Blyth Festival Unveils 2026 Season
- Mar 19
- 4 min read
Nestled in the heart of Huron County, Blyth Festival is internationally renowned for its commitment to original Canadian theatre.
Blyth Festival’s 2026 season is set once again to deliver its signature mix of laughter, tears, and celebration of Canadian history.
Five shows were chosen by Gil Garratt, Blyth Festival Artistic Director to reflect the humour, pressure, resilience and vibrancy of rural life.
Following a 2025 season marked by record attendance and sold-out shows, Blyth Festival remains committed to new, original Canadian stories.
The 2026 season looks back at the roots, illuminating overlooked moments in Canadian labour history and the people who stood up – often at great personal cost – for dignity, fairness and collective power.
Garratt says the season reflects what rural communities do best: meet tough challenges with grit, humour and collective effort.
The season welcomes two playwrights making their Blyth Festival debut – Kristen Da Silva and Leeann Minogue – and introduces audiences to rising comedian and storyteller Justin Shaw in his first full-scale Blyth production.
The 2026 season debuts on June 12 with a fierce, funny and deeply moving ensemble drama about women pushed to the brink at a small auto-wiring plant in ‘Sisters of ‘78’ by Kristen Da Silva.
Running from June 10 – August 9 on the Margaret Stephens Stage, ‘Sisters of ‘78’ follows a pivotal and long-overlooked moment in Canadian women’s and labour history. The Fleck Strike reshaped conversations about workplace dignity, solidarity and collective action – conversations that continue to resonate today.
‘Dry Streak’ by Leeann Minogue follows the summer of 1988, and drought is scorching the Richards family’s rural Saskatchewan farm.
When John returns home with his punk-rock, vegetarian city girlfriend Kate, tensions rise and explode.
Wildly funny and sharply observed ‘Dry Streak’ is a comedy about belief, belonging and small-town pressure.
This contemporary comedy runs from June 17 until August 16 on the Margaret Stephens Stage.
Other notable productions this season include ‘The Last Mayor of Rusty River’ a musical comedy co-created by David Scott, John Powers and Gil Garratt, ‘Off-Island Odyssey’ a solo comedy written and performed by Justin Shaw, and ‘Curveball: The Fast-Pitch Ladies from the Factory Floor’ an outdoor musical by Kelly McIntosh, Andy Pogson, Stacy Smith and original songs by Dayna Manning.
The 2026 season at Blyth Festival promises a mix of comedy, music and grit and resilience in a season that includes both new works, each speaking to Canada’s unique history, culture and strong rural roots.
“Rural life has always demanded resilience,” says Garratt.
“Whether it’s economic pressure, political change, or just the realities of weather and work, people here know how to adapt – and how to laugh while they’re doing it. That spirit runs through every one of these sensational plays.”
Running from June 10 until August 9, ‘Sisters of ‘78’ by Kristen Da Silva will be performed indoors on the Margaret Stephens Stage.
Inspired by the Fleck Strike in Centralia, Ontario, this is a fierce, funny and deeply moving ensemble drama.
As unsafe conditions and harassment collide with a company that won’t listen, tensions spill into the wider community in a conflict that changed Canadian labour law forever.
‘Dry Streak’ will run from June 17 until August 16 inside on the Margaret Stephens Stage.
In the summer of 1988 and drought scorching this Saskatchewan family farm, tensions rise and explode when son John’s city girlfriend Kate makes a reckless, weather-related promise that turns private desperation into public spectacle.
Wildly funny and sharply observed, ‘Dry Streak’ is a comedy about belief, belonging and small-town pressure.
A fresh re-write of Minogue’s 2006 smash hit from Saskatoon’s Persephone Theatre.
‘The Last Mayor of Rusty River’ follows the story of a municipal election gone wrong when two fed-up councillors decide to run a cat – Captain Whiskers – for mayor.
What begins as protest spirals into an all-out circus filled with bluegrass-fuelled showdowns and political shenanigans.
Co-created by David Scott who served as both the youngest mayor in Canada and the last mayor of Seaforth, the musical draws on lived experience inside small-town politics.
With toe-tapping new songs, ‘The Last Mayor of Rusty River’ is a timely, joyous comedy about power, persistence and local democracy.
It runs from July 29 until September 13 on the Margaret Stephens Stage.
‘Off-Island Odyssey’ runs from August 2 until August 30 inside on the Margaret Stephens Stage.
From PEI horse ranch to Montreal theatre school, Fort McMurray oil fields and a dubious Hamilton apartment, Justin Shaw has spent a lifetime leaving and coming home again.
In this hilarious, warmly observant solo show, he turns his off-island adventures into stories of ambition, belonging, and carrying home in your heart, wherever you go.
A brand-new work from the sold-out Island comedian and Yuk Yuk’s headliner, based on Shaw’s sold-out run of Have Jokes, Will Travel at the 2025 Charlottetown Festival.
‘Curveball: The Fast-Pitch Ladies from the Factory Floor’ will run from July 8 until August 22 outdoors on the Harvest Stage.
Set in 1950s Southwestern Ontario, Curveball tells the true story of the women of Stratford’s Kroehler Furniture Factory; ladies who built furniture by day and played championship-level softball by night.
It lands squarely in today’s zeitgeist, arriving just as interest in women’s professional baseball surges.
A remarkable 14 of the players recently drafted into the Women’s Professional Baseball League, the first league of its kind in decades, are Canadian.
This big-hearted outdoor musical celebrates teamwork, grit and the women whose athletic achievements finally move from centre field to centre stage.
Ticket prices for Blyth Festival’s 2026 Season will be listed online after April 1.
Tickets can be purchased online, by phone, or in person, and tickets can be emailed or delivered at no additional cost via Canada Post.
Season passes are also available for purchase: The Flex Pass (5) valued at $275 per person, The Flex Pass (4) valued at $220 per person, and The Flex Pass (2) valued at $110 per person.
Tickets can also be picked up at the Box Office 30 minutes prior to the performance.
To reserve wheelchair/accessible seating and Harvest Stage accessible parking spaces, call the Box Officer at 1-877-862-5984.
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