We’re proud to present the 2026 Creation Lab Readings from December 15-16 at the Roundhouse Community Centre (181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver)!
Featuring:
Preethiya Saanvi
by Medha Gautham
Tuesday, December 15 at 7pm
Content warning: themes of homophobia
In 1956 Mysore, seventeen-year-old Nithya flees her arranged marriage by slipping through a magical mirror. She lands in 2025 Vancouver, on top of Saanvi, a queer woman who has just run from her own wedding. As they figure out how to get Nithya back home, they are forced to reckon with grief, (un)conditional love, and expectations they’ve inherited across generations. The story explores identity through the cost of silent guilt, and the courage to want more for yourself, and for those before you. It invites audiences to question the boxes they’ve been placed into, while navigating intergenerational healing in their families.
Takht-e Jamshid
by Yasna Khademian
Wednesday, December 16 at 7pm
When Jamshid insists on his family attending the dinner of a family whose reputation they might’ve maligned, everyone puts on a performance. Jamshid is fundraising for the new cultural centre. His youngest, Yasmin, is secretly trying to uncover what happened to her ex-boyfriend – their hosts’ son who ghosted her. The oldest, Shahnaz, is furious at being made to go and wants desperately to leave – but won’t tell Yasmin why. And Susan, their mom, just wants that picture-perfect family moment. But eventually Shahnaz starts to question – is an image based on lies worth maintaining, is it “maligning” someone’s reputation if you’re telling the truth, and who’s actually protected by the lies? As the night unfolds, so does the truth, and everyone is forced to reckon with the roles they perform for their community, their families, and themselves.
The Creation Lab is vAct’s annual new work development program. We present two brand new work-in-progress showings over the course of two days.
The Creation Lab is dedicated to fostering the development of new theatrical works by emerging and mid-career Asian Canadian artists. This year, we are excited to continue our commitment to supporting the next generation of Asian Canadian creators by providing them with the space, resources, and community to deepen their craft, and share meaningful stories.
