Welcome home.
Welcome to the 2025 Summer Season at Lighthouse Festival! As the incoming Artistic Director at Lighthouse Festival, I’m thrilled to share the excitement we have in store for you this season. It’s all about embracing diverse stories that will captivate, entertain, and inspire. We’ve selected a lineup that reflects the joy of live theatre, with something for everyone.
Kicking off our season is a hit comedy with a big heart. It’s an inspiring story about newcomers who become a team of unlikely athletes, navigating the challenges and triumphs of fitting into their new surroundings, while learning how to curl. We have two fabulous plays by Norm Foster. One is a fan favourite that highlights Norm’s ability to capture everyday life with wit and charm. The other is a special presentation of two unique and imaginative one act plays, showcasing Foster like you haven’t seen him before. Both are sure to deliver an afternoon or evening of non-stop laughter. We also have a hilarious mystery à la Sherlock Holmes and a brand new, side-splitting western packed with action, adventure, and a whole lot of fun. Get ready for a season filled with comedy, intrigue, and excitement!
I’m looking forward to sharing these funny, thoughtful, and incredible stories with you, and I can’t wait to see you at the theatre. Let’s make next season one to remember!
2025 Summer Season
Shows & Dates
THE NEW CANADIAN CURLING CLUB
Port Dover May 21 – June 7, 2025
Port Colborne June 11 – 22, 2025
WRITTEN BY MARK CRAWFORD | DIRECTED BY JANE SPENCE
Monday nights are the Learn to Curl classes in this Ontario small-town, inspired by the local refugee resettlement program, to welcome newcomers. But when its organizer slips on the ice and breaks her hip, it’s left to the rink’s ice maker and former champion curler, Stuart MacPhail, to step in as head coach. Trouble is, Stuart has some strong opinions about immigrants… what follows is the hilarious and inspiring story of a group of unlikely athletes who faceoff against local prejudice to become a true team.
More Information & Tickets Coming Soon
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
Port Dover June 18 – July 5 2025
Port Colborne July 9 – 20, 2025
WRITTEN BY STEVEN CANNY & JOHN NICHOLSON | DIRECTED BY DEREK RITSCHEL
When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead on his estate, with a look of terror still etched on his face, and the paw prints of a gigantic hound beside his body, the great detective Sherlock Holmes is summoned from Baker Street, with Dr. Watson in tow, to unravel the mysteries surrounding his death, and investigate the ancient curse of the Hound of the Baskervilles. A sublimely funny adaptation of a classic where 3 talented actors play 17 characters, leaving audiences barking with laughter.
More Information & Tickets Coming Soon
HIDDEN TREASURES
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Port Dover July 9 – 26, 2025
Port Colborne July 30 – August 10, 2025
WRITTEN BY NORM FOSTER | DIRECTED BY JANE SPENCE
A unique and thrilling theatre experience – two NormFoster plays back-to-back. Each act is a one-act play by this renowned Canadian playwright. During intermission, the cast and set seamlessly transition from one play to the next.
Act 1: My Narrator – Imagine what would happen if that little voice inside your head – the one that tells you how to behave and what choices to make –suddenly took on a life of its own? For Lacy and Miles, love is what happens, and with hilarious results.
Act 2: The Death of Me – When John bargains with the Angel of Death for a second chance at life, he quickly discovers that fixing the mistakes of your past is difficult and that perhaps his destiny is not yet etched in stone.
More Information & Tickets Coming Soon
PINKERTON COMES TO PROSPECT
WORLD PREMIERE
Port Dover July 30 – August 16, 2025
Port Colborne August 20 – 31, 2025
WRITTEN BY JAMIE WILLIAMS | DIRECTED BY STEVEN GALLAGHER
It’s 1890 – The Saloon doors are about to open for this comedic ode to the classic western! Packed full of terrific characters, Pinkerton Comes To Prospect takes mistaken identities and six shooters to a new level. Follow along as young surveyor Herchel Penkerten is unwittingly dragged into his new town’s sordid past. Complicating the whole mess is Doc and Amos who are just trying to save their own necks. Will Herchel win the heart of Miss Lacey or will he end up hanging from a tree? And who’s to say which option is better!
More Information & Tickets Coming Soon
HERE ON THE FLIGHT PATH
Port Dover August 27 – September 13, 2025
Port Colborne September 17 – 28, 2025
WRITTEN BY NORM FOSTER | DIRECTED BY DEREK RITSCHEL
Set on adjoining balconies in a big city apartment building, the play follows John Cummings as he interacts with three women, Fay, Angel, and Gwen, who become his neighbours over a three-and-a-halfyearperiod. Hilarious and, at times, touching. A true Foster delight.
More Information & Tickets Coming Soon
SEASON TOPPER
MEMORIES OF THE RAT PACK
Port Dover September 16 – 27, 2025
Port Colborne October 1 – 5, 2025
CREATED BY CHRIS MCHARGE
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. come to life in this nostalgic concert. Relive the days of the Rat Pack with Las Vegas’ most famous entertainers and their live big band orchestra just as they appeared live in the Sands Hotel Copa Room back in the early 1960’s! With a stellar cast of some of the finest performers in the business, The Rat Pack Show has been hailed as the next best thing to seeing the original Rat Pack themselves. Nothing but class and cool…with the occasional roast and very frequent toasts to each other! This show has played to critical and audience acclaim for over twenty years, across Canada, the US, and Europe.
More Information & Tickets Coming Soon