Rachel Peake - Artistic Director

Originally from Saskatchewan, Peake is a director and dramaturge of theatre and opera. From 2021 to 2023 she was the Associate Artistic Director of Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre Company, Canada's largest urban theatre company. From 2017 to 2020 she was the Associate Artistic Director of the Citadel Theatre, where she led the Citadel's New Play Development initiatives. For The Grand Theatre Rachel has directed The Sound of Music and Waitress. A testament to her artistic vision, in January 2023 she won the Ovation Award for Outstanding Direction for her work on Something Rotten!, produced by Theatre Under the Stars. Additional credits in musical theatre and opera include: The Betty Mitchell Award-nominated MacBeth (Calgary Opera), Ring of Fire, Sense and Sensibility (Arts Club), Frozen, 9 to 5: The Musical (Citadel Theatre), and Carmen (Vancouver Opera).

Rachel’s inspired and diverse work in direction and dramaturgy is celebrated among audiences and her peers in the arts community across the country. Selected highlights include: directing Hyperlink (Elbow Theatre), which was nominated for a Critic's Choice in Innovation; directing and dramaturging the world première opera, Stickboy (Vancouver Opera); directing the première of The Contest of the Winds (Caravan Farm Theatre); and helming SexyVoices, a community-based creation piece about love and sex in the disability community for Realwheels Theatre – a Canadian disability theatre company based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“The Grand Theatre is the most beautiful theatre space in Canada and the work being produced here is at the highest level. I feel incredibly fortunate to be working with this entire team at the top of their game – the work being done here is the envy of companies across the country. The way the people of London embrace this theatre is special and will ensure its health and success into the future!”