Tomboy (Chłopczyca)
Inspired by upiory (vampires of Slavic folklore), this dance-theatre performance redefines masculinity.
Winner of the 2023 Wildfire National Playwriting Competition
About the show
Queer vampires and Slavic folklore converge in Tomboy (Chłopczyca), a kinetic dance-theatre performance exploring gender, memory and cultural belonging. This new work, written by Jessie Award-nominated playwright Anais Mateusz West, is a trans coming-of-age story with a dark, supernatural twist.
After learning that as a teen, their best friend was attacked by a boy from their Polish immigrant community, a non-binary historian remembers their shared adolescence. But with each recollection, the sequence of events becomes more ambiguous, the choreography of memory more complex. Through repetition, they unravel the narrative they’ve constructed of themself, the boy, and their predatory bond. Were his actions his own, or was he cursed by a monstrous and mythic inheritance?
By exploding cultural dance and genre conventions, Tomboy redefines horror, eroticism and masculinity.
Opening Night
WED, MAR 04 | 7:30PM
Evening Shows
WED–SAT | 7:30PM
Matinees
SAT & SUN | 2:00PM
Talkback
THUR, MAR 05 | 7:30PM
Wednesday to Saturday, March 4 - 8
Vancity Culture Lab
1895 Venables St,
Vancouver, BC