MAINSTAGE
Our 2023/24 season:
BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR by John Maclachlan Gray with Eric Peterson
From feats of derring-do to the depths of the trenches and flying up to the skies, through the halls of Buckingham Palace, to inside the human spirit, Billy Bishop Goes to War follows the incredible adventures of Canada’s greatest First World War flying ace. Damon Calderwood has brought a fresh interpretation to one of Canada’s most enduring plays, making this musical so full of humour, hellfire, and the boldness of an extraordinary career of this military hero. Join Billy Bishop as he reconciles the ecstasy of flying with the horrors of war, in this captivating show.
WILD GEESE – by Jennifer Wynne Webber
WORLD PREMIERE
WILD GEESE is an uplifting – and up-to-the-minute – family drama with a big heart and even bigger laughs. Cass is a busy columnist trying to build her career as an on-air media personality. She’s married to Zoe, an artist originally from Montreal who is keen to start a family. Then there’s Cass’s elderly dad Sam. He’s a hardheaded farmer in failing health who doesn’t want to admit that he needs help, even though that’s exactly what he needs. To Cass and Zoe, opening their home to Sam seems like only the right and decent thing to do. But, when Sam moves in, urban meets rural, family values clash – and the feathers really start to fly. At core, this moving and original new play is about how to follow your heart, even when it feels like you might be on a wild goose chase, and about learning to love, even when people change beyond recognition – yourself included.
By the author of the hit play, WITH GLOWING HEARTS: How Ordinary Women Worked Together to Change the World (And Did), which premiered at TheatreOne in 2018.
JUST KIDDING
Our 2023/24 season:
THROUGH MY EYES – Bouge de la
Through My Eyes begins as a dancer enters the stage and discovers a massive furry ball. Intrigued, they move toward it, carefully. As soon as they touch it the magic of the stage is unleashed: the lights go up, the scenery appears all around them, shadows play their tricks and transform one dancer into many dancers! Through My Eyes is an ode to the power of imagination. It stimulates a child’s senses and brings us back to one of the loveliest things about childhood: a tireless capacity for wonder.
PENNY POM POM
The Penny Pom Pom show is an exciting multimedia experience full of music, storytelling, and magic for young kids. Penny is a colourful ball of energy who embodies creative confidence and artistic freedom. Sing and dance along to her catchy and original guitar-driven music about magic, creativity, nature, animals, and the seasons. Penny’s wish is for everyone to leave the show with a big smile, a song in their head, and a desire to share their own special magic with the world. Join along in the fun with Penny Pom Pom.
CINDERELLA – Dufflebag Theatre
Dufflebag Theatre returns to Nanaimo for a single performance of Cinderella. All the familiar characters including the lovely Cinderella, a flitting fairy godmother, an ugly stepmother, a dedicated messenger, and of course, the handsome prince, make appearances in this family friendly interactive version of the much loved story. In this refreshing adaptation of the classic fairy tale, DuffleBag Theatre invites audience members into the show to play the main parts!
EMERGING VOICES
Our 2023/24 season:
LEILA ROILS THE SEAS – by Lily Chang
“If you cry, Leila, I cannot move on.”
In Leila Roils the Seas, a Taiwanese-Canadian woman must help her comatose grandmother’s consciousness transcend to the celestial realm of Pure Land Buddhism, despite her nonbelief in the afterlife, her reluctance to lose her beloved grandmother, and her anger at her grandmother’s contradictions and history of violence.
Featuring Chinese opera, karaoke, fam dram, and chicken heads.
DIVING BELL – Brianna Bock
On an expedition to recover the sunken cargo of the wreck Galene, diver William Hill and ship’s doctor Stephen Anderson are trapped inside the diving bell when a storm strikes. Above, Captain John Scott and First mate Henry Roos find themselves struggling over the right thing to do, and vying for control over the sinking ship. All four men are forced to grapple with their relationships to each other and what it means to survive.
WOMAN AGAINST GRAVITY – Olivia Etey
Armed with her motto: “Suck life dry!” and her late husband’s words: “You have energy and only one life–so use it!” Tessa launches herself into the world of seniors’ online dating. This is the story of one woman’s fierce battle against Gravity, as she seeks to master the art of living in the moment. Can Tessa find someone to savour “the present” with her?
A word from our Artistic Director:
Welcome to a new era for TheatreOne! With some challenging years behind us, we are moving forward with a spirit of renewal. We have a new Executive Director, Michael Cade, who brings decades of experience and expertise as a highly respected Theatre Administrator; we have an impressive, revitalized Board of Directors; and the organization has been inspired by the original mission of the organization: to provide excellent live performances to our community. Our core programming (Just Kidding for Kids, Main Stage, and Emerging Voices) is all part of that focus on high quality live theatre, and a key ingredient of that commitment is to have the company begin producing theatre locally again – starting this season with the World Premiere of Wild Geese written by a Nanaimo-based playwright Jennifer Wynne Webber. Join us this year as we start our new journey!
By donating to TheatreOne, your contribution goes directly towards helping us “move hearts and minds”. These donations are tax creditable and always meaningful to TheatreOne.
For over 40 years TheatreOne has entertained, educated, and enriched the City of Nanaimo and the mid-Vancouver Island region.
Our Mainstage shows bring challenging and dynamic professional live theatre to the stage, with an emphasis on contemporary Canadian works.
Our Emerging Voices staged readings encourage and support the creation of new plays and the development of local playwrights.
Our Just Kidding for Kids program brings the magic of the performing arts to audiences of all ages and builds opportunities for young people and families to access, learn from, and celebrate the arts.
A donation to theatre goes a long way and yours would be most appreciated.
We are following provincial health guidelines regarding Covid protocols.
TheatreOne acknowledges and thanks the Snuneymuxw First Nation
on whose traditional territory we live, create, and perform.
THEATREONE’S GENEROUS SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS
