2025-26
Season

Bringing the best of professional theatre to our region.

Poster advertising a staged reading of the play 'A Public Display of Affection' by Jonathan Wilson, scheduled for Saturday, September 20th, 2025 at 7 PM at New Stages Theatre. Ticket price is $30.

A PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION

written and performed by Jonathan Wilson

Nominated for Outstanding New Production by the Toronto Theatre Awards.

Mixing history, comedy, and poignant reflection in equal measure, A Public Display of Affection excavates the lives, loves, and landmarks of Jonathan’s queer youth on the streets of Toronto. 

A man stands on a stage in front of a large screen displaying a figure illuminated by a spotlight. The man is looking up at the screen, holding a water bottle and a phone. There is a small table with a water bottle and a stool next to him. Audience silhouettes are visible at the bottom.
A man with glasses and a black shirt appears to be speaking or performing on stage, expressing strong emotion, with a small podium and a water bottle nearby.
A presenter stands on stage in front of a large screen displaying a colorful digital artwork of a person walking towards a rainbow and sunset.

Jonathan Wilson, Sept 20, 2025, Market Hall. Photos by Andy Carroll.

Sat Sept 20th
Showtime: 7:00 pm 

MARKET HALL, PETERBOROUGH

PRESENTED BY:

EB Ed Law logo with leaves, text indicating Nathan Higgins B.A. & J.D., successor firm to Douglas F. Walker.
Black text reads 'SANDBAGGER' surrounded by dispersed black particles on a white background.
A promotional poster for the musical 'Footnote to Freedom' featuring a blue-tinted background image of a young man in a military uniform and a police officer. The text includes details of the event happening on Sunday, November 9th, 2025, at 7 p.m., with tickets costing $25. The event is a musical workshop at Market Hall theater, written and performed by Beau Dixon and Lance Dixon, highlighting brand new stages.

FOOTNOTE
TO FREEDOM

written and performed
by Beau Dixon and Lance Dixon

A workshop presentation of a brand new musical by brothers Beau and Lance Dixon.

Close-up portrait of a man wearing a dark hat, blue jacket, and earrings, resting his chin on his hand with a slight smile.
A man with a shaved head, glasses, and a goatee wearing a black shirt, smiling, with a red brick wall background.

Beau Dixon

Lance Dixon

A workshop of a new musical about the life of Beau and Lance’s grandfather, George Dixon, who served in the No. 2 Battalion, Canada’s only segregated Black Battalion in World War One.

Recommended audience: 10+

Sunday Nov 9th
Showtime: 7:00 pm 

MARKET HALL, PETERBOROUGH

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PRESENTED BY:

Logo for Lakefield College School with the slogan 'Like No Other' above the school name.
Promotional poster for a holiday play titled 'It's a Wonderful Life,' adapted by Joe Landry, running December 10th to 14th, 2025, at New Stages Theatre in Market Hall. Tickets are $40.

IT’S A
WONDERFUL
LIFE:

A Live Radio Play
Adapted by Joe Landry

Starring Megan Murphy, Brad Brackenridge, Ordena Stephens-Thompson, Kerry Griffin, and M. John Kennedy.

Directed by Mark Wallace. Musical direction by Gabriel Vaillant.

Group of seven performers singing and laughing on stage in a radio station setting, with microphones, music stands, and a Christmas tree in the background.
Actors on stage performing a scene from a play, with one actor distressed and another comforting him, while others look on amused, set in a vintage office or newsroom with desks, phones, and a cityscape backdrop.

Photos by Dahlia Katz

By popular demand, we’re going back to Bedford Falls this December and bringing back our holiday hit from two years ago, featuring all of the original performers.

Set in a 1940s radio station, five actors play all the characters from the classic movie and create all the sound effects before your eyes. Come help Clarence get his wings. It’s a downright wonderful holiday show!

Recommended audience: 8+

Wed Dec 10, 2025 - 7:00 pm 
Thurs Dec 11, 2025 - 7:00 pm
Fri Dec 12, 2025 - 7:00 pm
Sat Dec 13, 2025 - 2:00 pm
Sat Dec 13, 2025 - 7:00 pm
Sun Dec 14, 2025 - 2:00 pm

MARKET HALL, PETERBOROUGH

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Get your tickets today for this unforgettable holiday production for the family.

