Stir is a digital media organization dedicated to covering Vancouver’s arts and culture scene through independent journalism.

Welcome to Stir.

Stir is a digital magazine that puts Vancouver and the surrounding area’s arts and culture at centre stage. We're devoting an entire platform to independent arts journalism and to telling the creative scene’s compelling stories —stories that we’re excited to share.

Join us, and let's create a stir.

MEET OUR PARTNERS

SPRING GUIDE

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

The Frontliners marks world premiere at the Firehall Arts Centre, May 1 to 11

In partnership with Blackout Art Society and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, Zahida Rahemtulla’s play follows the housing crisis in East Vancouver

The Firehall Arts Centre presents the world premiere of playwright Zahida Rahemtulla’s The Frontliners, produced in partnership with Blackout Art Society and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, from May 1 to 11.

After premiering The Wrong Bashir at the Firehall in 2023, Rahemtulla brings another comedic drama to its stage with The Frontliners. Directed by Derek Chan of Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, this new play takes audiences to an East Vancouver hotel in early 2016, where three beleaguered employees find homes for new families from Syria in the midst of a housing crisis.

The Frontliners stars actors Janavi Chawla, Francis Dowlatabadi, and Adrian Neblett. It features original compositions by Ruby Singh and Farouk Alsajee, and was developed with the support of Playwrights Theatre Centre, the Arts Club Theatre Company’s Emerging Playwrights’ Unit, and the Silk Road Institute.

Tickets to The Frontliners and more details are available through the Firehall Arts Centre.

Post sponsored by Firehall Arts Centre.

Featured

Resilience and ambition power Royal City Musical Theatre's 9 to 5

Maia Beresford and castmates draw on inspiring role models for a production marking the farewell of revered artistic director Valerie Easton

Theatre review: DEAD DRONE buzzes with live theatre’s power to engage and disrupt

Blurring fantasy and urgent reality, Upintheair Theatre’s satirical new work refuses to let its audience retreat into escapism

Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre launches B.C. concert tour of A Whole New World, May 17 to June 20

All-Canadian production by Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre features iconic hits from Disney and Hollywood musicals

Sketch-comedy-storytelling show Lxdy Parts: Babes finds laughter in the darkness of motherhood

At The Cultch’s Warrior Festival, comedic writers Katey Hoffman and Cheyenne Rouleau explore a messy new life phase

The Frontliners marks world premiere at the Firehall Arts Centre, May 1 to 11

In partnership with Blackout Art Society and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, Zahida Rahemtulla’s play follows the housing crisis in East Vancouver

CTORA Theatre brings West Side Story to the Granville Island Stage, May 8 to 24

Chris Adams directs the beloved musical drama about lovers caught in the middle of two warring street gangs in modern-day New York City

Theatre review: Burning Mom steps into the unknown with warmth and humour

With its openhearted journey through grief, Susinn McFarlen’s charming solo performance fills the Arts Club’s Granville Island Stage

At Gateway Theatre, Scott Bellis directs a wonderfully fast-paced Pride and Prejudice

Playwright Kate Hamill’s adaptation leans into comedy while staying true to Jane Austen’s classic 1813 novel

Individual play tickets to Bard on the Beach's 36th season go on sale April 9

Much Ado About Nothing and The Two Gentlemen of Verona are on the BMO Mainstage at the Shakespeare festival, on from June 10 to September 20

Theatre review: Arsenic and Old Lace serves up charm and dark humour with a splash of poison elderberry wine

With the skilled direction of Catherine Morrison and a small army of strong actors, Joseph Kesselring’s witty retro comedy comes alive onstage

Our Last Tree opens Some Assembly Theatre Company's 25th season, April 30 to May 3

In play written and directed by Valerie Methot, youth emphasize the urgent need to save the planet following a raging storm

Theatre review: A History of Motown weaves stories and songs into unique interactive experience

Dos Santos and her band hand in energized performances of everything from toe-tapping classics like “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” to emotional ballads like “Let’s Stay Together”

Théâtre la Seizième brings Ce que je sais de vrai to the Studio 16 stage, April 30 to May 10

Cory Haas directs this powerful story of four siblings struggling to define who they are beyond parental expectations

Epidermis Circus’s wonderfully warped world grew out of hands-on play

Victoria’s Britt Small and Ingrid Hansen improvised with a box full of found objects and crafts to create hit puppet-vaudeville hybrid that’s coming to Kay Meek Arts Centre

Theatre review: Ins Choi delivers soul-baring sincerity in Son of a Preacherman

At Pacific Theatre, the celebrated Korean-Canadian artist delves into his upbringing as a preacher’s kid through songs, stories, and snappy humour

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Legally Blonde The Musical to alternate at Theatre Under the Stars for summer 2025

Subscription packs on sale today for Stanley Park stage series that runs June 27 to August 16

Royal City Musical Theatre stages Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 The Musical, April 25 to May 11

Fast-paced feminist adventure follows three coworkers who rebel against their boss

Vital Spark Theatre expands on a Jane Austen plot in The Watsons, May 2 to 18

Playwright Laura Wade picks up where Austen’s novel about 19-year-old Emma Watson’s love life left off

DEAD DRONE's comedic take on technology and apocalypse is serious business

Combining live action, music, video, and puppetry, Upintheair Theatre offers a darkly funny vision of collapse that features strange insect hybrids and familiar human flaws