Illustration by Chantelle Dorafshani
Looking for inventive summer theatre this summer? Here’s a taste of what’s happening on stages across Canada.
Tell Tale Harbour
Melissa MacKenzie, Alan Doyle and Kale Penny star in Tell Tale Harbour (2025).Louise Vessey/Supplied
Confederation Centre of the Arts, PEI
June 14 to Aug. 29
Here’s your chance to get the inside scoop on a major Mirvish endeavour before the production ever sets foot in Toronto. Starring Alan Doyle, Tell Tale Harbour follows a small village in Atlantic Canada faced with the thrilling prospect of opening a local French fry factory – but only if they can secure a full-time resident doctor to live nearby.
Mirvish is set to present the musical in Toronto this fall, but like the Gander, N.L., production of Come from Away, it’s safe to assume this story will be all the more resonant at the picturesque Confederation Centre, steps from the sea in downtown Charlottetown.
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Bittergirl
County Stage Company, Ontario
July 18 to Aug. 13
We’re in a seismic time for Canadian musical theatre. Toronto’s Musical Stage Company has just named its new artistic director and the Alliance for Canadian Musicals will present eight new works at this summer’s Toronto Fringe Festival.
But what’s more exciting than world premieres and works-in-progress is the proliferation of existing Canadian work into the regional theatre canon – Bittergirl, an existing Canadian musical by Annabel Fitzsimmons, Alison Lawrence and Mary Francis Moore, is one such existing work. Set to a doo-wop score, the story follows three women as they come to grips with the realities of being dumped.
County Stage Company, located in beautiful Prince Edward County, is a lovely spot for a summer matinee – and as good a picnic location as you’ll find in this country. Why not enjoy a proven Canadian musical while taking in the views?
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Arts Club Theatre
Vancouver
Various dates
Vancouver’s largest theatre company has a fun and frothy pair of shows on display this summer: Waitress, adapted from the 2007 film of the same name and featuring a dandy score by Sara Bareilles, and The Mousetrap, Agatha Christie’s crowd-pleasing summer stock favourite.
As I’ve mentioned before: I’m here for the wave of Waitresses taking over Canada. (Ontario audiences who missed the exhilarating co-production between London’s Grand Theatre and Hamilton’s Theatre Aquarius can check out the production running this month at Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre.) I’m pleased to see so many takes on the material across the country; and, of course, The Mousetrap is the world’s longest-running play for good reason.
The Wind Coming Over the Sea
Blyth Festival, Ontario
June 26 to Aug. 12
Prolific Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue returns to the stage with The Wind Coming Over the Sea, an Irish folk musical about starting a new life in Canada. I rather enjoyed the musical adaptation of Donoghue’s Room that played in Toronto in 2022 – and I was disappointed that show’s Broadway transfer fell through in the 11th hour. This project looks to be a fresh start for Donoghue, perhaps in the vein of Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová and Enda Walsh’s Once.
In truth, the Blyth Festival has a few strong offerings this summer – the fest will also present Sir John A: Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion by Drew Hayden Taylor. It’s an impressive season worth checking out.
Le Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur
Saint-Sauveur, Que.
July 23 to Aug. 3
Now that Guillaume Côté has taken his final bow with the National Ballet of Canada, the former principal dancer is free to focus on his festival in the Laurentians, a sort-of response to international outdoor dance hubs such as Jacob’s Pillow in Becket, Mass.
This year’s programming features a blend of dance, film screenings and workshops. I’m most intrigued by Momix, a performance company that combines dance, athletics and sleight-of-hand magic, and Bulareyaung Dance Company, which as part of its North American tour will present a one-night-only performance infused with Indigenous Taiwanese culture.
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)
Perchance Theatre, Newfoundland and Labrador
Aug. 2-30
Located approximately 40 minutes outside of St. John’s, Perchance Theatre has a gorgeous outdoor venue in Conception Harbour. This year, the company will present Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), Ann-Marie MacDonald’s seminal comedy about Shakespeare and psychology. Directed by Alisa Palmer – who in recent years collaborated with wife MacDonald on the theatrical adaptation of Fall on Your Knees – this promises to be a buoyant production set under a blanket of seaside stars.
