A retired History and Politics high school teacher (1978-2008). Former Publisher/Managing Editor of The Beat Magazine (2009-2014). Freelance Writer. Proud Grandfather.
The Rocky Horror Show LIVE musical returns to London to celebrate 50 years of the film you love, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.
The show opens on Thursday, October 9, and runs through October 18 at the Wolf Performance Hall.
For four incredible years, Mavis Productions has made this moment an October tradition — a night when audiences throw the rules out the window, shout every line, and become part of something bigger than a show.
It’s not just a performance — it’s a celebration.
The music. The madness. The magic.
Every beat, every laugh, every sparkle of glitter is pure Rocky Horror energy. This is your call to let go, dress up, and feel alive.
Because this isn’t just theatre… this is Rocky Horror. Don’t dream it — BE IT.
In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky.”
Filled with all the classic songs and audience participation that made the film so much fun for over 50 years, all of it comes to life on the stage. So bring your costumes and all your scripts and be ready for a night of absolute pleasure. Whether you come out for our new 2 pm afternoon shows, our classic 7 pm shows, or midnight shows, we know you will shiver with antici…pation!!
If You Go:
What: Mavis Productions presents The Rocky Horror Show 50th Anniversary
When: October 9 – October 18.
Where: Wolf Performance Hall, 251 Dundas St., London, ON
After putting 7-10 Split and bowling paraphernalia on the back burner for half a decade, the Ingersoll Theatre of Performing Arts (ITOPA) is finally ready to bring the comedy to the stage.
The Canadian comedy will run from Oct. 10 to 19. The play focuses on Earl, a former professional bowler constantly in get-rich-quick schemes, and the shenanigans that follow with one particular Internet offer from a wealthy prince claiming he can save Earl’s fortune.
(Pictured: Earl – Adam Tanton. Photo Credit: Brian Tanton)
“If you need a night of absolute laughter and hilarity, this is the show to see,” said director Rebecca McNall. “We are running it in the style of trailer-trash, and it’s just going to be non-stop gags, non-stop hilarious lines. And the cast, you couldn’t ask for a better cast of characters to fill the roles. They just fall into the roles just like it was them. It’s just so good, I love it.”
The cast includes husband and wife Adam and Becky Tanton, longtime ITOPA performer Crystal Paul, and newcomer Nick Shua. The performance takes place inside the living room of a trailer, and the set dimensions are the same as a house trailer’s living room.
“It’s even more of a challenge, which is fun, to get the blocking and to get them so they’re not just sitting still for the whole thing, so it’s going to be a ball. It’s going to be so much fun,” said McNall, who is thrilled to finally bring the play to the stage.
ITOPA was to present the play in 2020, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic restrictions.
“We’ve had bowling balls and bowling trophies hidden around the theatre for five years because we didn’t want to throw them out because we knew that eventually, 7-10 Split would go on stage, so it feels so great to start bringing everything out,” she said. “It’s awesome.”
The curtain rises at 7:30 p.m. for evening performances and 2 p.m. for matinee performances. Tickets are $26 for adults, $24 for seniors, $22 for students 12 years old and older, and $10 for students under 12 years old. Every Thursday performance for the 2025/2026 season will have $10 tickets for all seats.
To purchase tickets, either visit the box office on 88 Thames St., call 519-485-3070, or visit online via www.itopa.ca.
The hilarious smash-hit on Broadway and in the UK, The Play That Goes Wrong, arrives with a bang at the Grand Theatre and is already extended due to popular demand before even hitting the stage.
Dennis Garnhum, former Grand Theatre Artistic Director, is set to direct the production with a crack-up company of actors and artists that have already packed theatres throughout Western Canada. The red-carpet opening night of The Play That Goes Wrong on Friday, October 17th, officially marks the beginning of the Grand Theatre’s 2025/26 Season: You Are Here, the highly anticipated second season in the hands of Grand Theatre Artistic Director Rachel Peake.
“Whether it’s the magical kingdom of Arendelle, magic realism, or the magical power of community, so much of our 2025/26 season at the Grand is about the magic of theatre. The Play That Goes Wrong is a love letter to just that,” shares Peake. “This show has more tricks in it than any other show. And yet, what makes it so funny and delicious and appealing is not so much those outstanding effects, but instead the very human drive to go on with the show.”
