LITTLE NAZI TRAMP
Charlie Chaplin had a reputation for being domineering on set. Maybe that’s why he was so good at parodying Adolf Hitler in his 1940 release—and first talkie—The Great Dictator. In their play Charlie Chaplin Goes to War, cowriters Simon Bradbury and Dan Kamin imagine a conflict in which instincts towards ?fascism and artistic generosity vie for supremacy within Chaplin’s personality. Twiddle your bamboo cane while doing a funny walk, or if you’d rather, goosestep out to Richmond’s Gateway Theatre, where the show runs from Friday (February 2) until February 14.

IT’S ALL RELATIVE
Things aren’t always as they seem—and that’s exactly the way Seattle choreographer KT Niefhoff likes it. The Lingo dancetheater artistic director explores identity and perception in Relatively Real, which visits the Firehall Arts Centre Wednesday to next Saturday (February 7 to 10). The interdisciplinary work for seven dancers features projected animation by Stephan Gruber and, according to the Seattle Weekly, athletic movement with a “voracious do-or-die ethic”.

LOCAL COLOUR
Locally, you don’t get much more colourful than actors Nicola Cavendish and Jay Brazeau, who are performing in David King’s new script, Up Island. The talented Suzanne Ristic, who is Brazeau’s wife in real life, plays his estranged spouse. Her character throws a party for her husband and invites everybody he hates. To add a little more spin, it’s all set in a small community on the north end of Vancouver Island, the kind of place where you really don’t want to alienate your friends and neighbours. John Cooper directs this Arts Club production, which runs at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage until February 25.

HOT AFRICAN DANCE
Too chilly outside for ya? Dive into Festival Baobab, a showcase of artistic talent among B.C.’s African community. Led by Nigeria native Maobong Oku, the Kokoma African Heritage Ensemble kicks things off tomorrow (February 2) with traditional dancing and drumming at the African Cabaret. On Saturday (February 3), the Miyanda Dance Troupe performs in a mixed program called Heart of the Baobab, which also features movement, music, and story-telling by Masabo Culture Company, a local group founded by Fana Soro, who moved to Vancouver from Ivory Coast in 1996. All shows take place at the WISE Hall (1882 Adanac). The fest continues February 16 and 17; stay tuned for more details.

CRIMINALLY IGNORANT
Aalst takes its name from a Belgian town that was the site of a brutal crime. A working-class family booked into a hotel where the parents murdered their children. Rather than focusing on that act, the play draws from trial transcripts to examine the breakdown of civilization, the terminal ignorance that exists on the fringes of society. The producing company, Victoria, which comes from Ghent, is acclaimed—and notorious—in Europe these days. You can catch Aalst from tonight until Sunday (February 1 to 4) at the Scotiabank Dance Centre, where it’s being presented as part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.