Written by John Lee
When I started planning the 2018 edition of my pop-up Vancouver Christmas Guide, there were a few things I really wanted to know: what are this year’s must-see holiday activities; where could I find the coolest neighbourhood festive fairs; and what exactly was figgy pudding (okay, I didn’t really need to know that).
Weeks of intensive research––mostly accompanied by the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas––produced a roll call of around 100 sparkling holiday activities coming up surprisingly soon in Metro Vancouver. And that included a tasty menu of plays, concerts, pantomimes and comedy happenings gearing up to hit our local stages.
Keen to find the perfect 2018 holiday show to get you in a chestnut-warming Yuletide mood? Read on for my fully researched tinsel-covered suggestions. And then get your skates on (not literally) and start booking ASAP––some of these shows will sell out faster than a speeding sugarplum hidden in Santa’s glove compartment.
Belly laughs
Granville Island’s Vancouver TheatreSports is serving up a thick slice of festive fun this year with a new laugh-a-minute improv-driven show called Merry Kiss-mas. Shaped by audience suggestions, it tackles the fertile theme of all those ubiquitous holly-covered holiday movies and TV specials. Audience participation also drives the Rio Theatre’s Story Story Lie, where comics tell tales of their own family Christmases––and the audience then has to find out who is lying.
Comedy is also on the cards over at the Cultch. After last year’s hugely popular run, they’re bringing back the unique, adult-humour Little Dickens puppet show. And, marking its sixth year as a latter-day Vancouver holiday tradition, the satirical East Van Panto hits the Cultch’s York Theatre––expect references to yoga pants and burst pipelines in this arch, alternative version of the Wizard of Oz.
Family fun
Pantomime of a far more traditional hue takes over at the city’s charming Metro Theatre where the dedicated troupe is celebrating its 34th Christmas panto with a rip-roaring, family-friendly King Arthur’s Court––complete with heroes to root for, baddies to boo at and some hearty sing-a-longs.
Looking for additional Vancouver-area shows to take the kids to? Consider Carousel Theatre’s A Charlie Brown Holiday Double Bill; Pacific Theatre’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; and the Arts Club Theatre’s magical Disney musical Beauty and the Beast.
Great night out
Another much-anticipated Arts Club show, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley promises to be a huge lure for Lower Mainland Jane Austen fans. A droll Yuletide sequel to Pride and Prejudice, it could easily become the must-see Vancouver show of the 2018 holiday season. Consider wearing your favourite Georgian evening gown when you attend.
Dressing like a Victorian street urchin is more my level. Which is partly why I’m looking forward to the return of Bah Humbug! at SFU’s downtown Fei & Milton Wong Experimental Theatre, a unique fusion of professional and community actors plus celebrated musician Jim Byrnes enjoying every penny-pinching second as old Ebenezer. There’s also another Christmas classic getting a sparkling musical reinvention this year: check out It’s a Wonderful Life, on stage at Richmond’s Gateway Theatre.
Classical Christmases
Alongside at least two versions of The Nutcracker––including one from Goh Ballet and another from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet––there are also several great Metro Vancouver concerts coming up that are guaranteed to warm you like a thick fleece blanket on a cold winter night.
Don’t miss the utterly delightful seasonal shows from velvet-voiced Chor Leoni, the city’s internationally acclaimed male choir. And save time for Christmas with the Bach Choir at the sumptuous Orpheum Theatre as well as the uplifting Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir’s Good Tidings! show at Christ Church Cathedral.
Craving a different approach? Why not take in a toe-tapping East Coast Christmas with Celtic musicians the Barra MacNeils, on stage in North Vancouver. Then join the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for its beloved Traditional Christmas––or its fun orchestra-accompanied screening of Home Alone. It’s the perfect way to catch a favourite old Christmas movie in a cool new way.
For more onstage options this holiday season, visit the Shows page on the Vancouver Christmas Guide website. Created by Lonely Planet travel writer John Lee, the site is the only online guide to 2018’s festive happenings in and around the city. Profiling around 100 holiday events, shows and attractions, it was co-created with Max the cat–– who writes the site’s gift reviews and often appears on its @MyVanChristmas Twitter feed.
