Most of my favourite theatre experiences in Ottawa have been at the GCTC; my favourite being their…read moreplay adaptation of Alistair MacLeod's "No Great Mischief." I enjoy their ability to choose the best mix of professional and provocative plays. They take risks with their choices like an amateur theatre, but usually produce quality work like a professional theatre. Their old location relied solely on a cozy theatre with terrible seats, but they have recently moved to new digs in Westboro. The new theatre features a large theatre, small theatre, art gallery, cafe, bar, apartments and a lobby available for functions. Although it's not as nearly as small as it used to be, the new large theatre still maintains a close space with the audience and play. Prices are $32 for matinées, $42 for evening shows and $30 for students. However, at the first Sunday of each performance, admission price is pay what you can. So get out to the GCTC on Oct. 26th to take advantage of this deal for their new show "Zadie's Shoes."

I'm such a theatre nerd that I have to adore anyplace that gives me good - and often great -…read moretheatre at reasonable prices. For all that I'm thankful for Ottawa's National Arts Centre, it's nice to know there's a place in stodgy Ottawa where gay rap opera (yep, and it was amazing) can thrive. Or simply that another big theatre can thrive at all. I've seen more than a few shows here, and I'm consistently impressed with the enthusiasm, talent, skill, and venue itself. I check the schedule every new season to see what's coming up. Once we just eenie-meenie-miny-mo'd and went to the play my finger landed on. Wins every time.

The Short Version: Small independent theatre. Has an old…read moreschool vibe. Tight seating. Weird washrooms. The Long Version: The Gladstone Theatre is an independent theatre and also a registered charity. It provides a venue for independent artists to showcase their work. The theatre is small and only seats 230 people. The seats are tiny. This comment is coming from someone who is 5'0" and 105 lbs, lol. The theatre has a classic theatre vibe to it which I found charming. The stage is not raised. So if you sit in the front row you are literally at the same level as the stage. There's a large centre section for seating and on either side against the walls there's a narrower section. We sat on the right side section and our row only had 3 seats, but the number of seats increased as you go farther away from the stage. My husband and I saw a production of A Mid-Summer Night's Dream there. It was a weekend matinee. There's a small bar that's open before the show and during intermission. They sell basic drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic and some snacks like chips and candies. You can bring the drinks into the theatre but not the food. I got a can of seltzer for $4 and my husband got a bottle of ginger beer for $4. Prices are what you would expect at a theatre. The women's washroom had only 3 stalls so lineups were long. There were also huge gaps at the stall doors, where people can look in and you can look out. Weird. I didn't like it. They have a single gender neutral wheelchair accessible washroom that's a private room though (I didn't go in, but that's what the sign said). And I have no idea what the men's washroom is like. But I was not impressed with the women's washroom. There's also no on-site parking. So you have to park on the street. Most of the theatre productions my husband and I see are at Meridian Theatres (formerly Centrepointe Theatre), so I guess I'm used to free parking on-site and roomier seats. I support the local arts so I'm glad this theatre exists, but I'm uncertain if I personally will be attending many shows here in the future. Review #190 (2025)

We went there over the Christmas break for Alice in Winterland. Have to say the show was wonderful!…read moreThe theatre itself is beautiful. Very retro. There isn't a bad seat in the house. There is a bar/snack bar out front and you can bring your purchases into the theatre. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The only downside, and it is kind of a big issue in the winter, is parking. There is no onsite parking. We parked a block over in a paid lot. Considering it was snowy and cold, it was kind of a drag to have to walk to the theatre. In nice weather parking wouldn't be an issue. On the up side, it is right off Preston with lots of choice for restaurants to dine in before or after the show. Other than parking, the place is great!

Great sound. Friendly staff. !…read moreLots of security which is great. Was my first time and as much as I try and avoid downtown these days, I would certainly come back. I think this was a school prior... When climbing the stairs to the balcony for a concert, you can smell the crayons. At least, I did! Watch your step, many of them in the darkness. Clean place. Drinks were available and the prices were fair. Not a bad seat in the whole Centre. Parking.. just horrific but it's typical for this area. Still, 5 stars for the staff, venue and intimate feel of the place.

