The Cultch battles through winter with its second annual Warrior Festival, calling audiences to all three Cultch stages from February 11 – March 29.
The Warrior Festival celebrates artists who are reclaiming space, rewriting narratives, and advocating for justice, inviting audiences to be part of something bigger than entertainment. For its second festival, six fierce and funny shows from local, national, and international companies take the stage, spotlighting acts of defiance with radical joy. These trailblazing theatre artists paint a future of their own breaking free from age-old bias and injustice.
“The success of the inaugural 2025 Warrior Festival reaffirmed what we’ve always known at The Cultch—that when artists take the stage to tell brave stories, they transform it. The overwhelming response we got from audiences was that it was some of the most meaningful live performance they had experienced” states Heather Redfern (Cultch Executive Director) and Nicole McLuckie (Cultch Associate Executive Director)
Warrior Festival 2026 includes:
February 11-15 at Historic Theatre; Warrior Festival opens with the Canadian Premiere of Batshit, a deeply intimate reckoning with the myths and misconceptions of female madness. Created and performed by Matilda Award-winner Leah Shelton and directed by Olivier Award-winning Ursula Martinez, this one-woman show draws on personal stories, in-depth research and pop culture to unpack how psychiatry has been shaped by gender bias.
photo: Pia Johnson
February 17-21, at York Theatre; UPU, dives into immersive storytelling through spoken word with another Canadian Premiere, curator Grace Iwashita-Taylor, a celebrated New Zealand poet, brings the Pacific Ocean and its people together using the upu (meaning ‘words’). Enhanced by evocative lights, projections, and a multi-layered soundscape, the show bridges stories across decades and cultures, all connected by water.
February 18-22, at Historic Theatre; a limited run of Red Like Fruit, by Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch, brings her signature sharp wit and emotional depth to a gripping account of life “post-#MeToo.”
March 4–8, at Vancity Culture Lab; a limited run of Tomboy (Ch?opczyca) by local creative Anais Mateusz West, redefines masculinity in a new dance-theatre piece inspired by the upiory (vampires of Slavic folklore).
March 10-22, at Historic Theatre; The Search Party stages the Vancouver Premiere of People, Places & Things, a critically-acclaimed play about an emerging actress’ struggles with substance use and time spent in rehab.
March 25-29, Historic Theatre Warrior Festival 2026 comes to an end with The Horse of Jenin, constructed from fragments of Palestinian actor and comedian Alaa Shehada’s own memories, examining a sculpture of the same name and its symbolic meaning. Shehada’s performance is an ode to the power of imagination and the resilience it brings.
photo: Kamerich & Budwilowitz
“This year, we’re thrilled to build on that momentum with six new shows—each one powerful, urgent, and unapologetically bold. These artists are pushing boundaries, telling necessary stories, and continuing to challenge the world around us with radical creativity. We can’t wait to welcome you back to Warrior Festival!” continues Redfern and McLuckie.
Be a part of the joy and resistance and celebrate the warrior in every artist as Warrior Festival runs February 11 to March 29, 2026 at The Cultch Historic Theatre & Vancity Culture Lab at 1895 Venebles Street and York Theatre at 639 Commercial Drive. Visit thecultch.com/warrior-festival-2026 for more information and tickets.