Advance Theatre Festival brings five staged readings to the Shadbolt Centre, January 26 to 30

Ruby Slippers Theatre presentation features new works by Irene (Fan) Yi, Abi Padilla, Marcia Johnson, Alexandra Lainfiesta, and Sewit Eden Haile

SPONSORED POST BY Shadbolt Centre for the Arts

(From left) Playwrights Alexandra Lainfiesta, Sewit Eden Haile, Abi Padilla, Marcia Johnson, and Irene (Fan) Yi.

Advance Theatre Festival: Advancing the Radically Inclusive Stage is bringing five staged readings to the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts from January 26 to 30. It is presented by Ruby Slippers Theatre in association with the Shadbolt Centre and Playwrights Guild of Canada.

Opening the festival on January 26 is Irene (Fan) Yi’s I Have a Dream in Chinese, a one-woman theatrical journey set aboard a flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver. On January 27, Abi Padilla’s Far and Free is a coming-of-age romantic comedy that takes place during the Philippines’ martial law era.

Marcia Johnson’s Just Like Paris, an Alberta-set Second World War play, is on January 28; and on January 29, Alexandra Lainfiesta’s magic-realist play Bella Luz follows a Guatemalan dancer’s quest for permanent residency.

Closing the festival on January 30 is Sewit Eden Haile’s Roald Dahl Doesn’t Care About You, about a self-run writer’s group navigating change.

All five performances take place at 8:30 pm. Tickets are available here.

Post sponsored by Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.

Featured

Playful show Secret Ingredients comes to Gateway Theatre, October 14 to 17

Keely Rois O’Brien’s intimate experimental work transforms a personal message into a subversive cake

With its technically demanding production of Heist, the Arts Club aims to wow the audience

Arun Lakra’s play is like a caper movie crossed with a whodunit, and director Andrew Kushnir says pulling it off requires the combined forces of an A team of designers and actors

Hideki Noda's Red Demon opens the Firehall Arts Centre’s 2026–27 season, October 8 to 18

Darkly funny play examines whether coexistence is possible in a society fraught with prejudice and discrimination

Chutzpah! Festival unveils 2026 programming, with actor Ari’el Stachel, comedian Jacob Samuel, dance artist Meghann Michalsky, and more

The 26th annual edition spans theatre, dance, comedy, and music from November 3 to 15

Dragons, drama, and tour-de-force monologues highlight Théâtre la Seizième’s 2026–27 season

The local French-language theatre company will present everything from a live video game to an emotionally intense two-hander based on a Virginia Woolf masterpiece

Western Gold Theatre's Have A Senior Moment Festival opens with Anniversary, September 25 to 27

A staged reading of Carol Shields and Dave Williamson‘s comedy takes a sharp look at life and love in middle-class suburbia

Theatre review: Postcards to my Younger Transexual Self captures the soft ache of reaching for somebody across distance

In playwright-performer Christina Cook’s new show, reality-bending correspondence plays out across a stage loosely divided between the three generations of women

To Love or Not to Love puts a modern spin on a medieval Persian epic, August 27 to 30

Majid Tafreshi’s play intertwines Nezami Ganjavi’s 12th-century poetry with the lives of contemporary theatre actors

At Metro Theatre, puppets navigate the realities of adulthood in Avenue Q, September 18 to October 10

Christopher King directs the Tony Award–winning musical comedy about a college grad finding his way in the world

Where the Blood Mixes, Bordertown Café, Benevolence as Firehall Arts Centre announces 2026–27 season

A new dance work by Kirsten Wicklund and Peter Smida, the world premiere of a musical, and more round out the lineup

Glitch Theatre's new podcast series Arc One debuts August 27

Short works by D/disability-identified artists offer compelling stories, from a literally spirited cabaret to the time-spanning medical office of Anton Chekhov

A History of Motown explores the soulful sounds that shaped popular music, August 19 to 29

Singer Krystle Dos Santos and her band celebrate the record label that brought us legendary performers including Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye

The Cultch says visa delays threaten The Horse of Jenin’s Canadian premiere

One-man show by Amsterdam-based Palestinian artist Alaa Shehada had already been postponed from last spring due to processing holdups

With Ionesco’s Cabaret, Rumble Theatre brings the Theatre of the Absurd into the modern age

The show, produced by Theatre Conspiracy in association with Pi Theatre, finds contemporary resonances in Eugène Ionesco’s 20th-century works

Theatre review: Gleefully chaotic Goblins dismantle Oedipus at Bard on the Beach

Wug, Kravga, and Moog deliver a take on Sophocles’ Greek tragedy that, in addition to copious amounts of crude humour, has its share of chillingly effective moments

Theatre review: A Streetcar Named Desire unsettles with mix of charm, fragility, and violence

Ensemble Theatre Company taps into the humid haze of a Tennessee Williams classic where love and self-deception mingle

Theatre review: The Little Mermaid dives into glittering storybook setting at Theatre Under the Stars

Standout performances and design bring infectious energy to Disney’s tale of love and self-discovery

Theatre review: Bard on the Beach’s adaptation of Antigone opens new paths through timeless tragedy

Bold update by Kate Besworth brings mythic figures closer to us while continuing to ask the ancient questions posed by Sophocles

Theatre review: Theatre Under the Stars’ Sister Act soars on joyous sounds and heartfelt story

Fierce company transforms characters by committing to the popular musical’s blend of disco, soul, and gospel

Anita Majumdar’s Why We Work Out is an exercise in understanding, at Indian Summer Festival

Presented by the fest and Boca del Lupo, the multifaceted one-woman show carries long-standing reflections on workout culture and the life-altering effects of a pandemic

Local theatre artists’ project King Arthur’s Night culminates in a buoyant new film that blurs documentary and fantasy

Now streaming on Knowledge.ca, John Bolton–helmed movie stars Niall McNeil, Marcus Youssef, Veda Hille, Nathan Kay, and more, in a mix of artists with and without Down syndrome

THEATRE, FESTSStir VancouverJanuary 6, 2026Partner Content, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Shadbolt Centre, shadbolt centre for the arts, Advance Theatre Festival, Ruby Slippers Theatre

Advance Theatre Festival brings five staged readings to the Shadbolt Centre, January 26 to 30

Ruby Slippers Theatre presentation features new works by Irene (Fan) Yi, Abi Padilla, Marcia Johnson, Alexandra Lainfiesta, and Sewit Eden Haile

Advance Theatre Festival: Advancing the Radically Inclusive Stage is bringing five staged readings to the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts from January 26 to 30. It is presented by Ruby Slippers Theatre in association with the Shadbolt Centre and Playwrights Guild of Canada.

Marcia Johnson’s Just Like Paris, an Alberta-set Second World War play, is on January 28; and on January 29, Alexandra Lainfiesta’s magic-realist play Bella Luz follows a Guatemalan dancer’s quest for permanent residency.

Closing the festival on January 30 is Sewit Eden Haile’s Roald Dahl Doesn’t Care About You, about a self-run writer’s group navigating change.

All five performances take place at 8:30 pm. Tickets are available here.

Related Articles

Check out our Instagram @stirvancouver

CONTACT US

LINKS