welcome

SEPTEMBER 2026 | VOLUME 267

 

SEPT 7-20

Buy local - see plays!

Happy Labour Day and back to school. And welcome back to a very full slate of theatre. Kicking off the 2026-27 season, September-October includes the final weeks of Bard on the Beach, the Vancouver Fringe Festival, Western Gold’s Have a Senior Moment Festival, a Latin American Arts Festival, the return of the Mom’s the Word gang, some rockin’ musicals, and at least a couple of riveting dramas. We’ve noted the upcoming seasons of most of the Lower Mainland’s theatre companies at the bottom of this page. Now more than ever, we need to support Canadian arts and buy local.

Our On Now page shows you everything running through September. And plot your theatregoing through October and the new season on our Coming Soon page. Be sure to look for the BUY TICKETS buttons.

Important Note: The BUY TICKETS Button on our PREVIEW and REVIEW pages is strictly a convenience for theatregoers. It offers direct access to the company’s box office for that show. Vancouverplays gets no cut or commission from your ticket purchase; 100% of the money goes directly to the theatre company.

Theatre lovers, theatre students, theatre historians and casual readers -- browse our ARCHIVES pages. Read 1100+ reviews of what you may have seen or missed over the past two decades of Vancouver-area theatre.

Canadian Actors Equity Association broke away from US Equity in 1976—the year I became a member! To celebrate its 50th anniversary, CAEA is awarding a handful of Life Memberships. The BC & Yukon region honour goes to James Fagan Tait. As well, Vancouver’s Deb Williams gets the Changemaker Award “in recognition of her extraordinary leadership in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in Canada’s performing arts sector.” Big-time congrats to them both!

The Cultch continues struggling to ensure that The Horse of Jenin doesn’t get cancelled again as it did last year because the feds won’t process a visa for its Palestinian playwright/performer, Alaa Mohammed Said Shehada. It’s shameful that Canada seems to be acting like Trump’s USA in this matter.

Rumble Theatre invites proposals for projects and works-in-progress for Tremors 2027 (June 25-27). Details HERE. Submission deadline Sept. 15.

Curious Cats Collective & Western Gold Theatre invite submissions from playwrights and screenwriters 55+ for the 3rd annual Scripts and Sips. Info HERE. Deadline Sept. 15.

Gateway Theatre’s Mid-Autumn Festival kicks off with Mid-Autumn Melodies, a concert with Jason Sakaki and Tiana Jung. Sept. 20, 2 pm. Info & tix HERE.

The Cultch’s15-show season includes work by Vancouver’s Search Party, Rumble, ITSAZOO, Theatre Replacement (a new East Van Panto), Pi, Urban Ink, and a new musical from Amiel Gladstone & Veda Hille, plus from Toronto Michael Healey’s Rogers v. Rogers and a new Daisy Theatre from Ronnie Burkett. www.thecultch.com

The Arts Club’s 14-play 2026-27 season plus 4 plays on tour is highlighted by Death of a Salesman, John Proctor Is the Villain, plus new work and musicals, including Les Misérables. https://artsclub.com/season-tickets/packages

The Firehall Arts Centre has just announced an ambitious 10-show season that includes remounts of Kevin Loring’s Where the Blood Mixes and Kelly Rebar’s Bordertown Café, Iranian drama Wish You Were Here, and a Krystle Dos Santos Christmas show. www.firehallartscentre.ca

Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre’s 8-play season features three Arts Club plays on tour including Little Women, a remount of English, and Little Shop of Horrors. www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca      

Metro Theatre’s 7-play season includes musicals Avenue Q and Hello, Dolly! plus an Agatha Christie and Our Town. www.metrotheatre.com

North Van’s Presentation House Theatre’s 7-show season includes a Latin American Arts Family Festival, The Sword in the Stone, Where the Wild Things Are, plus plays by locals Alexandra Lainfiesta and Joey Lespérance. www.phtheatre.org

Théâtre la Seizième’s 7-show season opens with a Virginia Woolf adaptation from Paris’ Comédie-Françaiseand includes a co-pro adaptation of Genet’s The Maidswith Touchstone and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.www.seizieme.ca

United Players’ 5-play 2026-27 season features Canadian plays by John Lazarus and Vern Theissen and Beckett’s Happy Days. www.unitedplayers.com

Gateway Theatre’s 5-play season includes musicals Songs for a New World and 42nd Street plus Michele Riml’s She Shoots, She Scores! www.gatewaytheatre.com

Broadway Across Canada’s 5-play season at the Queen E opens with & Juliet and includes Hamilton and musical adaptations of Mrs. Doubtfire and The Bodyguard. https://vancouver.broadway.com/#season-26-27

Carousel Theatre for Young People’s 5-show season includes Stuart Little and Finding Nemo: The Musical. www.carouseltheatre.ca

Langley’s Theatre in the Country has 2 plays this fall and another 5 in 2027 including A Christmas Story: The Musical, Peter Pan Goes Wrong and My Fair Lady. https://theatreinthecountry.com/

West Van’s Kay Meek Arts Centre’s 5-play season includes three Arts Club plays on tour plus English and Joanna Ranelli’s Confessions of a Hairstylist. www.kaymeek.com

First Impressions Theatre’s 4-play lineup in Deep Cove includes Norm Foster’s Lunenberg, Krystal Dos Santos’ History of Motown plus Little Shop of Horrors. https://firstimpressionstheatre.com/next-season/

Touchstone Theatre’s 4-play season of co-productions includes a remount of AnoshIrani’s Behind the Moon by the Arts Club and Niall McNeill’s Beauty and the Beast: My Life. www.touchstonetheatre.com

Studio 58’s 4-play season includes Yvette Nolan’s The Birds, Twelfth Night andAmélie the musical. www.studio58.ca

Mitch and Murray Productions’ first 3-play season features work by Amy Herzog, Jonathan Spector and David Mamet. https://mitchandmurrayproductions.com/

Pacific Theatre offers 3 shows at its new Granville Island home, including Ins Choi’s Son of a Preacherman and a new play by Jill Daum. www.pacifictheatre.org

Theatre at UBC’s feminist-flavoured 3-show mainstage season includes Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Tragedy, Really; Twelfth Night; and an adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando. www.theatrefilm.ubc.ca

Presentation House Theatre has released its schedule of 2026-27 Educational Camps. HERE.

The Improv Centre is offering classes in improv at all levels. Info HERE.

Gateway Theatre’s Gateway Academy in Richmond offers year-long acting and musical theatre classes for ages 6-18. gatewaytheatre.com/academy.

CTORA Academy is offering fall classes in musical theatre for kids, teens, adults and young musicians. https://ctora.ca/academy

Enjoy,

Jerry