VANCOUVER .- ITSAZOO presents a hard-hitting world premiere inspired by dark and long forgotten East Vancouver history with Sunrise Betties, now opening through March 10, 2024 in the basement of The Russian Hall. ITSAZOO Playwright-in-Residence Cheyenne Rouleau draws on the city’s sordid past to weave a fictional tale of an all-female gang operating at the height of Vancouver’s street gang crisis in 1972. Directed by local luminary Jamie King, the work promises to transport audiences 50 years back in time to a once notorious low-income, blue-collar East Vancouver neighbourhood where gangs clash for control of the drug trade, police openly practice corruption, and danger lurks in every alley.
“Sunrise Betties offers a glimpse into the origins of the economic disparity and opioid crisis that are synonymous with our “World Class City,” says Sebastien Archibald, ITSAZOO’s Co-Artistic Producer who also plays the role of a corrupt VPD Officer. “In a city notorious for erasing its history, our goal is to highlight it. With this shocking, violent, and funny work, we go back to a pre-internet, pre-Expo ‘86, pre-gentrification East Vancouver period. We hold a mirror up to Vancouver and say ‘this is your history; this is how it used to be; this is how we got here.’”
Set in 1972, the story follows the fictional Betties, a fiercely loyal, all-female street gang, run by a powerful matriarch, who operate a small-time drug trafficking operation. When the gang inadvertently starts a turf war with a prominent mobster, a corrupt Vancouver Police officer mysteriously shows up offering to-good-to-be-true promises. This challenges the gang’s loyalty, revealing their tight-knit “family” may have a rat amongst them.
To accurately evoke the gritty setting and hard-living characters, Rouleau enlisted the insights and expertise of four consultants: Vancouver historian Aaron Chapman, author of The Last Gang In Town: The Epic Story of the Vancouver Police vs. the Clark Park Gang; Kim Brucker, one of the only surviving female Clark Park members of the era; Danny “Mouse” Williamson, a high ranking Clark Park member; and John Grywinski, a retired VPD Inspector & founder of the VPD’s Integrated Gang Task Force. In addition to ensuring the play’s historic and tonal accuracy, each consultant is participating in post-show talk backs throughout the run.
Performed in the basement of East Vancouver’s historic Russian Hall, director King’s meticulously-crafted vision includes 360 degree staging to immerse audiences into the world of the play creating a visceral connection with its characters and events.
The work is being brought to life by a luminary cast of local talent and returning ITSAZOO audience favourites, including Patti Allan; Meaghan Chenosky; Kaitlyn Yott; Kelsey Kanatan Wavey; Merewyn Comeau; and Sebastien Archibald.
The creative, production, and design team includes: Jessica Oostergo (Costume Design); Sophie Tang (Lighting Design); Jenn Stewart (Set Design); Kate De Lorme (Sound Design); Monica Emme (Props); Olivier Lunardi (Fight Choreographer); and Matthew Oviatt (Technical Director/Production Manager).
ITSAZOO Productions creates dynamic theatre events for daring audiences – whether it’s a fly-on-the-wall immersive experience, or a participatory, site specific event. The company formed in 2004 and is operated today by Co-Artistic Producers: Sebastien Archibald and Paige Louter. Through five core values – immersion, challenge, fun, integrity, and community – ITSAZOO creates absorbing, all-encompassing worlds for audiences to experience. Whether it’s a fly-on-the-wall, immersive experience or a participatory, site specific event, the company creates theatre for anyone, anytime, anywhere. They don’t want audiences to just watch the story. They want audiences to experience the world of the story; to live through it.
