PHOTO: HOLD ON LET GO 2025 – illustration by Cindy Mochizuki, poster and web design by Kali Malinka

Theatre Replacement, in partnership with our friends at Company 605, are thrilled to announce the program for the 2025 edition of HOLD ON LET GO. Taking place February 4-8, 2025 at the Russian Hall in East Vancouver, HOLD ON LET GO is an annual, independently produced festival showcasing contemporary performance work by Vancouver and Canadian artists, curated by Maiko Yamamoto, Josh Martin and Lisa Mariko Gelley.

This year at HOLD ON LET GO, we’re excited to be presenting 7 deviceful, experimental performances by artists whose practices bound outside of convention — asking audiences to take new looks at long-time subjects and conversations. The forms are startling and call attention to these narratives in intimate and revealing ways: saying difficult things we can’t speak directly through a sweet and delicious gift; unfolding layers of loss brought on by the pressures of constant progress; the power of transforming legacy in present day action; and talking with teens about three things we’re not supposed to talk about with our kids: sex, drugs, and crime. The program also shares family ritual, cultural customs, and secrets.

PHOTO: Sex, Drugs and Criminality – Mammalian Diving Reflex - Photo by Martin Steffen

These bold works include Secret Ingredients by Keely O’Brien, Loss Machine by Kyle Loven, Raven Mother by Dancers of Damelahamid, Sex, Drugs and Criminality by Mammalian Diving Reflex (Toronto), and a unique presentation of Zuppa’s web-based game, Archive of Missing Things (Halifax). There are also two in development presentations of brand new works: it is for when you meet me by Anjela Magpantay and MY HOUSE by FakeKnot.

In addition to these performances, HOLD ON LET GO will host Festival Gatherings, including artist talks, panel discussions and social mixers with an international delegation from exciting festivals and venues around the world. One such festival gathering is the Accelerator Lab Community Conversation. Over the last few months, Vancouver-based experimental artists Davey Samuel Calderon, Aryo Khakpour, Kyle Loven, and Keely O’Brien have been exploring new ways to grow mobility for their work and reinvigorate the current context for international touring, networking, and relationship building as part of TR’s Accelerator Lab International Fellowship. These four artists will be sharing their experiences, insights, and discoveries, in conversation with TR’s AD, Maiko Yamamoto.

This year’s festival will also see the return of the Emerging Artist Series, curated again for the second time by artist Amanda Sum, with events geared for the next generation of artists. Click below to check out the entire program!

“Like most arts organizations, TR and 605 have been super intentional about what projects and programs we’re working on right now. We need to be, as we navigate the present moment. Our ideas have been all about building ecosystems, to help generate and sustain for our companies, but also for the artists we collaborate with and do our best to uplift. With HOLD ON LET GO, you’re looking at an art ecosystem in action, bringing experimental works that often (and increasingly so) get pushed to the edges, and placing them right in the centre. HOLD ON LET GO sees the intersection of many of our programs and activities that feed into each other, forming systems of support around important artistic work. Through continually building these structures, we see what’s possible — we gain a clearer understanding of what we can achieve — moving forward.”

ALL ACCESS Passes for HOLD ON LET GO are $55 to see everything in the program (that’s all 7 shows plus 5 festival events)! Emerging Artist ALL ACCESS Passes are available for $30. Passes are available online as of today. Capacities are limited for some of these performances, so click the button below to get your pass and book in your seats!

HOLD ON LET GO gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council and the Province of British Columbia, City of Vancouver, and the Government of Canada.

Thanks also to our Media Partner, the City of Vancouver through the Transit Shelter Advertising Program, and our Hotel Partner, the Sandman Hotel. 

PHOTO: Loss Machine – Kyle Loven – Photo by Tim Summers

Thanks for reading this, and see you at HOLD ON LET GO!

Team TR + HOLD ON LET GO

Maiko, Chelsea, JK, Josh and Lisa