A Port Coquitlam resident who wrote a comedy while undergoing cancer treatments had her show named as one of the best at this year’s Vancouver Fringe Festival.
Kyrst Hogan, aka Burgundy Brixx, will see her play, The C-Word, wrap up the annual fest as part of the Pick of the Fringe line-up.
She appears in the production on Sunday, Sept. 25 at Performance Works (1218 Cartwright St., on Granville Island in Vancouver).
The C-Word was one of 10 of 70 Fringe events to receive the honour and call back.
"I am thrilled that my show, The C-Word, was selected as a Pick Of The Fringe in the 2022 Vancouver Fringe Fest,” she told the Tri-City News.
“Creating and performing this show has been such an incredible, exhausting, cathartic, scary and beautiful experience. I am so deeply touched by the heartfelt messages, comments and words of thanks and commiseration, which so many people have shared with me after experiencing this show over the past 10 days.”
The professional cabaret performer wrote The C-Word after she was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in 2020; the cancer also spread to her liver.
She underwent an operation on her colon to have the tumour removed plus six months of chemotherapy and, in February, surgery on her liver.
Hogan told the Tri-City News that she felt she need to lighten up the cancer treatments by writing about her medical journey in a humorous way.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to use this harrowing life experience to create art which brings light and strength to others,” she said.
PICK OF THE FRINGE LINE-UP (all shows at Performance Works)
- Wednesday, Sept. 21: Chase Padgett: Lucky Break, 7 p.m.; Mail Ordered, 9 p.m.
- Thursday, Sept. 22: How I Met My Mother, 7 p.m.; Every Good Story Ends With One, 9 p.m
- Friday, Sept. 23: The Family Crow: A Murder Mystery, 7 p.m.; Blueberries are Assholes, 9 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 24: Cabaret of Murder, 7 p.m.; Juliet : A Revenge Comedy, 9 p.m.
- Sunday, Sept. 25: Wendy, My Darling, 4 p.m.; The C-Word, 7 p.m.
