An outdoor sunset spectacle is sending Esquimalt's Macaulay Point Park 5,000 years into the future.
The SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles has been creating rebellious outdoor performances since 2007, including shows in tunnels, parking lots, beaches, school bathrooms, closets, and prisons.
This summer, the Victoria-based company will bring a sunset showing of New Earth Bandits 2 from Aug. 14-17 and 21-24 to the waterfront park that features the remnants of the historic military outpost that guarded the Victoria coastline from 1878 to 1956.
SNAFU worked with a number of community groups to imagine what possible new worlds await the human race 5,000 years in the future. Collaborators include artists on parole, Latin American artists, and artists of all abilities from the Embrace Foundation.
In this new iteration of SNAFU’s 2023 spectacle New Earth Bandits, audiences will choose their own adventure in the old battlement site of Macaulay Point Park. As the public tours the park, possible futures will play out around them, featuring dance, clown, puppetry, and live music.
“There will be an immersive, scavenger-hunt feel to the show. We invite audiences to come multiple times and experience it in new ways. You can even dress up as a futuristic character and join our temporary community,” says SNAFU co-artistic director Kathleen Greenfield.
At the heart of the action is SNAFU’s creative hub at 714 Fort St., the NEBula Workshop, where an ensemble of artists, crafters, sewers, puppeteers, and storytellers are hard at work bringing these imagined futures to larger-than-life. Drop by to catch a behind-the-scenes glimpse or grab your ticket for the full experience. For more information, visit https://www.snafudance.com/.
