MayWorks 2013: April 26 to May 4

MAYWORKS HALIFAX 2013

Friday, April 26th, 8 p.m. at the Oasis Pub and Eatery

Workers Take the Mic

Frequently with huge attendance, this popular event is about singing the songs of our lives, from Elvis to Solidarity, from oldies to the newest rocker, labour songs, working songs and love songs. Just one of the many ways working women and men celebrate their lives.
Sunday, April 28th  to Saturday, May 4th – Labour Temple, 2nd floor, 3700 Kempt Rd

The Convergence of Two Cultures
Artist Jude Caborn Presents: The Surprising Similarities between Nova Scotia and Cuba

Paintings of Pinar del Rio in Cuba and of Nova Scotia. The show highlights aspects of everyday life in Cuba and N.S. and exploring the similarities and differences between two places where people share a life of “making do.” Opening: Sunday, April 28 from 2 to 4 p.m.
Monday, April 29th – Wednesday, May 1st, 8 p.m. at  The Bus Stop Theatre

The Doppler Effect presents
“Heartwood” – A play by Laura Burke.

This one-woman show, written and starring Laura Burke, deals with the challenges encountered by a patient entering the mental health system in Nova Scotia and the bumpy road to recovery. Its themes resonate for Mayworks in its strong anti-stigma message, a call to action to break down the rigid socio-cultural barriers we are used to putting around mental illness, and a questioning of the system that fails us. Generously sponsored by the NSGEU.

Wednesday, May 1st, 5 p.m. at the Grand Parade Square

Puppets Et Cetera! and May Day march

Kicking off this year’s May Day march, street theatre collective, Puppets Et Cetera!, will be presenting short plays to agitate the crowd and remember the significance of May Day: the International Workers’ Day.

Thursday, May 2nd, 6 to 9 p.m. at Bearly’s House of Blues

Mayworks Café DaPoPo

DaPoPo Theatre brings its unique blend of ordered chaos to Halifax audiences. The performance menu will boast an array of accessible political entertainment. Patrons will enjoy songs, monologues and scenes performed at their table at this popular theatrical event, which has become a staple of the MayWorks Festival.

Friday, May 3rd, 8 p.m. at The Bus Stop Theatre

Big Fiddle Players, Sydney, NS presents
“Steel and Coal: Work and Protest”

A theatrical production that celebrates the history and struggle of the working people of Industrial Cape Breton through story and song. “Travelling from the turn of the century to Black Friday and the March of Concern in the 1960’s to today, Work and Protest is touching, timeless, and flawlessly put together with each story, song and monologue bleeding seamlessly into the next, and weaving a wondrous portrait of our region” — Gwendolyn Acker, What’s Going On magazine, Sydney.

Saturday, May 4th, 2 to 5 p.m. – The Company House

“Raising the Workers’ Flag” – The East Coast Book Launch by Stephen L. Endicott

Historian Stephen Endicott and company will be celebrating May Day in Halifax, giving a theatrical east coast launch to “Raising the Workers’ Flag: The Workers’ Unity League of Canada, 1930-1936.” Join him for an afternoon of bracing working class history, including songs, readings and camaraderie.

Saturday, May 4th, 8 p.m. at The Bus Stop Theatre

Persephone’s Garden Theatre, Sydney, NS presents
“Marx in Soho” – a play by Howard Zinn
Starring George MacKenzie

Karl Marx comes back from the dead in order to clear his name and defend his ideas and his work. The audience gets to know more about Marx the activist, husband and father as well as Marx the philosopher and political economist. This show is full of humour, insight and relevance for today’s audience.

Tickets for the Bus Stop Series events are $10.00 or a Three-Show Pass for $25 for Steel and Coal, Marx in Soho and (one performance of) Heartwood. Tickets for Cafe DaPoPo are $5.00  All are available at the door, or reservations by email  mayworkshalifax@gmail.com

Many events will sell out, so please book in advance to avoid disappointment!