East Van Panto: Hercules takes on Hades in the No-Fun-Derworld in a Hera-raising tale

If there is one thing that the East Van Panto can be depended upon to deliver, it’s laughs. Theatre Replacement’s annual send-up of living in Vancouver and trying to make sense of it has become a fixture on the winter cultural calendar for good reason.

Generating groans and guffaws alike with original scripts, songs and sets, the panto turns this often predictable holiday family theatre tradition on its head.

This year, authors Pedro Chamale and Marcus Youssef find inspiration in Greek mythology to spin a story pitting everyone’s fave muscle-bound demigod against his nemesis Hades, the God of the No-Fun-Derworld, who wants the helpless citizens of the city to eat the Arbutus Subway System megaproject.

Also known as the A.S.S. Expansion, the project is only one of many plans put into play in the play, as it were.

Starring Jacob Woike in the title role with Jason Sakakai, Meaghan Chenosky, Raugi Yu and Sara Vickruck, with the Studio 58 Chorus of Keely Coleman, Payton Gowdar and Daniel Marte, East Van Panto: Hercules plays at the New York Theatre from Nov. 18 to Jan. 10, 2027.

Tickets from $49 are on sale now at thecultch.com or 604-251-1363.

“When we started thinking about a story, the Hercules fable jumped into mind for me because I’ve always loved Greek myths,” said Chamale. “It’s the pinnacle of manhood and something I feel very far from in my own life as I raise my own little boy to be a thoughtful and kind man against the backdrop of my own Latino background. Also, the Disney cartoon arrived in my life at just the right time to be a constant influence.”

Taking license with the tale is a given with the panto, but there is something of a template to follow, too. The standard structure is a two-act tale that moves between the major narrative with short transitions dropped into it that can be anything from sight gags to silly songs and more.

“After this many years of writing songs for these shows and trying to break the template, I’ve come to accept that it wants to be what it is and Act 1 and 2 are going to end on a big bang,” said composer Veda Hille. “Where we mix it up is in the source material as something like the Greeks is way outside the standard storylines which boil down to about eight fairy tales in the trad U.K. versions. Going further afield makes it more fun.”

Where past pantos have often kept to Commercial Drive and its immediate surrounding area, this year’s show moves farther afield. While not quite reaching the historic Greek West Broadway neighbourhood, director Chelsea Haberlin says the story needed a westward shift.

“This year we are moving to Olympus Village set around Science World, which is a full reset for us,” said Habelin. “But with Hades as God of the Underworld and the new train line past Arbutus we had to move.”