London’s Grand Theatre announces 2024-25 season
iPhoto caption: Photo courtesy of the Grand Theatre.
London’s Grand Theatre has announced its next season, featuring an exciting slate of co-productions with theatres across the country, as well as multiple blockbuster musicals.
“The Grand’s 2024-25 Season is about moments where joy, where play, bring about real change in the world. How humour can make us look at ourselves, and each other, in a new light. Some fresh looks on familiar stories, and some new stories that feel like something we know,” new artistic director Rachel Peake shared in a press release.
“With this season, my first season of programming as artistic director of the Grand, I wanted to share stories of human connection in many different times and spaces. And we are proudly continuing to produce exceptional Canadian theatre here in downtown London that will carry on from the Grand to stages in Edmonton, Hamilton, and Ottawa.”
Subscriptions for the 2024-25 season are now on sale. More information about the Grand’s 2024-25 season and ancillary programming are available on the Grand’s website.
Roald Dahl’s Matilda: The Musical
Book by Dennis Kelly
Music and lyrics by Tim Minchin
Directed by Megan Watson
September 17-29, 2024
The Grand opens its next season with a presentation of the High School Project’s production of Matilda, based on the beloved children’s book by Roald Dahl. Former Grand artistic director Megan Watson directs, with past Grand productions including A Christmas Carol and Mary Poppins.
As You Like It
Written by William Shakespeare
Adapted and directed by Daryl Cloran
Conceived by Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival and Daryl Cloran
October 15 – November 2, 2024
This As You Like It reimagines Shakespeare’s rom-com in Canada’s Okanagan Valley in the 1960s, featuring music by the Beatles and psychedelic aesthetics. Following acclaimed performances in Washington, Chicago, and Vancouver, the Grand will host the Ontario premiere of this groovy take on As You Like It.
The Sound of Music
Suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
Directed by Rachel Peake
November 19 – December 22, 2024
The Grand’s coveted holiday slot will be filled by The Sound of Music, in an exciting production helmed by Peake. For the eighth consecutive year, the Grand will fundraise for the London Food Bank in conjunction with its family-friendly Christmastime show.
Heist
Written by Arun Lakra
Co-production with the Citadel Theatre
January 14 – February 1, 2025
Inspired by Ocean’s Eleven, this action adventure is filled with stunts and high-tech crime-fighting. Written by Calgary screenwriter, playwright, and ophthalmologist Lakra, this Ontario premiere of Heist promises to evoke the sorts of high stakes and surprising twists usually only seen in movies.
The Secret to Good Tea
Written by Rosanna Deerchild
Directed by Renae Morriseau
Co-production with the National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre
February 18 – March 8, 2025
A local radio host and her mother tackle the challenge of breaking down the walls that have emerged between them over time. Over a pot of steaming hot tea, Maggie and Gwynn uncover their stories in a journey of laughter and understanding, exploring the tender, unique bond between mother and daughter. Following its premiere in Manitoba, the Grand will host the Ontario premiere of The Secret to Good Tea, in a co-production with National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre.
Waitress
Music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles
Book by Jessie Nelson
Based on the motion picture by Adrienne Shelly
Directed by Rachel Peake
Co-production with Theatre Aquarius
March 25 – April 12, 2025
The fan-favourite musical by pop darling Sara Bareilles comes to southwestern Ontario in this thrilling co-production between the Grand and Theatre Aquarius. A story of love, loss, and the healing powers of pie, Waitress is a touching story of friendship and self-love, helmed here by Peake.
Pride and Prejudice
Written by Kate Hamill
Based on the novel by Jane Austen
Directed by Rebecca Northan
April 29 – May 17, 2025
A new take on Jane Austen’s beloved novel comes to the Grand Theatre’s Spriet Stage next spring, in a laugh-out-loud adaptation directed by Rebecca Northan that preserves the love story between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, but amps up the comedy tenfold.
Aisling Murphy
Aisling is Intermission's former senior editor and the theatre reporter for the Globe and Mail. She likes British playwright Sarah Kane, most songs by Taylor Swift, and her cats, Fig and June. She was a 2024 fellow at the National Critics Institute in Waterford, CT.
LEARN MORE
iPhoto caption: A stock image of Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover.
Lighthouse Festival unveils casting for 2025 summer season
The Lighthouse Festival has announced casting details for its 2025 summer season. A mix of returning favourites and new faces will appear in five productions across its two venues in Port Dover and Port Colborne.
iPhoto caption: The 'Octet' company. Photos by Dahlia Katz.
Crow’s Theatre announces packed 2025-26 season, including major partnership with Soulpepper
Next season, Crow’s Theatre will stage work by Michael Healey, Dave Malloy, Eboni Booth, Erin Shields, and Tennessee Williams, among others. The company is also launching a three-year partnership with Soulpepper Theatre, which will involve four large-scale 2025-26 co-productions.
iPhoto caption: Photo courtesy of Canadian Stage.
Canadian Stage reveals 2025-26 programming
World premieres from local playwrights Erin Shields and Kanika Ambrose feature in Canadian Stage’s 2025-26 season, announced this morning. The lineup also includes a Robert Lepage remount and a pair of Tony Award-nominated dramas.
iPhoto caption: Production image of The Livrarian. Photo by Anita Murphy.
Inaugural Bealtaine Theatre Festival brings contemporary Irish theatre to Toronto
Toronto audiences will experience a diverse selection of Irish theatre, music, and storytelling as the Bealtaine Theatre Festival debuts from April 25 to May 25.
iPhoto caption: Farren Timoteo in Made in Italy. Photo by Trudie Lee.
Theatre Calgary announces 2025–26 season
The 2025-26 season at Theatre Calgary features six productions, including a world premiere musical, a contemporary Canadian classic, and the return of a sold-out comedy.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Andree Lanthier.
GCTC to close out season with Rachel Mutombo’s Vierge
Co-produced by Montreal’s Black Theatre Workshop and directed by Dian Marie Bridge, Vierge will run from March 18 to 30 at the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre in Ottawa.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Aisling Murphy.
In the darkest months of Yukon winter, it’s all about the Sun Room
I’m here for a week in January as a guest of Nakai Theatre, a hub for theatrical experimentation and outside-the-box programming in Canada’s westernmost territory.
Armchairs, tattoos, and an online theatre magazine
When I started at Intermission, my world was limited to the confines of an armchair. Arts journalism was a high it felt dangerously fruitless to chase. The life stretched ahead of me was amorphous and frightening, a chasm filled with hand sanitizer and immigration concerns. It was worth crying over a spilled kombucha and scrubbing at the stain.
iPhoto caption: Liz Appel headshot courtesy of Liz Appel.
Five questions with Wights playwright Liz Appel
Intermission spoke with Appel over email for a brief Q&A about Wights, now playing at Crow’s Theatre until February 9.
Call for applications: Publishing and editorial assistant
Intermission Magazine is seeking a dynamic and collaborative individual to join our team.
iPhoto caption: What Writing Can Do: The 2025 Musical Theatre Critics Lab
Announcing What Writing Can Do: The 2025 Musical Theatre Critics Lab
What Writing Can Do is timed to coincide with the Grand and Theatre Aquarius’ co-production of Waitress, which will serve as a jumping-off point for discussions throughout the Lab.
iPhoto caption: A Christmas Story production still by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: A Christmas Story feels fresh at Theatre Aquarius
If you want to catch A Christmas Story before it closes, good luck — the show is close to sold out, and with the talent on that stage, it’s not hard to see why.
Comments