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Bringing thought-provoking and affordable quality theatre to the community since 1987.

We acknowledge and respect the Lekwungen-speaking Peoples on whose traditional territories Theatre Inconnu presents its work.

While we await the re-opening of our live performances, please visit
THIS PAGE (click here)
for online links to these three select past productions.

A Christmas Carol

Adapted from Charles Dickens by Clayton Jevne, with Clayton Jevne and Sandra Ritter.
“Just might be the best version of this show I’ve ever seen… 90 minutes of great storytelling.”
Monday Magazine

Peace Dancer

By Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd, featuring Roy Henry Vickers and a multi-cultural cast of dozens! 
This beautiful traditional tale is brought to
 life on stage in Victoria’s Centenial Square.

One-Man Hamlet


Clayton Jevne’s internationally acclaimed one-actor take on the world’s most famous tragedy.  
“Wonderfully inventive, gutsy, an astonishing show”  Edmonton Journal


SUBSCRIPTION SEASON 2020

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Simon Stephen’s stage adaptation of Mark Haddon’s lauded novel The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time has been celebrated on international stages, winning best play awards in both London and New York. In a story brimming with compassion and humour, Stephens gives us entry into the world of 15-year-old Christopher Boone, a young boy on the autism spectrum. Christopher’s quest to find the killer of his neighbour’s dog leads him on a journey in which he begins to chart his own destiny.

“Well worth seeking out … sharply entertaining well-directed, well-acted play… among the best productions I’ve seen from Theatre Inconnu.”   Times Colonist

“incredibly unique and engaging… The entire cast of eight is strong… This is not a theatre experience to be missed.”  Check the Program

Winner of the 2020 Victoria Critics Awards for:
Best Director: Kate Rubin
Best Actor: Finn Kelly

Preview Feb 12 @ 8pm
8pm:  Feb 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 29
2pm:  Feb 15, 22, 29

Directed by Kate Rubin
Staring (alphabetically):  Lorene Cammiade, Ian Case, Bronwyn Churcher, Finn Kelly, Jeni Luther, Fiona St. Clair,  Stuart Wright and Wayne Yercha

Ariel Glidden: Stage Manager 
Carole Klemm: Set design
Ian Case: Lighting design
Ingrid Hansen: Movement coach
Jason King: Technical consultant  

Reservations and Ticket Sales

Through TICKET ROCKET-DASH TICKETS or
Directly through THEATRE INCONNU: Phone (250) 360-0234  or  by  Email. Complimentary tickets, special needs seating, and subscribers: need to reserve directly through Theatre Inconnu

Ticket Prices:
14 regular, $10 seniors (60+) /students/unwaged
Wednesday Feb 12 is half-price ($7) preview
Wednesday Feb 19 is Pay-What-You-Wish admission
The show is about 2 and a half hours long, including one intermission.
Theatre Inconnu is located at 1923 Fernwood Road (across the street from the Belfry Theatre).
We are wheelchair accessible

Fiona St. Clair, Stuart Wright, Ian Case, Finn Kelly, Bronwyn Churcher, Jeni Luther

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Dog Sees God (Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead)

This show is postponed due to the current COVID-19 situation. Please return periodically to check for updates.

Spring at Theatre Inconnu attempts to answer the burning universal question: What will happen to the Peanuts gang as they struggle with teenage angst?  Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead provides the answer. This award-winning play by Bert Royal is an irresistible portrayal of some familiar characters (who bear a striking resemblance to Charles M. Schulz’s iconic kids) entering young adulthood. Whimsy is tempered by the challenges facing today’s youth. 

“Humorous, raw, topical, foul-mouthed and at times inspired… both sensitive and desensitizing… a dynamic combination that makes for exciting theater.”  Stage and Cinema (Los Angeles)

Directed by Morgan Gad

Starring (alphabetically): Autumn Antonsen, Atticus Cohen-Yelle, Matthew Connelly, Andrea Eggenberger, Rebecca Elliott, Jon Hunwick, Frankie Wilson, Tianxu Zhao

Stage Manager – Michael Gosselin

THIS PRODUCTION HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO THE COVID-19 SITUATION. PLEASE CHECK BACK PERIODICALLY FOR ANY UPDATES

Ticket Prices:
14 regular, $10 seniors (60+) /students/unwaged

The show is about 2 hours long, including one intermission.

Theatre Inconnu is located at 1923 Fernwood Road (across the street from the Belfry Theatre).

We are wheelchair accessible

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East of Berlin

This show is postponed due to the current COVID-19 situation. Please return periodically to check for updates.

This gripping and deeply moving play East of Berlin by acclaimed Canadian playwright Hannah Moscocvitch will have you on the edge of your seat. Moscovitch explores the age-old adage of the sins of the parent being visited upon the offspring as Rudi discovers a dark secret in his father’s past. Set in the early 1970’s, we learn how the children of Holocaust survivors and perpetrators must cope with their inherited legacies.

