Our Story
UBC Players Club has a rich history dating back to 1915. Founded under the leadership of Freddy Wood – the Frederic Wood Theatre’s namesake and a prominent figure in theatre at the time – UBC Players Club quickly established itself as the oldest touring theatre production company and student club in British Columbia. Our roots go deep, predating even the formation of UBC’s Theatre Department in 1958. Our first production, Jerome K. Jerome’s Fanny and the Servant Problem was staged in 1916.
At the height of its popularity in the early years, the club was so demanding that membership was limited to 50 students, selected through auditions only. Despite enrolment at UBC being just 379 students, competition for a spot in the UBC Players Club was intense.
After the formation of the UBC Department of Theatre & Film, the club went through a period of dormancy, eventually disbanding in the 1970s. However, in 2000, the club was revived, and since then, it has been a thriving community for anyone interested in theatre at UBC and in the Vancouver community.
Some of Our Past Shows
- 2011 – present | Festival Dionysia, our festival of one-act plays
- 2024 | Deathtrap by Ira Levin
- 2023 | Head Over Heels by Peter Anderson
- 2022 | The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
- 2021 | Six Characters in Search of an Author adapted by Steve Moulds
- 2020 | Little Women by Marisha Chamberlain
- 2019 | The Grown-Up! by Jordan Harrison
- 2018 | Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen
- 2017 | Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley
- 2016 | Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar
- 2016 | Alice Sit by the Fire by J.M. Barri
- 2014 | 7 Stories by Morris Panych
- 2013 | Never the Sinner by John Logan
- 2012 | Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker
- 2012 | The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey
- 2011 | The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh
Special thanks to Matthew Willis for this page’s research | UBC Archives