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Wonderful Joe by Ronnie Burkett opens Auburn Stage at the Grand Theatre
Canadian theatre favourite brings international sensation to London, Ontario
October 28, 2025 – London, ON – Award-winning, world-renowned, and infamously cheeky, Ronnie Burkett is back at the Grand Theatre with his unmatched mischievous, rollicking irreverence. Burkett’s latest work, Wonderful Joe, unleashes his sharp, unrelenting wit on the cities we call home, the people we overlook, and the four-legged friends walking beside them. And he’s bringing Mother Nature, Santa Claus, Jesus, and the Tooth Fairy along for the ride.
Wonderful Joe, created and performed by Ronnie Burkett, opens the Grand Theatre’s Auburn Stage for the 2025/26 Season. Already extended due to popular demand, the production will run from Tuesday, November 4 through Sunday, November 23.
Siminovitch Prize winner Ronnie Burkett brings the story of Joe Pickle (and Mister the Dog) to life with his signature style of beautiful puppetry and solo performance, with a glorious score and soundscape by John Alcorn. The Globe and Mail’s Best Theatre of 2024 wrote, “If I had to pick only one favourite piece of theatre from this year, Wonderful Joe was it.” Known to Londoners for his sold-out runs of The Daisy Theatre (2017) and Little Dickens (2023), Burkett returns with a poignant yet audacious story brought to life by his string marionettes.
“Ronnie’s unique insight into the world, as a marionettist from Medicine Hat, Alberta turned into an internationally-recognized star, is unparalleled,” shares Rachel Peake, Grand Theatre Artistic Director. “The way he sees the world with humanity, heart, and the most daring humour is a point of view I am always hungry to live in, if only for the length of a play.”
Wonderful Joe is created and performed by Ronnie Burkett with Music Production, Arrangements, Vocals, Keyboards, and Digital Programming by John Alcorn, Lighting Design by Kevin Humphrey, Marionette and Costume Design by Ronnie Burkett, Featured Vocals by Coco Love Alcorn, and Mixing and Mastering by Jeff Wolpert, Desert Fish Studios.
Wonderful Joe by Ronnie Burkett plays on the Auburn Stage at the Grand Theatre from November 4 to November 23. Single tickets are $48, and Auburn Series Subscriptions offer a 25% discount ($71.44 for both Wonderful Joe and Mrs Krishnan’s Party). Tickets and subscriptions are available at grandtheatre.com, by phone at 519.672.8800, or at the Box Office, 471 Richmond Street.
The Grand Theatre is grateful to offer Canada Life Pay-What-You-Can pricing, presented on Sunday, November 9 at 2:00 p.m.
The Grand Theatre gratefully acknowledges Season Sponsor BMO, Downtown Community Partner Old Oak Properties, and Title Sponsor Lynne Cram in recognition of Joan's Place.
To learn more about Wonderful Joe by Ronnie Burkett at the Grand Theatre, please visit grandtheatre.com/event/wonderful-joe. Follow the production and peek behind the scenes by following @thegrandlondon and #GrandJoe on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, YouTube, & TikTok.
Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased online at grandtheatre.com, by phoning the Box Office at 519.672.8800, or by visiting the Box Office in person at 471 Richmond Street (weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.).
Subscriptions remain available and continue to offer the best pricing and best theatre experience.
Wonderful Joe
By Ronnie Burkett
Created and Performed by Ronnie Burkett
Music composition and lyrics by John Alcorn
November 4 to November 23 on the Auburn Stage at the Grand Theatre
Title Sponsor: Lynne Cram in recognition of Joan's Place
John Alcorn – Music Production, Arrangements, Vocals, Keyboards, and Digital Programming
Kevin Humphrey – Lighting Design
Terri Gillis – Production Manager/Artistic Associate
Crystal Salverda – Stage Manager/Technical Director
John Lambert – Associate Producer
Ronnie Burkett – Marionette and Costume Design
Kim Crossley – Costumes
Puppet Studio – Alexander Mantia, Aidan Sparks, Angela Talbot, Dina Meschkuleit, with Martin Herbert, Andy Hayward, Shanna Miller, Justin Mezzapelli, and Brigitte Sampogna
Camellia Koo – Shoes
Greg Ballora (after Luman Coad) – Marionette Controls
Marcus Jamin – Marionette Stringing
Robbie Buttinski – Majordomo
Scenic Construction by Shop Dogs, Montreal
Daniel Barkley – Scenic Painting
Aidan Sparks – Model and Drafting
Featured vocals – Coco Love Alcorn
Mixing and mastering – Jeff Wolpert, Desert Fish Studios
WONDERFUL JOE was Co-commissioned by Stanford Live (Stanford CA, USA), UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance or CAP UCLA (Los Angeles CA, USA) and TO Live (Toronto ON, Canada), with developmental support from Theatre Network (Edmonton AB, Canada) in association with Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes.
Ronnie Burkett received development support for Wonderful Joe from the Canada Council for the Arts Explore and Create Program.
Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes is exclusively represented by
John Lambert & Assoc., Montreal, Canada (www.johnlambert.ca)
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The Grand Theatre is located on the traditional territories of the Original storytellers and caretakers of this land and the Nations, both settler and Indigenous, who continue to uphold the various treaties of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, and Lunaapéewak. We value the significant historical and contemporary contributions of local and regional First Nations, and all of the Original Peoples of Turtle Island (colonially known as North America), and acknowledge the traditional lands upon which we live, work, share, and tell stories together.
ABOUT THE GRAND THEATRE – WORLD CURIOUS. LONDON MADE.
The Grand Theatre is known for world-class theatre created and built in London, Ontario. As southwestern Ontario’s premier producing theatre and one of the most beautiful theatre spaces in Canada, the company has deep ties to the community and to its artists, artisans, and technicians.
As a vibrant cultural hub and not-for-profit professional theatre, the Grand serves to gather, inspire, and entertain audiences in London and beyond. At our home in downtown London, we create productions on two stages: the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the Auburn Developments Stage (144 seats). The Grand season of theatrical offerings runs from September to May, and we collaborate with companies and artists across the country through our co-productions that see London-made artistic and creative work travel to audiences nation-wide. Through our successful New Play Development Program, the Grand is committed to developing and premiering new, original works and supporting the growth and reach of theatre writers and creators. Our recently renovated venue offers a contemporary and welcoming environment that is also home to several successful music series’, community arts rentals, and cultural and special events.
A cornerstone of the organization is our place as a teaching theatre, exemplified in our many mentorship programs and highlighted in our annual Grand Theatre High School Project. As the first program of its kind in the country and currently in its twenty-seventh year, the High School Project involves as many as one hundred high school participants annually from schools across the region. These students participate at no cost and take on roles both on stage and off, in a fully realized mainstage production under the direction of a professional creative team.
For more information, visit: grandtheatre.com.
For more information please contact:
Melissa Mae Shipley, Communications and Public Relations Manager
mshipley [at] grandtheatre.com (mshipley[at]grandtheatre[dot]com)
office: 519.672.9030 ext. 266
cell: 519.280.4008
PHOTOGRAPHY
MEDIA CALL
When: Tuesday, November 4 at 12:30 p.m. (Cameras, please arrive at 12:00 p.m. to set up)
Where: Auburn Stage, Grand Theatre, 471 Richmond Street, London, Ontario
What: Photo, video, and interview opportunities for media.
