London 
Events Description
The 2026 edition of Here For Now Theatre Festival season brings together award-winning playwrights, celebrated directors, new collaborators, and returning favourites, offering a of theatre that’s thoughtful, funny, provocative, and deeply human.
The Surrogate
WORLD PREMIERE | DRAMA
By Mohsin Zaidi
Directed by Christopher Manousos
April 16 – April 26, 2026 | Opens April 17
Jake and Sameer have spent years preparing for this moment—the birth of their first child.
But when Marya, their surrogate, is admitted to the hospital with complications, the couple is forced to confront questions they never expected: Who gets to decide what makes a family? And at what cost?
Set over the course of a single sleepless night, The Surrogate is a 21st-century exploration of privilege, and the complexities of modern family-making in a world where the rules are still being written.
From award-winning author, Mohsin Zaidi (A Dutiful Boy), comes a gripping debut drama that explodes the notions of contemporary parenthood.
I Am An Island
By Julia Lederer
Directed by Allison Plamondon
May 27 – June 7, 2026 | Opening May 29
May lives on a tiny island surrounded by friends, family, and the occasional martini-swilling ghost. The only problem? May’s island is sinking, and she can’t get anyone to pay attention.
As May stages a very personal protest to bring attention to this looming disaster, we begin to see her struggles are not just external. What’s really sinking here? And can May do what needs to be done before it’s too late?
From the author of 2024’s smash hit With Love and a Major Organ.
Love Us Most
By Sara Farb
Directed by Sabryn Rock
June 17 – June 28, 2026 | Opening June 19
What’s it really like to be a woman in the theatre? Take a peek into this dressing room as King Lear’s three leading ladies wade through the choppy waters of racism, ageism, and rampant sexism.
Set in the early autumn of 2016, Love Us Most is a biting, satirical look at what it takes for a woman to make it in what seems to remain a man’s world.
Ghosts of My House
By Susanna Fournier
Directed by Leora Morris
July 8 – July 19, 2026 | Opening July 10
Is this a family dinner or a Greek tragedy?
A mother and her three daughters gather to mark the anniversary of a death. But the past has other plans.
Ghosts of My House is a darkly funny exploration of family, grief, memory, and the pressures on modern women to have it all. Loosely inspired by Agamemnon, this raw, lyrical new work unravels the stories women inherit while also invoking ancient archetypes that refuse to rest.
Early Genius
By Steve Ross
Directed by Sheila McCarthy
July 29 – August 9, 2026 | Opening July 31
Four youngsters. All under the age of eight. All with genius IQs. Enter a substitute teacher in over his head. What could possibly go wrong?
“I was asked to write a children’s play and wondered what would happen if it wasn’t for children, but about them.” – Steve Ross Don’t miss the world premiere of Steve Ross’s new play – the smash hit of our 2025 reading series!
Suzannah
By Jon Fosse (in English translation)
Directed by Peter Hinton-Davis
August 19 – 30, 2026 | Opening August 20
From Nobel Laureate Jon Fosse—Norway’s master playwright, poet, and novelist—comes Suzannah, an intimate and lyrical portrait of Henrik Ibsen’s remarkable wife.
Three Suzannahs—young, middle-aged, and old—share the stage, weaving memory, longing, and wit into a haunting exploration of love, art, and the cost of genius.
A rare English-language premiere and a coup for Here For Now audiences, Suzannah invites us inside the mind of a woman history nearly forgot.
As Above
By Christine Quintana
Directed by Marie Farsi
October 28 – Nov. 8, 2026 | Opening October 30
Beneath the forest floor, vast fungal networks knit trees together in unseen community – sharing, sustaining, healing.
One-time renowned botanical researcher Jo teaches about this living web, even as her own connections falter and fray. Eight years sober, haunted by loss, and reaching tentatively for love, Jo must learn whether repair is still possible. But when strange messages begin to surface – mysterious ailments, phantom phone calls – the line between science and spirit blurs.
As Above is a luminous, deeply human story about regeneration, forgiveness, and the invisible networks that keep us alive.
The Gift Exchange
By Meghan Gardiner
Directed by Sara-Jeanne Hosie
December 9 – 23, 2026 | Opening December 11
When 11-year-old Phoebe and her hippie tree-farmer dad move from Saltspring Island to Vancouver, she’s determined to fit into her new school. But a chaotic classroom, an over-caffeinated teacher, and a high-stakes holiday gift exchange soon test her resolve.
When Phoebe’s well-meant plans go sideways, her unexpected gift brings a hint of magic to everyone around her. The Gift Exchange is a hilarious, big-hearted Christmas comedy about belonging, kindness, and the true spirit of giving.
Family friendly. Of most interest to those ages 8+
Limited Engagement Series
DORA MAAR: the wicked one
June 21 -25, 2026
In 1935, celebrated photographer and surrealist artist Dora Maar meets Pablo Picasso in a Paris café, igniting a charged collision of art and desire. Though Dora stands firmly on her own artistic path, their bond soon draws her into Picasso’s overpowering orbit. Across a decade marked by World War II and the occupation of France, she slowly sets aside her own work to sustain his brilliance. As their relationship fractures, Dora confronts the cost of becoming a muse—questioning what remains of her identity and what Picasso would be without her presence. Dora Maar: the wicked one is a theatrical exploration of love, obsession, artistic sacrifice, and the haunting search for self in the shadow of genius.
DORA MAAR: the wicked one is a one-woman play, written by Beth Graham and Daniela Vlaskalic, directed by Blake Brooker and featuring Daniela Vlaskalic as the surrealist photographer and painter, Dora Maar. The play is based on true events.
Hypothetical Baby
Written and Performed by Rachel Cairns
September 2 – 13, 2026
In Hypothetical Baby, Rachel Cairns mixes data and drama to present an autobiographical work that dares to publicly talk about abortion the way we do privately — with neurotic vulnerability, unflinching honesty, and frank irreverence.
This darkly hilarious one-person show grapples with the personal and societal factors that shape our reproductive lives and the intricate relationship between choice, change, and loss. Cairns—named “one of the country’s most original actors” by The Globe & Mail and recognized with the publications Critic’s Pick—offers up a searingly honest, laugh-out-loud, and nuanced exploration of the practical and existential considerations involved in deciding whether to be, or not to be, a parent.
HOW MUCH
Tickets :
$35.88 – $41.25
How to get tickets?
WHEN & WHERE
Date & Time:
A limited number of metered parking spaces sit directly in front of the theatre. Further metered parking is available on Ontario Street, with paid lots on York Street, Erie Street, and at the corner of St. Patrick and Church Streets. Most locations are a 5-10 minute walk from the theatre.
Some free street parking exists in the neighbourhood, but please pay attention to signs as it is not permitted on all streets.
Metering is enforced by the City of Stratford until 8 p.m. The meters take quarters, loonies and toonies, or you may download the Hot Spot Parking app and use your credit card.