Let's pretend the exterior of this "venue" did not, year after year, look like a Gaza hospital…read moreafter a bombing. It frankly embarrasses the crap out of the audience. Let's talk about booking internationally famous talent with a following of 6 million ppl worldwide. Job of booker for Bronson Centre: 1. Listen to the plans of the talent for the nite booked. Answer: "3 comedians will perform in turn, 7 pm to 8:30. Then a Meet n Greet occurs until 10:30 pm." Bronson Centre: "great! We will honour our website's promise to supply alcohol via two kiosks either side of audience!" Talent: "great! Let's do it!" Bronson website goes ahead & falsely advertises the alcohol kiosks. Reality: The Bronson Employees all knew the Meet 'n Greet would occur on the stage after the comedians performed because I asked them on entering if it would be before or after the performance. Was correctly told "after." Yet when I got up after the 3 comics finished to grab a beer, both concessions stands said "no we're closing." The boss lady concession stand beer seller was a complete mean witch about it. WE PAID 80 bucks!!! $40 was for the 2 hours of meet & greet! You advertised beer and alcohol!" I said "you knew we would be stuck here for 2 hours waiting for our meet n greet." "It was a queue of individuals to the stage. Why on earth do u falsely advertise and then shut down the stands?" There was no answer. Asked for mgr. He came and he could not have cared less. Satisfaction: 1/10 is the score for this pathetically unorganized piece of Gaza architecture. Talent was an internationally famous interviewer of JFK Jr, Cornel West, Bernie Sanders, etc. I was completely delighted by the talent and horribly embarrassed by this disorganized venue with its lack of internal communication skills. From a joyous experience with the talent to the overly mean wench who decided she had to close down the alcohol at 8:30 pm sharp, 2 hours before the event ended, to the illiterate mgr whose English could not remotely be understood by a fluent English speaker & who could not care less about the situation, but was hired due to his 6'5" 300 lb frame and offshore experience "handling" people he did not like, I will NEVER GO TO THIS PIECE OF DIRT FILTHY UGLY VENUE AGAIN.

I recently visited the National Arts Centre (NAC). It wasn't to take in any performance at this…read morevenue. I was downtown for Canada Day. I wanted a place to park. Its parkade was where my car was for a few hours. My original plan was to park at CF Rideau Centre and walk over to where the festivities were. I did it four years ago and it worked out nicely. Afterwards, I'd simply walk around the mall. However, I was curious to check this parking lot out. It's a part of NAC that I was not familiar with. The parkade is a 24-hour one. If you enter it before 4 pm, it's $3 for each half hour, to a maximum of $20. That's actually not bad if you consider that it would be an arm and a leg in other Canadian cities. It's automated. You do get a parking attendant when there's a performance or some activity happening at NAC. I don't know how all that works. I just know that for this national holiday, the parking attendant got a break. I inserted my credit card to enter the parkade. I used to same one leaving. It was pretty straightforward. I parked on level P1. I took the stairs to get to street level. It was perfect. I have only seen one concert at NAC. It was years ago when I lived in Winnipeg and travelled to Ottawa for vacation. It was a meaningful concert that holds a lot of fond memories. I saw my first Jann Arden concert here. Back then, I bought a ticket over the phone. The box office was a block away from my hotel on Slater Street. I walked over to fetch my ticket. On the night of the concert, I walked over to the NAC. It was November. There was snow on the ground. It was pretty, but a bit nippy. The female usher was so great showing me where my seat was. My seat was the last row of the orchestra section, the first seat on the left by the aisle. I was extremely happy. This concert set up countless Jann Arden concerts that I have attended all over the place. She is a wonderful performer and singer. Opening up for Jann Arden back then was Melanie Doane. This show alone sparked me to also see Melanie whenever she was playing over the years. What is cool is that when Jann recent played a couple of shows in Toronto, she had a bit of a reunion with Melanie. The latter has a ukelele school and students came down the aisles playing their ukes with Melanie leading the way to Jann. Such a cool moment! I got a Jann Arden t-shirt at the merchandise table. It said Happy? on it, to mark her newly released album back then. It's crazy to think that this album is nearly 26 years old. Yikes! I didn't grab any refreshments or snacks that night. I only remember happily walking back to the hotel and the sound my boots made walking on the snow. I had a great time then. I also had a decent parking experience on Canada Day just over two weeks ago. The NAC has changed since I last stepped foot. It looks like for the better. The digital leaves blowing around that you see above the NAC's main entrance was a nice touch. (240)

Beautiful space and always a pleasure to attend shows there…read more The ushers are always helpful and washrooms are easy to find. But the seats are a bit small and uncomfortable. I think they might need to update the seat or at least change the couchions - my left leg kept falling asleep and my back got noticeably sore at the end of the last show.

