producer relates now, though he’s left behind the oil-rich Alberta countryside that supported generations of his family. That memory is just one driver for Extraction, the “live documentary theatre” project he’s been developing with director Amiel Gladstone, actor Jimmy Mitchell (an old friend and China hand), and others since 2010. The story of Chinese investment in the oilsands forms the surface of the play, which digs into themes of interpretation, cultural exchange, and diplomacy through guided nonfiction conversations onstage. Make time for this show from one of our smartest companies. Conspiracy.ca

Extraction plays from Mar. 5 to 9 at the Vancovuer East Cultural Centre (The Cultch) 

From $17. For tickets, visit: TheCultch.com

See our online Event Calendar for more March must-sees!