“Astonishingly complex, as well as sexy, funny and suspenseful”  Toronto Star

Directed by David MacPherson

Preview Sept 22 @ 8pm
8pm:  Sept 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, Oct 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10
2pm:  Sept 26, Oct 3, 10

Reservations and Ticket Sales
Directly through THEATRE INCONNU: Phone (250) 360-0234  or  by  Email.Complimentary tickets, special needs seating, and subscribers: need to reserve directly through Theatre Inconnu

Ticket Prices:
14 regular, $10 seniors (60+) /students/unwaged
Tuesday Sept 22 is half-price ($7) preview
Tuesday Oct 6 is Pay-What-You-Wish admission

The show is about 2 hours long, including one intermission.

Theatre Inconnu is located at 1923 Fernwood Road (across the street from the Belfry Theatre).

We are wheelchair accessible

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The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets

When two such creative geniuses as Waits and Burroughs come together sparks are bound to fly. Waits has composed exquisite numbers, with his characteristic bucking of tradition. Musical styles merge and transform to create a striking backdrop of songs as Burroughs’ haunting wordplay tells a tale (based on a German folktale Der Freischütz) of one man’s sacrifice of integrity to achieve gratification.

“Wonderfully dark, creepy, and altogether entertaining… a great deal of fun to be had”   Theatre Mania (San Fransisco)

Directed by Clayton Jevne
Musical Direction by Donna Williams

Preview Dec 1 @ 8pm
8pm:  Dec 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19
2pm:  Dec 5, 12, 19

Reservations and Ticket Sales
Directly through THEATRE INCONNU: Phone (250) 360-0234  or  by  Email.Complimentary tickets, special needs seating, and subscribers: need to reserve directly through Theatre Inconnu

Ticket Prices:
14 regular, $10 seniors (60+) /students/unwaged
Tuesday Dec 1 is half-price ($7) preview
Wednesday Dec 9 is Pay-What-You-Wish admission

The show is about 2 and a half hours long, including one intermission.

Theatre Inconnu is located at 1923 Fernwood Road (across the street from the Belfry Theatre).

We are wheelchair accessible

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The Heart Coffer:

a puppeteers quest for the universal heart
By Timothy Gosley

This show is available for online viewing for a limited time period:
BY CLICKING HERE

Tim Gosley’s
The Heart Coffer: a puppeteer’s quest for the universal heart.
(a multi-discipline show using puppetry, music, and projections)

A special presentation by donation.

COVID social distancing and safety guidelines will be strictly adhered to and seating will be limited.

MASKS MUST BE WORN!

2020
Thurs. Oct. 29 @ 7:30 pm
Fri. Oct. 30 @ 7:30 pm
Sat. Oct. 31 @ 7:30 pm
Sun. Nov. 1 @ 2 pm (matinee)

The performance is about 1 hour in length.
This performance will take place at our usual venue:
the Paul Phillips Hall, 1923 Fernwood Road.  

Please see below for reservation, payment and attendance procedure and protocol.

About the Show
Tim Gosley is grateful to Theatre Inconnu for accepting to produce The Heart Coffer: a puppeteer’s quest for the universal heart.  The show, created during Gosley’s artist in residence fellowship at UVic’s The Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, was going to be cancelled due to COVID; as happened to so many others.  The Canada Council Digital Originals (#digitaloriginals2020) initiative stepped in to provide resources to put the performance online, but there still was needed a venue, and hopefully a live audience.  Theatre Inconnu saved the day by engaging The Fernwood Community Association’s Paul Phillips Hall and providing all things technical.   We are following all COVID regulations, and are allowed a limited audience of 14 patrons for each of our 4 public performances.

The Heart Coffer examines the heart, material and ethereal, through the eyes of Tim Gosley, the grandfather of Canadian puppetry, a boomer puppeteer.  It is an esoteric variety show with a lot of heart and many styles of puppetry: muppet-style, video projected, laser shadowed, object manipulated and there are even puppets made from oyster shells.  The show has a musical weave from fellow boomers, Douglas Henley, (sitar, tar, guitar, electric bass and lute,) and Niel Golden, (tabla, cajón, and hang.) We are miners for a heart of gold.

Reservations, Payment and Attendance Protocol

Reservations
Because the seating will be very limited (a maximum of 14 people per show), you will need to have a reservation confirmed prior to attending.
When you request your reservation, we will need the names and contact information (phone & email) of all those in your party attending, if there is a later need to use these for contact tracing.
The first 14 requests for reservations received by email for each performance will receive positive confirmation by email.  Others will receive a “we regret to inform you” response.
Please reserve by emailing: 

clayton@theatreinconnu.com

Payment
DO NOT MAKE ANY PAYMENT UNTIL YOU HAVE RECEIVED A POSITIVE CONFIRMATION OF YOUR RESERVATION!
When you receive a positive confirmation of your reservation, payment (by donation – with a suggested donation amount of $20) will be made through e-transfer via an auto-deposit email address email address we will send you.

