Plays in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and beyond—Theatre for every taste!

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If seeing live theatre is one of your favourite ways to spend an afternoon or evening, check out this regularly updated list of upcoming plays in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and beyond. From comedies of manners to thought-provoking dramas, there should be something on this list to appeal to just about every theatre fan. To quote Bugs Bunny, “Overture, curtains, lights. This is it, you’ll hit the heights. And oh what heights we’ll hit. On with the show, this is it.”

Note: Did I miss a play from your favourite local company? Or do you have photos of an upcoming production that I could add to this post? Please email me! I’ll be updating this post regularly to add plays as they are announced.

9-to-5: The Musical, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque (September 30 to November 2, 2025)

If you’re like me, just seeing the title 9-to-5 :The Musical will have you humming, “Tumble out bed and stumble to the kitchen…” This musical version of the hit 1980 movie comedy will include the title song and many more, as Violet, Judy and Doralee plot to kidnap their nasty boss and force him to improve their woeful working conditions.

The Piano Teacher, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque (October 10 to November 2, 2025)

In The Piano Teacher, a renowned classical pianist finds herself unable to even touch a piano in the wake of a family tragedy. Then, an unconventional piano teacher reacquaints her with the instrument and gives her new hope for the future. The script won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama in 2022.

The Rocky Horror Show, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (October 23 to November 1, 2025)

Before it was a campy movie, The Rocky Horror Show was a campy musical. Tootoo Theatre is encouraging fans to step into Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s castle for a night of rock ’n’ roll, fishnet stockings and audience participation. This production also includes a live Rock ’n’ Roll Choir. C’mon, sing it with me: “There’s a light, over at the Frankenstein place, there’s a li-i-i-ight, burning in the fireplace….”

Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre, GCTC, Ottawa (October 28 to November 9, 2025)

Actor John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln during a performance on April 14, 1865. In that moment, he kidnapped reality and transformed it into theatre. Generations later, a director hires two actors to stage Lincoln’s assassination. Absurd, hilarious and haunting, Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre is a mystery about celebrity, theatre, reality, impossible love and the true face of America.

The Turn of the Screw, Ottawa Little Theatre (October 29 to November 15, 2025)

Just in time for Halloween, Ottawa Little Theatre is staging The Turn of the Screw, the classic horror play based on a Henry James tale. A young governess and two orphaned children in an idyllic country house start to see frightening spectres of the former footman and governess. The governess is willing to risk everything to keep her charges safe … but will her horrifying catching up with her?

The Rocky Horror Show, Shenkman Arts Centre, Orleans (October 30 to November 2, 2025)

Ottawa is actually hosting TWO live productions of The Rocky Horror Show this year! Lost Baggage Musical Theatre is bringing its version of the ever-popular haunted house musical to the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans.

Family Time and True Stories, Old Town Hall, Winchester (November 1, 2025)

For one night only, you can see the Dundas County Players‘ entry in this year’s Eastern Ontario Drama League’s One-Act Play Festival. Family Time is a heartfelt comedy about a young couple hosting their family at Christmas, written and directed by Erik Hutten. Comedy ensues as secrets are shared, too many glasses of wine are consumed, and the truth about their relationships unravels in surprising twists. It will be followed by a True Stories sampler: dramatic performances that will bring true-life tales to life through live music, dramatization and the breaking of the fourth wall.

The Spitfire Grill, Ron Maslin Playhouse, Kanata (November 5 to 15, 2025)

Kanata Theatre’s production of The Spitfire Grill is based on the movie of the same name. A troubled young parolee yearning for a fresh start follows her dreams to Wisconsin. There, she unexpectedly discovers the healing power of community while working at the Spitfire Grill, and rejuvenates the entire town in the process.

Babette’s Feast, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (November 6 to 15, 2025)

The 9th Hour Theatre Company is presenting Babette’s Feast, which begins with two devout, 19th-century Lutheran sisters embracing a mysterious French refugee named Babette. When Babette throws a lavish dinner party, it turns into a radical experience of forgiveness and transforms the entire community for the better.

Eastern Ontario Drama League One-Act Festival, Merrickville Community Centre (November 7 to 9, 2025)

Nine community theatre groups from across Eastern Ontario will be converging in Merrickville for the Eastern Ontario Drama League One-Act Festival. You can enjoy shows on Friday night, Saturday afternoon and Saturday night, and there’s an awards brunch on Sunday.