(Pictured: The Grand Theatre’s Artistic Director, Rachel Peake)
The Play is a play about a play – and that play within the play goes terribly, horribly, hysterically wrong every single night, live on stage. If you work in the theatre, it’s your nightmare on repeat. If you’re in the audience, you’re in for the laugh of a lifetime.
“If the cast and crew let the problems stop the show and sent us all home, it would be a tragedy. But they don’t. The show goes on, and they make it through. When I first read this play, I cheered for these characters from beginning to end,” shares Garnhum. “I know these people. I love these people. They are my hard-working colleagues, whom I’ve been around my entire life. Their passion is contagious, and the play within the play, The Murder at Haversham Manor, goes down as a triumph simply because they saw it through and never give up despite the world figuratively – perhaps literally, definitely hilariously – tumbling down around them.”
Even as audience members are finding their seats, the cast is already in character and buzzing throughout the theatre, frantic about the opening night of Murder at Haversham Manor. It’s 1922, and the very fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is everything except prepared.
(Pictured: Photo by Nanc Price for The Citadel Theatre’s production of The Play That Goes Wrong (2024), in partnership with Theatre Calgary and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, featuring Vanessa Leticia Jetté and Honey Pha)
Alexander Ariate plays Jonathan (who plays Charles Haversham), Izad Etemadi and Emily Meadows play Stage Crew (who play Stage Crew), Vanessa Leticia Jetté plays Sandra (who plays ‘Florence Colleymoore’), Andrew MacDonald-Smith plays Max (who plays ‘Cecil Haversham’ as well as ‘Arthur’), Jawon Mapp plays Robert (who plays ‘Thomas Colleymoore’), Bernardo Pacheco plays Trevor (Cornley Polytechnic’s lighting and sound operator), Honey Pham plays Annie (Cornley’s stage manager but also sometimes plays ‘Florence Colleymoore’ whether Sandra likes it or not), John Ullyatt plays Dennis (who plays ‘Perkins’), and Daniela Vlaskalic plays Krista (who directs the play within the play, and also plays ‘Inspector Carter’). Got that? Good!
(Pictured: Photo by Nanc Price for The Citadel Theatre’s production of The Play That Goes Wrong (2024), in partnership with Theatre Calgary and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, featuring Andrew MacDonald-Smith, Joel Schaefer, Vanessa Leticia Jetté, and Daniela Vlaskalic)
This Olivier Award-winning comedy offers a hilarious glimpse into the absolute worst-case scenarios that can unfold in the world of theatre. Premiering in 2012 in the UK, it went on to run over 745 performances on Broadway. Garnhum has helmed the production at the Citadel Theatre (Edmonton), Theatre Calgary, and the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Winnipeg), and now plans to unleash its chaos in London at the Grand.
Garnhum is joined by Fight & Movement Director Morgan Yamada, Set Designer Beyata Hackborn, Costume Designer Joseph Abetria, Lighting Designer Kimberly Purtell, Sound Designer Dave Pierce, with Donovan Siedle, and Stage Manager Jordan Guetter.
If You Go:
What: The Play That Goes Wrong
Where: On the Spriet Stage, The Grand Theatre, 471 Richmond Street, London, ON
When: October 14 to November 2
Tickets: Single tickets range from $25 to $97 and are available at grandtheatre.com, by phone at 519.672.8800, or at the Box Office, 471 Richmond Street.
Mavis Productions presents the rocky horror show, oct. 9-18.
Mavis Productions does the time warp again into their 4TH ANNUAL TRADITION!
The Rocky Horror Show returns to London to celebrate 50 years of the film you love, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW!
In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky.”
Filled with all the classic songs and audience participation that made the film so much fun for over 50 years, all of it comes to life on the stage. So bring your costumes and all your scripts and be ready for a night of absolute pleasure. Whether you come out for our 2 pm afternoon shows, our classic 7 pm shows, or our returning MIDNIGHT PERFORMANCES, we know you will shiver with antici…pation!!
Ingersoll theatre of Performing Arts presents 7-10 Split, oct. 10 – 19.
Strike up some laughs with 7-10 Split by Michael G. Wilmot!
When wild ideas, big personalities, and a few gutter balls collide, you’ve got a comedy that’s guaranteed to keep you laughing from the first frame to the last. Don’t miss this community theatre gem that’s all about friendship, fun, and the unexpected turns life throws our way.
