You heard that right. This year, undercurrents: theatre below the mainstream can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home! 

The 2021 festival features six locally produced shows, a mix of audio plays, live-streams, and interactive app experiences.

THE LINEUP

Checkout the full festival lineup below, and get your tickets and schedule here.

Strata Inc.

A Strata Inc. Collective Production 
Created by Megan Piercey Monafu & Johnny Wideman 
Directed by Megan Piercey Monafu 
Performed by Bénédicte Bélizaire, Gabrielle Lazarovitz, Johnny Wideman, Prem Anand, Maryse Fernandes, Matt Hertendy, William Beddoe & Will Somers

Ottawa, Ontario
100 minutes | M

Victoria, an infamous hacker, teams up with big tech company Strata Inc. to create a powerful virtual reality platform for a worldwide audience.  As users interact with the new VR experiences, they confront online privacy, connection, and security challenges. Now, Victoria must choose: run the multinational ethically, or escape from her own invention.

Strata Inc. is an audio play, available on demand, March 17-20.

Ethel 

An Aplombusrhombus Production 
Written & Performed by Madeleine Hall 
Directed by Mitchel Rose
Composer & Sound Design by Julien Dussault

Ottawa, Ontario
50 minutes | PG

After a sudden fall in the shower led to Madeleine’s grandmother, Ethel, moving to a long-term care facility in Ottawa and the two living in the same city for the first time, Madeleine became one of Ethel’s primary caregivers and companions. This time served as Madeleine’s introduction to long-term senior care, deep intergenerational friendship, and, ultimately, natural death. Ethel is a solo storytelling performance about human connection and a tribute to our shared mortality. 

Ethel will be live streamed, March 10-13.

Remixed

A Trophy Production
Created by Trophy

Ottawa, Ontario
45 minutes | PG

Remixed is a listening party for one, performed together across time and space in a collective experience. Each audience member receives their own playlist of stories and music, personalized by our algorithmic DJ, and a party gift delivered to their home for use during the performance. The playlists include true stories from people all over the globe and explores how we create change in our lives, communities, and world. We’re listening for the sound of change, and we invite you to join us. What happens when we listen to each other? 

Audience members must download the Remixed app, and will have a gift delivered to their home the morning of the performance. This show is available only to those in the Ottawa area.

Deluge  

A Skeleton Key Production
Created by Kate Smith & Scottie Irving
Performed by Kate Smith, Scottie Irving, Alex Wickham, Juan Miguel Gomez Montant, and Kathryn Patricia with KAR33M

Ottawa, Ontario
60 minutes | 14+

A rock concert on rising seas. Deluge follows climate change refugees and their struggle to survive in an unpredictable environment.  A visual album, Deluge explores the impacts of climate change through the eyes of two characters set adrift and left to navigate the remains of their sunken town. 

Deluge will be streamed March 10-14.

No More Mr. Rice Guy

A Franco Pang Production 
Created & Performed by Franco Pang  
Created & Directed by Alli Harris

Ottawa/Richmond Hill, Ontario
45 minutes | PG

Rice Boy is your average high schooler with a dream – to go against the grain and make it big as a rapper. After hearing a radio ad about a rap battle competition, he knows this is his big chance. With the vocabulary of a KUMON advanced program, join him on his journey to be the biggest, baddest rapper there ever was – without his mom finding out!

No More Mr. Rice Guy will be live streamed March 18-20.

Being Coloured/ful in a Black and White World

An 8th Generation Performance Production 
Created, Performed & Directed by Jacqui Du Toit

Ottawa, Ontario
75 minutes | G

International storyteller Jacqui Du Toit takes you on a journey to her motherland, South Africa, to the times of great struggle, uprising, and racial divide. Jacqui shares stories of growing up in apartheid and post-apartheid, the time of great social changes and the creation of the Rainbow Nation.

With her captivating storytelling, Jacqui will have you laughing, crying and even dancing at the end of the performance.

Being Coloured/ful in a Black and White World will be live streamed March 17-20th.

ABOUT UNDERCURRENTS

Produced by Ottawa Fringe.
Our winter festival shows the best original, contemporary theatre being created by Ottawa performers and visiting artists.

Find out more.