welcome

NOVEMBER 2023 | VOLUME 233

 

NOV 20-DEC 3

Forget Black Friday – How about Theatre Friday. And Thursday. And Saturday.

There’s a ton of Christmas theatre coming our way over the next few weeks but lots of tempting work on the secular side, too. Now’s the time to think about giving the gift of theatre to the people you love – and/or the people you want to love you. A pair of tickets to a great show is so much more personal than a gift card. Be imaginative. Support the arts.

Check out our On Now page for everything running through early December. Be sure to look for the BUY TICKETS buttons. Scope out the rest of December’s offerings on our Coming Soon page.

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

Important Note: The BUY TICKETS button on our PREVIEW and REVIEW pages is strictly a convenience for theatregoers. Click on the button and get 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.

Mitch and Murray Productions presents a reading of Suicide Club: Round 8, a new play by Jennifer Copping and Robyn Ross. Nov. 22, 7 pm at the BMO Theatre Centre, 162 W. 1st Ave. Tickets $22.63 HERE.

Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre invites you to a talk by the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Sirish Rao, co-founder of Indian Summer Festival, on South Asian arts and culture. Nov. 23, 7 pm. Free admission but registration required HERE.

If you’re looking for some improv for the holidays, besides Granville Island’s Improv Centre shows you might try Wisecrackers’ “Over 50 Improvisers” (3 comics over 50 years old) at Zawa’s Restaurant, 920 Commercial on Nov. 30; or The Comedy Department’s “Holiday Comedy Rumble: Every Elf for Themselves,” Dec. 9-23 at The Show Cellar, 1755 Davie, and Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre, Dec. 19-21.

Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre presents EBONY ROOTS: CONCERT, Part 1. A project aimed at Reclaiming Vancouver's 'Black Strathcona,' once known as Hogan’s Alley, the concert will be held in the nearby Strathcona Church, 431 Princess Ave., on Dec. 2, 7:30, featuring some of the area’s best Black musical artists. More info and tickets at https://soundthealarm.ca/ebony-roots-1.

Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre invites you to three MSG Lab play readings: Year of the Frog by Garvin Chan, Dec. 11; Hiraeth by Christian Ching, Dec. 12; and The Golden Dragon Café by Jiejun Wu, Dec. 13. Roundhouse Community Centre, 7 pm. Free admission. RSVP at https://vact.ca/msg-lab-readings-december/.

North Van’s Presentation House Theatre invites you to a Holiday Singalong, Dec. 13 & 17, 7:30 pm. $17-$24. www.phtheatre.org

Ruby Slippers Theatre is accepting applications for its Advance Theatre Festival 24/25 from female-identifying and gender non-conforming playwrights and directors who also identify as IBPOC. Chosen plays will have costs of rehearsals, tech, promotion, venue, and artists’ fees covered by Ruby Slippers and Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. Playwrights should send play synopsis, brief bio, and maximum ten-page script excerpt to info@rubyslippers.ca. Deadline: May 30.

Congrats to Barbara Tomasic, officiallyappointed Executive Artistic Director of Richmond’s Gateway Theatre, which she has been running informally for a couple of years. Vancouverplays wishes her the best.

The Improv Centre is offering classes in improv at all levels this fall. For info and registration, go to HERE.

Carousel Theatre for Young People has opened registration for their winter classes for kids, pre-teens and teens ages 3-17. https://www.carouseltheatre.ca/dramaschool

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

Stay dry and get your shots!

Take care,
Jerry