RAISED BY WOMEN: PUBLIC LAB
Written and Performed by Keith Barker
Directed by Yvette Nolan
Raised by Women is a heartfelt, funny tribute to matriarchal power and grace. With warmth and candour, award-winning playwright Keith Barker celebrates the women who taught him how to understand his emotions, be true to himself, and lead with his heart. Keith offers a counternarrative to patriarchal ideals so many of us are taught. Challenging long-held conventions about parenthood and masculinity, Keith provides a blueprint of emotional literacy for the next generation of men.
July 1-3, 2026
Performances Nightly at 7:30pm
Raised by Women was commissioned and originally produced by Prairie Theatre Exchange (Winnipeg,MB) in April 2025. Raised by Women will receive a Toronto premiere production at Canadian Stage in March 2027.
THE LISTENING: PUBLIC LAB
Written and Performed by SATE
Directed by Djanet Sears
As a part of The Vault’s inaugural season SATE and the Polaris Music Prize brought an intimate, one-night experience to The Vault—an offering so resonant it returns as a four-night run directed by Djanet Sears. The Listening is not a traditional concert but a living ritual—an intimate weaving of music, movement, story, and unfiltered thought.
Emerging from the creation of her debut theatrical work, the evening explores the threads between mothers and daughters, the living and the beyond, memory and myth—tracing the unseen lines that shape who we are and who we are becoming.
July 15-18, 2026
Performances Nightly at 7:30pm
TED (ACTUALLY) TALKS: PUBLIC LAB
Written and Performed by Ted Dykstra
Directed by Diana Bentley
Coal Mine Theatre's Co-Founder and Artistic Director and 8 time Dora Award Winner Ted Dykstra (2 Pianos, 4 Hands, Waiting for Godot) steps onto The Vault stage for the first time to debut material from his never before seen one-man show Ted (Actually) Talks, directed by partner Diana Bentley. In this magical hour, Ted sits at the piano and shares personal stories, memories, and career highlights (and low lights) and plays original music that spans from childhood to present.
August 12-15, 2026
Performances Nightly at 7:30pm
THE CULL: PUBLIC LAB
By Michele Riml and Michael St. John Smith
Directed by Peter Pasyk
Dramaturged by Ted Dykstra
Starring Tom Barnett, Christopher Morris, Christina Song, Jenny Young
A group of long-time friends gathers for an intimate 25th anniversary dinner celebration as a forest fire rages out of control in the nearby mountains of southeastern BC. When an unexpected gift transforms a discussion about the local wolf cull into a heated argument over economic inequality, conflicting values within the group arise, threatening to derail the celebration and test the true nature of their friendships. The Cull contrasts the dynamics of human self-interest with the instinctive communal behaviour of wolves…turning this particular dinner party into a night of “eat or be eaten.”
October 15-17, 2026
Performances Nightly at 7:30pm
NOTE: An originally scheduled October 14th performance has been cancelled due to scheduling. Apologies for any inconvenience.
The Cull was originally commissioned by The Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver, BC (Silver Commissions Program) and premiered there as a two-act play in 2023. A new one-act version of The Cull was first read at the New Stages Reading Series (Peterborough, ON), and is now in further development with The Vault /The Coal Mine Theatre (Toronto, ON).
