By Maika Branch • Moncton • 2025-07-25
Summer is only getting started for the Chester Playhouse, the beloved venue and community pillar located just under an hour from Halifax. Newly rebuilt after a devastating fire in June 2021, the Playhouse is back better than ever with action-packed programming: music, film, and smash performances by some of the biggest names in Maritime drag.
Built in 1939 and operating as the Playhouse since 1984, this intimate 175-seat theatre brings quality entertainment to residents of the Nova Scotia's South Shore. “We’ve got something really special here,” shares Andrew Chandler, the Playhouse’s Executive Director, “in an intimate theatre where you can see Joell Plaskett, or Ben Caplan, or Susan Aglukark — and every seat is a great view.” Chandler joined the team in March of 2021, and helped navigate the mammoth task of switching gears when disaster struck that same year.
“I wouldn’t recommend it as a way to renovate your theatre,” he laughs, “but because of the fire, we got to do a lot of upgrades. I think folks have a lot of pride and excitement about what we’ve built.” He cites increased accessibility and functionality among the venue’s recent changes.
Despite being brand-new to the job, Chandler was struck by the support from community members across the province after the 2021 fire. “Standing on the street the day of the fire, watching smoke pour out of it, there were folks standing there with tears in their eyes.” In the following months, those who had attended Playhouse shows or grew up watching movies in the theatre reached out with memories and sympathy, motivating the team throughout the two-year rebuilding process. “Folks had a personal connection with the space and it really mattered to them, suddenly the prospect that there might not be a theatre here.”
Thankfully, those concerns can be laid to rest: the space successfully reopened in August 2023 and ticket sales more than doubled in 2024. Chandler and his team look forward to continuing their ‘joyful summer season’ with an assortment of shows and performances, including but not limited to: theatre, music, comedy, drag shows, community events, and movies.
A key part of Playhouse programming, Chandler shares, is to “platform underrepresented and underserved artists. We want our stage to reflect our community, and it’s important to support those artists, especially with the state of the political world right now.”
We want our stage to reflect our community, and it’s important to support those artists, especially with the state of the political world right now
Chandler helped program the Playhouse’s first drag performance, featuring Nova Scotia’s own Steph Peaks, in Winter 2024. The show sold out in twelve days, signalling a major desire for drag and queer entertainment in Chester. This summer, the Playhouse team are delighted to present Steph’s Summer Shindig on August 2, the first summer iteration of this hit series. A mix of new and returning performers will grace the stage alongside Steph for a stunning night of lip syncing, costumes, dancing, and more. Further information about the show and tickets are on their website, below.
Some Playhouse fans may remember, in July 2024, the team’s response to a series of poster vandalisms surrounding The Princess Show, a campy performance piece co-created by Aaron Collier and Richie Wilcox. Surmising it was due to the show’s content, Chandler and his team put together a brief video reaffirming, as Chandler puts it, why that behaviour “doesn’t represent the community here. I said why I loved the show, why it was important to support queer artists, and I believe I was not alone in that.”
Chandler adds, “the joyful and ever-so-slightly petty part of me enjoyed that by this person going around and ripping down a poster, they gave us an opportunity to get the word out about this show to an audience that was twenty times the size that it would have reached otherwise. That message got out to folks across Nova Scotia.”
Generally, reception to the Chester Playhouse’s queer programming has been positive, but in the occasional event of online malcontent, Chandler and his team "seize the opportunity” to educate people who might blindly judge those performances without learning about their value and artistry. He recalls personally inviting hesitant community members to attend shows themselves before making biased judgements: “I’d love for you to come and see it, instead of just going by what you think this might be.”
What’s next for the Playhouse?
The venue’s summer programming promises to be fun, uplifting, and moving — an ‘antidote’ to the news of the day. The Chester Playhouse continues to offer discounted ticket programs, pay-what-you-can shows, and endeavors to expand their other programs. This includes theatre education, incubator programs for artists — even childcare and housing programs. “Knowing that Halifax has a space crisis, that is something we might be able to help with,” Chandler shares. The team is also exploring the idea of returning to their roots as a theatre producer to compliment their current model of presenting completed works.
Wherever the future takes the Playhouse, having lights hanging overhead and soft seats to sit in will never grow old. The rebuilding process, despite being a literal trial-by-fire, was also a lesson in gratitude for Chester NS and its dedicated community.
First up this summer is Steph's Summer Shindig with Steph Peaks, Bunny Lapin, Racheal Lush, Richard Rockhard, Babia Majora, Penny Cillin and Hannibal Lickder on August 2nd. Here's the direct link to those tickets.
To learn more about the Chester Playhouse, support Chandler and his team, or buy tickets to upcoming shows, visit chesterplayhouse.ca.
