Running Wilde

At 27, young Oscar Wilde embarked on a hugely successful one-man lecture tour of North America. The tour went like clockwork… except when he missed a connection in straight, stuffy Kingston, Ontario. Lazarus imagines what might have happened next – a tangled, farcical web of seductions, betrayals, blackmailings and happy endings.

Dates: September 4 – 27, 2026
Times: Thurs-Fri at 7:30 pm, first & third Saturdays at 7:30 pm, second and fourth Saturdays at 2:00 pm, Sundays at 2:00 pm, closing on September 27.
Preview: September 3 ($20.00)
Opening: September 4
Talkbacks: Thursday, September 10 and Sunday, September 13
Matinées: All Sundays (Sept 6, 13, 20, 27), two Saturdays (Sept 12, 26)
Extra performance: on the last Saturday (September 26) there are TWO performances, both a matinee and an evening show

Run time: approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes including one 15-minute intermission

For the best availability, we encourage season ticket holders to make their reservations online.

If a show appears to be sold out, please email patronservices@unitedplayers.com as tickets often become available through cancellations.

MANY THANKS to our Season Sponsor: LOCHMADDY FOUNDATION

RESTAURANT SPONSOR: Show your email reservation confirmation for a 15% DISCOUNT on food (on day of performance) at Nuba Taverna.
Valid for Kitsilano location only: 604-336-1797 • 3116 W Broadway, Vancouver BC • www.nuba.ca

The Playwright: John Lazarus

At the age of 78, John Lazarus has enjoyed a 55-year-long career as an award-winning professional playwright. He has written over 40 produced plays, including Village of Idiots, Dreaming and Duelling, The Late Blumer and his one-man Fringe show Medea's Disgust. He used to teach at Vancouver's Studio 58, and now, after 25 years in Kingston teaching at Queen's University, he is back in Vancouver, and very pleased to be working once again with his friend, director Roy Surette. (This is either their fourth or fifth show together; they're both so old that they're not sure.)

The Director: Roy Surette

Roy Surette was Touchstone Theatre’s Artistic Director in Vancouver from 1984 to 1997. He returned to Touchstone in July 2017, after twenty years: ten where he enjoyed island living as Artistic Director for the beloved Belfry Theatre in Victoria and ten at the helm of Montreal’s esteemed Centaur Theatre in Montreal where he was Artistic & Executive Director. Much of his career has involved championing new work and Canadian playwrights, and he is proud and happy to be back home working in B.C’s resilient and inspiring cultural community. Roy has directed across Canada, including for National Arts Centre, Canadian Stage, Shaw Festival, the Arts Club Theatre, the Vancouver Playhouse, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Theatre Calgary, Axis Theatre, Carousel Theatre and United Players. He has also directed in Scotland and Australia. Roy has won several Jessie Richardson awards and Victoria’s Monday Awards in recognition of his diverse body of work, including Unless (Arts Club, Belfry and Canadian Stage) in 2005 and Kevin Kerr’s aerial comic tragedy Skydive (with RealWheels, Theatre Calgary and Magnetic North Theatre Festival in Ottawa), with co-director Stephen Drover in 2007. Roy has had the great pleasure of working with many incredible theatre makers since graduating from Studio 58 a long, long time ago.