Gateway Theatre unveils 40th-anniversary season, spanning a Halloween murder mystery, family-friendly puppetry, and more

Four mainstage theatre shows hit 2024-25 roster, along with celebrations for Richmond Pride Week, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Lunar New Year

By emily lyth

Little Onion Puppet Company’s family-oriented show Otosan. Photo by Erin Palm

GATEWAY THEATRE has unveiled a series of stage shows and special events for its 40th-annual year of presenting performing-arts.

Four theatre productions are in store on the 2024-25 calendar, along with another four offerings that span storytelling sessions and festive celebrations. Subscription packages and single tickets are now on sale.

YAGA, a Halloween murder mystery produced by Touchstone Theatre opens the season, from October 24 to November 2. When a local college bad boy mysteriously disappears in a suspected murder, a group of three—a small-town sheriff, a young private detective, and a boy-thirsty university professor—venture down a rabbit hole of secrets and magic in search of a suspect. Roy Surette will direct the nightmarish, fairy-tale-infused comedy-thriller written by Kat Sandler.

From December 12 to January 4, 2025, audiences will be treated to Lionel Bart’s Oliver!, a holiday-musical retelling of Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist. Lonely orphan Oliver escapes his duty as a neglected apprentice and joins a band of pickpockets, but puts his hopes of finding a loving family in jeopardy when he is accused of a theft he did not commit. Director Josh Epstein, musical director Sean Bayntun, and choreographer Nicol Spinola are at the helm of this award-winning show that will have audiences humming along to spirited songs like “Food, Glorious Food” and “Consider Yourself”.

Little Onion Puppet Company’s Otosan, created by Shizuka Kai, Randi Edmundson, and Jess Amy Shead, is next on this season’s theatre lineup, and will treat family audiences to an immersive journey from February 19 to 22, 2025. Weaving together puppetry and real wildlife footage with an original score, this heartwarming tale of a young girl who travels with her father to The North by hiding in his suitcase is inspired by co-creator Kai’s experiences with her own wildlife-videographer father.

Rounding out the theatre productions from April 17 to 26, 2025 is a true classic—Pride and Prejudice, a whimsical revamp by Kate Hamill of Jane Austen’s beloved novel. When outspoken marriage skeptic Elizabeth Bennet meets the charming Mr. Darcy, she is swept off her feet into a whirlwind romance. This Western Canada Theatre co-production promises wit and determination with fast-paced staging.

There are also four special presentations, two of which will take place this summer leading up to the mainstage theatre shows. In celebration of Pride Week in Richmond, Gateway will host a storytelling and tea event called True Voices on August 1; and to honour this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, Moonlight Magic on September 14 will feature a lantern-crafting workshop followed by an outdoor procession and concert in Minoru Park.

Later on in the season, Silk Road Music will play an enchanting Lunar New Year concert on February 1, 2025, and Deborah Williams’s fan-favourite storytelling series will return to Gateway Theatre on March 8 with The Flame: Anniversary Edition.

Last year’s inaugural Richmond showing of The Flame for Lunar New Year featured performers spanning Beverley Elliott (best known for playing the role of Granny on Once Upon a Time), intersectional feminist drag performer Kendell Yan, a.k.a. Maiden China, and six other talented artists. It sold out quickly; be sure to purchase tickets for this year’s edition well in advance. 

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