Home-grown and world-renowned talent to energize Kingston this summer

by Ghazal Baradari-Ghiami

Now launched and roaring down the tracks, The Kick & Push Festival is excited for audiences to experience Kingston’s impressive line-up of professional, alternative theatre from July 22 to August 13. This summer’s seven productions take place in various venues across Kingston’s downtown core.

Be in the room when two friends wake up to discover they’ve blurred the lines of platonic and romantic. Watch a basketball game play out on the Grand Theatre stage while listening to your team’s take on their opponents. Battle with the expectations and hypocrisies set on men raised in a patriarchal society. Enjoy Shakespeare set against 1974 Cyprus in Springer Market Square. And more!

“Kingston has served as a training ground for generations of artists now practicing professionally across North America,” says Festival Director, Liam Karry. “The Kick & Push is bringing some of the most innovative creators to the festival this summer to share their art in their hometown.”

The opening show of the festival was Kid Koala’s Vinyl Vaudeville Show on July 22nd, presented in co-operation with the City of Kingston. The world-renowned scratch DJ’s credits include opening for Radiohead and Björk, as well as producing tracks for Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and his newest movie Baby Driver. This one-of-a-kind spectacle included puppets, vaudevillian dancers, robots, and a giant cardboard turntable. A roaring explosive immersive party!