Frontmezzjunkies reports: An Immersive Celebration Comes Home to The Grand
By Ross
Ahh, such theatrical envy these days, that comes from seeing your hometown theatre announce something wonderful when you are just far enough away to miss it. That was my immediate and sad reaction when I received the Grand Theatre invitation and press release for their production of Mrs Krishnan’s Party, which would arrive on the Auburn Stage from February 25 to March 7, 2026. An internationally celebrated immersive hit built on food, music, and audience participation, the show promises to turn the theatre into a living and inviting celebration. And for those of us who grew up sitting in those theatre seats, it feels like exactly the sort of joyful surprise the Grand has become increasingly good at delivering.
The premise sounds disarmingly simple and delicious. Mrs Krishnan prepares for an Onam celebration while waiting for her son’s arrival, only for the evening to unfold in unexpected ways as strangers share food, stories, and space together. Yet the heart of the piece appears rooted in something deeper. One of the playwrights, Jacob Rajan, describes the experience as embracing uncertainty and connection, that feeling of excitement mixed with vulnerability when you step into the unknown. Justin Lewis, the other playwright, speaks of the joy that exists alongside sorrow, and of celebration as an act of resilience. Those ideas feel especially fitting for a theatre that has increasingly embraced work that invites audiences into conversation rather than singular observation.
As someone who grew up attending performances at the Grand, I have watched the theatre continually redefine what its stages can and should hold. The Auburn Stage in particular has become a place for experimentation and intimacy, like the post-COVID Re:Opening Festival production of Mark Uhre’s Seeds of Self, or the recent showing of Ronnie Burkett’s Wonderful Joe. With those in mind, it is easy to imagine this production filling that room with warmth and spontaneity like those two did in vastly different ways. There is a special kind of pride in seeing my hometown theatre host the only Canadian stop on a North American tour, especially one built around cultural exchange and shared experience. It signals confidence, curiosity, and a theatre increasingly willing to let new stories reshape the room itself.
I admit there is also a small sting in knowing I will miss opening night. Theatre lives in the moment, and immersive work even more so. Still, productions with this kind of audience connection often travel well and find new audiences long after their first engagement. It is easy to imagine Mrs Krishnan’s Party continuing its journey, perhaps appearing on a Toronto stage in the near future, where another roomful of strangers will gather, eat, laugh, and leave changed in small but meaningful ways. One can hope. For now, London audiences get to host the party, and from afar I find myself hoping it proves as joyful, generous, and unforgettable as it already sounds.
The Grand Theatre presents Mrs Krishnan’s Party. By Jacob Rajan & Justin Lewis.
February 25 to March 7, 2026, on the Auburn Stage. For more information and tickets, click here.
