rEvolver Festival unveils adventurous lineup of form-mashing theatre arts
In Upintheair Theatre’s annual event at The Cultch, opera, standup, puppets, and more mix together in experimental stage works about everything from eco disaster to cats
Robin Redbreast in a Cage; Popurrí
PUPPETRY AND MASKS meet opera, Greek myth, and standup, as Upintheair Theatre unveils the lineup for rEvolver Festival 2026.
Expect the experimental and multidisciplinary as the celebration of Canadian live theatre arts by emerging and early-to-mid-career artists runs over two weekends—May 22 to May 31—at The Cultch.
Programmed by resident curator Argel Monte de Ramos, festival director Sarah Roa, and Upintheair Theatre managing and artistic director David Mott, this year’s rEvolver features six mainstage productions.
Scarlet Chen’s Citizen Chen blends standup and true storytelling in a comedy about immigration and identity.
Megan Milton’s Free Kittens, meanwhile, explores life as the resolutely pro-choice eldest daughter of a Catholic teenage mother; it had a sold-out run at Vancouver Fringe Festival.
Plastik Theatriks presents the physical-theatre piece Popurrí, throwing clowning, puppetry, masks, and opera into a mix of surreal, short vignettes; it won Volunteer Pick at the Victoria Fringe Festival.
Regarding Antigone, by Banafsheh Hassani, The Sky is the Limit Theatre, and Sort of Productions, is a new play inspired by a true story and the ancient Greek myth.
Also on the mainstage, William Rubel and Golgonoozans’ Robin Redbreast in a Cage looks at a post-collapse world where AI takes over, raising questions around eco responsibility and survival.
And The Human Cat Experience, by Hilary Fillier & ira cooper of Spec Theatre & Catsco, employs handmade puppets, songs, and more in its comedy about two felines high on catnip that have to make an emergency road trip to Catsco for kitty litter.
Elsewhere at the fest, check out readings and works in progress, as well as two special presentations: Aunt Harriet, HAUI™ and Public Domain Theatre’s award-winning film installation that’s a visual elegy about overlooked Black history in Canada; and BEE, Jessica Hood’s mixed-media animated short film about a wild bee’s search for pollen as she encounters various landscapes affected by climate change.
rEvolver passes and tickets are available now at thecultch.com/event/revolver. 
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