Produced in partnership with Vancouver Playhouse, Latino Theatre Group, Aché Brasil, Studio 58, and Vancouver East Cultural Centre
March 1 – 10, 2001
Vancouver East Cultural Centre & W.I.S.E. Hall – Vancouver, BC
Carnival! A sensuous feast of colour, sounds, fragrance, light, and music, Doña Flor and Her Two Husbands transports the spectator to a fiery Brazilian city circa 1940. While World War II rends the Northern Hemisphere, South America is booming! Amidst this continent-wide party unfolds a tale of passion, love, cooking, and the fierce battle between spirit and matter. Based on the classic novel by Jorge Amado, Dona Flor is the story of a woman torn between the ghost of her passionate but unreliable first husband and his dedicated yet lifeless replacement.
Doña Flor takes place in two separate venues. Partway through the performance, the audience is led in a Carnival parade to an infamous beer hall behind the primary theatre. This dingy tavern has transformed into “The Palace”, a casino and brothel in the underworld haunted by Flor’s first husband. Here, Doña Flor uncovers and gives into her sensuality. The audience literally joins her on the journey and viscerally experiences her transformation. Site becomes narrative and narrative gives way to direct experience and sensation.
Doña Flor and Her Two Husbands is a celebration of the diversity in our home town of Vancouver that brings to centre stage the talents of the thriving Latino community.
PHOTOS
AWARDS
2001 Alcan Performing Arts Award – Theatre
JESSIE RICHARDSON THEATRE AWARDS, 2001:
Outstanding Performance by an Actor In a Supporting Role, Small Theatre (Donald Adams)
Outstanding Costume Design, Small Theatre (Christine Reimer)