Paper Street Theatre

The works of Sylvia Plath, author and poet, are filled with quiet despair and fierce ideals. Using her actual writing as inspiration, Paper Street Theatre will illuminate the inner lives of women through a completely improvised play. This show will examine universal human themes of loneliness, longing, and the trap of modern life.

Happened Thurs Oct 12th - Sun Oct 15th, 2023
8pm | $18
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

Join Paper Street Theatre for an unforgettable night of music, storytelling and improvisation. Enjoy improvised songs and stories that tell us the life story of the Piano Man, Dave Morris. Supported by a cast of veteran performers, this show will bring you into the smoke-filled world of a classy piano bar and both lift, and break your heart.

Happened Wed Dec 13th - Dec 16th, 2023
8pm | $18
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

Happened Myths are the stories we tell ourselves about the experience of being alive. Myths are metaphors, reaching for what cannot be known. Join Paper Street Theatre as they build a new mythology of gods, tricksters, monsters and heroes each night and weave them together to create new meaning.

Happened Wed Feb 21st - Sat Feb 24th, 2024
8pm | $18
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

We are partnering with our Friends Broken Rhythms to teach you a simple lesson: The fairy tales you know aren’t as pleasant as you think. They have a rather grim past. Snow White puts the evil queen in iron shoes and makes her dance until she dies, Cinderella’s sisters get their eyes pecked out by birds, and the Frog isn’t kissed, throwing him against the wall turns him into a prince. Join Paper Street Theatre as we tell our own, improvised, cautionary tales with some inspiration from you and The Brothers Grimm.

This show will feature improv theatre as well as contemporary dance.

Happened Wed Oct 26th - Sat Oct 29th 2022
8pm | $18
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

The road. That special place between places. The place where we cease to be inhabitants, and instead become travellers. Where we are no longer burdened with practicality and are finally able to ask the deep questions. The road is where we all become philosophers and poets. So buckle up, and come watch Dave Morris and Byron Kjeldsen in an improv show that takes place entirely in a car. Like any road-trip, there will be lively conversation, awkward silences, some jokes, and, of course, snacks.

Happened Wed Dec 14th - Sat Dec 17th, 2022
8pm | $18
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

A new show from Paper Street Theatre using something we’ve never used before… scripts! Don’t worry, we won’t be using the whole script, just the first few pages. We’ve partnered with four local playwrights and asked them to write four different beginnings to four original plays. Each performance, our cast of improvisers will cold read one of the scripts until it runs out, and then we’ll improvise the rest. Every night will be the world premiere of a new play where not even the playwright knows the ending.

Happened Wed Feb 8th - Sat Feb 11th, 2023
8pm | $18
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

In October 1995, five improvisers disappeared in the woods near Victoria, BC while shooting an improvised found footage show... years later, their footage was found.

Paper Street Theatre is back with another COVID safe production – The Blair Improv Project: An improvised found footage film. This horror/mystery film will be improvised in less than an hour, edited in less than 30 minites, and then uploaded to the internet, all from the dark and scary woods of Metchosin BC.

Paper Street Theatre is taking improv online to offer you, and your family a Christmas Experience inspired by this time of social distancing.

Join us on Zoom™, where you and your fellow audience members will build a cast of characters, complete with nuanced relationships, laundry to air, and dysfunction aplenty, and then you get to do what all people love to do: Eavesdrop. There will be multiple simultaneous holiday Zoom calls, and you get to chose for how long or how little you listen-in on each call. You have the ability to move freely between Breakout Rooms to experience the show in whatever way suits you best.

We all have to make changes over this last year, and have had our fair share of strange video calls, and awkward moments – come join us for a few fictional video calls that will make your real life ones seem normal. Paper Street Theatre invites you to listen in on:

Christmas Eavesdropping
Happened Dec 15-18 | 8pm - On your couch via Zoom - On the day of the event you will be emailed a link to the show's Zoom room.
$15*/screen (with as many people as you can gather around it)

Paper Street Theatre is taking improv online to offer you, and your family a Christmas Experience inspired by this time of social distancing.

Join us on Zoom™, where you and your fellow audience members will build a cast of characters, complete with nuanced relationships, laundry to air, and dysfunction aplenty, and then you get to do what all people love to do: Eavesdrop.