Show Dates: October 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18 & 19, 2025.
shut the door improv presents the wurst brats, oct. 7.
Join us Tuesday, October 7th, for the debut of The Wurst Brats, the newest STFD Masterclass graduates hitting the stage for the very first time!
These fresh improv talents are bringing the heat with an hour of juicy, short-form comedy that’s guaranteed to have you rolling.
From the Shut The Front Door Improv Masterclass Program, this is your chance to catch the next generation of performers serving up live, unscripted hilarity right before your eyes.
Don’t miss it, come out for live laughs and support local improv!
monday night trivia at the morrissey house, oct. 6.
westland gallery, the roots of wisdom, continues until oct. 25.
This exhibition is a must-see in person. New landscapes and wildlife paintings by these two incredible artists will be on display until October 25th! Preview the full exhibition today at www.westlandgallery.ca.
this week at the london public library.
scoring the silence: composing a new score for a silent thriller, oct. 8 at the palace theatre.
Presented by the YAPCA (Young Artists Pre-College Academy)
Scoring the Silence: Composing a New Score for a Silent Thriller
Experience the art of silent cinema re-imagined through powerful new music.
Join acclaimed composer and conductor Scott Good as he shares the creative process behind his two-hour original score for the 1924 silent horror classic The Hands of Orlac (to be performed in full on October 31 at 8:30 PM at Metropolitan United).
Featuring recorded film excerpts on the big screen and live performances by YAPCA faculty and students, this engaging session offers a rare glimpse into the intersection of film, music, and imagination.
The event also includes the world premiere of The Somnambulist (The Sleepwalker) — a haunting new work composed especially for this occasion.
Perfect for music lovers, film fans and the culturally curious alike.
This public event will run from 6:00-7:00 – doors 5:50
So, I warned you in my Bio, didn’t I – I’m not an academic musician – English Lang and Lit graduate – and I’m doddering past 80 years of age. And reviews of concerts seem sort of pointless to me. If you were there, you know what it sounded like- and if you weren’t, you don’t need any shade of schadenfreude thrown at you for having missed a unique experience (although I have high praise for the crew that videotapes the London Symphonia concerts-the experience is worth trying). So, “The Husband” and I huffed up the stairs to the balcony and positioned ourselves where we could see David Jalbert’s hands on the keyboard – all of us “Displaced Persons” kids took piano lessons when our families were let into Canada… we know where to sit.
Yes, the music was spectacular – but it was only part of the experience. With London Symphonia concerts at “The Met,” you get something unique on the concert evening- something that deserves thanks and acknowledgement, while empathy, respect for diversity, and liberal education are becoming crimes and vices in the elephantine country south of us.
You know those rooms set aside for “Big Givers” in theatres and performance halls where they can get a free glass of musty Chardonnay and schmooze with others of that generosity level? AT OURMet, the London Symphonia musicians, guest artists, and the conductor are ready to chat with you and to answer any dumb question you might have.
After Saturday night’s concert, I was able to hug Ted and Renee of Serenata Music and thank them for their generosity in helping the Symphonia bring to London someone like Jalbert. I walked over to a gaggle of Western Music students who were still jumping up and down with the excitement of the music. I cornered two of them – a toque and hockey shirt on one, a BIG waxed mustache and sleeveless tee (no sombrero) on the other – to thank them for making the concert even better with their presence. I also told them I was grateful for being in Canada together- were we in Chicago or Memphis, ICE agents might have seized them both at the exit. I could tell Ben the Cello that, should I ever become deaf, I could enjoy concerts fully just by watching his face. And I could hug Cosette the Conductor, telling her how much I loved Kooba (I know, after showing the other half of my Spanish- “Ola!”). “The Husband” had to get all expert, shaking her hand and thanking her for “a wonderful master class in orchestral conducting.”
(Pictured: Cosette Justo Valdés. Photo Credit: Lia Crowe)
And the music – a totally shared experience, no matter what your level of “expertise.” Cosette the Conductor, dressed in traditional black, led the audience in singing along with “O Canada.” She had brought to the program two pieces by Cuban composers – and in the second, after she explained its inspiration – the double-bench horse-drawn carts in Cuba that haul farmers, water, crops, and appliances – every clack of Tim Fancom’s percussion brought that musical scene to life. And although Cosette said that “Canada is my home” after six years, those unmistakable Cuan dance moves enhanced her conducting of the piece.
