In announcing The Foster Festival's 2025 - 10th Anniversary Season, Artistic Director Emily Oriold says, "I can't believe we are already celebrating ten years of laughter at The Foster Festival! It feels like just yesterday I was reaching out to Norm with the idea to found a theatre festival to celebrate him as Canada's most prolific playwright. Since then, we have produced 26 of Norm's comedies, 15 of them being world premieres, and ten development workshops.

"This past decade has been filled with unforgettable memories together. From the incredible performances to the amazing community we've built, it has been an honour and a joy to share my passion for Canadian theatre with all of you. And now we are deepening our commitment to Canadian work through our Fostered Playwrights Festival. In another ten years, I know we will all look back and be even more amazed by our accomplishments.

"Here's to many more years of creativity, connection, and, of course, laughter! On behalf of our staff, artists, and board of directors, thank you for being a part of this incredible journey with us."

2025 MAINSTAGE SUBSCRIPTION SERIES

Subscriptions to the mainstage season go on sale tomorrow (Nov. 7). Single tickets to the subscription series productions go on sale December 1.

Personalize your own subscription and Pick 3 from On a First Name Basis, Screwball Comedy, Mechanically Inclined, or A Niagara Christmas Carol. If you can't decide, choose a Pick 4 subscription and enjoy all four productions in the package.

JULY 3 - 17 | Mandeville Theatre, Ridley College, St. Catharines ON A FIRST NAME BASIS by Norm Foster

Back by popular demand, Artistic Director Emily Oriold and Artistic Associate Jamie Williams star in this laugh-out-loud comedy. A very successful but cantankerous novelist discovers that he knows nothing about his maid of 25 years. She, on the other hand, knows absolutely everything about him! He makes it his mission to learn all he can about her in a most engaging conversation. On a First Name Basis is a love story, a social commentary, and a mystery wrapped in witty dialogue and vivid imagery.

JULY 23 - AUG. 3 | Mandeville Theatre, Ridley College, St. Catharines SCREWBALL COMEDY by Norm Foster

Lucky, our Foster pup, makes a welcome return to the stage in Screwball Comedy! It’s 1938 and Mary Hayes is trying to break into the male dominated world of newspaper journalism. Editor-in-Chief Bosco Godfrey sets a competition between his egotistical star reporter and plucky Mary. If Mary wins, she will replace the ace newshound. Screwball Comedy is an homage to those zany screwball comedies of the 1930's, full of snappy dialogue, outrageous characters, and humour that packs a punch.

AUG. 14 - 24 | Mandeville Theatre, Ridley College, St. Catharines World Premiere - MECHANICALLY INCLINED by Steve Ross

One of the plays developed through our 2024 Fostered Playwrights Festival, it was a favourite amongst attendees. Born and raised in the Niagara Region, Steve Ross has performed at theatres across the country including 22 seasons with the Stratford Festival. Shakespeare isn’t your typical fare for the amateur, but when Abby gets her chance to direct A Midsummer Night’s Dream with a cast of community misfits, she discovers more drama outside the rehearsal hall than in it. Mechanically Inclined is a hilarious look at how theatre can bring purpose, meaning, and connection to even the most motley of crews.

NOV./DEC. | Mandeville Theatre, Ridley College, St. Catharines World Premiere - A NIAGARA CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens, adapted by Jamie Williams

In partnership with the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre and in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Welland Canal Company and the construction of the Canal itself, Dickens’ beloved holiday ghost story is set in 19th century St. Catharines at the time of the Canal’s build. A Niagara Christmas Carol is a uniquely Canadian take on the traditional story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s redemption.

Dates to be confirmed in the Spring of 2025.

This 10th Anniversary Season promises to be a celebration of The Foster Festival's decade of laughter! Subscriptions are now on sale.

Pick 4 ONLY $180/person | Pick 3 ONLY $135/person.

The price you see, is the price you pay. Fees and taxes are included. Single tickets to mainstage subscription series shows go on sale December 1.

CALL 1.844.735.4832 x3 VISIT fosterfestival.com 

BOX OFFICE HOURS: Mon.-Fri.: 10am-4pm | Sat. & Sun.: Closed. Voicemails will be answered during regular Box Office hours.

2025 SPECIAL EVENTS

As well as the subscription series, don't miss the special events that we offer throughout the year. By becoming a Pick 3 or Pick 4 subscriber you receive a 10% Discount on tickets to Love Letters, Bedtime Stories, and Stakeout.

Tickets to the Fostered Playwrights Festival and other Special Events are on sale tomorrow (Nov. 7).

The price you see, is the price you pay. Fees and taxes are included.

FEB. 13 - 15 | Vineland Estates Winery, Vineland LOVE LETTERS by A.R. Gurney

Join us for good food, good wine, and Love Letters, a unique and imaginative theatre piece. Letters are exchanged over a lifetime between two people who grew up together, went their separate ways, but continued to share confidences. Love Letters is an evocative, touching, frequently funny but always telling pair of character studies in which what is implied is as revealing and meaningful as what is actually written down. Starring local personalities to be announced soon!

MAR. 21- 23 | Firehall Theatre, Niagara Falls FOSTERED PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

The second annual Fostered Playwrights Festival presents three selections from emerging or established Canadian playwrights, professionally performed and directed in public readings over a weekend. The three scripts to be featured this year are Sew Far, Sew Good by Marnie Walsh, Packing Up by Alison Lawrence, and Every Little Thing by The Foster Festival’s Artistic Director Emily Oriold. In 2023, an astounding 72 submissions were received from across the country, and ultimately, Time & Tide by Jody Stevens McCluskey, received its world premiere production in October 2024.

MAY 28 - JUNE 1 | Firehall Theatre, Niagara Falls BEDTIME STORIES by Norm Foster

What does a shock-radio jock, a dying man, two thieves, an aging rock star, an accident-prone stripper, and a woman leaving her husband have in common? Find out in Bedtime Stories, featuring a cast from the Niagara Region’s community theatre scene.

OCT. 2 - 5 | Old Pelham Town Hall, Fonthill STAKEOUT by Norm Foster with musical guests Melissa-Marie Shriner and Declan (Paddyman) O'Sullivan

Two cops are assigned to conduct a stakeout at a bus stop across the street from a house where suspected drug deals are being made. With nothing but time on their hands they try to remain as inconspicuous as possible while maintaining their cover as a married couple. Not an easy task having never met before. What could go wrong? Find out as Emily and Jamie take to the stage in Stakeout!

Originally from Ireland, Declan (Paddyman) O'Sullivan is a professional entertainer and songwriter who has performed live for over one million people around the world. Paddyman will perform Oct. 2

Soprano Melissa-Marie Shriner is well known as a versatile performer in recitals, concerts, and self-produced shows, throughout southern Ontario. Melissa will perform Oct. 3-5.

Visit fosterfestival.com.

Photo: Emily Oriold and Steve Ross. © 2024.