Touchstone Theatre’s 2024/25 season is off and running with a captivating lineup of creative works evoking myth and legend across cultural traditions to examine lived experiences of displacement, migration, settlement, home, and identity.
2024/25 is first season with newly appointed Artistic Director Lois leading the company as it continues to explore the nature and purpose of theatre that reflects and amplifies stories from Canada/Turtle Island:

“As we leap into Touchstone’s 2024/2025 Season I find myself meditating on what a theatre company with a Canadian mandate means at this time – a mandate that acknowledges where we are, the land on which we work, the people of this land, and the diversity of stories of those who journey here, and settle. How might we at Touchstone continue to create a true and expansive definition of what ‘Canadian theatre’ means?”
Underpinning each work this season is a potent mix of hope and determination as these stories creatively explore and, in some cases, chart paths forward. This quest is mirrored in Touchstone’s own evolving vision, as Anderson continues: “As I contemplate a definition of what “Canadian Theatre” might entail for Touchstone, I am reminded of a quote by Anosh Irani, “at this moment in time, what and who we place at the center of our vision will determine our future.”
The season got underway last weekend with a special one-night presentation in honour of National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. Indigenous storyteller Dallas Yellowfly wove the tale of Qwalena: The Wild Women Who Steals Children, a live multi-media performance and spine-chilling allegory exploring the history and far-reaching effects of the residential school system.
October 24 – November 2, 2024, the season continues with Touchstone Theatre’s production of Kat Sandler’s fast-paced, comedic thriller Yaga returns to the Gateway Theatre stage, directed by Roy Surette. Genevieve Fleming and Aidan Correia reprise their roles as a small-town sheriff and private eye who collaborate to find a killer and Colleen Wheeler returns as Katherine Yazov, the professor who’s seductive intelligence and shadowy past lands her at the top of the suspect list. Rumours of an ancient witch in the backwoods casting her dark powers upon the town catapults this police mystery into supernatural realms.

January 23 – February 9, 2025, Touchstone and Push International Performing Arts Festival co-present SWIM created by Jivesh Parasram, Tom Arthur Davis, Gavan Cheema & David Mesiha. Loosely inspired by the epic poem, Laila & Majnun, this gripping and inventive work imagines the treacherous journey from Güzelçamli, Turkey to the Greek island of Samos for those seeking asylum, exploring both the profound impact of migration on the human spirit and the tolls of displacement.
March 25 – April 6, 2025, the Vancity Culture Lab welcomes Behind the Moon by award-winning playwright and author Anosh Irani. Directed by Lois Anderson, the play is an affecting portrait of the lives of three men from India seeking a better life in Canada, and the cost of pursuing their dreams. Set in a Mughlai restaurant in Toronto. The cast includes Dhirendra, and Zahf Paroo, with composition by Joelysa Pankanea.
February 2025, on its way to its world premiere next season a reading of Flying Start playwright-in-residence, Jordyn Wood’s, continues development on their new play Vascular Necrosis, a thrilling narrative that subverts typical zombie tropes to explore identity, chronic illness, and belonging.
For more information and tickets about Touchstone Theatre’s 2024/25 season visit touchstonetheatre.com