(Pictured: David Jalbert. Photo Credit: Julien Faugère)
And David Jalbert’s performance of Ravel’s Concerto in G major? It left the audience breathless – not only for Jalbert’s genius and technical skill, but through, I believe, the musical “community” Ravel’s writing for orchestra and piano creates in the three-movement piece. The first begins with Jalbert’s hands posed in a criss-cross on the keys while a jazzy chorus of clarinet, trumpet, bassoon, and trombone joins him in some sensuous music- and that harp suddenly adds brushstrokes of mystery. Don’t even ASK about how perfect his rapid trills were! The second movement assured us that Jalbert can handle anything – a solo piano beginning that eventually is joined by the English horn and the other instruments in rising tension. And the final presto movement did what a French composer, Louis Fleury, said it should do: be “an unstoppable onslaught, spurred on by the shrieks of the clarinet and the piccolo, the donkey brays of the trombone and occasional fanfare flourishes in the brass.” How that wonderful Canadian pianist had the energy to play a Prokofiev rumble of pure delight as an encore – we OWE him!
(Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791)
Do you want to know about the Mozart Symphony #39 in E-flat Major? Brace yourself for more stories of musical heroes. Wolfgang died at the age of 35, and within two months of his final years, composed THREE symphonies- 39, 40, and 41. Number 39 was the introduction, so to speak, that culminates in his “Jupiter” (#41). But Wolfie- no oboes??? The London Symphonia clarinets took the limelight in the bold and heroic first movement. In the second, third, and fourth movements, the 18th-century composition took us through dialogues of instruments in our city’s brilliant small orchestra, ending in something that’s been called “the 18th-century equivalent of a hoedown”.
If you couldn’t make it- and are curious about how all of that anticipation and joy can be in one symphony – DO invest in the London Symphony “Video on Demand” concert purchase on their website. If you’re as cheap as I am, here’s a freebie from Frankfurt:
Okay for now, but don’t you dare miss the full experience of “Payadora” on November 15, 2025, in the London Symphonia 2025-2026 series.
In mid-August, The Beat Magazine 2025 invited all known active London and area theatre companies – community and professional – to participate in a Feature Story profiling them and their 2025-2026 seasons. Each company/group was sent a generic Questionnaire of eight Guide Questions designed to enable us to gather the necessary information. Twenty-three groups responded.
Responses were organized in a Q&A format and included images of 2025-2026 Season posters and company founders. Posts appeared alphabetically, beginning with London’s AlvegoRoot Theatre and ending with Theatre Tillsonburg.
This October, Community On Stage (COS) brings the heartbreaking and inspirational Ghost The Musical to the Cambridge Arts Centre, October 17th – October 25th
By Joanna Makinson
Adapted from the hit film by its Academy Award-winning screenwriter, Bruce Joel Rubin, Ghost The Musical follows Sam and Molly, a young couple whose connection takes a shocking turn after Sam’s untimely death. The bond of love transcends the boundaries of life itself to grow stronger and more fully realized. Trapped between two worlds, Sam refuses to leave Molly when he learns she is in grave danger. Desperate to communicate with her, he turns to a storefront psychic, Oda Mae Brown, who helps him protect Molly and avenge his death. Ghost is a poignant romance that builds comedy, suspense, and deeply felt emotion to an ethereal climax that audiences will never forget.
Ghost The Musical will take place at the Cambridge Arts Theatre, located at 47 Water Street South, Cambridge. The show will run from October 17th to 25th, 2025. Tickets can be purchased online at: https://www.communityonstage.com/tickets
Tickets are $35 for adults, $30 for Seniors and Youth ages 14-17.
COS will be donating a portion of all ticket sales for Ghost The Musical to grief counseling services in Waterloo Region.
Community on Stage (COS) is a local, volunteer-based, not-for-profit musical theatre company that offers local talent opportunities both on and off the stage, with a focus on giving back to the community.
AUDIENCE ADVISORY: This production is recommended for audiences age 14 & up due to mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised. See the ticket page for more information on advisories.
