The complexities of lobbying for climate change, live “silent” films, floating space telescopes, and ever-terrifying winged monkeys. The fall theatre season swings from small and intimate meditations on life and marriage to widescreen Broadway smashes—some out to make you think, and some to entertain, and some to do both.

Time Stands Still

The Nest, to Oct 8

The key to any happy relationship, or for that matter life, goes something like this: be happy with what you do have, rather than what you don’t. Time Stands Still from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies tells the story of a couple settling into a normal life in Brooklyn after spending time overseas covering the Iraq war. When a friend arrives with a younger girlfriend, both find themselves asking if they’re really making the most of the time we got on this floating blue orb we call Earth.

Fairview

The Cultch, to Oct 8

What starts out looking like a harmless sitcom centred around a well-to-do Black family eventually spirals into a dizzingly provocative meditation on race, stereotypes, and, well, the chaos of being alive in a chaotic time. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play starts early on by asking a question, “What are you looking at?” You’ll leave the theatre not sure if you’ve got the right answer.

Peace Country

Firehall Arts Centre, Oct 12 to 22

Devoting one’s life to weaning the world off coal, natural gas, oil, and everything else that’s ruining the planet is easy when you live in a major metropolis. Things get a little more complicated when you’re living in a resource-dependent town where every small ripple leads to a large wave. That’s the construct behind Peace Country by Latinx-Canadian theatre artist Pedro Chamale, who was raised in the BC interior. As hopeless as things sometimes seem, there just might be hope if we not only talk to your neighbours, but actually listen.

The Array

What Lab, Oct 26 to 28

Ever blow your mind by laying in a field in the middle of nowhere, staring up at a sky that looks like diamonds on black velvet, and asking yourself, “What exactly is out there?” Four performance artists deliver short works inspired by the James Webb Telescope, launched into space in 2021, and currently floating around the constellation of Pegasus. Actually, never mind “What’s out there?”—a better question might be, “Why are we here?” Don’t worry if you’re at a loss for an answer.

Dog Man: The Musical

Massey Theatre, Oct 28 to 29

So many questions. If Dog Man is half canine and half human being, does he use the toilet or the neighbour’s lawn? And if said creature bites someone, do you call the SPCA or the police department? From comic-book kingpin Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants) comes the kid-friendly musical centred on the ultimate mongrel: Dog Man, whose business is fighting criminals like Petey, the world’s most evil cat. As for when he’s off duty, he’s obviously his own best friend.

The Wizard of Oz

Granville Island Stage, Nov 3 to 12

Winged monkeys, airborne spinsters on bicycles, and pea-green witches—on paper The Wizard of Oz sounds like the scariest thing this side of Midsommar. Which, of course, is why we love it. For this Royal Shakespeare Company adaption expect a faithful, and FX-laden tribute to the 1939 original, complete with the yellow brick road. And, gulp, winged monkeys, which hopefully have been trained to hang near the stage.

Hadestown

Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Nov 7 to 12

If the worth of a piece of art can be measured by the awards bestowed upon it, then the folk opera Hadestown is indeed one of the season’s hottest tickets. Looking at the story of Orpheus and Eurydice through the eyes of a young factory worker, the musical by singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell took awhile to come into its own. Debuting in 2006, it turned into a concept album four years later, and then was expanded upon in 2012. The musical piled up 14 nominations at the 73rd Tony Awards, winning Best Musical and Best Original Score.

Blood Wedding

Studio 58, Nov 23 to Dec 3

It’s not a wedding unless there’s some sort of drama. That’s taken to new heights in Federico García Lorca 1932 tragedy set in rural Spain. Adapted over the years for ballet, opera, film and radio, this version features director Carmen Aguirre and sound design from Emad Armoush. Why do people get married? Sometimes the answer is more complex than others.

Kid Koala’s The Storyville Mosquito

Massey Theatre, Nov 25 to 26

First known as a wickedly talented scratch DJ, Eric San—aka Kid Koala—has blossomed into so much more over the course of a career now in its fourth decade: film composer, visual artist, theatre producer, and graphic novelist. The Storyville Mosquito has him working the steel wheels on three different turntables while a live crew works feverishly to tell the story of a clarinet-fixated insect determined to make it in the big city. Highlights include live puppetry, multiple miniature sets, on-the-fly cinematography, and a string trio, all working in tandem to create a silent movie in real time. Except it’s not silent because, well, Kid Koala’s in the house.

Reflections of Crooked Walking

Firehall Arts Centre, Dec 2 to 24

It sounds like an idea inspired by Stephen King’s The Stand or AMC’s The Walking Dead. An entire small town is stuck in a state where everyone is asleep except for four people. As they begin looking for a cure, they end up learning something about themselves. West Coasters know Ann Mortifee for her long career as a singer-songwriter. Here she makes the jump to theatre with her first musical, and even though the construct suggest Masters of Horror, a more accurate description might be along the lines of a fantasy geared to the whole family.