YES Theatre unveils its 2026 performance season

Greater Sudbury’s YES Theatre has announced its complete slate of productions for the 2026 season. The shows will be staged at two primary locations: the Sudbury Theatre Centre and the downtown outdoor venue, The Refettorio.

Artistic and managing director Alessandro Costantini unveiled the upcoming season at the Sudbury Theatre Centre on Monday, emphasizing the careful consideration behind each selection.

Season both locally driven and world-class

“The season that we assembled this year, I think, really achieves our intention of being locally driven and world-class,” said Costantini.

“We are working with incredible local artists here in our community to tell these incredible, brilliant stories – some that are new, some that have developed right here in Sudbury, some that have been taking over the world for decades and years.”

Addressing community crises through art

One summertime production, City Medicine, exemplifies this local focus. The play is written by local playwright Sarah Gartshore in collaboration with people who live on the street in Sudbury.

Costantini explained the motivation behind the new work.

“So, we were looking at the crisis that we are facing in downtown and the crisis many Canadian cities are facing and we wanted to do something about it,” he said.

“We wanted to bring people together to talk about the crisis in a really hopeful and meaningful way.”

Diverse lineup

Costantini stressed to CTV News that the 2026 season offers a wide variety of entertainment designed to appeal to all tastes. The lineup includes a mix of beloved international hits and homegrown creations.

“We have Disney’s Frozen. We have Canada’s most successful theatre piece Come From Away. We have a David Bowie. We have a Sinatra concert that is going to be happening, and we have an original Canadian musical that we have commissioned here in Sudbury called Way Out There that will be opening the season,” said Costantini.

Subscription surge defies national trend

The company’s amalgamation with the Sudbury Theatre Centre has proven to be a significant success. Costantini revealed that at the time of the merger, there were only 90 subscribers. That number has now skyrocketed to more than 1,300 in just three seasons.

He added that this major uptick is happening at a time when many theatre organizations across the country are seeing a decline in subscriptions.

By Alana Everson, CTV News