Toronto: Progress Festival
An experimental theatre festival with two North American immersive premieres


When: January 30 — February 2; February 5–9
Where:The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St W, Toronto
Price: $25 per show; $60 for festival pass
Tags: #immersivetheatre, #interactive (see below)
SummerWorks and The Theatre Centre, are thrilled to announce the fifth edition of Progress, an international festival of performance and ideas. The Festival brings together a dynamic group of curatorial companies and progressive performance work from across the globe that is urgent and reflective of contemporary approaches to form.
Café Sarajevo; Canada / USA; Jan 30 — Feb 2
An immersive theatrical experience exploring the borders that divide and unite us, within the framework of a live podcast.
Café Sarajevo follows protagonist, Lucy Simic, as she travels to her father’s birthplace, Bosnia. Along the way, we explore divided cities and the notion of “human nature”, asking the question: what causes a nation to divide, and begin to hate the very people and culture that it used to see at its own? With story, dance, game, music 360° video, and by casting the audience as characters in the story, internationally acclaimed performance makers bluemouth inc. create a fast-paced, intimate, and thoughtful exploration about nationalism, racial bias and war tourism.
Affioramenti (Surfacing); Italy; Feb 5–9
Acclaimed visual artist Antonella Bersani builds an immersive environment with the help of the audience.
The Affioramenti experience is designed for 6 participants at a time, who have one-on-one moments of creation and interaction with each other. The space contains objects that appear to have emerged from the sea at low tide — a story to be completed. Each participant is invited to bring an object of significance to their life and place it within the space. They will then offer to the room both their object and a vocal expression related to the object they place. The expression can be a story, a whisper, a song, or just a breath. Participants will be prompted to actively listen to the other participants, while maintaining an atmospheric sound dynamic that is as quiet (pianissimo) as possible. Thus, a choir will be created. The audience will hear the sounds, sometimes disjointed and sometimes not, emerging from a “world of ghosted objects”.
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The Theatre Centre is an accessible facility, with barrier-free washrooms and an accessibility lift to facilitate movement between floors. If you are planning a trip to The Theatre Centre and have any questions about accessibility or would like to make any special arrangements, please call our box office at 416–538–0988. We will be happy to make any arrangements to help facilitate an enjoyable visit.