Six Dance lessons in six weeks
At the Pinnacle Playhouse
October 16-November 2, 2025
NOTE- This show has both mature themes and language.
Directed by Lise Lindenberg
Written by Richard Alfieri
Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks is a touching and human comedy about a formidable retired woman, Lily Harrison, who hires an acerbic dance instructor, Michael Minetti, to give her private dance lessons —one per week for six weeks— in her condo in Florida. What begins as an antagonistic relationship blossoms into an intimate friendship as these two people from different backgrounds reveal their secrets, fears, and joys while dancing.
"Roughing It In the Bush"- Susanna Moodie Play Adaption
At the Pinnacle Playhouse in partnership with the QAC Belleville Arts Festival
November 15th from 3:00PM to 5:00PM
Tickets for this event are $20 and are now available.
Directed by Jeremy Henson
Roughing it in the Bush by Susanna Moodie, adapted for the stage by Marianne Ackerman
Susanna Moodie's internationally-acclaimed book Roughing it in the Bush was assembled and sent to her London publisher from the Moodie home on Bridge Street, Belleville. Writer Marianne Ackerman will take you through the story of how this book came to be and the repercussions of publication in 1852. An instant best-seller in the UK and US, the big book caused Susanna much grief, both personally and professionally. Moodie's immortality as a writer rests on her fearless, funny, moving account of her experiences and the people she came to know in the early days of pioneer Canada.
At this event, there will be performances of excerpts from Ackerman's memorable stage adaption of Moodie's book that will be directed by Jeremy Henson as a staged reading with Belleville actors.
About the playwright: Marianne Ackerman is an author of dozens of plays and the novel, Oyster, to be published by Dundurn Press early in 2026. She was born in Prince Edward County, educated at NCC, and spends her summers in the area every year.
Side Pieces: A Play Reading Series
At the Pinnacle Playhouse
The Belleville Theatre Guild's Side Pieces is a series of one-night play readings featuring a selection of critically acclaimed plays – currently running or having just completed runs in NYC, London and Toronto. This is a chance to enjoy a dynamic reading of a play that might not be feasible for a full run at the Pinnacle Playhouse, either due to production limitations or content that is not as mainstream as other Belleville Theatre Guild productions. These plays are geared to 14+ audiences (both for language and content).
Side Pieces - Play Selection List
THE WEIR by Conor McPherson
Performance: Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 pm
Play Summary
In a bar in rural Ireland, the local men swap spooky stories in an attempt to impress a young woman from
Dublin who recently moved into a nearby “haunted” house. However, the tables are soon turned when she
spins a yarn of her own.
DEAR ELIZABETH by Sarah Ruhl
Performance: Friday, February 27 at 7:30 pm
Play Summary
From 1947 to 1977, poets Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop exchanged more than four hundred letters. Even as they were worlds apart, their connection was palpable, and their correspondence would become one of the greatest in American literary history. Using these letters, Sarah Ruhl brings theatrical life to the story of a 30-year friendship that lived almost entirely in writing. Dear Elizabeth gives voice to this deeply moving and intimate friendship between two of the greatest minds in American history.
JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Lucinda Coxon
Performance: Friday, May 1 at 7:30 pm
Play Summary
John Gabriel Borkman, once an illustrious entrepreneur, has been brought low by a prison sentence for fraud. As he paces alone in an upstairs room, bankrupt and disgraced, he is obsessed by dreams of his comeback. Downstairs, his estranged wife plots the restoration of the family name. When her sister arrives unannounced, she triggers a desperate showdown with the past.
Henrik Ibsen's most contemporary play and his penultimate, John Gabriel Borkman is gripping, penetrating and savagely funny.
Presenting our 74th Season:
2025-26 Season Selection
2025-26 subscriptions are currently still available but only through the box office.
Dec 4 to 21, 2025
Santa Claus tries to fulfill a child's special Christmas wish while his staff attempts to overcome a supply shortage at the North Pole. This is a laugh-filled holiday play innocent enough for the youngest boy
or girl, and entertaining enough for adults.
Jan 29 to Feb 15, 2026
A man stands on the ledge of a seven-story building, contemplating his fate until the building’s eccentric residents interrupt him with their own chaotic lives. As he listens to their absurd and revealing stories, his own crisis takes unexpected turns. With sharp wit and dark humour, 7 Stories explores life’s biggest questions through surreal encounters and rapid-fire dialogue. Clever, fast-paced, and deeply human, Morris Panych’s play is a theatrical experience that lingers after the stage goes dark.
Apr 2 to 19, 2026
One Man, Two Guvnors is a fast-paced, hilarious farce that follows the fortunes of Francis Henshall. Down on his luck and permanently hungry, Francis suddenly finds himself employed by two bosses. His first guvnor is Roscoe Crabbe, a revered London gangster who has, apparently, come to Brighton to claim money owed to him.
June 11 to 28, 2026
When disco diva, Deloris Van Cartier, witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won't be a found: a convent! Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with both the rigid lifestyle and uptight Mother Superior. Using her unique disco moves and singing talent to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new life into the church and community but, in doing so, blows her cover.