As the warm summer gives way to cooler days and nights and Haligonians begin to head indoors, fall is a great time to return to the city’s theatre and performing arts venues. To help you plan, here are some of the shows we’re looking forward to this autumn.
And be sure to check out our full calendar of events for other happenings in and around the Halifax area.
Theatre
Neptune Theatre opens its 2023-2024 season with The Play That Goes Wrong (until Oct 22). Featuring Jonathan Torrens as Chris Bean, the Olivier Award-winning comedy is billed as “a hilarious hybrid of Monty Python and Sherlock Holmes.” You can read our review here.
Eastern Front Theatre presents A Beginner’s Guide to the Night Sky (until Oct 8) outside on the Dartmouth Waterfront in an exploration of how love and grief are intertwined.
Neptune Theatre and the Prismatic Arts Festival co-presents Pawâkan Macbeth (Oct 3-8), reimagining Shakespeare’s darkest play into Cree history, legend and cosmology.
Neptune Theatre again brings the funny with Murder For Two (Oct 17-Nov 5), “a zany blend of classic musical comedy and madcap mystery.”
The much-anticipated Come From Away (Nov 14-19) comes to the Scotiabank Centre with its musical story about the 7,000 stranded passengers during 9/11 and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them.
Neptune Theatre’s annual pantomime returns with the age-old tale of Cinderella (Nov 21-Jan 6).
Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (Nov 30-Dec 30) returns to Neptune Theatre in a reprise of the dramatic telling of Charles Dickens’s holiday classic.
Music
Candlelight comes to Halifax with A Tribute to Queen (Oct 12), featuring hundreds of flickering candles illuminating the performance space.
Folk and country singer-songwriter Donovan Woods (Oct 13) performs with special guest Kellie Loder.
Dartmouth Community Concert Association presents award-winning harpist Noël Wan (Oct 14) at its season-opening concert.
Cecilia Concerts presents ten-time Prix Opus-winning Canadian pianist Louise Bessette (Oct 14).
Classic Albums Live presents Fleetwood Mac: Rumours (Oct 19), a note-for-note, cut-for-cut performance of the classic album.
Candlelight returns to the Spatz Theatre with A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics (Oct 20 & 29), performed by the Listeso String Quartet.
The Beaches (Oct 20) return to Halifax as part of its Blame My Ex Tour.
Singer-songwriter and guitarist Bruce Cockburn (Oct 21) performs in Halifax to promote the release of his new album, O Sun O Moon.
Casino Nova Scotia presents Legends (Oct 22), with tributes to Roy Orbison, Connie Francis, Elvis Presley, and Motown.
Legendary alt-country rockers Blue Rodeo (Oct 22) celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band’s massively successful fifth studio album, Five Days in July.
Canadian rock bands The Tea Party & I Mother Earth (Oct 25 & 26) join forces for two concerts at Casino Nova Scotia.
The Australian Bee Gees Show (Oct 27) showcases five decades of the Brothers Gibb’s success as rock and disco legends.
South Korean cellist Sung-Won Yang and Italian pianist Enrico Pace (Oct 28) join forces for this presentation from Cecilia Concerts.
Folk music group The East Pointers & folk duo Fortunate Ones perform at the Light House Arts Centre (Nov 2).
Award-winning crooner Matt Dusk (Nov 3) sings Sinatra at Halifax’s Light House Arts Centre.
Canadian country artist Gord Bamford (Nov 4) comes to Casino Nova Scotia.
Grammy Award-winning Kronos Quartet (Nov 5) presents its Five Decades Tour as it celebrates fifty years.
Music and circus combine for Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland (Nov 8), a holiday event to usher in the magic of the season.
Dan Mangan (Nov 12) performs as part of his Going Somewhere Tour with special guest Aysanabee.
Rock band Big Wreck (Nov 15) performs at the Light House Arts Centre in Halifax.
Danny Michel and Steve Poltz (Nov 17) perform together as part of their 2023 Canadian Fall Tour.
Raine Maida and Chantel Kreviazuk (Nov 17) perform as part of their The Forgive Me Tour 2023.
Cecilia Concerts presents classical guitarist JIJI and violinist Danbi Um (Nov 18).
Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies (Nov 18) come to Halifax as part of their Jingle All the Way Tour.
Newfoundland musical family group The Ennis Sisters (Nov 22) performs in their Christmas show.
Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko (Nov 22) comes to Halifax after his original date was postponed due to Hurricane Lee.
Jeremy Dutcher (Nov 22) performs as part of his The Motewolonuwok Tour.
Folk/country trio Good Lovelies (Nov 23) perform from their upcoming album and holiday favourites.
Halifax-based folk-pop singer-songwriter Jenn Grant (Nov 25) performs for a hometown crowd.
Award-winning Ukrainian quartet DakhaBrakha (Nov 26) performs with a fusion of traditional Ukrainian music and diverse global influences.
Award-winning Canadian guitarist Jesse Cook (Nov 29) performs at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.
Canadian pop, electro and jazz singer and songwriter Charlotte Cardin (Dec 8 & 9) performs.
Bass-baritone Philippe Sly and pianist Michael McMahon bring Franz Schubert’s monumental 1827 song cycle Winterreise (Dec 9) to life.
Canadian rock band The Glorious Sons (Dec 9) performs as part of their Glory Tour with special guest The Blue Stones.
Afro-German-Caribbean disco and funk vocal group Boney M. featuring Liz Mitchell (Dec 12) returns to the Scotiabank Centre.
Tim Baker (Dec 14 & 15) plays The Stage at St. Andrews as part of his Along the Mountain Road Tour.
Adam Baldwin & The Jenny Wren (Dec 14 & 15) perform with special guest Mariel Buckley.
The Irish Descendants (Dec 16) bring their Christmas show to Halifax with traditional and classic Christmas songs and carols.
Comedy
Yuk Yuk’s Halifax welcomes a bevy of comedians to its stage with performances from America’s Got Talent finalist Ahren Belisle, Travis Lindsay, Shannon Laverty and more.
Just For Laughs presents Scottish comic Danny Bhoy (Oct 13 & 14) with his brand-new show Now Is Not A Good Time.
New Brunswick-based comedian James Mullinger (Oct 26) returns to Halifax to celebrate his ten years in Canada.
The Just for Laughs Comedy Tour (Nov 3) comes to Halifax featuring The Daily Show’s Roy Wood Jr.
British comedian Alan Carr (Nov 13) is back on the road with his brand-new stand-up show, Regional Trinket.
Festivals
The Prismatic Arts Festival (Sep 29-Oct 8) returns to celebrate the work of Indigenous artists and artists of colour from across the country.