We all have to make changes this year for the holidays, and will have our fair share of strange video calls, and awkward moments, come join us for a few fictional calls that will make your real life ones seem normal.

Happened Wed Dec 16th-Sat Dec 19th 2020
8pm | $15
On Zoom

Join Paper Street Theatre on Zoom™, where you and your fellow audience members will build a cast of characters, complete with nuanced relationships, laundry to air, and instability aplenty, and then do what all people love to do: Eavesdrop.

Our cast will be performing four simultaneous improvised Zoom™ calls, and you get to choose for how long or how little you listen-in on each call. You’ll have the ability to move freely between conversations to experience the show in whatever way suits you best.

We’ve all had our share of strange Zoom™ calls with family, awkward video chats with friends, and unbearable ice-breakers with co-workers this year. This Family Day weekend, come and witness some made-up conversations that will make your real life seem perfect by comparison.

Happened Wed Feb 10th-Sun Feb 14th
8pm | $15
On Zoom

From the tiniest treasures to the most maddening memories Mothers takes a bold look at the world of motherhood. Performed by actors with firsthand experience from different parts of the world (Seattle, Portland, Victoria, Red Deer, and Melbourne), this show dives deeply into the heart of what it means to be a Mom, both illuminating hard truths and sharing delights. Wholly improvised, just like motherhood, Mothers will be an absolute gem.

Mothers is a co-production between Paper Street Theatre and our sister company in Deep End Theater from Portland and we couldn't be more excited to share this show with you.

Happened Thurs May 6th-Sun May 9th
8pm | $10 | On Zoom

Don your sparkliest cape, turn up the synths, and prepare yourself for an epic 80’s adventure. Magic and mysticism abound in this improvised quest through an upside-down world of dragons, goblins, wizards, and of course, puppets!

Happened Wed Oct 23rd - Sat Oct 26th 2019
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

O come all ye playful! Join Paper Street Theatre’s cast of cheerful Improvisers as they explore stories of hope, family, and love in this collection of all new Christmas classics. Rudolf, St Nick, Jesus, and the Grinch better move over and make way for a new cast of holiday characters that will grow your heart and tickle your stockings. Pour yourself an eggnog, throw on a sweater, and come enjoy this evening of Christmas classics.

Happened Wed Dec 11th - Sat Dec 14th, 2019
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

A brutal dark comedy or a lighthearted tragedy, you decide. Paper Street Theatre enters the strange and twisted mind of Irish playwright Martin McDonagh in what will surely be the most terrific, or horrific, improv show you’ve ever seen. Viewer discretion is advised.

Happened Wed Feb 19th - Sat Feb 22nd, 2020
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

An audience member, much like yourself, wanted to attend an improvised ghost stories show. Because, after all, ghosts aren’t real and the paranormal is just a myth. So they went to the show, expecting to have a good time but instead they were never seen alive again. After the show they were found in the back row… with blood oozing from the back of their head!

Come enjoy (or not) an evening of improvised, and spooky, campfire stories

Happened Wed Oct 24th - Sat Oct 27th, 2018
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

On the night before Christmas, standing on a near-empty stage in the middle of somewhere, two unusual improvisers wait for something to happen. This show will be a tragicomedic and absurd exploration of the holidays and what it means to be a human. Nothing to be done.

Happened Wed Dec 5th - Sat Dec 8th, 2018
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

Enter a self contained symmetrical world full of flat characters, flat camera angles, and flat dry wit. This picturesque improv show will delight fans of Wes Anderson’s works and puzzle and confuse the rest.

Happened Wed Feb 13th - Sat Feb 16th, 2019
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Theatre Club

When a body turns up on Paper Street it's up to this vintage cast of colourful cliché characters to discover who did it, how it was done, and who's next! Inspired by the best selling author of all time, Agatha Christie, this fully improvised mystery will have you on the edge of your tweed-covered seat until the final reveal!

Happened Wed Oct 25th - Sat Oct 28th, 2017
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

All I want for Christmas is BRAINS! When a zombie outbreak hits, this rag-tag band of improvisers must try to work together to stay alive. A fun and bloody twist to your holiday traditions, this show will eat the heart right out of Christmas.

