It is with great urgency that our present culture needs the live experience to connect, question and remember why we are alive. SpeakEasy Theatre is committed to creating an environment where communities come together to celebrate around subject matter that is necessary. We are driven to foster stories created by diverse artists who are immediate, honest and unforgiving.
With an initial self-funding
campaign in 2015, SpeakEasy quickly began to grow and fulfill its artistic mandate. The company launched its programming with 3…2…1, directed
by Kayvon Khoshkam. The show played to audiences in Winnipeg and Vancouver,
garnering critical praise. Vancouver presents said “Perhaps it is Tarasiuk, Krushkowski, and Kelly’s real-life upbringing
on the Prairies that helps keep the intensity grounded, and in making Clint and
Kyle real... It is, at times, as uncomfortable as it is compelling.” And
with a five star review, the Winnipeg Free Press called 3…2…1 “Riveting”.
After working together on 3…2…1, the working partnership between
Kayvon Khoshkam, and SpeakEasy Theatre began to grow.
Kayvon, the Artistic Director of Sum Theatre, teamed up with the company to
produce the Fifth Annual Pull Festival: Vancouver’s 10-minute play festival.
The fifth installment of the festival played at Studio 1398 in the spring of
2016. Soon after, SpeakEasy Theatre named Kayvon the new Artistic Director of
the company. With the amalgamation of Sum and SpeakEasy Theatre, its creative
team has a wealth of performance and producing experience including the cross
Canada tour of the Jessie award nominated My Rabbi by Kayvon Khoshkam and Joel
Burnbaum. SpeakEasy has continued to bring exciting events and productions to
the Vancouver stages including
The Shipment by Young Jean Lee: A Reading (October 2016), A Workshop of the
Studio 58 Fourplay Festival hit: The
Classroom by Markian Tarasiuk (November 2017) and the wildly popular Alternative Facts: Untruth Your Learning
(February 2017). In March of 2017, SpeakEasy Theatre produced the seventh annual
Pull Festival at Little Mountain Gallery and will continue to produce the
annual play festival for years to come. In the fall of 2017, SpeakEasy Theatre
produced Young Jean Lee’s provocative play: The Shipment. The Shipment ran to
completely sell out audiences at the Vancity Culture Lab at the Cultch from Nov
22- Dec 2, 2017. Critics and audiences were enamoured with the production. Colin Thomas said: “We
should all thank Speakeasy Theatre for bringing this cutting-edge script to Vancouver
and for giving The Shipment such a solid production.” The show has gathered five Jessie Richardson Award Nominations including Outstanding Small Theatre Production, Outstanding Direction ( Omari Newton & Kayvon Kshokam), Outstanding Actor (Omari Newton), Outstanding Costume Design (Markian Tarasiuk) and Outstanding Lighting Design (Itai Erdel). SpeakEasy remounted the show at the Firehall Arts Centre and Presentation House Theatre in the fall of 2019.
In March of 2019 SpeakEasy Theatre produced its first world premiere of the one act play "Gross Misconduct" by Meghan Gardiner at The Gateway Theatre in Richmond, BC. The show ran for 14 performances to critical acclaim. Jillian White received a Jessie nomination for her lighting design. In late 2019, SpeakEasy produced a remount of The Shipment at the Firehall Arts Centre and Presentation House Theatre.
In June of 2021 SpeakEasy Theatre's Markian Tarasiuk, Kayvon Khoshkam and Mike Gill produced the No Way Podcast. This hilarious podcast about nostalgic film favorites launched to much acclaim and ran for an extended 12 episodes. The trio may produce more episodes in the future.
SpeakEasy Theatre was dissolved on December 1st, 2021.
3...2...1 (Winnipeg, 2015)
3...2...1 (Vancouver, 2015)
Pull Festival 5 (2016)
Pull Festival 6 (2017)
The Shipment (2017)
Pull Festival 7 (2018)
Gross Misconduct (2019)
Pull Festival 8 (2019)
The Shipment (2019)
