Arts Club Theatre — Articles

Theatre review: Arts Club cooks up a creative hit with a Waitress that's moving yet whimsical

Rachel Drance’s poignant performance mixes well with choreographic and design innovations in new rendition of musical at the Stanley

Waitress star Rachel Drance connects to baking as an act of love

Vancouver-raised performer pours her heart and soul into hit Arts Club musical about women supporting one another and the healing power of pies

Arts Club artistic director Ashlie Corcoran receives YWCA Women of Distinction Award

Annual accolade honours an individual who has significantly enriched Metro Vancouver’s arts and culture community

Casey and Diana pays emotional tribute to the unsung heroes of the HIV/AIDS epidemic

Director Andrew Kushnir says Nick Green’s play also highlights the key role of the Princess of Wales in destigmatizing contact with patients

Theatre review: Burning Mom steps into the unknown with warmth and humour

With its openhearted journey through grief, Susinn McFarlen’s charming solo performance fills the Arts Club’s Granville Island Stage

Theatre review: Cambodian Rock Band sings to help heal wounds of a grim past

Arts Club’s high-energy production revives golden age of rock music while reckoning with painful history that refuses to remain silent

THEATREJanet SmithMarch 17, 2025Arts Club Theatre, Spring 2025

Shadbolt Centre for the Arts stages Michele Riml's hit play Sexy Laundry, November 6 and 7

Arts Club Theatre Company production follows married couple Alice and Henry who embark on a naughty hotel retreat to rekindle their lacklustre sex life

Theatre review: Jersey Boys has smooth moves, authentic grit, and style for miles

At Arts Club’s Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, Julie Tomaino helms a honed production that hits all the high notes of the Four Seasons story

THEATREJanet SmithSeptember 13, 2024Arts Club Theatre Company, Arts Club, Arts Club Theatre

Theatre review: Ring of Fire takes a creatively staged journey through the iconic songs of Johnny Cash

At the Arts Club’s Granville Island stage, instrument-playing cast members alternate the role of the Man in Black in an almost completely sung-through musical

Theatre review: Sexy Laundry's bedroom comedy feels tame after 20 years

Actors find gentle laughs in story of a 50-something couple trying—and failing—to reignite their romantic spark

THEATREJanet SmithApril 22, 2024Arts Club Theatre, Sexy Laundry, Theatre, comedy

In Sexy Laundry, director Diana Donnelly unpacks intimacy and longevity in long-term relationships

Arts Club Theatre Company stages Michele Riml’s international-hit play about a couple seeking to rekindle their sex life 25 years into marriage

Theatre review: Red Velvet tells true story of trailblazing Othello actor, mixing humour and tragedy

Sharp characterizations and atmospheric design touches help create a moving tribute to Ira Aldridge

THEATREJanet SmithMarch 31, 2024Arts Club Theatre, Arts Club Theatre Company, Spring 2024

Theatre review: A strong cast finds all the comedy and complexity in Father Tartuffe

Relocating Molière’s farce to a 1967 “rez mansion”, play moves entertainingly between big laughs and deeper reflection

Father Tartuffe: An Indigenous Misadventure uses humour to pry into more difficult social issues

For this fresh twist on Molière classic, actor Danica Charlie says it’s been a challenge to travel back to the Canada of 1967

Theatre review: Every Brilliant Thing engages its audience in innovative ways

At the Arts Club, solo performer Naomi Wright adeptly offers a lighthearted route into heavier subject matter

THEATREJanet SmithFebruary 20, 2024Arts Club Theatre, Naomi Wright, Homepage feature

Theatre review: Powerful performances and music as Choir Boy examines how society shapes young lives

Tarell Alvin McCraney’s compelling, boys’-school-set play poses important questions

THEATREJanet SmithFebruary 1, 2024Arts Club Theatre, Homepage feature, Arts Club Theatre Company

In Choir Boy, prep school sets the stage for impactful a cappella reflections on sexuality and Black masculinity

Director Mike Payette and actor Kwaku Okyere reflect on nuances of play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, screenwriter of Oscar-winning film Moonlight

THEATREJanet SmithJanuary 26, 2024Canadian Stage, Arts Club Theatre, Homepage feature

Cascading sand and warbling strings: A few standout moments from 2023's stage and gallery scene

Random memorable scenes from the year in arts span 50 dancers swirling in BOLERO X, a powerful Julius Caesar speech, and a cello star’s finale with local string students