Articles — Stir

In Batshit, Aussie artist unpacks grandmother’s psychiatric mistreatment in unexpected ways

Drawing on everything from absurd comedy to cabaret, Leah Shelton ties family tragedy to a system that still pathologizes women as “hysterical”, “high-strung”, or god forbid, “hormonal”

THEATREJanet SmithFebruary 4, 2026THE CULTCH, The Cultch, Warrior Festival, Homepage feature

Chor Leoni hosts annual PopCappella concert with hits by the Beach Boys, B-52s, and more, March 6 and 7

Songs on the program range from Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky” to John Denver’s “Country Roads”

MUSICStir VancouverFebruary 4, 2026Partner Content, Chor Leoni, CHOR LEONI

Ahead of the Family Forward Festival, Ruby Chopstix praises their mom’s unconditional support

In a short documentary, the Vietnamese Canadian queen reflects on becoming the country’s first drag artist-in-residence

Justine A. Chambers wins 2025 VIVA Award, while Lorna Brown receives 2025 Alvin Balkind Curator’s Prize

Dance artist has explored gesture and her Black matrilineal heritage, while curator has made her mark at Artspeak Gallery, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, and far beyond

Festival du Bois launches 2026 lineup rooted in vibrant Canadian fiddle traditions, March 6 to 8

Performers include Nicolas Pellerin et les Grands Hurleurs, Delhi 2 Dublin, and bluegrass band Bagatelle

FESTS, MUSICStir VancouverFebruary 3, 2026Partner Content, Festival du Bois, Mackin Park, francophone, Francophone

Radiohead on the roster as Leslie Dala plays piano recital at Behind the Keys, February 13

Vancouver Bach Family of Choirs’ Valentine’s fundraiser program spans Christopher O’Riley’s arrangements of the band’s songs and Mozart’s Fantasia in C minor

Theatre review: Everything Has Disappeared explores what we owe to the Filipino diaspora

In The Cultch, PuSh Fest, and Live Biennale copresentation, technicolour visuals complemented Hazel Venzon’s larger-than-life energy in a ride that spoke directly to today’s global economy

Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods braids Indigenous storytelling with classical dance

Rising Tla’amin choreographer Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe draws on a tale he heard growing up for a large-scale work that joins Carmina Burana on a double bill

DANCEJanet SmithFebruary 2, 2026Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Homepage feature, Cameron Fraser-Monroe, Indigenous

Fluevog Shoes unveils pretty pink heels to mark Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival’s 20th annual event

The sakura-inspired look is just one of the styles on offer at a February 5 shopping-night fundraiser for the fest

FASHION, FESTSJanet SmithFebruary 2, 2026Fluevog Shoes, sakura, Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

Vancouver Cantata Singers perform a golden selection of beloved pieces, February 28

At Cantata Gold, a new commission by Sam Dabrusin honours bass Doug Colpitts’s 50th year of singing with the choral ensemble

MUSICStir VancouverFebruary 2, 2026Partner Content, Vancouver Cantata Singers

Review: SLUGS wriggles into an anarchic world of clowning, theatre, puppetry, rave energy, and “bad ideas”

At PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, the Creepy Boys duo who created and perform the show, want to make sure it’s about nothing, nothing, nothing, except fun, fun, fun

COMEDY, THEATREJanet SmithFebruary 1, 2026PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

Ballet Jörgen gives Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream a ’50s Albertan twist

Fun riffs on the classic include a moose-headed Bottom wearing buffalo plaid and an appearance by a royal couple

DANCEJanet SmithJanuary 30, 2026Ballet Jorgen, Ballet Jörgen, Massey Theatre

Theatre review: Arts Club's The Golden Anniversaries weaves a tender story about love and memory

With strong performances and set design, Mark Crawford’s dramedy relives a marriage’s milestones on a lived-in cottage’s cosy front porch

THEATREJanet SmithJanuary 30, 2026Arts Club Theatre Company

All That's Left of You tracks a Palestinian family's intergenerational pain, at VIFF Centre to February 12

Oscar-shortlisted film takes a sweeping, humanistic look at the toll of decades of violence

SCREEN, WHAT'S STIRRINGJanet SmithJanuary 30, 2026VIFF, Vancouver International Film Festival, VIFF Centre

Vancouver Bach Family of Choirs hosts the Canadian premiere of Dame Ethel Smyth’s Mass in D major, February 28

Performance features soloists Marianne Bertrand, Julia LoRusso, Lyndon Ladeur, and Mihnea Nitu

Celebrated drag artist Wet Mess leans into confusion and complexity with TESTO

The London-based performer reveals the struggle and growth behind the bold, disarming visions of their latest show, now on its way to PuSh Festival

THEATRE, FESTSJanet SmithJanuary 29, 2026PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, PuSh Festival, Drag

At HOLD ON LET GO, Anjela Magpantay unpacks the weight of gifts and absence

In her show titled it is for when you meet me, the creator and performer explores what it means to give and receive through the Filipino tradition of pasalubong and balikbayan boxes

THEATRE, FESTSJanet SmithJanuary 29, 2026Filipino, Filipinx, HOLD ON LET GO, Russian Hall