By Emily R. Zarevich, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
It’s nearly the month of October, and Burlington is offering a variety of staged entertainment, as plentiful as a child’s bag of Halloween candy. Opera, illusion art, rock and pop music, comedy, and Gothic drama are just some of the treats on offer by the local theatres this month. Here’s what’s on the upcoming schedule on the theatre circuit.
On Friday, October 2, 2026, and Saturday, October 3, 2026, Drury Lane Theatre, located at 2269 New Street, will be holding the first of its two planned Drury Lane Plus performances. This will be Celebrating Springsteen: Unplugged, performed by Michael Theodore. This biopic tribute concert will lead audience members through the professional life and successes of the legendary rock musician Bruce Springsteen, the singer who, for decades, has had all of us thinking about unrequited love and euphoria with famous smash hits such as “Born in the U.S.A.” and “Blinded by the Light.”
The October 2, 2026, performance of Celebrating Springsteen: Unplugged will take place at 8 p.m., while the October 3 performance will be a 2 p.m. matinee. Ticket prices vary and can be purchased here.
On the evening of Saturday, October 3, 2026, SOLO (Southern Ontario Lyric Opera) will be holding a one-night-only performance of Gioachino Rossini’s comedy classic The Barber of Seville at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC). BPAC is located at 440 Locust Street, easily accessible downtown with plenty of parking. Sabatino Vacca, SOLO’s founder and artistic director, will be conducting. SOLO is committed to continuing to bring traditional opera to the Burlington area.
In eighteenth-century Spain, the beautiful Rosina is a tragic captive of circumstances outside her control. Confined to the home of her ill-intentioned guardian, Dr. Bartolo, she dreams of freedom and a life with a man she truly loves. An opportunity presents itself in the form of an ardent noble suitor named Count Almaviva, who is willing to go to any length to be with her. Almaviva schemes a rescue and an elopement with the help of the crafty Figaro, the town barber, whose talents stretch far beyond just cutting hair.
Prices for tickets to SOLO’s adaptation of The Barber of Seville vary based on age and can be purchased here.
On Wednesday, October 7, 2026, BPAC will be offering a unique and surreal theatre experience in the form of La Llave Maestra’s visually stunning Pareidolia. With the powers of lights, fabrics, and wondrous illusions, landscapes and objects transform into the unexpected. An ordinary, everyday article of clothing learns to sing magnificently, and a ballerina’s fluffy tutu magically turns into an ostrich. Ticket prices for this event vary and can be bought here.
BPAC is also offering other special musical theatre experiences for the people of Burlington’s varied interests and tastes. On Friday, October 16, 2026, Icon Productions will put on a one-night-only performance of Timeless Icons, a tribute to great and beloved pop legends such as Elton John, Prince, Billy Joel, and Tina Turner. This show will appeal to anyone with nostalgic playlists on their devices. Tickets can be purchased here.
Saturday, October 17, 2026, BPAC will host the one-night-only performance of the Indigenous-led performance She Carries the Song, in support of the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund. The show will raise money in support of the Downie and Wenjack Fund. Celeigh Cardinal (Cree), Mimi O’Bonsawin (W8banaki), and Lacey Hill (Oneida/Mohawk) will be introducing the people of Burlington to the musical traditions and intricate storytelling of their nations on the BPAC stage. It’s a night to be both educated and entertained. Tickets can be purchased here.
Ostriches return to a Burlington stage (metaphorically) at a different venue. On Thursday, October 15, 2026, West End Studio Theatre will be presenting its production of the 2014 Canadian hit Myth of the Ostrich by Matt Murray. This successful comedy show has made the rounds of Canadian theatres and is now landing at West Plains United Church at 549 Plains Road West. Yo Mustafa, who for years has been directing West End Studio Theatre’s productions, is taking on this witty play.
People are more like birds than they think. Take, for example, the ostrich. Ostriches like to bury their heads in the sand to avoid confronting dangers. Many people tend to do the exact same thing, in a much less literal sense.
Holly is a single parent and a frustrated writer struggling to find her voice. She is the mother to a teenage daughter named Jodi. One morning, Pam, another mother in the neighbourhood, shows up out of the blue bearing an incriminating letter to Jodi from Pam’s teenage son Evan. The two determined mothers face off in this domestic showdown in which Holly, with the help of her brash best friend Cheryl, does her best to conceal the teenagers’ secrets and keep Pam headfirst in the sand.
Performances of Myth of the Ostrich will take place from October 15 to October 24, 2026. Tickets cost $30 per person. To see showtimes and purchase tickets, click here.
On Friday, October 30, 2026, Village Theatre Waterdown will be putting on a show guaranteed to put all audience members in the Halloween spirit. The theatre, located at 317 Dundas Street East in Waterdown, will present Jeffrey Hatcher’s thrilling and chilling version of the classic, creepy Gothic horror tale Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which the demons inside a troubled soul will be unleashed upon the world.
Dr. Jekyll uses himself as a scientific guinea pig and ingests a potion that splits his personality. When Dr. Jekyll drinks, out comes the terrifying Mr. Hyde, who in Village Theatre Waterdown’s version will be played by multiple actors assuming a single role. The script is based on the famous novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. It’s an ambitious story to adapt, with alluringly dark themes. Tickets for Village Theatre Waterdown’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are available for purchase on the BPAC’s website.
Readers can check Local-News.ca for regular updates and reviews about the local theatre scene.