Attendance Protocol
When you arrive (we suggest 20 minutes prior to show time), you may need to line up for a short time outside.  We ask that you keep a distance of 6 feet between each other if there is a line-up.  Once you enter the building, you will not be able to linger in the lobby, but will proceed directly to a seat in the hall.  Washrooms will be sanitized for your use, and hand sanitizers will be placed in the washrooms and in the hall.
If you have not previously provided us with your contact information when making a reservation, you will need to do that upon arrival in case there is a need for contact tracing.

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MINI-DOC PROJECT

BE PART OF THEATRE INCONNU’S
MINI-DOC PROJECT !

Have you been involved in a Theatre Inconnu production or project in any capacity since 1987?   This includes any shows in our regular season, Shakespeare Festival (1991-2002), Puppets for Peace Festival, play readings etc.  Whether you were an actor, lighting/sound operator, playwright, director, crew member (sets, costumes, props), designer, box office volunteer, board member, videographer, etc; we would love it if you could video yourself telling us about your experience. What show/project were you involved in? Is there anything that stands out in your memory from your experience?

All you need to do is just point your cell-phone video at yourself and talk to us for a short while. 30 seconds is fine! Or if you’ve got more to say, 1 to 2 minutes is ideal!  Don’t worry about timing yourself – we’re happy to receive any amount! Then send your video clip

clayton@theatreinconnu.com via:

your Dropbox account or

wetransfer.com

or any other upload service.

We’ll take it from there!When we’ve completed a draft of our mini-documentary, we’ll share a link with you so you can view your segment, and suggest any changes to your clip if you choose.We hope that lots of our former colleagues and friends will participate so we can celebrate our 34 years of production history in Victoria with as many of you as possible!

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Online Viewing During Covid-19 Shutdown

We would like to invite you to check out some past
Theatre Inconnu productions, for which we have been given permission to post online

(click on titles or photos for video)

A Christmas Carol adapted from Charles Dickens by Clayton Jevne

Sandra Ritter and Clayton Jevne

“Damned if it isn’t really good. More than that, it just might be the best version of this show I’ve ever seen… 90 minutes of great storytelling.” John Threlfall, Monday Magazine, 2001

For 8 years Theatre Inconnu presented Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at various historical location in Victoria BC. The show was adapted and directed by Clayton Jevne, with Clayton and Sandra Ritter performing it. Sandra also designed the sound/music-scape, and played live harp.

This particular recorded performance took place on Christmas Eve, 2000, at Emily Carr House (built in 1863) in Victoria BC. Emily had written that A Christmas Carol was one of her favorite stories, and she carried a copy with her in her painting frock. The performance of the show in the Carr dining room, on this night, was a magical experience.

Other heritage locations that saw performances of this production included: Craigflower Schoolhouse (built in1854), Gyppeswyk House (part of the Art Gallery of greater Victoria, built in 1889), Craigdarroch Castle (1887), St. Anne’s Academy Chapel (1858), and the Parfitt Building (now the Paul Phillips Hall, built in1909, and current home to Theatre Inconnu).

We recognize that the recording picture and sound quality is less than we would expect from a more modern digital video, but we hope that this copy of the original VHS recording will provide some joy and entertainment.

We would like to acknowledge the wonderful help of Jan Ross and family for their help with this particular show (as then custodians of Emily Carr House).

Peace Dancer – by Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd

Roy Henry Vickers and cast

For the One Wave Gathering 2019 (in Centennial Square, Victoria, BC, Canada), Theatre Inconnu (https://www.theatreinconnu.com) had the privilege of remounting – in association with the Pacific Peoples’ Partnership (https://pacificpeoplespartnership.org) and Story Theatre (https://storytheatre.ca) – our 2017 production based on Roy Henry Vickers’ and Robert Budd’s book, Peace Dancer. It tells a cautionary Tsimshian flood tale predating Noah and the Ark. This project was spearheaded and over-seen by Theatre Inconnu’s Youth Program Coordinator, Timothy Gosley. The actual personal participation in both the original and remount productions by the author – and acclaimed Tsimshian Nation artist – Roy Henry Vickers made this a truly wonderful experience for all involved. Directors Barbara Poggemiller and Krystal Cook provided the guidance required to inspire some 30 performers in bringing this uplifting story to life. The traditional live drumming and singing added to the magic of the performance. Pacific Peoples’ Partnership Executive Director April Ingham was also instrumental in bringing this 2019 remount project to fruition.

One-Man Hamlet – by Clayton Jevne

This production was conceived, designed, directed and acted by Theatre Inconnu Artistic Director, Clayton Jevne. Between 1991 and 2008 the show toured in 4 countries (UK, Mexico, US, Canada) logging over 600 performances. In 2011 Clayton remounted the show to celebrate the 20th year since its inception. This performance was videoed and we would now like to share this performance with you.