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JULY 2026 | VOLUME 265

 

JULY 13-26

Summer Theatre Bonanza

Summer theatre is now in full swing. All four Bard on the Beach shows are up, both Arts Club shows, both TUTS musicals, Ensemble Theatre’stwo festival plays, and a full range of performances at the Improv Centre with a handful of fascinating-sounding indie company plays opening in these two weeks. From Greek tragedy to Shakespeare to Tennessee Williams to The Little Mermaid, it’s a something-for-everyone kind of summer for theatre in our town.
Our On Now page shows you everything running through mid-July. And plot your theatregoing through August 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 are invited to browse our ARCHIVES pages. Read 1100+ reviews of what you may have seen or missed over the past two decades of Vancouver-area theatre.

John Bolton’s documentary film about Niall McNeill and Marcus Youssef’s collaboration, King Arthur’s Night, plays at the VIFF Centre, 1181 Seymour St.July 14 & 18. https://viff.org/whats-on/king-arthurs-night/#book

Glitch Theatre invites you to Post 750, 750 Hamilton St. on July 25, 1-5 pm for Parallel Play. Bring something to do or just hang out. Free. RSVP & info HERE.

Gateway Theatre invites you to True Voices: Pride Storytelling & Tea, a free Pride Month event with 5 LGBTQ2S+ storytellers. July 30, 7 pm. Reserve HERE.

vACT has announced that its new Managing Artistic Director will be Anjela Magpantay. Congrats to Anjela!

Congratulations to Bard on the Beach artistic director Christopher Gaze on his trifecta: the publication of his memoir, The Road to Bard: A Legacy of Shakespeare on Canada’s West Coast, and his appointments to the Order of Canada and the Order of the British Empire. Well done, Chris!

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

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 Alexandra Lainfiesta and Joey Lespérance. www.phtheatre.org

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

Richmond’s 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 musical 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

First Impressions Theatre’s 4-play 2026-27 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/

Studio 58’s 4-play season includes Yvette Nolan’s The Birds, Twelfth Night and Amélie 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/

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

Langley’s Theatre in the Country has two 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/

Registration is open for Carousel Theatre’s Summer Drama Day Camps for ages 6-12. Details HERE.

Register your kids for Theatre Replacement’s East Van Panto-themed summer camps for ages 5-13. Info 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