The Heat Comedy Festival on Granville Island

The Heat is a comedy festival that showcases top performers from around the world alongside local Vancouver talent. Audiences can enjoy shows with creative collaborations and spontaneous performances. The festival celebrates the art of improvisation while bringing together performers and comedy fans for an exciting cultural exchange.

Presented by The Improv Centre, the festival highlights global talents in comedy and creates a fun, welcoming space for the audience. From comical showcases to interactive experiences, The Heat offers a fresh, dynamic and live performing arts experience in Vancouver.

(Note: Improvisational theatre, or just “improv”, is theatre where actors perform a variety of scenes and scenarios on the spot without prepared scripts. The audience is typically asked to help decide the scene and situation. The actors then have to think fast, collaborate in real time, and come up with a skit (or song) as they go along. In short, improv is live theatre where everything is unplanned and unscripted. As a result of its style and structure, the result is almost always comedy.)

Where and When

In 2026 the Heat Comedy Festival happens from January 27th to 31st with performances happening throughout the week. Shows take place across multiple evenings, giving audiences plenty of opportunities to see different performer pairings and showcase events.

All of the festival’s performances are held at The Improv Centre Theatre near the entrance to Granville Island. The venue is located at 1502 Duranleau Street, across the street from Vancouver’s Granville Island Brewing Company.

For full details about the festival, visit The Improv Centre‘s website.

What to Expect

At the Heat Festival attendees can watch some of the world’s best improvisers without leaving Vancouver. Performers from the UK, USA, New Zealand and Canada take the stage in unique pairings. Together they create shows that are spontaneous, bold and culturally humorous.

In addition to evening shows, the festival offers improv workshops led by international guest artists. The sessions are suitable for performers looking to learn new techniques and for comedy fans curious about the craft behind improv.

On Opening Night all teams participate. At the end of the first show there is also a talkback session where the actors from abroad share their stories and experiences and answer questions from the audience. In each of the following nights, two teams compete against each other. The first half of the evening involves standard improv (which by definition is anything but standard). In the second half, each team gets to showcase their signature style of acting and humour.

IMPROV TRIVIA

The popular American TV show Whose Line is it Anyway is an example of improv. There was an earlier British version of the show too. Interestingly, one of the show’s most famous actors is Colin Mochrie, who started his professional acting career years ago at the Vancouver Theatresports League, which was the former name of today’s The Improv Centre! To this day, about once a year or so, Colin Mochrie still sometimes performs at the centre.)

How Much Does it Cost?

Shows at The Improv Centre are always very reasonable, and the Heat Festival is no exception. Ticket options at the festival actually include $25, $20 and $15 sliding-scale prices. You can actually select the price you want to pay, regardless of the seat! This allows guests to choose what works best for their budgets while supporting live improv comedy.

2026 The Heat Festival Schedule

Below is the schedule of performances for the Heat Festival in 2026.

Tuesday, January 27th, at 7:00 pm
- Opening Night featuring all teams, followed by a community talkback after the show.

Wednesday, January 28th, at 7:00 pm
- Featuring Teresa & Folusho (UK) and The Improv Centre (Canada).

Wednesday, January 28th, at 9:00 pm
- Featuring Dumb John (USA) and Michelle Impro (UK).

Thursday, January 29th, at 7:00 pm
- Featuring Dumb John (USA) and The Improv Centre (Canada).

Thursday, January 29th, at 9:00 pm
- Featuring Second Breakfast (New Zealand) and Teresa & Folusho (UK).

For the festival’s official website information, visit theimprovcentre.ca.

Friday, January 30th, at 7:00 pm
- Featuring Second Breakfast (New Zealand) and Michelle Impro (UK).

Friday, January 30th, at 9:00 pm
- Featuring Dumb John (USA) and Vancouver-based performers.

Friday, January 30th, at 10:45 pm
- Late Show featuring Teresa & Folusho (UK) and The Improv Centre (Canada).

Saturday, January 31st, at 7:00 pm
- Featuring Michelle Impro (UK) and The Improv Centre (Canada).

Saturday, January 31st, at 9:00 pm
- Featuring Second Breakfast (New Zealand) and The Improv Centre (Canada).

For full details about the festival, visit The Improv Centre‘s website.

About The Improv Centre

The Improv Centre is Vancouver’s home for professional improvisational theatre. The venue is located on Granville Island. The theatre presents weekly shows and special events throughout the year that showcase local and international improv talent. The theatre is also known for its high production quality, welcoming atmosphere and commitment to growing Vancouver’s comedy and performing arts scene.

Whether or not you make it to the Heat Festival, you should check out the shows at The Improv Centre at other times of the year too!