Vancouver Playhouse

The Vancouver Civic Theatres operates the Vancouver Playhouse, a downtown Vancouver venue next to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

Lots of plays and concerts happen at the Vancouver Playhouse. One set of events happening at the venue in 2025 and 2026 is the National Geographic Live Speaker Series.

Continue reading below to learn more about the theatre and some upcoming events.

Vancouver Playhouse Theatre

The Vancouver Playhouse is a small to medium-sized theatre located at 600 Hamilton Street in Vancouver. It’s an intimate venue that hosts a variety of shows throughout the year. The building’s design is particularly good for sound, meaning it’s a popular place for concerts and spoken theatre performances.

Constructed in 1962, the Vancouver Playhouse is a multi-level facility with 668 regular seats plus five extra spots for wheelchairs. The Orchestra level is closest to the stage. Rows are split into three sections named Left, Right and Centre. There’s also a balcony level upstairs with additional seats along the sides.

Vancouver Civic Theatres manages the venue as one of five places owned and operated by the City of Vancouver. The other facilities are the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Orpheum Theatre, the ANNEX and šxʷƛ̓exən Xwtl’a7shn (which is the outdoor plaza in front of Queen Elizabeth Theatre).

Events at the Vancouver Playhouse

In addition to regular classical music concerts, the Vancouver Playhouse hosts a number of other fun events. It’s one of the many venues that holds performances during the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, as well as the Early Music Vancouver Summer Festival. Other festivals that use the venue include the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, the Vancouver Dance Festival, and the Vancouver Flamenco Festival.

Another special event happening in 2025 and 2026 is the National Geographic Live Speaker Series. There are three different talks happening on three different days. Each talk is offered once in the morning. The Student Matinee Sessions are for students in grades 1 to 8. There’s also an evening event for people of all ages.

The series kicks off on October 15th, 2025. The talk that day is From Roots To Canopy with ecologist Nalini Nadkarni. The second show takes place on February 12th, 2026. It is Cosmic Adventures with aerospace engineer Tracy Drain. The third and final talk in the series is Untangling the Mind with neuroscientist Steve Ramirez. It takes place on April 21st, 2026.

See our article about Vancouver Civic Theatres to learn more about these events and other shows at the Vancouver Playhouse.