Art Beat: Off the Page starts new chapter Sept. 18

A script by local playwright Mary Burns will be featured at the long-awaited resumption of the Off the Page reading series on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m. The dramatized reading of Burns’s play Stu and Dick Hit Vegas will be presented at the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse.

In Stu and Dick Hit Vegas, representatives from numerous non-profits travel to Las Vegas for a chance to “win big” for their organizations. The satiric plot line asks the question, “Do you have to be good to do good?”

Mary Burns is a former journalist, documentary filmmaker and professor of Creative Writing at Douglas College. She has published seven books, many short stories and her plays have been performed on CBC and BBC radio, as well as on stage in Vancouver, Windsor and Halifax. Burns will be in attendance for a talkback session after the reading on Sept. 18.

Off the Page readings take place at the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse. Admission is by donation. Learn more at heritageplayhouse.com.

Film society lights up the screen

The Oscar-winning movie Nomadland is coming to big screens on the Sunshine Coast. The Sunshine Coast Film Society’s first film of its Fall 2022 season will play at the Raven’s Cry Theatre on Saturday, September 10 at 2 p.m., and at the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse on Monday, September 12 at 7:30 p.m. 

Adapted from Jessica Bruder’s non-fiction book of the same name, Nomadland tells the story of Fern (Frances McDormand), a woman who becomes “houseless” after the great recession in 2008. She leaves the ghost town of Empire, Nevada (so deserted its zip code has been discontinued), packs her van, and sets off on the road. becoming one of thousands of modern-day drifters living from camp to camp across America.

With the exception of performances of Fern and her friend (David Strathairn), the cast is mainly amateur, with real-life nomads playing versions of themselves. 

Membership is required to attend Film Society screenings. For more information, memberships, and advance tickets, browse to scfs.ca.

Italian pianist tackles German masterpiece

The first concert of the Coast Recital Society’s annual season is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 17 at 2:30 p.m. at the Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt.

Italian pianist Filippo Gorini will present J.S. Bach’s The Art of Fugue, a feat of bravura composition that demands equally-athletic keyboard artistry.

Gorini is only 26 years of age, yet has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including the Berlin Konzerthaus, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Van Cliburn Foundation, and the Vancouver Recital Society.

In 2021, his recording of The Art of Fugue was nominated as one of the best albums of 2021 by Le Monde newspaper.

Tickets may be purchased by emailing [email protected].

Joyful jazz on offer in Pender Harbour

The Pender Harbour Music Society’s concert series continues with a standout act in the gypsy-jazz niche on Sept. 25 at 2 p.m.

The Van Django ensemble returns with a clever mix of contemporary standards, classical ditties, rock homages, and solid originals. 

 As with all events in the series, the performance takes place at the Pender Harbour School of Music.

Van Django has toured extensively in Canada as well as internationally. Their concerts, with driving rhythms and boundless creativity are joyful events.

Tickets can be purchased online at penderharbourmusic.ca.