tomboy

(chłopczyca)

March 4-8, 2026 at the Vancity Culture Lab

Co-produced by the frank theatre company

Presented by The Cultch as part of Warrior Festival

“The vampirism is a complicated metaphor for masculinity, sex, liberation… West has written a fascinating, sophisticated script…”

—Jerry Wasserman, Vancouver Plays

Winner of the 2023 Wildfire national Playwriting Competition

“Everything about the staging of Tomboy (Chłopczyca) feels intentional...Despite its dark themes, Tomboy presented a heartfelt exploration of gender expression, violence, and grief.”

—Vez Pisko-Dubienski, The Georgia Straight

Queer vampires and Slavic folklore converge in Tomboy (Chłopczyca), a kinetic dance-theatre performance exploring gender, memory and cultural belonging. Drawing from cult horror films and Polish folk dance, Tomboy is a trans coming-of-age story with a dark, supernatural twist.

​After learning that as a teen, their best friend was attacked by a boy from their Polish immigrant community, a non-binary historian remembers their shared adolescence. But with each recollection, the sequence of events becomes more ambiguous, the choreography of memory more complex. Through repetition, they unravel the narrative they’ve constructed of themself, the boy, and their predatory bond. Were his actions his own, or was he cursed by a monstrous and mythic inheritance? By exploding cultural dance and genre conventions, Tomboy redefines horror, eroticism and masculinity.

Creative Team

Playwright/Collaborator: Anais Mateusz West

Choreographer/Collaborator: Oh Augustine

Dramaturg/Collaborator: Joanna Garfinkel

Performers: Rae Takei, Calder White, and Emily Jane King

Costume & Scenic Designer: Jaewoo Kang

Assistant Costume & Scenic Designer: Reed Jackson

Sound Designer & Composer: Roxanne Nesbitt

Additional Sound Design: Sasha J. Langford

Lighting Designer: Alexandra Caprara

Technical Director: Jamie Sweeney

Stage Manager: Jasmin Sandhu

Assistant Stage Manager: Brianna Bernard

Intimacy Director: Lisa Goebel

Accessibility Coordinator & Consultant: V/Veronique West

Access Zine Graphic Designer: Ashleigh Giffen

Voice Coach: Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg

Voice Actors: Teresa Berdys, Alek Cisak, Julia Kuzka, and Piotr Wieczorek

Audio Engineer: Piotr Wieczorek

Cultural & Linguistic Consultants: Karo Hanula, Chris (Krzysiek) Hanula, Julia Siedlanowska, Jess Lebedynski and Piotr Wieczorek.

Exhibition Artists: Jasper Berehulke & Nike CJ King

Frank Theatre Producer: Karter Masuhara

Production Photography: Matt Reznek

development

Tomboy (Chłopczyca) was developed in collaboration with Odd Meridian Arts, Rice & Beans Theatre, Playwrights Theatre Centre, Major Matt Mason Collective and Sage Theatre. The following artists participated in development and workshops leading up to the premiere:

Kit Benz, Alexa Fraser, Kimberly Ho, Camille Legg, Tanya Marquardt, Fay Nass, Joe Perry, Kira Radosevic, Lizzie Rajchel, Franki Reed-Schuyler, Joylyn Secunda, Fil Wiatrak, Matthew Winters and Stephanie Wong.

It was developed with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, City of Vancouver,Metro Vancouver, the Hamber Foundation and the Federation of Russian Canadians of BC.