David Rabe's An Early History of Fire Comes to Vancouver as an Immersive Theatre Experience
David Rabe's An Early History of Fire, running November 18–29, 2026 at Counterlight Studio in Vancouver's Railtown District.
Actor Alexander J. Skinner makes his directorial debut in an immersive Vancouver play with seven actors just feet away — 13 shows, Nov. 18–29, 2026.
I don’t want a museum piece about 1962. I want it alive: funny, dangerous, sexy, messy, and incredibly human.”
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, November 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- David Rabe’s An Early History of Fire, a Counterlight and Railtown Lab production, is a raw, funny and fiercely human coming-of-age story by the Tony Award-winning playwright, runs November 18–29, 2026 in a new immersive staging in Vancouver’s Railtown District — performed live by seven of the city’s most compelling actors, unfiltered and just feet from the audience. The limited engagement is 13 performances only, in an intimate, creative space: Counterlight Studio. Tickets are on sale at www.counterlight.studio/tickets.— Alexander J. Skinner
The production is an immersive theatre experience unlike any other in Vancouver: seven professional actors with screen credits including Godzilla, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Tron: Ares, Maid and Loudermilk perform live, unfiltered and just feet from the audience, in an intimate theatre space where the line between the story and the characters living it disappears.
“I don’t want a museum piece about 1962. I want it alive: funny, dangerous, sexy, messy, and incredibly human,” says director Alexander J. Skinner, an experienced stage and screen actor making his directorial debut who also stars in the production. “These are people who love each other deeply and still manage to hurt each other. I want you to feel like you’re sitting in the room with them. Not watching a play, but watching life unfold in front of you, and not being able to look away. Live theatre is the final frontier of storytelling, and this room lets us deliver that to Vancouver audiences.”
Set in 1962 Midwestern America on the cusp of cultural revolution, An Early History of Fire follows Danny, a young man defined by working-class pride, childhood friendships and a father who cannot let go, who falls for Karen, a free-spirited young woman whose ideas challenge everything he thought he knew about love, loyalty and identity. Love, sex, ambition, class and identity become battlegrounds — questions as urgent for a generation of young Vancouverites today as they were in 1962.
The cast features Eric Keenleyside (Pop), who began at the Stratford Festival and brings nearly 50 years on stage and screen; Gabriel Drake (Terry), who has performed at London’s National Theatre; Jelena Milinkovic (Shirley), known for Maid and A Million Little Things, making her stage debut; Aaron Paul Stewart (Benji) of Tron: Ares; Liv Rian (Karen); Julian Nelson (Jake); and Alexander J. Skinner (Danny).
Counterlight Studio is a new multidisciplinary creative space in the heart of Railtown: built so that performance feels immediate, immersive and alive.
An Early History of Fire runs November 18–29, 2026 at Counterlight Studio, Railtown District, Vancouver. The exclusive venue address is provided with booking confirmation. Tickets are $35, with a $20 student and theatre-industry rate on November 24, at www.counterlight.studio/tickets. Follow the production on Instagram @counterlight.creative.
MEDIA CONTACT
Rowena Calpito, Atomic Pop PR | contact@atomicpop.ca | 416-708-0100
Photos and interviews are available on request.
ABOUT COUNTERLIGHT STUDIO
Counterlight Studio is a multidisciplinary creative space in Vancouver’s Railtown District founded by actor Alexander J. Skinner. Its expansive, creative space pairs a professional lighting grid and sound system with flexible staging and seating — giving audiences performance that feels immediate and immersive, and artists of all kind a blank canvas limited only by their imagination. Learn more at www.counterlight.studio and on Instagram at @counterlight.creative.
ABOUT RAILTOWN LAB
Railtown Lb has been designed as a platform for artists to develop new projects, self-generate work and explore their artistic boundaries under the guidance and support of Artistic Director John Cassini and our instructors. https://railtownactors.com/lab
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Rowena Capito
Atomic Pop PR
rowena@atomicpop.ca
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