Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre

12/03/2025

It’s Giving Tuesday, and we need your support to keep creating provocative and impactful art! We’re proud of the work we’ve done this past year - visiting Saskatchwan’s original Black settlement, touring an immersive show about the refugee experience, film screenings and more - and as we hurtle toward our 20th anniversary (!!) in 2026, we have big, lofty dreams for wild art-making in a more just and caring arts ecology. We need your help to bring those dreams to life!

The easiest way to donate is through our CanadaHelps page (https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-swallow-a-bicycle-theatre-society/campaign/bridge-the-gap) - but we can also accept cash, cheques, gold bars, stock options... really, whatever you're able to give. Get in touch with us at [email protected] to make arrangements.

We have an exciting new fundraising pitch deck that outlines some of our upcoming projects. Take a look! We'd love to hear your thoughts on our plans and dreams for the future. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T1qVtl6mFfO7UiHYWY-rf4L1e8_VMO5N/view?usp=sharing

Photos by Mike Tan Photography, Only1AndyWright Photography, Joel Varjassy, Jeremy Fokkens and Mik Nilmanee!

10/03/2025

Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre is joining a growing coalition of arts organizations that are committed to PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel).

PACBI is a component of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) strategy and is inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement. It is a form of nonviolent direct action meant to end all forms of complicity with apartheid Israel.

By endorsing PACBI, there were no changes SaB had to make to align with the boycott. So why does it matter for us to endorse PACBI? Because it is important to us to be clear: We, the staff and board at SaB stand with the Palestinian people. We are against the genocide in Gaza and the atrocities that the Israeli government continues to commit against Palestinian people.

SaB envisions a world free of margins and borders, where everyone has a space to create and share outside the confines of capitalism and oppression. Our mission is to create “productive discomfort” through art as a means to subvert oppressive systems, and in service of our communities. Endorsing PACBI is a way for us to enthusiastically live and breath our organization's ethos. You can read more about SaB's vision, mission, mandate and values on our website.

For the time being, we'll be turning off our comments as we have a history of being harassed online. BUT we sincerely do welcome conversation. If you have any questions, concerns, want to have a conversation about PACBI, reach us at [email protected], or book a meeting with us at our calendly link in our bio.
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📣 Performing arts organizations across Canada stand in solidarity with Palestine!

The situation in Gaza and the West Bank is urgent. Israel continues to act with impunity despite broad consensus among humanitarian groups - including a recent UN report stating what Palestinian people have been telling us all along: this is genocide. It is our moral and legal obligation to stand with the Palestinian people against annihilation. Join us and commit to taking the next step to make your organization genocide and apartheid-free.

To learn more about PACBI, endorse the call with your organization, or join us in advocating for PACBI in the Canadian performing arts sector and beyond, email [email protected]

09/19/2025

The Opposite / بالعکس - we're on tour!

We are so excited to announce that we’ll be touring The Opposite / بالعکس to two festivals! We’ll be stopping by ’s IMPACT 25 Festival in Kitchener, Ontario and .festival in North Vancouver, British Columbia.

We go waaaaaaay back with The Opposite / بالعکس, first presenting it as part of the Provocation Series at the 2018 IGNITE! Festival, and later co-presenting it again in 2019 with Kawalease ACT. .dib, the founder and artistic director .act and the creator, director and performer in The Opposite / بالعکس, is an old pal of ours and we cannot be more pleased to be sharing this show with more people across Turtle Island!

If you’ll be in these cities on these dates, swing by, say hi! If you have friends in these cities, let em' know too! Grab tickets at our link in bio!

🎭 IMPACT25 in Kitchener, Ontario
Presented by MT Space, supported by Theatre Mada 
September 24-28, 2025 at 5 pm
Kitchener City Hall, 200 King Street West

🎭 STAND Festival in North Vancouver, British Columbia
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 7:30 pm
Presentation House Theatre, 333 Chesterfield Avenue

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Show Description:
At the height of the Syrian Civil War, Canada resettled more than 44,000 Syrian refugees. But what if the situation was reversed? What if Canada became a warzone, and we were all forced to flee our homes and seek refuge?

In this provocative, participatory experience, Kawalease ACT (Arab Canadian Theatre) invites audiences to feel what it means to be a refugee, what it means to leave your country, to leave everything behind and start anew. Audience members will play the role of Canadian refugees, navigating the resettlement process as they seek asylum in Syria.

07/31/2025

We haven't had the chance to shout this from the rooftops yet because we've been so busy, but now's as good a time as any!!

CONGRATULATIONS EVA ON WINNING THE 2025 MAMDANI ARTS LEADERSHIP AWARD!!!!! Eva is the beloved, long-serving President of our board of directors, and she has definitely gone above and beyond in this role, in more ways than we can count.

Eva has been a steady hand in challenging times, a champion for the restructuring journey we've embarked on, and helped us build meaningful partnerships with her network. She's been a consistent cheerleader for us, and compassionately present with us during messy times. Something transformative she shared with us when she first joined our board that we have returned to time and time again, is the "assumption of good will" - starting from the belief that everyone on the team was operating with good intentions.

EVA, THANK YOU FOR THE CARE, DEDICATION, COMMITMENT YOU BRING TO SAB!! WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU 💖

07/29/2025

On August 2, join us for Black History in the Prairies: a mini film series! This Historic Calgary Week event highlights Black life and history in Alberta and Canada, curated by The Prairie Place-Ancestors Collective & Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre.

Running from 11:30 am-4:30 pm (come & go as you please), the series features:
- Trax
- For Caesar
- Keystone Is...
- Walking With Ghosts at John Ware's Homestead
- Film Reel highlighting Cheryl Foggo’s 35-year film career.

