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

*East Van Panto: West Van Story*. Photo by Emily Cooper

WEST VAN CURLER Holly and her love interest, East Van bowler Joes, are sticking around for an extra week of hilarious performances this holiday season.

The main characters in Theatre Replacement’s raucous East Van Panto: West Van Story hit The Cultch’s York Theatre last week, and because of overwhelming demand, the show is getting held over. Originally set to run from November 21 to January 4, 2026, the Panto will now see additional performances on January 8 and 9 at 7 pm, January 10 at 2 pm and 7 pm, and January 11 at 2 pm.

When Stir reviewed the Panto’s opening, we shared that it “excels at chaotically grand musical numbers, undercut with biting satire, shameless kid-friendly silliness, and adult-friendly subversive politics.” Dawn Petten absolutely nails her role as megadeveloper Boberta Rainy, the prissy, power-suit-wearing villain of the show who’s hell-bent on erecting condo towers across the East Side; and Tom Pickett brings levity to the Panto as the delightful Evie, an anthropomorphized East Van Cross.

This year’s East Van Panto was written by Marcus Youssef and Pedro Chamale, and riffs on both Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. In our interview with the pair of playwrights here, long-time East Van resident Youssef noted that the production doesn’t pick favourites when it comes to poking fun at Vancouver’s age-old East-West rivalry.

“I think the responsibility of any good satire—and the Panto is family-friendly satire in my mind—is to point the satire at ourselves as well,” Youssef said. “Satire that only satirizes who we all might consider ‘the other’ isn’t interesting to me.”

Over 16,000 people see the East Van Panto annually, and tickets for the main run are nearly sold out—grab ’em while you still can.

Featured

Emily Lyth

Stir editorial assistant Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.

Articles

Theatre review: At the Arts Club, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women celebrates complex bonds of sisterhood

Portrayals of the classic novel’s famously lively siblings shine brightest when all four are together onstage, capturing love for one another in quiet gestures

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

Gordon and Marion Smith Foundation receives $1 million in private funding through Ann Kipling estate and Audain Foundation

Long-term sustainability in sight for Artists for Kids and Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art, as endowment fund now sits at $4.3 million

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

Arts cuts loom as City of Vancouver passes 2026 “back-to-basics” operating budget

The sector will see a reduction of 12 percent, or $6 million, in funding

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

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival unveils program with works by Tanya Tagaq, Alan Lake, and more

Discipline-crossing shows from as far away as Zimbabwe and Argentina hit a variety of stages from January 22 to February 8, 2026

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

Am Johal steps into new role as executive artistic director of Indian Summer Festival

Former director of SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement was the fest’s curator-in-residence for 2025

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