National Arts Centre - Centre national des Arts Canada is our stage. Le Canada en scène.

The Storyville Mosquito

Kid Koala Montreal

Creator, Director, Musical Score Kid Koala

A young mosquito leaves his small town in the country to seek fame and fortune in the big city and fulfill his dream of playing in one of the greatest jazz bands of all time at Sid Villa’s Music Hall…

The Storyville Mosquito is a live animated graphic novel that’s performed, filmed and scored in real time. A team of performers, musicians, foley artists and technicians cinematically bring the characters to life using miniature sets, puppets, multiple cameras and screens. The puppets tell the story accompanied by an original music soundtrack featuring a jazz trio and Kid Koala on turntables, keyboards and electronics.

The Storyville Mosquito speaks to traditions held sacred within the old-time jazz world: honesty, improvisation, inner voice, style, and collaboration. It is the follow-up to Kid Koala’s hugely successful Nufonia Must Fall Live stage performance, further developing the emotion, the craft, the art and Kid’s skills as a composer, writer, and in this case, director.

Company

Kid Koala is a world-renowned scratch-DJ, producer, performer and graphic novelist. He has released five solo albums, numerous collaborative albums and two graphic novels. He’s toured with Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Beastie Boys and has contributed to film scores such as Baby Driver, Looper, The Great Gatsby, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Kid Koala's multi-disciplinary productions have toured five continents.

Touring inquiries: Ryhna Thompson

Creative team

Creator, Director, Musical Score Kid Koala
Producer Ryhna Thompson, Envision Management & Production
Set Designer Corinne Merrell
Puppet Designer Patrick Martel
Music Director Patrick Martel
Music Director Vid Cousins
Director of Photography AJ Korkidakis

National Creation Fund investment

The National Creation Fund’s investment of $130,000 made it possible for Kid Koala to bring together an augmented creative team, including award-winning mentors, and provided the additional development time required to fully explore the advanced technology and perfect the intricate interplay of puppets, live film, lighting and staging.

Credits

Produced by Nufonia Live Inc. and Envision Management & Production. Co-produced by The Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi and Kampnagel Internationales Sommerfestival. Developed with support from the National Arts Centre's National Creation Fund, and with financial support from Canada Council for the Arts and Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec. The creation of this show was made possible thanks to the support of Place des Arts Montreal and its Foundation.

Performance dates

Presented by Festival International de Jazz de Montréal

The Storyville Mosquito Kid Koala
Jun 26 2025 Cinquième Salle - Places des Arts (Montréal)

Project page

Past performances

Presented by Le Diamant and Mois Multi	Feb 22 - Feb 24, 2023	Le Diamant (Québec)
Presented by OZ Arts Nashville	Mar 23 - Mar 25, 2023	OZ Arts (Nashville)
Presented by Massey Theatre	Nov 25 - Nov 26, 2023	Massey Theatre (New Westminster)
Presented by The Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts and One Yellow Rabbit	Jan 17 - Jan 19, 2024	Bella Concert Hall, Mount Royal University (Calgary)
Presented by Montréal en lumiére	Feb 29 - Mar 3, 2024	Cinquième Salle, Place des Arts (Montreal)
Presented by Lincoln Center	Mar 14 - Mar 15, 2024	Alice Tully Hall (New York)
Presented by Schauspielhaus Bochum	May 7 - May 8, 2024	Bochum (Germany)
Presented by Ruhrfestspielhaus Kleines Haus	May 10 - May 12, 2024	Recklinghausen (Germany)
Presented by the Montreal International Jazz Festival	Jun 27 - Jun 29, 2024	Cinquième Salle (Montréal)
Presented by SFJAZZ	Aug 8 - Aug 11, 2024	Miner Auditorium (San Francisco)
Presented by Texas Performing Arts	Nov 2 2024	McCullough Theatre (Austin)