Tickets: $40

Family pass: $120 for 4 family members

PRESENTED BY:

Logo for East City Builders with stylized text and graphic elements.
School logo with the text 'Like No Other Lakefield College School' in black and gray.
Promotional poster for a theatrical event titled 'Women of the Fur Trade' by Frances Koncan, with details about date, time, ticket price, and location displayed over a green-tinted image of a cozy interior with wooden chairs and windows.

WOMEN OF THE FUR TRADE

by Frances Koncan

A surreal comedy that flips the script on the male-centric history of the Canadian fur trade.

Black and white portrait of a woman with short, layered hair, wearing a necklace and earrings, looking directly at the camera.

Directed by Patti Shaughnessy.

Set in “18 hundred and something-something,” this playful story revolves around three women, Ojibwe, Métis, and British, all of whom speak in 21st-century slang. A must-see staged reading that was a hit at the Stratford Festival.

Content advisory: Strong language. Recommended audience: 14+

Sat. Jan 24th, 2026
Showtime: 7:00 pm 

MARKET HALL, PETERBOROUGH

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PRESENTED BY:

Logo for Arising Collective with stylized text and an arc over the 'A' in 'Arising'.
Black letter 'M' inside a square frame with the name 'Meg Nimigon' above and 'Coaching & Consulting' below.

brand new
STAGES

2026 FESTIVAL

TUES FEB 24 - SUN MAR 1, 2026

MARKET HALL &
THE THEATRE ON KING
PETERBOROUGH

Brand New Stages means artist panels, new scripts in various stages of development, training workshops, and creative collaborations across disciplines.

The first 2 events are confirmed below. Stay tuned for announcements of new events coming up in the 2026 Brand New Stages Festival.

Brighten up your winter with our week-long festival of exciting new work, taking place at two venues in downtown Peterborough.

Poster for a staged reading of 'The Cull' by Michele Riml and Michael St. John Smith at Brand New Stages Theatre. The event is on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 7 PM, with tickets costing $30. The reading takes place at Market Hall.

THE CULL

by Michele Riml and
Michael St. John Smith

A timely drama unfolds at a dinner party in the B.C. mountains, where wildfires burn and a wolf cull is underway.

In The Cull, a group of friends gather to celebrate one couple’s 25th wedding anniversary. When a surprising business offer is made, secrets spill into the light. Will the bonds of friendship buckle? What is it that holds us together?

A powerful drama first produced by Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre, the script is in a new stage of development. Directed by Peter Pasyk.

Content advisory: Strong language. Recommended audience: 14+

Thurs. Feb 26, 2026
Showtime: 7:00 pm 

MARKET HALL, PETERBOROUGH

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 PRESENTED BY:

Logos of Barrick Real Estate and Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty.
Event poster with a blue background featuring plates, glasses, and utensils. Text on the poster announces a staged reading of '12 Dinners' by Steve Ross, happening on Sunday, March 1st, 2026, at 7 pm at Market Hall. Tickets are $30.

12 DINNERS

by Steve Ross

Don’t miss this acclaimed semi-autobiographical play about 12 dinners Steve shares with his parents during an eventful time in their lives.

A man in a gray suit with a light blue shirt, smiling, against a dark background.
A man with gray hair and a beard, resting his chin on his hand, wearing a maroon shirt and a black vest, smiling slightly against a blue background.

Steve Ross,
playwright

Randy Read,
director

Directed by founding Artistic Director Randy Read, 12 Dinners is a beautiful script that showcases Steve Ross’ meteoric emergence as an exciting Canadian playwright.

Previously produced at Stratford’s Here for Now Festival, 12 Dinners is also part of Talk is Free Theatre’s upcoming season in Toronto and Barrie. Not to be missed!

Recommended audience: 12+

Sunday March 1
Showtime: 7:00 pm 

MARKET HALL, PETERBOROUGH

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 PRESENTED BY:

The image shows a black square with white text listing four names: Ayotte, Dupuis, Gunsolus, and O'Neill, arranged vertically.
Logo for Central Smith ice cream with a cloud and ice cream cone graphic, and the slogan 'We dream in ice cream'.
Poster promoting the play "Paul and Linda Plan a Threesome" by Jane Cooper Ford, showing a purple pink background with a photo of a person lying on their back with legs raised, wearing pants, with the text details about the event, including date, ticket price, and venue.

