Commercial Drive
On July 1, 2013, Fringe Festival favourite Jacques Lalonde suffered a stroke that left him without the use of his right arm and right side of his face.
But in typical Lalonde fashion, instead of feeling sorry for himself and retreating, he wrote a play dubbed Stroke of Luck, which of course debuted at the 2014 Vancouver Fringe Festival. Through this One Crazy Frenchman production, Lalonde uses his renowned storytelling skills to give the audience an inside look at how the brain works and the difficult road to recovery.
Lalonde says he wrote Stroke of Luck to give the audience hope, inspire them to see the beauty of life in new ways — and develop their Christopher Walken impersonation. The play also delves into burning questions, such as, will Lalonde be able to use his right hand again? Will he ever be able to sing? What can he now do with his left hand that he couldn’t do before? All is revealed with the charm and wit Lalonde is famous for in his storytelling.
On April 11, Lalonde is bringing Stroke of Luck back for a special one-night only show at the Havana Theatre, 1212 Commercial Dr., with partial proceeds in support of the Stroke Recovery Association of B.C. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets at the door or by calling 604-812-1496 in advance.
Downtown
A Vancouver-based, social justice film society is teaming up with international eye health organization, Seva Canada to present An Evening of Sight, Wednesday, April 22 at SFU Woodward’s Djavad Mowafaghian Theatre.
Reel Causes organized the event to highlight the work of Seva Canada and bring the exclusive pre-release screening of Highway to Dhampus to Vancouver audiences. Seva Canada’s ground-breaking blindness prevention work began in the Himalayas making it a perfect tie-in to Highway to Dhampus, set almost entirely in the stunning Annapurna Mountains of Nepal. The film follows the story of a socialite attempting to fix her image by visiting a remote Nepalese orphanage and raises questions about what it means to be charitable. Attendees will also connect in person with the filmmaker as well as representatives from Seva Canada — and hopefully, come away with practical ideas on how they, personally, can make a positive difference. An Evening of Sight takes place April 22 at 7:15 p.m. at SFU
Woodward’s Djavad Mowafaghian Theatre, 149 West Hastings St. For advance ticket information visit reelcauses.org. Tickets are also available at the door.
Also downtown, the Vancouver Public Library presents Honey, Hives, and Poetry in the City, April 27 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 350 West Georgia St.
Celebrate National Poetry Month by investigating food and poetry as a means of cultural and social activism and community building. The event features Vancouver poet laureate Rachel Rose, scientist and author Mark L. Winston (Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive), award-winning poet Renee Sarojini Saklikar (Children of Air India), author and poet Elee Kraljii Gardiner, and the Thursdays Writing Collective.
This free event is presented in partnership with Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue and Hives for Humanity with support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the League of Canadian Poets.
For more information visit 604-331-3603. For a complete list of events visit vpl.ca/events.
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