While UVic’s Phoenix Theatre is well known for offering top-quality mainstage productions each year, these shows also serve as an integral part of the academic requirements of students enrolled the Department of Theatre’s BFA and MFA degrees.
When you attend the Phoenix, you get to experience some of this city’s most exciting and eclectic theatre—while also participating in the education of our students. Our students learn by doing: they’re involved in every aspect of these productions, from acting on stage to the design, creation and management of sets, costumes, props, sound and lighting.
We’re proud to announce our upcoming season, which has been carefully selected to showcase the difference that the youth, talent and energy of our students can make as they become Canada’s next generation of theatre artists.
Spring Awakening
Running November 10-26, Spring Awakening rocked the theatre world when it opened on Broadway in 2006 to critical acclaim, winning eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score.
Based on an 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind, Spring Awakening forever changed the definition of what a musical could be, breaking boundaries by exploring the journey from adolescence to adulthood with poignancy and passion. With musical numbers that are full of literary allusions, poetic depth, anger and emotion, Spring Awakening is an electrifying fusion of morality, sexuality and rock ‘n’ roll!
Guest Director: Michelle Rios
Music Director: Mary Jane Coomber
Set Designer: Ken Matthews
Costume Designer: Jane Wishart
Choreographer: Alison Roberts
Vinegar Tom
Set in a time when it’s dangerous to be a woman without a husband—or just a woman who’s different—Vinegar Tom is a wild mash-up that blends a 17th-century witch hunt with modern musical numbers that cleverly connect this tale to how women’s bodies remain a battleground today.
The play, written in the 1970s by the much-acclaimed British playwright Caryl Churchill, leads us to question not only the historical persecution of “witches” over the ages, but why anyone persecutes anyone. In this work Churchill is at her best: raw, satirical, political, and mad as hell!
Running February 16-25, 2023, Vinegar Tom is directed by MFA candidate Francis Matheu.
“What is a witch? A woman who is just a bit too attractive? A bit too ugly? A bit too handy with spells
and magic?” – LA Times review
Mojada
Medea and Jason have escaped the worst. After a harrowing journey across the Mexican–American border, the couple has finally made it safely to the United States, where they can work toward a better life for their family. While Jason is convinced the future looks bright, Medea fears a darker fate as they face the challenges of living without documentation.
Written by playwright Luis Alfaro, Mojada blends Euripides’ classic play Medea with Mexican folklore as it examines the tragedy behind America’s immigration system and the destiny of one family caught in its grip.
Running March 16-25, 2023, Mojada is being led by guest director and acclaimed playwright and author Carmen Aguirre.
“Mojada is unpretentious and entertaining… Not only is the play about crossing borders, but Alfaro knows how to walk that line between thunderous naturalism and absurdist pulp, being as our lives often seem composed of both.” – Chicago Tribune
Information about single tickets or season subscriptions can be found at the Phoenix box office.