Blind / Low Vision Friendly Double Feature
VocalEye is thrilled to partner with the PuSh Festival to present a double feature of 2025 Festival programming accessible for blind and low-vision patrons. Enjoy two incredible shows, seamless transportation between venues, and refreshments—all in one day!
One of Vancouver’s signature events, produced over three weeks each January, the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival presents groundbreaking works in the live performing arts: Theatre, Dance, Multimedia, Music, and Circus across multiple venues in Vancouver.
Double Feature Details
1) SWIM from Theatre Conspiracy and Pandemic Theatre
Show Time: Please arrive at the venue for 2:30 pm (90 min running time)
Venue: Vancity Culture Lab at The Cultch (1895 Venables Street)
An immersive experience engaging the non-visual senses through audio and sensation from vibrotactile vests.
* Transportation will be provided to the second venue (from The Cultch to The Roundhouse)
2) De glace / From Ice from l’eau du bain
Show Time: 7:30 pm (60 min running time)
Venue: The Roundhouse (181 Roundhouse Mews)
A low-light, sound-rich performance delivered through headphones.
Important Note
This is an all-included event. There is not an option to split the cost for a single performance.
Detailed schedule and show information below.
Tickets
Seating is limited, so act fast! Access PuSh Festival’s Double Feature for $39 (cash at the door). The fee covers tickets to both performances, transportation to the second venue, and refreshments (a value of over $120).
Please register by January 29 using the link below, or contact amy@vocaleye.ca or call (604) 763-2695
If the cost or payment method is a barrier, contact Andrea at access@pushfestival.ca or call 604-605-8284 ext. 204
Access Notes
- Both shows use haze effects and have limited seating. Designated lobby spaces with trained volunteers are available to supervise guide dogs. While the haze is safe for humans and dogs, this option ensures everyone’s comfort.
- Let us know if you’ll be traveling with mobility aids or have any food allergies when registering so we can accommodate your needs.
Access PuSh Festival Schedule
When: Saturday, February 1 from 2:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Where:
Start: Vancity Culture Lab at The Cultch (1895 Venables Street)
End: Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre (181 Roundhouse Mews)
- Plan to arrive at the Vancity Culture Lab at 2:30 pm. You can arrive independently or request a Theatre Buddy to meet you at a nearby transit stop and guide you to the venue.
- Bring $39 cash, which VocalEye will collect upon arrival.
- Relax and enjoy the first performance (SWIM), transportation will be provided to the second venue.
- Light refreshments will be provided before the second event (at The Roundhouse). If you feel you might need a little extra to tide you over, feel free to bring along your favorite snacks!
- Enjoy the second performance (De Glace / From Ice) at The Roundhouse and conclude your evening at 8:30 pm.
- Theatre Buddies will be available to guide you to nearby transit or Yaletown-Roundhouse Station.
SWIM (3:30 pm) Vancity Culture Lab at The Cultch
This immersive experience combines audio with sensation from vibrotactile vests to engage the non-visual senses. It was created with consultation from Amy Amantea to be fully accessible to blind and low-vision audiences.
About the show: It is 8 kilometres from Güzelçamli, Turkey to the Greek island of Samos, or 160 lengths of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. That’s the distance many must swim in search of asylum in Europe. SWIM is an immersive sensorial experience that imagines the physical, mental and spiritual challenges of this treacherous passage as it meditates upon the emotional toll of displacement. Harnessing cutting-edge technologies to simulate audio and tactile sensations, the audience experiences much of the piece in darkness.
Drawing loose inspiration from the epic Arabic story of Laila and Majnun, SWIM invites audiences to imagine what feelings one moves through as they endure the fatigue of this perilous crossing. It meditates on the question: When one is driven to leave their love, their life, their home — what parts of oneself and one’s old life must be sacrificed in pursuit of a new beginning?
SWIM is a PuSh Festival 2025 commission.
Written by Jivesh Parasram and Tom Arthur Davis
Produced by Theatre Conspiracy and Pandemic Theatre
De glace / From Ice (7:30 pm) The Roundhouse
This low-light, haze-filled show transports audiences into the world of their imagination with carefully crafted sound design delivered through headphones. While not created with blind and low-vision audiences in mind, the theatre makers’ interest in non-visual storytelling make it an exciting and accessible show. Pre-show notes delivered by a VocalEye describer will ensure that blind and low-vision audience members have all the information they need to sink into the experience.
About the show: Step into a surreal, frozen otherworld where time stands still and the bonds of friendship transcend the mortal realm. De glace (From Ice) breathes life into a Nordic literary gem that pierces us with a story of two young girls bound by an unbreakable connection.
Driven by a whirlwind of emotions, Unn disappears into a forest of glittering mist, a natural ice palace at the foot of a frozen waterfall. Unable to find her, Siss remains in the land of the living, overcome with grief as she steadfastly guards the memory of her soulmate.
This mesmerizing tale for audiences of all ages weaves its enchantment through dreamlike effects on a stage that vanishes beneath fog and fractal light. Equipped with headphones, spectators are guided by ethereal voices through a land of snowy obscurity where it is impossible to stay frozen as hearts beat in unison.
Part of the 2025 PuSh Festival.
Written by Tarjei Vesaas
Translation by Jean-Baptiste Coursaud, Emily Pearlman
Produced by l’eau du bain and NAC French Theatre