Happened Wed Dec 6th - Sat Dec 9th &
Thur Dec 14th - Sat Dec 16th, 2017
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

A bleak interstellar landscape. A fading mid-western town. A dystopian future. Climb inside the imaginative world of Ray Bradbury in Paper Street Theatre's The Improvised Man. Enjoy an evening of improvised short-stories woven together into a rich tapestry, based on the works of one of the best Golden Age pulp writers.

Happenend Wed Feb 14th - Sat Feb 17th, 2018
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

Take a night out of your dark and dreary life to contemplate the strange and unsettling world of the master of the macabre Edgar Allen Poe. Our cast will create short stories on stage inspired by audience suggestions. Quoth the raven, "Yes, And!"

Happened Wed Oct 26th - Sat Oct 29th, 2016
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

The holidays are a minefield of family obligations, friendly misunderstandings and romantic entanglements. This Christmas watch as Paper Street's cast navigates their way to the true meaning of the season in a holly-jolly escapade based entirely on audience suggestions.

Happened Wed Dec 14th - Sat Dec 17th, 2016
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre
ADDED 10pm Late show on Fri Dec 16th!

Situational Comedy: it's the cornerstone of prime TV and it usually involves a catch phrase and a couch. Paper Street Theatre will create a new sitcom each night - complete with opening credits - and perform 3 episodes based on your suggestions.

Happened Wed Feb 15th - Sat Feb 18th, 2017
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

Always. Be. Improvising. Inspired by the works of playwright David Mamet, Paper Street Theatre tackles the ball-busting world of business. Come enjoy an evening filled with fast-paced cutting dialogue as the disgruntled, the downtrodden and the overly ambitious do whatever it takes to get what they want - and probably fail. Some see the glass half empty; some see the glass half-full; some know the whole thing is bullshit.

Happened Wed Oct 14th - Fri Oct 16th
8pm (10pm on Friday) | $15 - available soon!!
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

Yippee-ki-yay Father Christmas! Action movies and holiday season make for some explosive fun in Paper Street's second show of the season. Inspired by 1980s films like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, there’s something about the holiday season that brings out the worst in bad guys, but thankfully there’s always a hard-working hero around when you need one. Strap in and hold onto your seat for this unrelenting action-packed holiday show!

Happened Wed Dec 16th - Sat Dec 19th
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

In a dystopian future Paper Street’s improvisers struggle with gender politics and identity - and to stay alive. Inspired by the works of renowned Canadian author Margaret Atwood, this show captures her stark prose and the dark undercurrent that runs through her work. If you've ever loved a book by Atwood, this is one show you cannot miss.

Happened Wed Feb 17th - Sat Feb 20th
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

Enter a strange world so utterly mundane that it becomes absurd. Welcome to the Extemporium: a place where anything suggested by the audience will likely drive you mad.

This Halloween Paper Street Theatre brings you this disturbing set of improvised tales inspired by the works of author Franz Kafka.

Ever wondered what Kafka-esque truly feels like? Come find out.

Happened Wed Oct 22nd - Sat Oct 25th
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

Every time a bell rings, an improviser gets their wings.

This holiday season join Paper Street for a delightful Christmas show inspired by beloved Hollywood classics such as It’s a Wonderful Life, the Bells of St Mary’s and Miracle on 34th Street. It’s a family-friendly improvised outing that is sure to fill you with the spirit of Christmas.

Do you believe?

Happened Wed Dec 17th - Sat Dec 20th
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

“You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend. Those with improvised guns and those who dig. You dig?

Stick ‘em up! Escape to a time when the tumbleweeds and dusty cowboys rolled through town as Paper Street Theatre brings back the Old West with a little improvised spit polish.

Get ready to meet all the colourful characters in the local saloon, maybe even see a shoot-out at high noon, and if you’re real lucky you may even see a cowboy ride off into the sunset.

Wednesday April 8th - Saturday April 11th
8pm* | $15 – available now from Ticket Rocket
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

Sharpen your samurai sword for this fully improvised play in the style of Pulp Fiction’s Quentin Tarantino. It’s a show packed with clever dialogue, grindhouse music and just enough violence to pay homage to this Reservoir Dog of a filmmaker. Director Dave Morris is a “master of his art” and his “approach to improv is sophisticated” — TIMES COLONIST. ★★★★

Happened on
Fri Aug 23, 10:00
Sat Aug 24, 4:45
Sun Aug 25, 6:30
Fri Aug 30, 10:00
Sat Aug 31, 9:15
& Sun Sept 1, 7:30

as part of Intrepid Theatre's Fringe Festival.

