Welcome home.
Our Summer 2024 season is out and it’s going to be a riot! We are thrilled to present not one, but two productions by Canada’s prolific playwright, Norm Foster. His ability to craft stories that resonate with the human experience is unmatched, and we’re proud to bring his talent to our stage. First up is Doris and Ivy in the Home, Foster’s story about two women and one man navigating life and love in a retirement home.
Up next is Murder at Ackerton Manor, a laugh riot, jump scare, whodunnit, murder mystery, comedy extravaganza. Three actors play seven roles as we move through Ackerton Manor trying to solve a riddle of a murder…or two… It’s a little 39 Steps, a little Play That Goes Wrong, and whole lot of fun!
We’re following that up with Mary’s Wedding, a play with a heart as big as the skies that serve as its stage. It’s an epic, unforgettable story of love, hope, and survival set against the tumultuous times of World War I.
Next, we head down to North Carolina’s Outer Banks to catch up with five southern women in The Sweet Delilah Swim Club. They meet at the same beach cottage every year to catch up, laugh, and meddle in each other’s lives. It’s a hilarious and touching comedy about friendships that last forever.
Our season closes with Norm Foster’s world premiere of Lakefront, which follows septuagenarians Robert and Christina, who have just met. They’re both single and both have doubts about their appeal to the opposite sex. So, they decide to test out their appeal by renting a lakefront cabin together for a ‘wild’ weekend. What could go wrong? Plenty!
Don’t forget our season topper, Memphis to Motown: from Soulsville to Hitsville, a live concert featuring music from legendary artists like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and more. Finally, our Young Company’s production of Pinocchio is not to be missed and our second pantomime in Lighthouse history, Cinderella, will hit the stage in November 2024.
The summer theatre season is more than just a collection of performances; it’s an experience that will stay with you long after the lights go dark. At Lighthouse Festival, we pride ourselves on delivering an immersive theatrical adventure that complements the natural beauty and charm of Port Dover and Port Colborne. We invite you to join us for a journey that combines the magic of theatre with the allure of lakeside living!
Meet our 2024 Season Graphic Designer | Ryan Szücs
2024 Summer Season
Shows & Dates
Doris & Ivy In The Home
Port Dover May 22 – June 8, 2024
Port Colborne June 12 – 23, 2024
WRITTEN BY NORM FOSTER
Retired prison guard Doris Mooney has just moved into Paradise Village, a retirement home in Canmore, Alberta. She quickly befriends Ivy Hoffbauer, a former world champion skier who’s taken aback by Doris’s cheerful brashness. Rounding out the trio is dapper Arthur Beech who has designs on Ivy. Love, gossip and sex behind the compost heap, this is Foster at his hilarious best.
Murder At Ackerton Manor
Port Dover June 12 – 29, 2024
Port Colborne July 3 – 14, 2024
WRITTEN BY STEVEN GALLAGHER
Get ready for a laugh riot, jump scare, whodunnit, murder mystery, comedy extravaganza. In this Agatha Christie murder mystery spoof, three actors play seven roles as we move through Ackerton Manor trying to solve a riddle of a murder…or two… It’s a little 39 Steps, a little Play That Goes Wrong, and whole lot of fun. Inspired by his love of murder-mystery, popular Canadian playwright Steven Gallagher created this love story to the genre based on his memories of classic murder mysteries. Murder, Mayhem,and of course… a plot twist or two!
Mary’s Wedding
Port Dover July 3 – 20, 2024
Port Colborne July 24 – August 4, 2024
WRITTEN BY STEPHEN MASSICOTTE
On the night before her wedding, Mary dreams of a thunderstorm, during which she unexpectedly meets Charlie sheltering in a barn beside his horse. With innocence and humour, the two discover a charming first love. But the year is 1914, and the world is collapsing into a brutal war. Together, they attempt to hide their love, galloping through the fields for a place and time where the tumultuous uncertainties of battle can’t find them. A play with a heart as big as the skies that serve as its stage, Mary’s Wedding is an epic, unforgettable story of love, hope, and survival.
The Sweet Delilah Swim Club
Port Dover July 24 – August 10, 2024
Port Colborne August 14 – 25, 2024
WRITTEN BY JESSIE JONES, NICHOLAS HOPE, JAMIE WOOTEN
Five Southern women, whose friendships began many years ago on their college swim team, set aside a long weekend every Augustto recharge those relationships. Free from husbands, kids, and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage, the “Sweet Delilah” on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to catch up, laugh, and meddle in each other’s lives. As their lives unfold and the years pass, these women increasingly rely on one another, through advice and raucous repartee, to get through the challenges (men, sex, marriage, parenting, divorce, aging) that life flings at them. A hilarious and touching comedy about friendships that last forever…
Lakefront
WORLD PREMEIRE
Port Dover August 21 – September 7, 2024
Port Colborne September 11 – 22, 2024
WRITTEN BY NORM FOSTER
Seventy year-old Robert and sixty-eight year old Christina have just met. In fact, they are practically strangers. They are both single, and at their ages, both have doubts about their appeal to the opposite sex. So, they decide to test out their appeal, by boldly renting a lakefront cabin and spending a ‘wild’ weekend together. What can go wrong?
SEASON TOPPER
Memphis to Motown: from Soulsville to Hitsville
Port Dover September 10 – 28, 2024
Port Colborne October 2 – 13, 2024
CREATED BY CHRIS MCHARGE
From the creator of the 2022 smash hit “Glory Days,” comes another blockbuster live concert featuring music from legendary artists like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and more. Fabulous singers backed by a dynamite live band perform this cavalcade of hits that has been described as “dynamic” and “sensational.”