Presented by String Bone Presents! in association with Onrush Music Festival
October ~ December 2025 in Stratford, Ontario
Stratford’s String Bone Presents! and Onrush Music Festival are thrilled to announce their collaboration on THE ROOTS RAMBLE, bringing FIVE premiere concerts to Stratford audiences this fall. Barry James Payne (String Bone Presents!) and Tim Harrison (Onrush Music Festival) have invited several premier Canadian musicians to participate in the series running from October 11th to December 5th at Revival House and The Bunker Performance Lounge, and Cafe.
(Pictured: Barry James Payne String Bone Presents! with Tim Harrison OnRush Festival)
The Roots Ramble series format, musically, is a nod to hometown legend Richard Manuel, who embodied roots music with his soulful and passionate voice and musicianship with The Band, the iconic pioneers of folk-rock Americana in the late 1960s through to The Band’s final concert in 1976 and his tragic death in 1986. The name ‘Ramble’ is a nod to Manuel’s bandmate Levon Helm, whose barn concert series ‘The Midnight Ramble’ continues in Woodstock, New York, presented by the Helm family.
The Roots Ramble covers a wide variety of genres under the roots umbrella, folk, blues, country, R&B, soul, rock, jazz, and more, through five concerts.
String Bone Presents! and the Onrush Music Festival are excited to share their passion for bringing great Canadian musicians to the Stratford community this fall for the first Roots Ramble series.
This is the final Q&A Profile of London area theatre companies and groups. Today, we interview John Pacheco, founder of Pacheco Theatre.
Q. When was your company founded? By whom and why?
Founded in 2009 by John Pacheco. After having left Channel Surfing Productions, where I was one of four members of that company, I decided to branch out on my own.
Q. Is your company best described as professional or not-for-profit community theatre? Or both?
Not for Profit
Q. What venue(s) do you use to stage your productions?
Predominantly Auburn Stage (formerly The McManus), Procunier Hall, Manor Park Memorial Hall.
Q. Does your company have a Mission or Statement of Purpose?
Founded in January 2009 by John Pacheco, a mainstay and innovator of London Ontario’s theatre scene.
Q. Does your company have a Board of Directors and paid staff?
No and no
Q. Tell me about your 2025-2026 Season. Does it have any underlying theme?
My upcoming season has yet to be revealed as I’m currently recovering from retinal detachment surgery.
Q. Do you have any thoughts about the London area theatre community and your place in it?
I’m happy to be a part of the community and its history. I hope new and upcoming theatre companies will survive and that the current companies will thrive. The community is taking a while to come back to pre-COVID times.
Museum London has a fresh look in its Volunteer and Moore Galleries – the second-floor rooms at the top of the stairs. For years, these two spaces have offered a melodious glimpse at Canadian art with an emphasis on local. It was always interesting to view, but rather complacent in its charm. Now, walls have been removed and the spaces are opened up.
The new permanent collection exhibition All Around Me, All Around You still features Canadian artworks and historical artifacts from Museum London’s collection, and some of the previously displayed pieces remain on display, but they are recontextualized.
The show is organized into three themes: People, Places and Things; Raw Sensations and Language; and Memory and Belief.
People, Places and Things is where you will find artists such as Paul Peel. Raw Sensations and Language is where you will find Ron Martin and his ilk. Greg Curnoe can be found in Memory and Belief.
(Installation shot of Snake by Walter Redinger and She is Lost Forever by Thelma Rosner. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
All Around Me, All Around You is a thoughtful exhibition and repeated visits will certainly pay off. At first encounter, Walter Redinger’s sculpture, Snake, is striking in both colour and form. Thelma Rosner’s She is Lost Forever is beautiful to behold as it reigns supreme in its vaulted perch. Finally, the juxtaposition of Bernice Vincent’s Ironing Board with Mary Pratt’s Roast Beef is downright clever.
(Installation shot of Bernice Vincent’s Ironing Board with Mary Pratt’s Roast Beef. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
A bit more tweaking might be in order. This writer finds the continued display of Ken Monkman’s installation, Nativity Scene, a tad tedious and suggests that it give way to other installation pieces over time. Bernice Vincents’s actual 1992/93 piece All Around Me…All Around You would be perfect here, or something else from the vaults.
For more information about Museum London and its Exhibitions & Installations, visit https://museumlondon.ca/
The Beat Magazine 2025 