PAUL AND LINDA PLAN A THREESOME

by Jane Cooper Ford

A sold-out and held-over hit at Stratford’s Here for Now Festival, you are cordially invited to a charming, funny, and completely outrageous evening.

A successful couple aim to shake up their stale marriage by planning a threesome, much like they might plan a dinner party. When things don’t go quite as planned, hilarity ensues.

Very funny and very inappropriate for younger audiences, the play is a well-crafted and heartfelt celebration of love that comes in many meanings and forms. Come one, come all!

Content advisory: Strong and explicit language and mature themes. Recommended audience: 16+

Sat May 2, 2026 - 7:00 pm
Sun May 3, 2026 - 2:00 pm 

MARKET HALL, PETERBOROUGH

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 PRESENTED BY:

Logo of Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough with a circular icon featuring stylized lowercase letters 'c', 'f', and 'p' and the organization name to the right.
Event poster for a staged reading of 'Clyde's' by Lynn Nottage, scheduled for Sunday, June 14th, 2026 at 7 pm at Market Hall, with tickets costing $30. The poster features a large sandwich on a plate, with text overlay about the event.

CLYDE’S

by Lynn Nottage

Full of heart and wit, this season-ending staged reading of Clyde’s is a savoury delight that must be experienced for yourself.

From the Pulitzer-winning playwright of Sweat, Clyde’s is a new comedy about a truck-stop sandwich shop that employs people on the edge, people marginalized by the system, all while on a shared quest to create the perfect sandwich.

Content advisory: Strong language and mature themes. Recommended audience: 14+

Saturday June 14th, 2026
Showtime: 7:00 pm 

MARKET HALL, PETERBOROUGH

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 PRESENTED BY:

Black text reading 'SANDBAGGER' with scattered black dots on a white background.
Sign for Silver Bean Cafe in black and white with stylized text and a small coffee cup illustration.

Leading Sponsors

Logo of Cambium Consulting & Engineering with a stylized tree and sun in black and gray.
Memorial dedication plaque honoring Joanne Brown and Shirl Delarue in memory of Nan and Rod Williamson.

Season Sponsors

Logo for Grrady's Feet Essentials featuring a heel print and text 'Comfort in every step,' 'Feet essentials,' and 'Est. 1984.'
Logo for Peterborough Optometric featuring a stylized eye design with the text 'Peterborough optometric'.
Schilling Financial logo in black and white with stylized 'S' and text
Logo for The Little Building Company featuring a black line drawing of a house, tree, and water with the company name in bold black text and location, Peterborough, ON, in smaller gray text.
Logo for The A-Frame, a creative co-conspirators group, featuring a stylized black 'A' and the text 'The A-Frame' in black, with gray text 'Creative Co-conspirators'.
Logo for kawarthaNOW.com with large gray 'kN' letters, black text 'kawarthaNOW.com', and gray text 'A QUID NOVIS PRODUCTION' underneath.

Show Sponsors & Partners

Logo for Central Smith ice cream shop with an ice cream cone in place of the letter 'a' in 'central'. The tagline reads 'We dream in ice cream.'
Logo of the Arising Collective featuring the word 'ARISING' in bold black letters with a curved silver line crossing the 'A' and the word 'COLLECTIVE' in smaller light gray uppercase letters beneath.
Logo for East City Builders with gray and black text and a stylized gray E.
Logo of the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough with a circular emblem containing the initials 'cfgp' and the organization's name beside it.
Logos for Barrick Real Estate and Royal LePage ProALLIANCE Realty
Logo for Lakefield College School with the tagline 'Like no other'
Logo for Hed Law featuring black text with a leaf design, with name Nathan Higgins B.A. & J.D., successor firm to Douglas F. Walker.
Book cover with black background and white text listing four authors: Ayotte, Dupuis, Gunsolus, O'Neill.
Logo for Meg Nimigon Coaching & Consulting featuring a large black letter M inside a simple black square outline, with her name above and the business name below.
The word 'SANDBAGGER' in bold with black speckles or particles dispersing around it on a white background.
Sign with the logo and name 'Silver Bean Cafe' inside a black oval shape.

Government Partners

Logo with the word 'peterborough' and three wavy lines above it.
Gray circular logo with a stylized black D inside and the text 'Delta Bingo Gaming' next to it.

Past productions

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Help bring high-quality professional theatre to Peterborough. Your gift makes it happen!

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