The High Performance Rodeo announced its 2027 lineup Thursday, which includes new work from a lot of Rodeo favourites including puppet master Ronnie Burkett, a solo show from playwright and performer Karen Hines and a new work from One Yellow Rabbit. The 41st edition of the international performing arts festival--which kicks off Jan. 13 -- will present Burkett performing The Daisy Theatre: Back in Bloom, a puppet cabaret. Emmy Award-winner Burkett launched the original Daisy Theatre at the second High Performance Rodeo, in 1987. One Yellow Rabbit return with a new work, Spy Music, which explores the “glamourous, dangerous and deliciously suspicious world of espionage.” Longtime Rabbit collaborator Karen Hines, the performer and playwright behind the Pochsy plays and a former cast member on The Newsroom, returns with a new solo work, My Name is Karen, a “razor-sharp satire on taking on internet culture, entitlement and the complicated life of one of the world’s most notorious names.” Edmonton’s Batrabbit Collective will present Rat Academy 2: Gnaw and Order, while Lee Papa stars in Best All-Round White, an exploration of his childhood growing up in the American south. Iconic Canadian indie rockers The Rheostatics return with The Great Lakes Suite, a multimedia celebration of music, poetry, underwater imagery celebrating the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem, while another Calgary arts institution, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, are back with Blueprint, a new show featuring dancer choreographed work. “What I love about the Rodeo is that you never quite know what you’re going to get — and that’s exactly the point,” said Rodeo producer Oliver Armstrong, in a media release. “You might come for an artist you’ve loved for decades and leave talking about something you’ve never seen before. “From an intimate theatrical experience inside a working coffee shop to a wild puppet cabaret, experimental dance, clown and music, we’re always looking for new ways to challenge what live performance can be. It’s a festival that rewards curiosity, and we want audiences to take a chance on something they never knew they needed to see.” Tickets are on sale now. For more information, go here.
