Touchstone Theatre recently revealed its 2025/26 season including a a dynamic slate of four works by Canadian/Turtle Island creators. The season opens with the acclaimed revival of Frances Kon?an’s Women of the Fur Trade, a hilarious historical satire that upends colonial, male-centric histories by spotlighting the women who lived through the era of Louis Riel.
The season continues with Gertrude & Alice by Evalyn Parry and Anna Chatterton with Karin Randoja, the 2018 Governor General award-nominated portrait of literary icons and life partners Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. 2021 by Cole Lewis, Patrick Blenkarn, and Sam Ferguson follows with an immersive blend of theatre, video games, and AI, placing the audience at the heart of a deeply human story about memory and loss. Closing the season is Danceboy by Munish Sharma, a dance-filled solo performance that dives into questions on masculinity, culture, and love.
“At Touchstone we believe in story,” says Artistic Director Lois Anderson. “We believe that story can help us put together a picture of our diverse nature as a nation of nations – to better consider how to live together into the future. To know how to best move forward we first need to know where we are right now – and for that we need to know where we’ve come from. This is the power of story.”
The Touchstone 2025-26 season includes.
WOMEN OF THE FUR TRADE
By Frances Koncan, directed by Renae Morriseau
A NAC Indigenous Theatre, Great Canadian Theatre Company & Native Earth Production Arts co-production, presented by Touchstone Theatre in association with Western Canada Theatre and UBC Theatre and Film
September 25 – October 4, 2025 at Frederic Wood Theatre, UBC
GERTRUDE & ALICE
By Evalyn Parry & Anna Chatterton, with Karin Randoja, directed by Lois Anderson
In partnership with Western Gold Theatre and in association with United Players.
November 6 – 23, 2025 at PAL STUDIO THEATRE
2021
Created by Cole Lewis, Patrick Blenkarn, Sam Ferguson
Co-produced by Guilty by Association and The Elbow Theatre
Presented by Push International Performing Arts Festival and Touchstone Theatre
January 23 & 24, 2026 at THE ANNEX
DANCEBOY
Created and performed by Munish Sharma, directed by Gavan Cheema
A Pi Provocateurs Presentation is Association with Touchstone Theatre Produced by Theatre Conspiracy
March 2026, VENUE TBD
Throughout the season Touchstone Theatre also presents a number of special events and programs.
September 17, 2025,Touchstone co-presents in participation with Climate Change Theatre Action, THE TIME IS NOW: An Evening of Climate Change Plays a worldwide festival of short plays about the climate crisis presented biennially to coincide with the United Nations COP meetings.
February 2026, Theatre Under the Wire returns bringing lightning-fast creativity to the stage in just 48 hours. Co-produced with Axis Theatre, Monster Theatre, Touchstone Theatre, and the Vancouver Fringe, this theatre creation event challenges artists to write, rehearse, and perform brand-new short works in just two days. Watch for the call for applications to be announced.
In Spring 2026, Touchstone presents Fresh Ink: New Play Festival which includes staged readings of El Terramoto by Christine Quintana, Wiwimaw by Metis playwright Tai Amy Grauman and Ali and Ali by Marcus Youssef, Camyar Chai and Guillermo Verdecchia. Stay tuned for details, dates and times.
Returning in May 2026, The Lawyer Show, the annual fundraiser for Touchstone Theatre takes the stage once again at the BMO Theatre Centre. Details to come.
The Early Career Playwrights Cohort is a program supporting a select group of emerging playwrights and devisors. Participants gain access to Touchstone’s current season, alongside opportunities to attend artist talks, staged readings, and a masterclass in playwriting.
Development continues on 2024-2026 Flying Start program recipient Jordyn Wood’s play Vascular Necrosis. Touchstone Associate Artist Daniela Atiencia helms the program, a powerful incubator for developing playwrights, including past recipients Zahida Rahemtulla (The Wrong Bashir ), Adam Grant Warren (Lights), and Amy Lee Lavoie (C’mon Angie).
Season details and subscription packages are available at touchstonetheatre.com or by calling the box office at 604.709.9973