HOLD ON LET GO 2025 hosts Sex, Drugs and Criminality, February 7

The show by Mammalian Diving Reflex brings together teenagers with local arts stars Hiro Kanagawa, Vanessa Kwan, and Dan Mangan for some frank discussion

By Gail Johnson

Mammalian Diving Reflex, Sex, Drugs and Criminality. Photo by Martin Steffen

HOLD ON LET GO presents Sex, Drugs and Criminality at the Russian Hall on February 7

SEX, DRUGS, AND criminality are typically topics that most adults avoid getting into in much depth with the teenagers in their lives. A new show by Mammalian Diving Reflex aims to bring those subjects to the forefront and attack them head-on.

Taking place at HOLD ON LET GO, the aptly titled Sex, Drugs and Criminality unites Vancouver teenagers aged 16 to 18 with three local arts-scene celebs: Hiro Kanagawa, Vanessa Kwan, and Dan Mangan.

The teens are invited to ask the artists any questions they want, while the panelists can refuse any questions they want. The goal is to get the two groups to bridge the intergenerational gap and connect for some frank discussion.

Mangan is a singer-songwriter who has won two Juno awards and who has toured extensively across Canada, the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Kanagawa is a Japanese Canadian actor and playwright who has appeared on The X-Files, written for Da Vinci’s Inquest, and received the 2017 Governor-General’s Literary Award for Drama for his play Indian Arm. Kwan is a producer-curator who is currently director and curator of galleries and exhibitions at Emily Carr University of Art + Design; their art practice has often involved the production of work in public spaces.

Conceived and directed by Mammalian Diving Reflex and Darren O’Donnell, Sex, Drugs and Criminality has been presented at Germany’s Ruhrtriennale festival, Italy’s ZONA K and Milano Triennale Teatro dell’Arte, the U.K.’s The Lowry, Finland’s ANTI Contemporary Art Festival, Latvia’s Homo Novus festival, and Portugal’s Teatromosca.

The presentation of Sex, Drugs and Criminality at HOLD ON LET GO marks the show’s North American premiere. HOLD ON LET GO, which focuses on new, experimental works that look to challenge what performance is and can be, is produced by Theatre Replacement in partnership with Company 605. 

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