The event will include free snacks and non-alcoholic beverages, and a Q&A with Cheryl Foggo and Leander K. Lane.

Presented in partnership with Calgary Public Library and Chinook Country Historical Society.

🎟️ Register for free tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/prairie-place-ancestors-collective-presents-black-history-in-the-prairies-tickets-1373756997159?aff=oddtdtcreator

07/17/2025

On August 2, join us for Black History in the Prairies: a mini film series!

This Historic Calgary Week event highlights Black life and history in Alberta and Canada, curated by The Prairie Place-Ancestors Collective & Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre.

Running from 11:30 am-4:30 pm (come & go as you please), the series features: Keystone Is..., We Call Him Sir Charles, Trax, Kickin’ Up A Fuss, Walking With Ghosts on John Ware’s Land, and a Film Reel highlighting Cheryl Foggo’s 35-year film career.

The event will include free snacks and non-alcoholic beverages, and a Q&A with members of the Prairie Place-Ancestors Collective.

More info: https://swallowabicycle.com/performances/prairie-place-ancestors-collective-presents-black-history-in-the-prairies/

Book your free tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/prairie-place-ancestors-collective-presents-black-history-in-the-prairies-tickets-1373756997159?aff=oddtdtcreator

Presented in partnership with Calgary Public Library and Chinook Country Historical Society.

07/08/2025

Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre is having its next casino fundraiser on July 20 & 21, 2025, and we need some kickass volunteers! The casino is a major source of funding for us, and we need your help.

Training is provided on-site for all roles by our casino advisors - no experience required! Volunteers will receive a free meal during their shift. We’re also happy to pay for transportation, if you take a taxi / Uber / etc. to the casino; just give us your receipt(s), and we will reimburse you.

Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F044CA8AC2CA0F94-47270961-casino #/

06/25/2025

Join us for a screening of the short film "Keystone Is..." on Thursday, July 3!

A group of Black Albertan artists visit the community once known as Keystone, now Breton, founded by Black farmers in 1909. In search of connection to the land and their history, the collective meets with Allan Goddard of the Breton Museum as well as descendants of the original founders. The journey leads to creative explorations of their experience.

This event will include a talk-back with the artists where they’ll share stories of their collaborative artistic process and reflections on their exploration of the 1910 Black migration.

More info, and free ticket registration, here: https://swallowabicycle.com/performances/keystone-is/

Co-presented with Calgary Public Library, and funded by City of Calgary – Your Local Government.

02/23/2025

Tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon in Breton - about a 90-minute drive SW of amiskwaciy-wâskahikan / Edmonton - there's a screening of Keystone Is, a short film about the history of one of Alberta's original Black settlements, created by the Prairie Place-Ancestors Collective!

If you can't make it to Breton this weekend, stay tuned for more opportunities to see Keystone Is.

Mark your calendars for Feb 23 and join the Breton Museum as they celebrated Black History Month. Historian and filmmaker Cheryl Foggo will be in attendance to introduce the film and take questions about the making of the film.

12/23/2024

💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

HI, HAVE YOU MET EZGI TÜRKER?!

Ezgi is the bright ray of sunshine, smiling sunflower and as Mark once so aptly put - the beating heart of the Organisational Change Cohort.

As you may already know, SaB hired Ezgi back in 2022 to be our OCC Administrator. But she ended up being so much more than that. She was a mega cat herder - you know how it can be emailing us artists, trying to schedule us to be in the same room at the same time! She was an astute listener and observer of our cohort, allowing her to respond to our needs in creative and nimble ways. And these are just a couple of Ezgi’s many strengths that make her a fantastic administrator, producer, colleague and friend. Above work, she was aligned and excited about SaB’s values of working in abolitionist ways, dreaming with us about how to abandon white supremacy culture and capitalism in the ways that we work and gather together as artists.

The SaB staff team is always in awe of how quickly she plugged herself into the art making community in Mohkinstsis, despite being relatively new here from Turkey. And did you know that Ezgi is also a performance artist and dancer and SHE HAS BEEN MAKING AND SHARING HER ART IN THE CITY?! Say hi if you bump into her! Grab tickets to all the stuff she’s in!

We are genuinely teary-eyed about the end of our contracted time together with Ezgi! She is so genuine, kind, fun and great at what she does! We’ll still be pals with her outside of this contract of course but we would be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to shout from the rooftops about what a great time we had with her.

Alright, we could keep going, and there’s no good way to end this, so…WE LOVE YOU, EZGI!!! and you should all get to know her too. We’re definitely better because of it ✨

💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

12/23/2024

Back in July, as part of the community programming SaB was supporting the Prairie Place-Ancestors Collective with, we supported the Artist Talk and Reception for ‘Back Where I Started’ by Phillip Risby at cSpace Marda Loop.

Phillip Risby is a Pasadena-based international visual artist, and cSpace Marda Loop, the site of the former King Edward School which Risby attended as a child, felt like the ideal spot to celebrate him and his work.

The artist talk engaged with Risby’s unique perspective on Black life on both sides of the border. There was also live music from local musicians Dallas Hayes-Sparks and Miranda Martini.

We’re behind on sharing what we’ve been up to, but wanted to return to this exhibition that we’re so proud to have supported.

1 - 9 📸: Juan Houston

10/25/2024

We’re so proud to support ’s first Total African Theatre workshop this weekend (October 26 & 27), focused on Dance, Drums & Music with instructors , , .nwigwe and Dominic Fayenuwo! It’s FREE, and you can register here https://forms.gle/prMj32RLdRa7jqGDA.