Firehall Arts Centre presents Women of the Fur Trade, February 8 to March 2

West Coast premiere of Frances Koncan’s powerful play offers a satirical take on the Canadian fur trade

The Firehall Arts Centre is producing and presenting the West Coast premiere of Women of the Fur Trade, a play by Anishinaabe and Slovene theatre artist Frances Koncan, with an extended run from February 8 to March 2.

Set in eighteen hundred and something-something, somewhere upon the banks of a Reddish River in Treaty One Territory, three very different women with a preference for 21st-century slang find themselves stuck in a fort having tea and sharing their views on life, love, and Louis Riel.

In this powerfully funny satire directed by Donna Spencer with assistant director Cheri Maracle, Koncan shifts the focus from the male gaze on history to the power of women and their place in the rapidly changing world of the Canadian fur trade.

Women of the Fur Trade will feature performers Danica Charlie, Kaitlyn Yott, Kate Besworth, Wayne Lavallee, and Evan Rein.

For tickets and more information, visit the Firehall Arts Centre.

Post sponsored by Firehall Arts Centre.

Featured

With fresh adaptation (a) Winter’s Tale, two well-known theatre talents launch The Ecstasy

Colleen Wheeler and Moya O’Connell have gathered a crack team of actors for micro-sized Shakespearean shows at the City Centre Artist Lodge—and this is only the beginning

Comedy review: Improv Centre’s agile cast conjures ’90s holiday TV specials in ’Tis the Sitcom

With audiences supplying the laugh track, the days of “Must-See TV” return in a different form every night, with heartfelt moments arising among hilarious period-correct details

East Van Panto: West Van Story gets an extended run thanks to overwhelming popularity

Theatre Replacement’s nearly sold-out holiday tradition continues at The Cultch’s York Theatre to January 11

Even after a century and a half, Little Women continues to capture emotions of both actors and audiences

Director Barbara Tomasic talks about the Arts Club Theatre Company’s new production of the Louisa May Alcott classic, which still inspires heartfelt reflection on sibling bonds and the challenges of finding a place in the world

Theatre review: East Van Panto: West Van Story serves up a so-Vancouver villain for the ages

Dawn Petten’s megadeveloper slays in a show with pumped-up song-and-dance numbers, subversive satire, and standout performances

Theatre review: Cue the chaos as Burnout Paradise entices an audience to pitch in together

Amid the laughter and DIY signs, Pony Cam show at The Cultch captures a world where we can’t step off the ever-racing treadmill

Holiday shows 2025: Stir’s ultimate guide to Vancouver’s merriest performances and events

The local arts and culture scene has bright gifts in store this season, from music by candlelight to wintry ballets

Joylyn Secunda plays a portal-hopping office worker in surreal solo show The Routine, November 22 and 23

At Studio 16, artist weaves mime and clown components in vignettes that explore a person’s search for the meaning of life

Theatre review: Between Breaths honours the stubborn dignity of a man devoted to saving whales

Artistic Fraud production portrays the joys and griefs of Jon Lien, a pioneering Newfoundland conservationist whose challenges included a late-life struggle with dementia

Metro Theatre hosts annual holiday pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, December 12 to January 4, 2026

Shel Piercy directs the delightfully silly show full of colourful sets and sparkling costumes

Burnout Paradise runs its performers ragged at The Cultch, November 20 to December 7

Cheer on Pony Cam as chaotic treadmill performance captures the mad rush of life

Playwrights Pedro Chamale and Marcus Youssef joyfully throw jabs in all directions in East Van Panto: West Van Story

Duo complicates East-West rivalries and draws on everything from Shakespeare to Gen Alpha slang in a music- and dance-filled installment of the Theatre Replacement tradition

Gateway Theatre hosts holiday musical Annie, December 11 to January 3

Story follows little orphan Annie as she escapes the cruel Miss Hannigan’s rule and sets out on a search for her parents

Theatre review: Faye’s Room resists easy answers about autism and the human struggle for empathy

In this candid Glitch Theatre production, first-time playwright Alex K. Masse creates an open-hearted, often funny encounter between young neurodivergent and neurotypical co-workers

Performers and audience find bigger, brighter, braver selves in kids’ show Parents Are a Drag

Carousel Theatre for Young People brings back a hit celebration of drag that juggles song, education, dress-up, and play

Theatre review: Frozen’s wintry spell carries the magic of the Disney original

With sparkling effects and powerful performances, the Arts Club Theatre Company’s production of the beloved musical captures imaginations of young audience members

Theatre review: The Effect packs powerful doses of dark humour and difficult truth

Rumble Theatre and ITSAZOO’s sleek production of an unsettling, uncanny drama by Lucy Prebble explores our choices in a pharmaceutical-driven world

Theatre review: Festive warmth fills witty Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley

With Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, Metro Theatre offers a Pride and Prejudice sequel in which a long-overlooked member of one of literature’s most famous families finds love

Stir Q&A: Between Breaths tells the true story of a Newfoundland man who rescued over 500 whales

Artistic Fraud production at the Firehall Arts Centre centres on conservationist Jon Lien’s powerful work and eventual battle with dementia

Arts Club and Touchstone Theatre lead winners at Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards

Casey and Diana, Burning Mom, Behind the Moon, and Yaga shared the spotlight with prizes for Bard on the Beach’s The Dark Lady, Theatre for Young Audience category’s Otosan, Small Budget dominator The Sound Inside, and much more

Dance Nation traces vulnerability and narcissism of preteen competitive dancers, November 13 to 23

The Search Party’s hilariously offbeat theatre production gets a remount at the Anvil Theatre

THEATREStir VancouverJanuary 16, 2025Partner Content, Firehall Arts Centre

Firehall Arts Centre presents Women of the Fur Trade, February 8 to March 2

West Coast premiere of Frances Koncan’s powerful play offers a satirical take on the Canadian fur trade

The Firehall Arts Centre is producing and presenting the West Coast premiere of Women of the Fur Trade, a play by Anishinaabe and Slovene theatre artist Frances Koncan, with an extended run from February 8 to March 2.

Set in eighteen hundred and something-something, somewhere upon the banks of a Reddish River in Treaty One Territory, three very different women with a preference for 21st-century slang find themselves stuck in a fort having tea and sharing their views on life, love, and Louis Riel.

In this powerfully funny satire directed by Donna Spencer with assistant director Cheri Maracle, Koncan shifts the focus from the male gaze on history to the power of women and their place in the rapidly changing world of the Canadian fur trade.

Women of the Fur Trade will feature performers Danica Charlie, Kaitlyn Yott, Kate Besworth, Wayne Lavallee, and Evan Rein.

For tickets and more information, visit the Firehall Arts Centre.

Related Articles

Check out our Instagram @stirvancouver

CONTACT US

LINKS