2025-26 Season

RCA Theatre Company launches its 2025-26 Season!

September 22nd, 2025 (St. John’s, NL) – RCA Theatre, the in-house theatre company of Resource Centre for the Arts, is thrilled to announce the line-up for its 2025-26 Season. Featuring the work of Canadian icons (Kevin McDonald, Andy Jones, Jillian Keiley) alongside the province’s finest emerging voices, the Season promises a roster of topical, timely stories, balanced with a healthy spattering of comedy.

This Season marks the first programmed by RCAT’s current Artistic Animateur, Meghan Greeley. “Our focus this year is on new voices. This was true across all programming — our Main Stage offering, Presentation Series, and new INKubator Program. Seasoned performer and musician Marquita Walsh will be making her world premiere as a playwright with She is Here. Our Provincial Presentation comes to us from the west coast, a play written and directed by Rachel van Vliet during her time in Grenfell’s Theatre Program. Even the legendary Kevin McDonald’s hilarious and wonderfully weird rock opera will be cast locally, allowing us to pair emerging artists alongside seasoned performers. What better way to foster a multigenerational, thriving theatre ecology?”

This focus on new work and new voices — already a long-standing value of RCAT — also gave birth to the company’s inaugural INKubator series, a program designed to help bridge the gap between works in development and future production. The program’s roster of playwrights and multidisciplinary artists was chosen from a highly competitive submission call, the sheer volume of submissions speaking to the need for this kind of development support. Artists involved in this series will have the opportunity to develop their work through in-kind use of the Hall’s Cox & Palmer Second Space, culminating in a public sneak peek of the work in progress.

Following the success of RCAT’s first youth theatre camp in July, the company will also be launching a Youth Theatre Academy for ages 9-17, led by RCAT Director of Education Luke Rowe (also RCAT’s Creative Producer). “Live theatre education is timely and essential for children and young people in our community, offering a space to gather, to connect, and to empathize. For students who may be nervous about performance, these classes offer an all-inclusive approach to theatre education. We ensure a no-pressure environment where—in addition to acting and improv—kids can learn about set design, lighting design, sound design, directing, playwriting and more, all from working industry professionals”

There’s plenty more to come this Season, from the rollout of membership perks, professional development workshops, and the announcement of our Significant Other Series show, RCAT’s annual co-production, and our Youth Theatre Academy’s holiday show in December.
Read on for a look at our 2025-26 Season at the LSPU Hall. Tickets can be purchased at our brand-new website! (https://lspuhall.ca/)

Pride of the Landlubbers – November 6-9 2025
A group of young adults become tired of their thankless, mundane jobs. Their solution? To quit those jobs and transform their friend group into a band of modern-day pirates. Tensions rise when power struggles, the lack of a boat, and a general lack of knowledge about pirates threaten to sink their new venture. Pride of the Landlubbers is written and directed by recent Grenfell grad Rachel van Vliet.

Kevin McDonald Superstar – February 26-March 1 2026
Everything seems to go wrong for Kevin McDonald (The Kids in The Hall, Lilo & Stitch) in his hilarious rock opera — but then again, maybe he had it coming. This side-splitting romp through Kevin’s escapades of love and infidelity is narrated by Newfoundland legend Andy Jones. A cast of local actors and musicians will bring other Canadian legends to life, including Dave Foley and Scott Thompson.

She Is Here April – 22-26 2026
Inspired by a true story, She is Here follows the disappearance and murder of a young girl in a remote Newfoundland community, threatening its idyllic safety forever. Years later, our protagonist, Jess, returns to the community for Come Home Year and is met with the disturbing news that the murderer’s family is also returning. Childhood memories of the harrowing search for the missing girl come surging back as Jess, now a folk singer, struggles to find her voice again. She is Here is written by Marquita Walsh and will be directed by Jillian Keiley.

INKubator Series
This inaugural program is for Artists in search of a platform for a project in development — something not quite ready for the Main Stage, but ready for exploration on its feet or around a table. Something ready for sneak-peek public showcasing and peer feedback. Five artists were selected to develop their proposed project with an exploratory workshop in our Cox & Palmer Second Space and an evening presentation open to the public:

• Step Taylor’s The Dark Zone – A thriller about modern dating culture. November 4th 2025.
• Lonni Patey’s Where Are They? – A play about identity and grief, and not knowing who your biological parents are. November 25th 2025.
• Shweta Mohan’s Shiva-The Adiyogi – A dance exploration of Indian classic mythology, delving into themes of love and self-discovery. January 13th 2026.
• Jamal Weekes’ Stray Shards - A story about living with dementia and the turmoil faced by both patients and their caretakers. February 17th 2026.
• Lois Brown’s gimme shelter - A play narrated by a dead cat, with themes of addiction and shelter. March 31st 2026.

Penning the Carol – December 17-18 2025
Our annual Hall-iday tradition and fundraiser returns to The Hall! This year proceeds from the shows will also be raised to help support the PAL Canada Foundation, an organization that provides vital support programs for senior members of Canada’s vibrant arts and entertainment industry. Don’t miss out on Aiden Flynn’s version of A Christmas Carol – it never gets old.
RCA Theatre Academy – culminating in a Holiday Show in December!

We have a *new* Theatre Academy! If you’ve got children ages 9-17, this is your chance to sign them up for a program where they will learn about acting, writing, design, improv, technical arts, and much more. It will help them discover the world of theatre and deepen their understanding of what it means to be an artist.
Membership Perks and Roundtables

RCA is a membership organization, and if you aren’t already a member, we’re inviting you to become a part of our community! This Season offers a range of new Membership Perks including Mess Hall and Office at the Hall as well as our new initiative, Roundtables. In the spirit of continuing to gather, we are inviting Artists and Arts workers to connect, share ideas, and tackle the topics that matter most to our community.

RCA Theatre (RCAT) is mandated to provide resources and a supportive environment for the production and promotion of Newfoundland and Labrador Theatre. We hope to see you at the theatre — here’s to another fabulous season!

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Media Contact:
Roshni Fiech, Marketing Associate
Resource Centre for the Arts/LSPU Hall
3 Victoria St, St. John’s, NL A1C 3V2
communications@lspuhall.ca or 709-753-4531 ext 202
lspuhall.ca