Pick-of-the-Fringe winner Paper Street Theatre is back – this time with a little teen angst, romance and a lot of 80s fun. Come enjoy the show as the cast creates the touching teen movie John Hughes never wrote - based on your suggestions!

So tell your mother you’re sick, blow out your birthday candles and get ready for detention because this December we’re rocking out John Hughes-style!

Happened on Wednesday December 11th - Saturday December 14th
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

What’s more frightening than the cold, empty darkness of space? Improvising.

Pick-of-the-Fringe winner Paper Street Theatre tackles the horrors of space in the third instalment in its movie-inspired season. IMPROV: A Science Fiction Thriller is a full-length improvised play based on films such as Alien, Solaris, Prometheus and even Stanley Kubrick's 2001: Space Odyssey. Paper Street Theatre will boldly go where no improvisers have gone before.

What lurks at the edge of space? Aliens, madness, hell dimensions? No one knows.

Happened on Wed April 9th - Sat April 12th
8pm | $15
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

This Halloween come and listen to the harrowing tales of three intrepid knowledge seekers as they delve too deep into ancient mysteries...

Inspired by the works of the grandfather of horror, HP Lovecraft, Paper Street Theatre presents a miasmic show steeped in eldritch lore and dripping with tentacles too terrible to name. Listen in rapt terror as three characters tell you horror stories based on your suggestions. If you love to be scared by the unknown, or if you have a soft spot in your heart for Cthulhu then this is a show not to be missed. Cthulhu Fhtagn!

Happened on Fri Oct 26th & Sat Oct 27th
8pm | $12
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

It was the best of shows, it was the most improvised of shows. It was a gladsome performance enjoyed most resoundingly by all who joined in the festivities and called out merry suggestions. Indeed there was not a humbug to be found.

Did you know that beloved author Charles Dickens wrote a Christmas story every year – we only know the most famous one, A Christmas Carol. This Christmas Paper Street Theatre will improvise a full-length play in the spirit (or three) of the season. Join a cast of memorable Dickensian characters to find the meaning of Christmas set against the backdrop of the trials and triumphs of the Industrial Revolution.

Happened on Fri Dec 14th & Sat Dec 15th
8pm | $12
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

One knows that aside from the security of the hearth, social standing and familial responsibilities the sensibility of the heart is of great importance to a young lady. And that generally, a suggestion or two is always greatly appreciated.

Join Paper Street’s cast of landed gentry as they attempt to improvise their way through the conventions and manners of proper society and all the unforeseen complications such constraints provide. It is sure to be an outing Jane Austen would be delighted to attend!

Happened on Fri April 12th & Sat April 13th
8pm | $12
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

He might just be America's best known playwright; he's certainly one of the most beloved playwrights in America. And now Paper Street Theatre Co., in its inagrual show, will take the stage with two full-length improvised plays in the style of Tennessee Williams.

If you love the southern drawl, the rich imagery and layered prose, the sexual tension you could cut with a knife then you're going to love An Improvised Tennessee Williams. Starring Dave Morris, Missie Peters, Byron Kjeldsen, Scott Thompson and Chris Gabel.

Happened on Wed June 29th & Thurs June 30th
8pm | $12
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

Samuel Beckett was a poet, novelist, and theatre director, although most well known as a playwright. His work has a tragicomedic outlook on human nature. Much of it was black humour, and most is what we would call today, absurd.

If you love aburdist dark comedy you'll love An Improvised Samuel Beckett.

Happened on Thurs Nov 17th & Fri Nov 18th
8pm | $12
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre

He’s standing in the streetlight as the fog clears, his face hidden between his hat and the upturned collar of his trench coat. He’s here to dance with a dame, but she’s dirty. She steps out from the shadows and…

In its third full-length improvised show Paper Street Theatre Co. brings classic film noir to the stage with An Improvised Film Noir. Led by Pick of the Fringe performer Dave Morris, the cast includes local improvisers Missie Peters, Chris Gabel, Scott Thompson and Byron Kjeldsen.

Happened on Fri March 30th & Sat March 31st
8pm | $12
@ Intrepid Studio Theatre