On the heels of a smashing inaugural season, The Vault @ Coal Mine Theatre returns for its second season with a remarkable line up of brand new Canadian plays by established and emerging Canadian Playwrights. Each Public Lab runs for four nights only and offers audiences a chance to attend (and contribute to) a new play in process. “I am beyond excited about our second season of Public Labs at The Vault,” shares The Vault Artistic Director/Producer Diana Bentley.

“Entering our second year and growing partnership with Coal Mine Theatre, we’re starting to become a vibrant and inspiring playwright's lab. Last year we learned how involved our audiences want to be in the creation process of new work at The Vault, and this year we’re working with an astonishing group of playwrights and directors in the 2026/27 Public Lab Series.”

Each Public Lab runs for 4 NIGHTS ONLY, and have 60 seats per evening.

All shows at 7:30pm nightly.

For tickets visit www.zeffy.com.

The Vault @ Coal Mine Theatre: Season Two

RAISED BY WOMEN

Written and Performed by Keith Barker

Directed by Yvette Nolan

July 1-3, 2026

Raised by Women is a heartfelt, funny tribute to matriarchal power and grace. With warmth and candour, award-winning playwright Keith Barker (This Is How We Got Here), celebrates the women who taught him how to understand his emotions, be true to himself, and lead with his heart. Directed by Yvette Nolan (Women of the Fur Trade), Keith offers a counter narrative 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. Raised by Women will have its Toronto Premiere later in the 2026/27 Season at Canadian Stage.

*

THE LISTENING: PUBLIC LAB

Written and Performed by SATE

Directed by Djanet Sears

July 15-18, 2026

As a part of The Vault’s inaugural season SATE (Detroit: Music of the Motor City) 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 (Harlem Duet). 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.

*

TED (ACTUALLY) TALKS: PUBLIC LAB

Written and Performed by Ted Dykstra

Directed by Diana Bentley

August 12-15, 2026

Coal Mine Theatre's Co-Founder and Artistic Director and 8 time Dora Award Winner Ted Dykstra (2 Pianos, 4 Hands) 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 (Dance Nation). In this magical one hour special 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.

*

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 and Jenny Young

October 14-17, 2026

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. Written by Michele Riml (Sexy Laundry) and Michael St. John Smith (The Bridge), The Cull is directed by Peter Pasyk (The Nether).

*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY J: PUBLIC LAB

By Nick Green

Directed by Sabryn Rock

Jan. 6-9, 2027

Wickedly funny and alluring, Happy Birthday Baby J takes place on a sunny summer weekend at a cottage up north. When Gary and Louise invite friends and family to celebrate the second birthday of their child J, who they are raising without a gender. As the day awkwardly unfolds, grudges are revealed and secrets bubble uproariously to a head. This staggering new comedy by Nick Green (Casey and Diana), directed by Sabryn Rock (our place) explores contemporary idealism, masculinity, and daycare politics.

*

JOCASTA: PUBLIC LAB

By Rebecca Gibian

Directed by Diana Bentley

Starring Fiona Highet

March 31-April 3, 2027

The first play to come straight from our inaugural Vault submissions process and development stream, JOCASTA by Rebecca Gibian (Seeker), is a groundbreaking play about the mother of Oedipus. Navigating the charged space between grief and attraction, JOCASTA is part love story, part loss story; asking what is so wrong about giving in blindly to what feels so right. This debut play reimagines an ancient myth in a contemporary setting shaped by silence, systems, and legacy—and ventures into the other side of what you don’t know can’t hurt you.