Queer & Trans Play Reading Series
Zee Zee has identified a gap that exists in the Canadian theatre ecology. Time and again there is a lack of queer and trans plays being produced on stages across Canada. What started as a four year hunt for our own programming purposes, led to a country-wide conversation with many other artists and producers who all share the view that as curators, producers and presenters of theatrical seasons it is a challenge to find queer and trans focused work.
To rectify this, Zee Zee has established a new model for play creation and dissemination, in order to ensure more equitable representation of 2SLGBTQ+ artists and stories on Canadian stages, as well as strengthen and deepen the bonds of professional artists and collaborators across the country, while ultimately furthering equality for all queer and trans people.
Join us in celebration of the culmination of this 10 month project with readings happening both live and in-person across the country throughout the fall.
Generously supported by TD Bank, Canada Council for the Arts, 100 Gay Men for a Cause, Canadian Heritage.
Queer Asian Stories Collection
Curated by Yanting Qiu, Jaylon Han & the mother of the House of Rice Shay Dior. Presented in partnership with the Vancouver Public Library.
Storytelling on a human scale.
Following the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic, Zee Zee Theatre has chosen to focus our 2023 Collections Series on the Queer Asian experience. Come listen to our community of storytellers share each of their unique and memorable life experiences, as we work to break down assumptions and build understanding, 20 minutes at a time.
Generously supported by the Parachute Fund.
The Papa Penguin Play
by Dave Deveau.
In association with Carousel Theatre for Young People. Co-commissioned by Carousel Theatre for Young People and the Vancouver International Children’s Festival.
Penguins Peaches and Izzy are the Zoo’s main attraction: two male penguins who put on daily shows to visitors’ delight. But when other penguin couples lay eggs and go on to have a chick, these two pine for parenting life. With the help from the Zoo Keeper, dreams do come true. The Papa Penguin Play welcomes audiences of all ages to a penguin chick first birthday party, a celebration like you’ve never seen. Recommended for All Ages
You Could Be My Safe Space
by award-winning playwrights’ JD Derbyshire & Dave Deveau, in consultation with Jessie Anderson & Morgane Oger.
Experience a strange and unpredictable night to remember at an East Van dive bar. You Could Be My Safe Space delves into the complex and polarizing world of trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs), which have divided Vancouver’s queer and feminist communities, in this colourful, cheeky and hard-hitting new show.
The Dark Bridge
by Thembelihle Moyo
In partnership with Arts Club Theatre, Electric Company Theatre, Playwrights Theatre Centre, and Puente Theatre
The Dark Bridge explores the seizure of land and mines from white ownership by the Zimbabwe government in the name of empowering poorer black communities. In reality, only the few who are affiliated with the ruling party benefit; the majority of black Zimbabweans suffer and they are the ones forced to work in illegal mines. In Africa, women are the breadwinners in most homes, and this story shows how resilient they can be in the face of adversity.
OverChering
By Charliee Sideen AKA Thanks Jem
This drag show-theatre hybrid dives into a childhood within the foster system as a Two-Spirit, Indigenous kid. Jem is a local icon, and beyond her ability to electrify and light up a room through drag, she has a tremendous heart which she bares onstage in an experience that will make you laugh, cry, and confront your white privilege. From baking pies for the audience, to hosting dinners Martha would envy, Jem is always striving to build community.