Harbourfront Centre to Present WORLD STAGE 2016

Harbourfront Centre is proud to announce an impressive and eclectic season for World Stage 2016, which runs January 20 - June 11. Since its inaugural season 30 years ago in 1986, World Stage continues to present groundbreaking contemporary performances from around the world. Artistic Director Tina Rasmussen unveiled the 2016 season, which includes seven international theatre, dance and multidisciplinary performances from Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Palestine.

"World Stage has always been committed to showcasing work at the forefront of contemporary exploration, the global trendsetters," explains Rasmussen. "This year, World Stage looks at performance through the lens of 'more.' We believe that the way to the new, different and invigorating begins by wanting more: asking more, exploring more. The creative impulse itself is about desiring more and accessing unknown places. What better way to discover groundbreaking forms of performance than seek out innovators from across the world."
World Stage 2016 Season Lineup:

GerminalHalory Goerger & Antoine DefoortFranceJanuary 20-23, Fleck Dance TheatreStraddling the playful and the profound, Germinal begins with a bare stage and a group of intrepid adventurers who set out to imagine how they would remake the universe from the beginning. With an approach both giddily charming and deeply philosophical, the performers construct and deconstruct the history of science, technology and societal structures in an experimental way. As they remake everything, a gentle but rigorous exploration of thinking and social planning is revealed.

The World Stage Mirror BallWorld Stage with Mother Trouble NuanceCanada/TorontoJanuary 30, Harbourfront Centre TheatreAn annual tradition (that's not traditional at all), this celebration of the 2016 season will be a lively performance party in the spirit of more: more artistry, more theatrics, and more mirrors. Inspired by the infinite reflection in the disco ball, guests are invited to dress in their shiniest, most dazzling costume to strut the runway or just be immersed in the creative freedom all around. The ball features 10 runway categories, a make-up station and a DJ spinning dance floor hits.

BadkeKVS, les ballets C de la B, A.M. Qattan FoundationBelgium & PalestineFebruary 17-20, Fleck Dance TheatreThis dance performance brings together a group of Palestinian dancers, who all trained outside of their home country, to practice the traditional dance dabke and infuse it with new proposals, vocabularies and ideas. The title Badke is the result of this confluence of traditional and contemporary, local and global, in expressing the universal desire to belong. This Canadian premiere is a highly energetic, politically charged and stylistically diverse experience which incorporates the movements of folk, circus, capoeira and hip hop.

Portraits in MotionVolker GerlingGermanyApril 13-16, Harbourfront Centre TheatreIn this gentle and compassionate storytelling performance, a diverse cast of characters is introduced through the flipbooks created by photographer Volker Gerling. As he thumbs through the small books, the portraits are projected to reveal several seconds of luminous humanity as he describes his encounters and reveals his curiosity about people and places. Portraits in Motion was the recipient of a prestigious Total Theatre Award at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Looking for Paul: Inez van Dam vs. the Buttplug GnomeWunderbaumThe NetherlandsApril 27-30, Harbourfront Centre TheatreIn a staged encounter, Rotterdam resident Inez van Dam travels to the U.S. to confront contemporary artist Paul McCarthy about his so-called "Buttplug Gnome," a controversial public sculpture installed across the street from her house. Excessive, witty and rabidly unconcerned with decorum, the resulting work documents the journey and artistic process that explodes - sometimes very messily - into a debate on aesthetics, politics and the meaning of public art, in this Canadian premiere.

SteerZata Omm Dance ProjectsProduced with Harbourfront Centre's World StageCanada/TorontoMay 11-14, Fleck Dance TheatreA world premiere, Steer imagines a trajectory where the boundary between human and technology becomes indistinct as light, sound and video move in connection and counterpoint to the dance. Created and performed by choreographer William Yong, this solo work considers the merging of flesh and technology and its impact on humanity enveloped in a sci-fi aesthetic. Zata Omm returns to World Stage after the highly successful world premiere of 2015's Dora Award-nominated vox:lumen.

Backstage in Biscuit LandTourettesheroEnglandMay 25-28, Harbourfront Centre Theatre Combining storytelling, comedy and puppetry, Backstage in Biscuit Land offers an intimate glimpse into Jess Thom's unique perspective as an artist and woman with Tourette Syndrome. As a result of her tics, Thom says the word "biscuit" 16,000 times a day. After being asked to sit in isolation while attending a theatre performance, Thom discovered the only place in the theatre she wouldn't be asked to leave: the stage. Playful, spontaneous and laugh-out-loud funny, Backstage in Biscuit Land shows first hand that making theatre inclusive makes it better. North American Premiere.

Every Song I've Ever WrittenJacob Wren / PME-ARTPresented by World Stage in association with The Power Plant Contemporary Art GalleryCanada/MontrealJune 9 & 11, The Power Plant / WestJet StageIf a song is never heard, does it exist? This interactive multi-platform project was created by Jacob Wren after writing 58 songs over a nine-year period and contemplating this question. The live shows feature Wren in a solo performance of his entire catalogue and the Band Night will present Toronto bands covering the songs followed by conversations between Wren and the musicians. Every Song I've Ever Written examines personal regrets while exploring the much larger cultural shift in how music is listened to and understood. Lend an ear and discover what songwriting, musical community and collaboration mean in the internet age.