Malaspina Theatre

News Stories

Two actors face each other on stage while rehearsing a scene.

Our Town explores love, loss and life’s fragility

October 21, 2024

What: Our Town – VIU Theatre department’s fall play When: October 31 to November 9, 7:30 pm Where: Malaspina Theatre (Building 310), Nanaimo campus Our Town explores the universal human experience of growing up, falling in love and dying. It conveys powerful messages about the beauty and fleeting nature of life and the fact that people often take it for granted. The play tells the story of two... Read more

Actors Makenna Paugh, Cameron Greer and Ellie Crawford rehearse a scene from Tough.

Life’s unexpected realities explored in VIU Theatre department’s studio play – Tough

September 24, 2024

What: Tough – VIU Theatre department’s studio play When: October 3 to 5 Where: VIU’s Mike Taugher Studio (Building 330, Room 109), Nanaimo campus Friends Tina, Jill and Bobby are navigating the challenges of life after high school when Tina, Bobby’s girlfriend, announces an unexpected pregnancy. After the bombshell, the three must face the realities of life. Their story unfolds in the one-act... Read more

Two flagpoles side by side. One holds the Canada flag and the other the Pride flag.

Community members share impactful stories during VIU’s Rainbow Project

June 11, 2024

What: The Rainbow Project: Searching for a voice, Pride stories through the decades When: June 22 and 23, 7 pm  Where: VIU’s Malaspina Theatre lobby, Building 310, Nanaimo campus  Community members will share impactful stories from their lives during The Rainbow Project: Searching for a voice, Pride stories through the decades. The event is hosted by Vancouver Island University’s Theatre... Read more

Frances Ward holds up seaweed and text across the image reads, Send Kelp

Experience Frances Ward’s journey cultivating a kelp farm in the documentary Send Kelp!

May 31, 2024

What: Send Kelp!, a documentary film screening When: June 8, 6 pm Where: Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Malaspina Theatre, Building 310, Nanaimo campus What does it take to create a kelp farm off the coast of Vancouver Island? Frances Ward, a self-professed “seaweed nerd” and adventurer is determined to find out. She sets out to build one of the first farms of its kind in BC. The... Read more

Six actors on the left reach out to one of their cast mates while another stands in fear on the right.

Beyond the boy wizard’s limelight – PUFFS offers a hilarious twist on a beloved magical world

February 27, 2024

What: PUFFS, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic When: March 7 to 16 at 7:30 pm, Opening Gala March 7, 7:30 pm Where: VIU’s Malaspina Theatre (Building 310), Nanaimo campus For seven years, a bespectacled boy wizard with a scar went to a certain wizard school and conquered evil. But this isn’t his story. This is the story of the puffs who happen to be at... Read more

A Christmas Carol poster sits on a stand in front of a Christmas tree.

VIU Theatre department presents A Christmas Carol, a live radio play

December 12, 2023

What: A Christmas Carol – Live Radio Play  When: Sunday, December 17 at 7 pm, doors open at 6:30 pm Where: VIU’s Malaspina Theatre lobby (Building 310), Nanaimo campus  Immerse yourself in the enchanting story of Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol as it comes to life at Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Malaspina Theatre. “Don’t miss this magical experience that will leave you with a... Read more

Six actors stand in two lines holding their arms up over their heads while rehearsing a scene at Malaspina Theatre.

VIU Theatre Department presents the dark parody Collateral Damage

October 13, 2023

What: Collateral Damage, VIU Theatre Department fall play When: October 19 to 21 and 26 to 28 Where: VIU’s Malaspina Theatre (Building 310), Nanaimo campus Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Theatre Department presents playwright Jackie Crossland’s Collateral Damage this fall. Collateral Damage explores and reimagines the ancient Greek myth of Medea. In the original myth, Medea’s husband... Read more

A performer on the stage during Drag in the Theatre.

Drag show offers a night of jaw-dropping and dazzling performances

September 29, 2023

What: Drag in the Theatre When: Wednesday, October 4, 8 to 10 pm Where: VIU’s Malaspina Theatre (Building 310), Nanaimo campus Experience a fabulous night of drag, live vocals and jaw-dropping performances during Drag in the Theatre. The show is presented by Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Positive Space Alliance and Vancouver-based drag queen and VIU alum Darrian Tolerance, Host, Performer... Read more

Lexi Barudin, who wears a crown of pink roses and a pink outfit, holds onto Brandon Caul's hand.

VIU’s Theatre Department presents the dramatic comedy She Kills Monsters

February 15, 2023

What: She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen – presented by VIU’s Theatre Department  When: March 2 to 11 Where: VIU’s Malaspina Theatre (Building 310), Nanaimo campus Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Theatre Department presents the hysterical dramatic comedy She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen as this year’s spring production. The play tells the story of Agnes Evans as she comes to terms with the... Read more

An actor at centre stage has their hands thrown up in the air while they look off in the distance. Numerous cast mates stand behind them in various poses.

VIU’s Theatre Department presents A Good Person

October 24, 2022

WHAT: A Good Person by Ross Desprez – a play by VIU’s Theatre Department WHEN:  October 27 to November 5 WHERE: VIU’s Malaspina Theatre (Building 310), Nanaimo campus Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Theatre Department presents A Good Person by Ross Desprez, which is a comedic adaptation of Brecht’s The Good Women of Szechwan. In A Good Person, God comes to Earth in search of one good person... Read more