Pacific Theatre Announces 2021-22 Season

For its 39th season, Pacific Theatre returns to in-theatre performance with a two-part slate featuring existential comedies, challenging dramas, and live music. The season includes four plays, an expanded return of Christmas Presence, and three nights of concerts from local performers.

The slate marks artistic director Kaitlin Williams' first full year of programming, following the retirement of founding artistic director Ron Reed in April 2020. "We are welcoming you back home with plays that feel like pure Pacific Theatre," said Williams. "The season offers something for everyone, contemporary drama, comedy, lots of music, and plenty of stage magic. Above all, these pieces are marked by what has made Pacific Theatre endure for almost four decades - good stories, well-told that provoke and delight."

The season begins with Will Eno's dreamy one-act Wakey, Wakey, a timely exploration of mortality and memory that's also a surprisingly good time. Music At PT features performers from Nadleh Whut'en musician and storyteller Cheryl Bear to beatboxing string trio Infinitus. And after a remote celebration in 2020, family favourite Christmas Presence welcomes audiences back into the theatre for a homey mix of stories and songs.

2022 brings Love/Sick (originally slated for spring 2020), John Cariani's sweet and acerbic ensemble-driven look at romance from guest producer Jalen Saip and director Jamie King. How The World Began - Catherine Trieschmann's nuanced exploration of educational ethics, faith, and how we disagree set in a rural schoolhouse - plays in March. And the season closes with Pulitzer-winner Katori Hall's The Mountaintop, an intimate fantasia that imagines Dr. Martin Luther King's final night in the Lorraine Motel, directed by Omari Newton. Said Newton: "As a black artist I am especially drawn to work that speaks truthfully to the lived experiences of marginalized people. The Mountaintop examines the life of civil rights icon in surprising, controversial, and empathetic fashion. I aim to delve into King's humanity, warts and all, to better understand what may have driven this champion of equal rights in his last days."

Executive director, Jennifer Milley: "As a still-new artistic team, we are profoundly grateful to be announcing the return of a full season. Thanks to public support of our sector, and our ever-faithful audience, we look forward in hopeful anticipation to being together once again." After a year of innovative digital presentations and outdoor shows, the return to the alley stage is a homecoming for staff and audiences alike.

"Due to the intimate nature of the Pacific Theatre space, staff, volunteers and artists have committed to being fully vaccinated; and PT requests that all ticket-holders be likewise," said Milley. A full policy, including exceptions, is available at pacifictheatre.org. The company will continue the sliding-scale accessible ticketing model implemented in 2020, with seats available for as little as $10 for those with financial barriers.

Tickets for the first half of the season are available now. The second half of the season, featuring Love/Sick, How The World Began, and The Mountaintop will be released in late fall.

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