The Rio Theatre celebrates 15 years of its “adapt or die” attitude

by V. S. Wells on May 8th, 2024 at 4:41 PM

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When you run an independent cinema-come-entertainment venue in Vancouver, there’s always something that throws a spanner in the works.

“It’s like episodic TV,” reflects Rachel Fox, senior programmer at the Rio, via video call. “In this season: we have to save the Rio from developers. Next season: Covid. It’s just its own kind of weird serial.”

Fox has been with the Rio since 2012, joining right around the time the venue was beefing with then-BC Premier Christy Clark about liquor license laws. Since then, Fox has seen the East Van theatre go through its own subsequent story arcs: from fundraising to re-light the venue’s sign in 2015, to a star-supported campaign to “Save the Rio” in 2018.

Most recently, the venue, along with all of our city’s entertainment destinations, had to figure out how to wend its way through Covid. For a brief time, it was a sports bar; then, it became about figuring out how to encourage patrons to return to movies and live shows after the lockdowns.

“This experience is adapt or die,” Fox summarizes for me. “It’s pretty crazy to think of the kind of shifts that have happened in the industry from 2012 to now—I mean, in 2012, was Netflix even something you could get on a telephone?”

Part of how the Rio has stayed afloat for the past 15 years is its willingness to pivot. No single group is responsible for the venue’s success, as instead, movies and live acts are organized to appeal to different audiences. From showing the latest Kollywood movies for the Tamil-speaking community, to organizing special events like John Waters’ one-man retrospective, the venue’s eclectic programming is part of a deliberate strategy to ensure as many people as possible feel at home at the Rio.

“I think a lot about how important that is: not just in terms of like, checking boxes for diversity, but to actually create a thriving business,” Fox explains. “We’re a single-screen venue—there are one or two shots a night [for us] to hit our targets. And the only way to really do that is to have something for everyone.”

In keeping with that theme, the theatre’s 15th anniversary party is a total variety show. (That’s 15 years of the theatre in its current form: the Rio Theatre itself, which was built in 1938, is turning a spry 86.) Hosted by dashing drag icon Dandy, the event’s lineup pulls from all the local community shows that make Vancouver great.

“I basically just chose my favourite performers, my favourite comedians, my favourite burlesque dancers,” says owner Corinne Lea. “It’s bringing all their crowds together in one place to have a party.”

Some names, like comic Graham Clark and burlesque artist Cherry OnTop, were present at the 10-year party back in 2019. And there is a lot of crossover from performers who regularly take to the Rio stage, such as the annual music shindig East Van Opry, or spoken word from slam star Duncan Shields.

Friend-of-the-venue Jamie DeWolf is also flying in from Oakland, where he hosts his own award-winning alt variety shows. He has produced shows at the Rio before, with memorable results.

“We did the Game of Thrones Live. And to this day, the Game of Thrones Live is the most epic, notorious show we’ve ever done,” Lea says of DeWolf (my friends still discuss that adults-only show; Khal Drogo painted *something* with his dick). “He’s the master of it, so we couldn’t celebrate without him.”

And although the party isn’t exactly the right atmosphere for showing a movie, there will be a sneak peek of Rio Brava, a documentary chronicling the Rio’s life and the battle to preserve independent theatres.

While nobody can predict what the future will bring, Fox is already thinking about the next storylines for the Rio. She predicts the cost-of-living crisis will take its toll on people’s disposable income—so deals, like group discounts or two-for-one movie tickets, are designed to help keep programming more affordable.

“We hear from people every day: ‘The Rio is like my Cheers.’ It’s where they come if they’re having a good day, they’re having a bad day, they want to do something: it’s happening here,” she muses. “A lot of people feel very proprietary about it. Which is great, to me: that signifies some kind of emotional investment into a place.”

And it makes sense. The Rio is both a neighbourhood hang-out spot and a destination for the weird and wonderful. It’s where I saw a burlesque version of Bill Nye the Science Guy that still lives rent-free in my brain; and where I caught a rowdy showing of Cats (2019), with the edible I’d just eaten hitting right as Jenny Any-Dots’ skin was ripped off and the whole crowd screamed in visceral terror. (True stories.)

Fox has her own favourite moments: screening a film from a now-cancelled creator that, she reflects, was the most she had ever heard a room full of people laugh in sheer bafflement. I tell her I wrote a college essay about the same film, precisely because of how bananas it is. “What I love about movies is the communal aspect of it,” she says. “Fuck, nothing will top that.”

She also rememberes having Tenacious D present Post-Apocalypto the day before they were due to play a huge show in Vancouver. And bringing in horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan for a double showing of Doctor Sleep and The Shining while he was in town on a shoot.

“It’s so gratifying for someone of his stature who was just here, and just genuinely loves film, to want to be involved with that,” Fox reminisces. “That is a gem of an experience that can never be replicated, and we’re the place for that kind of thing to happen.”

If anything, it’s hard to believe the Rio has only existed in its current form for 15 years. Fingers crossed it adapts to stick around for many more.