Arsenic and Old Lace, North Grenville Municipal Centre, Kemptville (November 13 to 16, 2025)

North Grenville Community Theatre’s fall show is the classic black comedy Arsenic and Old Lace. Mortimer’s world falls to pieces on his wedding night when he has to tell his new wife that he can’t join her on their honeymoon. He’s just discovered that his two sweet elderly aunts are luring gentlemen callers to their death, and his brother Teddy is helpfully burying them in the cellar. Um, awkward!

Les Belles Soeurs, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (November 21 to 29, 2025)

Written in 1965, Les Belles Soeurs portrays 15 Québécois women expressing their anger and frustration loudly and audaciously. Germaine Lauzon has won a million stamps in a contest. She invites her family and neighbours into her kitchen to help paste them into booklets. Fighting for any power in their suffocating lives, the women yell, backstab, dream and steal. Phoenix Players is presenting this classic Québécois satire in English.

Annie, Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe, Ottawa (November 21 to 30, 2025)

Orpheus Musical Theatre is presenting Annie, the enduringly popular show based on the Little Orphan Annie comic strip. Annie fights her way up from poverty in New York City to search for the parents who left her at an orphanage years ago. Along the way, she wins the hearts of billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his secretary Grace Farrell, and a cute dog named Sandy.

Lost in Yonkers, Old Town Hall, Winchester (November 21 to 30, 2025)

The Dundas County Players are presenting Neil Simon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Lost in Yonkers on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons. Set in 1942, the play is the moving, funny story of two young brothers left in the care of their formidable grandmother and quirky Aunt Bella. Neil Simon weaves a tale of family bonds, resilience and growing up, capturing the humour, conflict and heartbreak of a Jewish family in wartime.

Big Stuff, GCTC, Ottawa (November 25 to December 7, 2025)

Married comedy duo Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus invite you to join them as they explore some Big Stuff. Drawing on their experience at The Second City and in comedy clubs around the world, Baram and Snieckus debate the sentimental power of objects. Should we keep everything, or throw it all away?

The Lion in Winter, Studio Theatre, Perth (November 27 to December 7, 2025)

In The Lion in Winter, it’s Christmas 1183. For the holidays, the Plantagenet royals are getting together to fight over a kingdom, the succession and the king’s teenaged paramour. As Queen Eleanor and King Henry’s three sons scheme for the crown, the young King of France skulks about, stirring up trouble. It’s all good fun and high drama until someone (perhaps) ends up in the dungeon.

Annie, Carleton Place Town Hall (November 28 to December 7, 2025)

No, this isn’t a typo! The Mississippi Mudds theatre troupe is also staging Annie. Their show is taking to the stage at Carleton Place Town Hall from November 28 to 30, and December 4 to 7.

Twelfth Night, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (December 3 to 6, 2025)

The University of Ottawa Theatre Club is presenting Twelfth Night, the classic Shakespearean comedy about love, identity and disguise. It follows shipwrecked Viola, who disguises herself as a man and becomes entangled in a love triangle. Mistaken identities, humorous misunderstandings and heartfelt revelations ensue.

A Sherlock Carol, Ottawa Little Theatre (December 3 to 20, 2025)

Ever wondered what a mashup of the works of Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle might look like? You’ll get your answer in the mystery A Sherlock Carol. Sherlock Holmes is a haunted man after the death of Moriarty, until a grown-up Tiny Tim asks him to investigate the peculiar death of Ebenezer Scrooge, forcing the Great Detective out of his lethargy.

Miracle on 34th Street: The Play, Station Theatre, Smiths Falls (December 5 to 14, 2025)

In Miracle on 34th Street: The Play, an elderly man named Kris Kringle gets hired to play Santa at Macy’s department store. However, he falls afoul of management when he starts directing parents to other stores to buy the toys they’re seeking. Macy’s tries send him to a psychiatric hospital, but a court confirms him as the real deal—much to the delight of a small girl named Susan.

Sisters Matsumoto, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (December 17 to 20, 2025)

Marginally Fit Productions is presenting Sisters Matsumoto, a heartwarming play that sheds light on the aftereffects of Japanese internment camps during the Second World War. Set in 1945, it tells the story of three sisters who return to Stockton, California, after spending two years in a U.S. concentration camp in Arkansas.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Ron Maslin Playhouse, Kanata (December 27 to 30, 2025)

In Ken Ludwig’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, a mouse sets off on a wild adventure to find out why Santa skipped his house last year. An elf and a determined little girl come along on his trip to the North Pole.

