DBLSPK hosts up to three multilingual artists per year and highlights the linguistic and cultural diversity of our theatre community.
By collaborating with artists who work with elements of translation and/or multilingual creation, we examine the relationship between language and culture within performance. During DBLSPK, resident artists have the opportunity to work in the studio with a team of collaborators and then present excerpts of their new multilingual/translated work at a workshop-setting public performance. The artist then engages with the audience in a conversation post-show, taking a deep dive into the research topics related to their project.
Since its inception, DBLSPK has featured 17 languages, such as Cantonese, Spanish, Punjabi, Hungarian and more!
Do you have an idea for DBLSPK? Let us know!
Are you a multilingual artist interested in doing a DBLSPK residency? Click here.
Upcoming DBLSPK:
Year of the Frog 農曆蛙年
Join us on Friday, December 5th at 7:30pm at Progress Lab 1422 for an in-development showing of Year of the Frog 農曆蛙年 by Garvin Chan, featuring Cantonese and English and followed by an artist/audience discussion!
Year of the Frog is a magic realist and darkly comedic play about how "The Grandchild's" dual griefs of losing both the homeland of Hong Kong and their grandmother in a short span of time coalesced emotionally into a single event, as well as the process of healing even when nothing seems to change. Presented through a series of dreams, memories, and video calls, the play explores the genealogy of the Hong Konger Spirit (also known as the Lion Rock Spirit) through a family's experiences through history from the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong to the aftermath of the 2019 Pro-Democracy Protests, and how it may carry forward in the hearts and actions of those here in Canada.
About the Lead Artist
Garvin Chan 陳嘉泓 (They/them) is a theatre maker, playwright, and director from Hong Kong, situated in xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories. Graduating from Simon Fraser University’s theatre performance program in 2022, they have since featured in Pedro Chamale’s Peace Country, received an Early Career Development grant with Rumble Theatre, and participated in programs with Whatlab, vAct, Arts Club, and PTC. Garvin’s works often explore identity through darkly offbeat humour, juxtaposing elements of ancestry, spirituality, vulgarity, and mundanity to create work that is emotionally grounded, surreal, yet bleakly hopeful. Garvin’s works include “What the F-Word is Going On?”(presented at rEvolver festival 2024), “Year of the Frog” which will be featured in Rice & Beans Theatre’s DBLSPK residency in late 2025, and “A Grandchild’s Quest for Chicken” which was performed at 2025’s Vancouver Fringe Festival with a second run of presentations coming up with vAct in 2026.
Date: Friday, December 5th, 2025 at 7:30pm
Tickets: Pay-what-you-can ($10 suggested)
Location: Progress Lab, 1422 William St, Vancouver