From Kid Koala to Ballet Jörgen, Massey Theatre announces 2024-25 mainstage season and small stage series
Diverse performances mark the venue’s 75th anniversary
Kid Koala, Nufonia Must Fall. Photo by Brian Liu
MASSEY THEATRE IS marking its 75th anniversary this year, and it’s celebrating with a wide-ranging lineup for its 2024-25 season.
Mainstage performances kick off with a live multidisciplinary adaptation of Kid Koala’s graphic novel Nufonia Must Fall on November 15 and 16. A team of 15 puppeteers, musicians, cinematographers, and technicians bring the story to life, the stage set up with more than 20 miniature sets and eight cameras. Under the direction of Oscar-nominated production designer K.K. Barrett (Her, Where the Wild Things Are, Adaptation, Being John Malkovich), each scene is performed, filmed, and projected in real time onto a large screen above the stage. Kid Koala, returning to the Massey after last fall’s warmly received The Storyville Mosquito, again performs his original score on piano and turntable, accompanied by the Afiara String Quartet.
The 25th International Guitar Night takes place February 1, 2025. Gracing the stage are Lulo Reinhardt, the grand-nephew of Django Reinhardt, who plays in the style of Latin swing; classical guitarist Alexandra Whittingham; Niwel Tsumbu, who has a Congolese percussive approach; and Sönke Meinen, a leading contemporary fingerstyle guitarist.
On February 8 Ballet Jörgen presents Sleeping Beauty. Artistic director and choreographer Bengt Jörgen interprets the classic ballet as a nature allegory: the young woman represents nature, the wicked fairy is winter, and the young man is spring.
The Eighth & Eight Creative Spaces Small Stages Series starts with Old School Music Hall Series in Studio 1C. It launches with queer nonbinary singer and songwriter Beau Wheeler on October 11. Next up is Krystle Dos Santos with her three-piece band joined by guest artist Marie Hui on October 25 for a night of soul, funk, and R&B. Dos Santos is back on March 21, 2025 with her three-piece band and guest artist Bradley Barkman. Then there are appearances by Juno-nominated contemporary R&B singer-songwriter Ndidi O on April 12; and Roots 'n' Wings, a 45-voice soulful women's choir under the direction of Dawn Pemberton on May 3.
The Michael van den Bos Film Clip Show Series in Studio 1B, hosted by the film scholar, kicks off on September 26 with All That Bob Fosse!. That’s followed by Razzle Dazzle Divas on February 20, 2025 (featuring women of musical movies from the golden era of Hollywood to contemporary cinema); The Flair of Fred Astaire on March 20; and Gene Kelly: Hollywood’s Dashing Dance Auteur on April 17.
Lulo Reinhardt
The Global Tea Series in Studio 1C is a pay-what-you-can program hosted by musician Cassius Khan. It launches on December 8 with Tabla with Hari Pal, who performs traditional and contemporary styles. Pal also plays dumbek and djembe. On January 26, 2025, there’s Music and Dance with Angelique Muhorakeye and Edward Sembatya. Muhorakeye is one of the founding members of Indangamirwa, a Rwandan traditional dance group based in Lower Mainland; Sembatya is a Ugandan dance practitioner, choreographer, educator, and drummer.
Guitar Music and Tea with Dave Martone takes place March 23. Martone is a touring musician, recording engineer, music producer, and educator. With seven studio albums and three live concert DVDs, he has toured and produced with Bif Naked. His latest rock record, Clean, has been signed to New York record company Magna Carta and features Joe Satriani and Jennifer Batten.
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