One Small Misstep, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (January 28 to 31, 2026)

Lost Baggage Musical Theatre is staging the first full-length production of One Small Misstep, a new musical by local artists Sandy Gibson and Silas Chinsen. The sci-fi comedy follows a crew of misfits stranded on an unknown planet. Their mission to repair a communications array takes a turn when crew member Sam learns the truth about her origins and must deal with relationships that shaped her past.

The Piano Teacher, GCTC, Ottawa (February 3 to 15, 2026)

In The Piano Teacher, a renowned classical pianist finds herself unable to even touch a piano in the wake of a family tragedy. Then, an unconventional piano teacher reacquaints her with the instrument and gives her new hope for the future. The script won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama in 2022.

August: Osage County, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (February 4 to 14, 2026)

The Elevator Theatre Company is presenting August: Osage County, a Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy by Tracy Letts. When a sharp-tongued, pill-addicted matriarch and her estranged daughters reunite in the sweltering Oklahoma heat, what begins as a tense gathering quickly unravels into a brutal battle of wit, resentment and long-buried secrets. 

The Drowning Girls, Ron Maslin Playhouse, Kanata (February 4 to 14, 2026)

In The Drowning Girls, Bessie, Alice and Margaret have two things in common: they are married to George Joseph Smith, and they are dead. Surfacing from the bathtubs they were drowned in, the three breathless brides gather evidence against their womanizing, murderous husband by reliving the shocking events leading up to their deaths.

Hadestown: Teen Edition, Carleton Place Town Hall (February 13 to 21, 2026)

The Mississippi Mudds theatre company is presenting Hadestown: Teen Edition. This full-length version of Anaïs Mitchell’s Broadway hit follows two romances—that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of immortal King Hades and lady Persephone—and takes the audience on a journey to the underworld and back. In this version, the folk and jazz score has been adapted to younger voices, and adult content has been altered to be suitable for a younger audience.

Sherlock Holmes and the Locked Room, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (February 18 to 28, 2026)

In Sherlock Holmes and the Locked Room, the great detective and his friend Dr. Watson wake up in a strange room with Holmes’s greatest adversary, Professor Moriarty. But who has brought them there, and for what fiendish purpose? When escape proves impossible, the mortal enemies must join forces and, using only the clues left in the room by their mysterious captor, answer these questions—or they may not live to see tomorrow. This show is presented by Play Hard Productions.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Ottawa Little Theatre (February 25 to March 14, 2026)

In Agatha Christie’s tale The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Roger goes from prime suspect to victim when murder disrupts a cozy English village. Soon, the enigmatic new neighbour Hercule Poirot is pulled from retirement to untangle the web of suspects.

Blood Relations, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (March 4 to 14, 2026)

Bear & Co and Three Sisters Theatre Company are co-producing Blood Relations, Sharon Pollock’s Governor-General’s Award-winning play about accused axe-murderer Lizzie Borden. Did she kill her father and stepmother in 1893 … or didn’t she?

Jesus Christ Superstar, Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe, Ottawa (March 6 to 15, 2026)

Orpheus Musical Theatre is staging Jesus Christ Superstar, the enduringly popular 1970s rock opera about Jesus in the days before his crucifixion. Personal conflicts abound among Jesus, his disciples, the people of Israel and the leadership of Rome, and Judas Iscariot and Mary Magdalene play pivotal roles.

BL_NK, GCTC, Ottawa (March 17 to 29, 2026)

For years, Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour was unable to leave his country, so he developed a way for his plays to travel without him. Each night, a new performer will take on his play full of blanks, opening a script they’ve never seen before. Their performance transforms BL_NK into a story machine to share the life of the playwright, the performer and an audience member. Audience members collaborate to write a story that is unique to the people assembled and will never be repeated. 

Antigone, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (March 18 to 21, 2026)

Le Club de théâtre de l’Université d’Ottawa is presenting a French-language version of Antigone. In Jean Anouilh’s adaptation of Sophocles’ ancient Greek play, Antigone makes a simple but forbidden choice: to bury her brother Polynices, left unburied by order of King Creon. While her sister Ismene urges caution, Antigone acts alone, setting in motion a chain of personal and political decisions from which no one emerges untouched.

Broadway Showstoppers, Carleton Place Town Hall (March 20 to 22, 2026)

The Mississippi Mudds theatre company is presenting Broadway Showstoppers. More details to come!

