Neptune brings rebellion to stage in 2026-27 season with Rent, Les Misérables

Blockbuster musicals Rent and Les Misérables will open and close Neptune Theatre’s 2026-27 season with themes of social change and justice. 

“Starting a season with Rent and ending with Les Miserables, which are both shows about social change, to me, is really exciting because that’s where we are in the world right now,” said Neptune artistic director Jeremy Webb at the theatre’s season launch event on Tuesday. 

Les Misérables will return to Neptune Theatre for the first time in 40 years, running from March 30 to June 6, 2027. The famed musical is adapted from Victor Hugo’s novel and tells the story of revolution and redemption set against the backdrop of social injustice in 19th-century Paris. 

Neptune’s season will start with the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent. The celebrated musical, loosely based on Puccini’s La Bohème, tells the story of young artists finding love, family, and social justice in New York City’s East Village under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. Rent will run at the Fountain Hall Stage from July 7 to Aug. 30, 2026 and be directed by Webb. 

The season will be the world premiere of the Atlantic Canadian production Six Degrees in May. This play will bring audiences into the world of Mexican-born, Halifax-based playwright Santiago Guzman, who was inspired by the culture shock his parents experienced during their first trip to visit him in Newfoundland. This play combines Spanish with English to create a comedy of miscommunication. 

“Usually when I go to the theatre, I don’t necessarily know what to expect, particularly when it comes to language, because (English) is my second language,” said Guzman. “In this show, I’m inviting audiences to experience what I experience every single time and to be intrigued and to enjoy.” 

Deepwater, a play from Nova Scotia playwright Dan Bray, will run on the Scotiabank Studio Stage from Oct. 20 to Nov. 1, 2026. Deepwater won the 2024 Playwrights Guild of Canada’s Tom Hendry Drama Award and explores a missing child investigation in rural Nova Scotia and the relationships that form between communities and police.

“It’s just sort of about dealing with the things in life that don’t really have an answer,” said Bray, who is also artistic director of The Villains Theatre, during the event. Despite the dark subject matter, he wants people to take away a sense of hope. 

The North American premiere of Anne-Marie Casey’s stage adaptation of the classic novel Little Women will bring Neptune audiences into the world of the March sisters as they face the trials of growing up. The show runs from Feb. 16 to March 7, 2027. 

Simon Stephens’ stage adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Vanya tells the story of a man questioning his life choices amid social change and will follow Little Women from March 16 to April 4, 2027. 

“It’s going to be an emotional season, but maybe it’ll be cathartic at the same time,” said Kayla Short, a Halifax-based blogger and content creator, who attended the launch.

The season will also include the dark comedies Women of the Fur Trade, a satirical play about the representation of women in the Canadian fur trade, and Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, a Mel Brooks-inspired mystery following Dracula across Europe. Women of the Fur Trade will run from Sept. 22 to Oct. 11, 2026. Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors will run from Sept. 29 to Oct. 25, 2026. 

Dickens’ A Christmas Carol will return to Neptune Theatre for the tenth time over the holidays from Nov. 24 to Dec. 27, 2026. Scrooge will be accompanied by another Christmas crank when Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical runs at Neptune from Nov. 12, 2026 to Jan. 10, 2027.

Subscription packages are on sale at neptunetheatre.com. Individual tickets will be available for Rent on March 25, with all other individual tickets available on June 25.