Downtown Eastside residents bring homelessness to opera stage

Last Updated: Tuesday, February 5, 2008 | 3:24 PM ET
CBC News

A gritty rock opera about homelessness in Vancouver's troubled Downtown Eastside neighbourhood has been drawing standing ovations in one of the city's tonier communities.

Written and performed by Downtown Eastside residents, Condemned tells the story of a group of people who find themselves homeless after they are kicked out of a hotel. The opera's creators have actually lived through the trials presented in the production.

"It brings to the forefront what it is that's actually going on," Bharbara Gudmundson, one of the opera's performers, told CBC News.

"People know what's going on, but they don't see it, they don't feel the trauma. They see the little bits and pieces when the violence happens."

The show is especially relevant because of all the different forces that are transforming the community at large, said producer Mel Lehan.

"The Olympics are bringing demolition, development speculation and people are being forced out onto the street," he said.

Having played to receptive audiences at the Downtown Eastside's Carnegie Centre and the Firehall Theatre in past years, several sold-out shows at St. James Hall in posh Kitsilano drew standing ovations this week.

The performances also included post-show discussions between the audience and cast members.

"The Downtown Eastside does seem like an island," said one audience member. "[It] doesn't seem connected to the rest of the city in lots of ways."

Another said the show offered "a real value to learn about what people sometimes go through on the tough side of town."

Lehan said he hopes the opera's recent successes will encourage more communities to host the show and open up to the artistic production from the streets.

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