The Watsons, Ron Maslin Playhouse, Kanata (March 25 to April 4, 2026)

What happens when the writer loses the plot? In The Watsons, Emma Watson is 19 and new in town. She’s been cut off by her rich aunt and dumped back in the family home. Emma and her sisters must marry, fast. But there’s a problem: Jane Austen didn’t finish the story. Who will write Emma’s happy ending now?

Art of Murder, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (March 27 to April 4, 2026)

TooBeats Theatre is presenting Art of Murder. Set in the secluded home of eccentric painters Jack and Annie Brooks, the dark comedy weaves a twisting tale of deception, ambition and betrayal. When their art dealer pays a visit one evening, plans are set in motion that lead to shocking revelations and a wickedly entertaining game of cat and mouse.

Kimberly Akimbo, Ottawa Little Theatre (April 1 to 18, 2026)

in the edgy-but-heartwarming comedy Kimberly Akimbo, teenaged Kimberly is coping with a hypochondriac mother, a rarely sober father, an ex-con aunt planning the ultimate scam, and the possibility of first love with her nerdy high school classmate, all while negotiating her own mortality as a rare condition causes her to age five times faster than normal.

Pride and Prejudice, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (April 8 to 18, 2026)

In Morph Arts’ adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, tradition collides with impulse in a riotous reimagining of love, pride and courtship. The small ensemble cast plays the entire host of Austen characters, bringing this classic tale to new life as a modern comedic romp. Created and written locally, the show is a world premiere.

Crackers and Debate Debacle, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (April 24 to May 2, 2026)

Phoenix Players is presenting this double bill of two one-act plays by John Cook, Crackers and Debate Debacle. Crackers is the story of two parrots who don’t get along, trapped in the same cage. In Debate Debacle, a prime minister who is prepping for a televised election debate suddenly becomes pleasant and carefree—so, of course, his staff try to hustle him out of the building.

Jade Circle, GCTC, Ottawa (April 28 to May 10, 2026)

Using Mandarin and English, Jade Circle follows Jasmine, a second-generation Canadian who has lost her mother tongue. Through intimate interviews with her mother and using music, movement and storytelling, Jasmine finds her place within the legacy of her matriarchs. As she learns Mandarin, she unearths the lost stories of her grandmother’s past in this solo show.

The Play That Goes Wrong, Carleton Place Town Hall (April 30 to May 9, 2026)

In the hit Broadway farce The Play That Goes Wrong, a college drama club is staging a play called The Murder at Haversham Manor. With a falling-apart set, a concussed leading lady and a corpse that refuses to play dead, this murder mystery goes hilariously off the rails.

The Birds and the Bees, Ottawa Little Theatre (May 6 to 23, 2026)

In the rural comedy The Birds and the Bees, beekeeper Gail has survived quite well since her husband ran off with the neighbour’s wife 20 years earlier. But now, her turkey-farming daughter Sarah has left her husband and moved back home, and a strapping young entomology student has entered the picture.

Fun Home, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (May 14 to 23, 2025)

When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant man whose temperament and secrets defined her family. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her childhood playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires. Fun Home, produced by TotoToo Theatre, is an honest musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.

Singin’ in the Rain, Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe, Ottawa (May 29 to June 7, 2026)

The Orpheus Musical Theatre production of Singin’ in the Rain will showcase the toe-tapping tunes that made the 1952 movie an enduring classic. (You’ve got the title song in your head right now, don’t you?) Set during Hollywood’s transition from silent movies to talkies, the musical tells the tale of an ingenue singer hired to dub the squeaky voice of one of the silent era’s biggest stars—calling into question who should really be a star at all.

Once, Gladstone Theatre (June 3 to 13, 2026)

Elevator Theatre Company is presenting Once, the Tony Award-winning musical about an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant whose chance encounter sparks a transformative journey of love, music and self-discovery. Set in Dublin’s vibrant music scene, it celebrates the power of music to heal and inspire, with a score blending folk, rock and soaring ballads.

Pressure, Ottawa Little Theatre (June 10 to 27, 2026)

Pressure takes place on the eve of D-Day in June 1944, when 300,000 troops are ready to invade Europe. Success or devastating failure hangs on an accurate weather prediction. Eisenhower must choose between conflicting forecasts from his American celebrity weatherman and the chief meteorological officer for the Allied Forces. The intense thriller explores the responsibilities of leadership and the personal toll of taking a stand.

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