The Cultch has announced that it will present a live stream of the filmed production The Cave from January 22 to 24.

The work was conceived by Martha Ross, John Millard, and Tomson Highway, and recorded at the 2019 Luminato Festival.

"Be transported to The Cave," reads the press release issued today, "part forest dwelling, part nightclub. The stage is set, our MC, John Millard, is ready with his band, the cabaret unfolds. Join a group of animals fleeing from a vicious forest fire who seek refuge in Bear’s cave. Waiting out the inferno, they reflect on their lives, their lost garden, and their impending doom. These unlikely and singed bedfellows share their stories and take comfort in their newfound community while the fire encroaches.

"Performers: Alex Samaras, Derek Kwan, Neema Bickersteth, and Andrea Koziol transform the characters of Bear, Moose, Beaver, Skunk, Snake, Wolf, Crow, and Fox into cabaret sensations. With a rousing collection of songs in Cree and English—music by John Millard, lyrics by Tomson Highway, and book by Martha Ross—The Cave is an interspecies song-cycle told with song and narration through the perspective of animals, who bring this unique nightclub to life."

“I was born and raised in the completely natural environment," reflects playwright Highway, "specifically in Manitoba where it meets Nunavut and Saskatchewan. It was completely safe, and a blissful experience to live in that ‘garden’. And a true garden it was. Now, a half-century later, it is no longer safe to live up there. The reason? Forest fires. Hundreds of them every summer. In Fort McMurray's fire some 2,000 people lost their homes. How many animals lost theirs? The destruction was, and is, gargantuan. That is to say, the current state of global warming is THEIR eviction from the garden. And it is ours.”

Tickets for The Cave go on sale January 11 and are priced at $29. Visit the Cultch's website for tix and info.