This dance/theatre performance incorporated a 50-foot pool of water and featured: two sexually frustrated salmon trying to reach home; a Canadian whose identity resides in a lake; a sprawling corporate head who likes to dance; and a thirsty Bolivian fighting for democracy.

Following every performance, Act II (the "counteract") featured guest speakers with expertise in specific areas of water privatisation. The counteract invited audience discussion and focus on solutions and community action. This production sat at the centre of a multi-faceted project which ran parallel to the 3-week theatre run. A series of public workshops and film and community arts events took place at the Roundhouse Community Centre. Audiences were encouraged to arrive early for THIR$TY in order to view Free Flow, a major visual arts exhibition in the adjoining Exhibition Hall. Free Flow featured artwork from 100 Vancouverites working with artists-in-residence.

On April 6, theatre audiences around the world had the opportunity to view the live international webcast of THIR$TY at the Headlines Theatre website.

Environment, Health, Rights.

According to Headlines Theatre, water systems are being privatised around the world, resulting in universal hikes in water rates, compromised water quality due to short-cutting, and the denial of clean water to those who cannot pay their bills. One example that Headlines Theatre cites is that of indigenous communities - from Costa Rica to India - being flooded and displaced by the construction of major hydroelectric projects.

Organisers observe that Canadians have realised that they need to protect water sources and systems - in part due to water-related tragedies like Walkerton (per Wikipedia, a series of events that accompanied the contamination of the water supply of Walkerton, Ontario, Canada, by E. coli bacteria in May 2000; at least 7 people died directly from drinking the water who might have been saved if the Walkerton Public Utilities Commission had admitted to contaminated water sooner, and about 2,500 became ill). Ensuring the implementation of safety standards to prevent such disasters means maintaining government control over regulations and policy. However, as a short-term solution, Canadians concerned about water safety have begun relying on bottled water. Headlines Theatre claims that, in the light of this bottled water habit, Canadian protesters are concerned about negative environmental impacts, eventual shortages, and global trade agreements.

THIR$TY's focus on the Bolivian water situation was reflective of a history of water-related struggles, some of which were sparked by the government of Bolivia's decision, in 1999, to privatise the city of Cochabamba's water system, handing over control to the US giant Bechtel. The result was "massive rates increases, the discontinuation of service to those who could not pay their bills, and the expropriation of community-owned water sources. Bolivians responded with what became a massive popular uprising to regain control of their water that succeeded in forcing the government to reverse the decision to privatise..." In July 2001, residents in Vancouver engaged in a heated public battle against similar plans to privatise local water filtration systems, arguing that water must be controlled through democratic, public bodies. (Editor's note: The Bechtel case was settled in 2005. "Faced with protests, barrages of e-mails, visits to their homes, and years of damaging press, Bechtel executives finally decided to surrender, walking away with a token payment equal to thirty cents." Source: Food & Water Watch.)