Showed up without reservation with 2 young girls on our last day in Ottawa and after waiting to see…read moreif there were any cancelations we were left disappointed. But when there werent the pirate "red beard" came over and took our girls on a quick tour of the pirate boat and gave them some treasure. He went above and beyond and I couldnt thank the group enough. I also learned that the cast are most or all theater students and from what we got to see the kids seemed to absolutely love it.

Okay, i was expecting cheese, but these guys delivered a fun event for kids! From getting them…read moredressed up as pirates, to keeping them entertained, I highly recommend this for anyone with kids 12 and under. Lots of fun!

Still one of the cooler, more laid back hangouts in Ottawa. Truly deserves the "lounge" part of…read moreits name. Note that this isn't a go early and have beers type of place, most nights it's not even open for business before 10pm and even then, people don't really start coming in until 11 - midnight. Go early (10pm) and you're guaranteed a spot on one of its few loungy sofas (very comfy), but you'll also probably be alone with your companions. Great music as advertised, they always have good DJs.

This is one of my favourite spots I've been to for live music. It's a pity I haven't returned…read more Don't read anything into that though! It's a really awesome lounge. The Mercury Lounge mainly specializes in variations of jazz music, but it also includes some of the other stuff as well. The atmosphere is very relaxing with warm reds and yellows. The stage is a perfect focal point as it's framed by two twelve foot high (at least) windows that look out into the market from this heritage building. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of space, especially if you arrive with a large group and want to stick together. You may have to resolve yourselves to separate a bit for the night if you want to sit down to enjoy the music. Unlike many bars in Ottawa, this place is open until 3AM.

It's been a LOT of years since I've been here! Like maybe once only before this event. The building…read moreis in a good location (close to a city of Ottawa facility), if a bit awkward to get into. the front of it faces the street, but you can't park there unless you're disabled. However, there's plenty of parking around the back and sides. The theatre seem to cater to the older generation (at least seniors seem to be the most popular age group of the patrons.) Maybe it's the shows they're putting on that call this crowd in. They seem to do about 8 shows per year. Last year they had Nunsense, which I've seen before, many, many ears ago. Good things about this theatre: I absolutely LOVED the paintings and pictures on the walls that were being offered for sale. It was also neat seeing the previous years' annual shows posted on the walls. They've been around for about 20 years. The snack bar offers tea, coffee, pop, and snacks all at $1.00 each. And they give you 15-20 minutes at intermission to use the facilities and grab a nosh. The seating inside the theatre is comfortable enough. And if you purchase a season's worth of tickets, they give you a discount coupon for food across the street at D'Arcy McGee's Pub. Of course, this isn't Broadway - the actors are local. It was a fun night out!

Saw the Hari-Karaoke murder mystery show last night. Hysterically funny, great performances by the…read morecast who also have to do a lot of improve while chatting with the customers. Really recommend!

Murder Mystery Ottawa's "The Codfather" (a BigTime Murder Production), currently on at The…read morePrescott, is a hilarious and fun show that I recently caught and I'm really glad I did. It takes place at the funeral of the newly departed "The Codfather " who hails from the east coast. The audience is pulled into the show from moment one as guests at his memorial service - there is even a coffin, tacky flower arrangements and a guestbook that the audience can sign. Upon arrival we were greeted by "The Family" and other "advisors" to "The Codfather". Throughout the show the characters circulated among the tables, interacting with the audience and mostly making us laugh a lot. The show takes a (melo)dramatic turn when a murder happens at the funeral and the audience is left to figure out "whodunnit" using clues planted throughout the night and physical evidence that we got to examine, which was pretty cool. Those who solved the murder correctly had a chance to win some show swag. The actors are superb and do a great job of engaging the audience and making them feel like they are part of the show. Sammy "The Squid" Bonetti, Angel Delivista, Father Vigoda and Officer Peter Pants were particularly great and clearly enjoyed playing off the audience. It was fun to interact with all of the over-the-top but lovable characters and at various times they had us singing, dancing and of course...laughing! The show runs for two hours, and it's a really enjoyable way to spend a Saturday evening. Among the crowd were couples, singles and groups. It's a terrific venue for a date night or an evening out with friends or colleagues. We met some great people at our table and went downstairs for drinks at The Prescott after the show, which was a bonus. Dinner is not included, but (really delicious) popcorn is, plus there is a cash bar in the room. What's better than popcorn and beer at a funeral? I give The Codfather FIVE STARS and highly recommend it for anyone looking for something cool and different to do on the weekend in Ottawa! It plays at the Prescott on Saturdays at 8:00 pm. Call (613) 723-8900 or visit: www.murdermysteryottawa.com for tickets.