Eighth&Eight

Due to the timeline changes for the facility improvement project, the City of New Westminster has mandated a five-month closure and the Massey Theatre arts complex will be closed from July 1st to November 30th, 2026. Performances and contracts scheduled for that period have been cancelled, rescheduled, or moved to venues in other communities.

As a not-for-profit arts organization operating out of the arts complex and managing the programming and marketing of Massey Theatre, Anvil Theatre, and Eighth&Eight Creative Spaces, the Massey Theatre Society generates revenues from ticket sales, programming grants, venue rentals and access to studio spaces. With the significant loss of income resulting from the five-month closure, the Massey Theatre Society has had to reduce spending and has laid off key staff members of the organization. Reduced capacity and slower response times are expected and we greatly appreciate your support and patience as we navigate the changes occurring within the Massey Theatre Society and seek solutions to the ongoing sustainability issues facing us.

We will continue to book the theatre for the amazing events that the community has come to expect.

Eighth and Eight Creative Spaces opportunities and programs are suspended until such time as these additional studio spaces and programs can be provided effectively and sustainably. The remaining small staff team will focus on operating the Massey and Anvil Theatres which are active and critically needed theatre spaces in New Westminster.

Thank you for attending and working with our theatres this past season. Tickets are on sale now for all events happening in December 2026 and beyond. We look forward to welcoming you back to the improved facility in December and to more amazing performances.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email [email protected].

Did you know that we can all share our thoughts about New Westminster's Arts Strategy? Whether you’re an artist, an arts organization like us, an audience member of Massey Theatre and Eighth&Eight Creative Spaces, or a supporter of the arts in general, there are a few ways you can engage with the City of New Westminster:

✔️Audiences, supporters and those interested in arts activities and performances can take the Community Survey
🎤Individuals and groups who are actively involved in arts and culture can complete the Sector Survey before June 30
🗯️ Anyone interested in the future of arts and culture in New West can sign up to participate in an in-person or online priority setting workshop held between now and June 20 (on select dates)

Learn more on the Be Heard New West website: https://www.beheardnewwest.ca/arts-strategy

City of New Westminster Arts Services

Graphic source: City of New Westminster

Did you know that Allan Morgan, Reading Theatre host and our Senior Artist in Residence, appeared in a 1994 production of "Lilies: or The Revival of a Romantic Drama" by Michel Marc Bouchard? Produced by the Arts Club Theatre Company, Pink Ink Theatre, and Touchstone Theatre, it earned Allan a Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role! (Photo credit: Pi Theatre)

Join us on June 17 for the final Reading Theatre session of the 2025/2026 season as we gather to read "Lilies". It's a classic piece of q***r Canadian theatre about love, guilt, and redemption. Please note that the reading will begin at 1:30 pm, so please come by 1:15 pm if you would like to read. Casting is not gender specific to the roles.

More info: https://www.eighthandeight.com/event/reading-theatre-june-17/

This Wednesday, June 3, we’ll be reading Ronald Harwood’s "The Dresser". Based on the author’s own experiences as dresser to Sir Donald Wolfit, this bracing, heartbreaking drama is an elegy to a by-gone era. The reading begins at 1:30pm, so please arrive by 1:15pm if you’d like a chance to read. We will be in the Plaskett Gallery.

Learn more: https://www.eighthandeight.com/event/reading-theatre-june-3/

Ronald Harwood also wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of "The Dresser," which received three nominations for Best Screenplay, plus the screenplay for "The Pianist," directed by Roman Polanski, which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

We had an amazing turnout last week reading Toph Whitmore's "A Death in Gravy"! We have just two more sessions on June 3 and June 17 before we take a break. Join us as a reader or watch others read!

Details: https://www.eighthandeight.com/event-tags/reading-theatre/

As high-society party guests toast the new year at a posh London mansion, a man lies dead at the dinner table, his life snuffed out just minutes shy of the 1970s, and anyone in attendance could have done the snuffing. Sounds like a case for famed French inspector Jacques Hughes, except for one little problem: He’s the one face down in the sauce.

"A Death in Gravy" is a farcical, single-set, two-act comic whodunnit that both pays homage to and satirizes Agatha Christie: Everyone’s a suspect and anyone’s a sleuth. Reading Theatre on May 20 will dive into this play written by one of our very own Reading Theatre members, award-winning playwright Toph Whitmore!

Reading starts at 1:30pm, so please arrive by 1:15pm if you would like a chance to read. Learn more: https://www.eighthandeight.com/event/reading-theatre-may-20/

Q***r Spirit Circle presents Q***r Spirit Fair is on May 23!

Info: https://www.eighthandeight.com/event/spring-q***r-spirit-fair/

Come see makers and artists; readers of tarot, tea leaves, astrology, and more; healers of Reiki and energy modalities community; new friends, crafting, gemstone guessing games and more!

Admission is by donation at the door $2 and up. Proceeds will go to Rainbow Refugee.

This event is sponsored by Eighth & Eight.

The City of New Westminster is updating its Arts Strategy to guide arts investment, partnerships, and decision‑making in the coming years. As part of this process, the City is hosting a series of online workshops between May 20-27, 2026, focused on current conditions and lessons learned from the previous Arts Strategy. As a supporter of Massey Theatre, Eighth&Eight Creative Spaces and the arts community, we encourage you to sign up and participate in one of the workshops and share your perspectives.

To register: https://form.simplesurvey.com/f/s.aspx?co=ArtsStrategyUpdate

Each session is limited to 10 participants only. If you are keen on voicing your opinions about the future of arts and culture, register your seat soon!

More on the City's Art Strategy: https://www.newwestcity.ca/artstrat

On May 7, join classic film scholar and musical hepcat Michael van den Bos for a rhythmic retrospective r***e of all that jazz in the movies. From the hot ‘n’ swinging to the cool ‘n’ mellow, Michael takes you on a jump ‘n’ jive journey through the various styles and representations of jazz on film. From Louis Armstrong to Fats Waller with so much more in between, all projected on the big screen!

Get your tickets now: https://www.eighthandeight.com/event/jazz-on-a-beam-of-light/

There’s plenty of activities this May! Our Reading Theatre continues this month, including a delightfully twisted whodunnit written by one of our very own members! The final show in our Film Clip Series is here, and we’re rounding things out with a vibrant Spring Q***r Spirit Fair, celebrating creativity, community, and connection. Learn more about all of them on our website today!

https://www.eighthandeight.com/event-tags/eighth-eight/