The 34th annual Rhubarb Festival kicks off today, featuring over 100 artists partaking in theatre, performance art and more. Once such artist is Sook-Yin Lee, who writes, directs and performs in How Can I Forget? We caught up with the CBC host and former MuchMusic VJ to talk about the show.
What will you be doing at the Rhubarb Festival this month?
Mounting my first theatrical experimental live narrative. It has aspects of videos and prose and poetry, and there are a lot of firsts here. I’m also dancing with my partner and collaborator, who is a dance and performance artist.
Why is this festival important?
It’s an exciting community of people touching on all sorts of radical and curious areas. I think it’s important because it allows us to go to those places and wrestle with them and create a dialogue and create a space where it’s about pushing and confronting and enjoying and having pleasure. It seems to be important because it allows you to go to areas of the human experience that lights aren’t usually shone upon.
Why did you decide to participate in the festival?
It was like having to deal with memories that were plaguing me, and I did not have a structure for a movie script. I was just in a confounded state of deep sorrow over particular things in my life and, of course, I turned to art to figure out what was going on.
You’re new to the whole theatre thing. Are you nervous?
Yes! Of course I’m nervous. There’s a lot more lines. The good thing is that it’s about remembering and forgetting, so if I forget my lines, I can just have someone shout them from above and then it’s all part of it.
You’re also portraying Olivia Chow in an upcoming movie about Jack Layton. Was that an emotional experience?
Having to transform and find that way into her and feel deeply what she was feeling, it was painful. Hers and Jack’s story is beautiful and painful and funny and a deeply tragic story.
Should she run for mayor?
I think she should run only if she wants to run. She’s done her time in the trenches. She’s much more than her political career. She’s a fantastic artist. I had no idea.
Rhubarb Festival, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Feb. 20 to March 3