THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW and KOHKOM'S BABUSHKA Come to the Banff Centre
Performances begin in October.
By: Stephi Wild Jul. 22, 2025
As temperatures cool and night extends this fall, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity invites theatre audiences in Southern Alberta to venture inside their theatres for two world premiere productions! Just in time for Halloween, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a production by Alberta Theatre Projects in association with Banff Centre featuring The Old Trout Puppet Workshop, will run on October 11, 14, 15, and 17 in the Jenny Belzberg Theatre. And, a celebration of friendship and connection across cultures and generations, Punctuate! Theatre’s production of Kohkom’s Babushka will run October 10, 15, 16, and 18 in the Margaret Greenham Theatre with Pyretic Theatre in association with Banff Centre.
“I’m so excited to see these two very different but equally stunning productions come to life at Banff Centre,” says Amiel Gladstone, Director, Theatre Arts. “I hope audiences find Sleepy Hollow as visually arresting and eerie as they find Kohkom’s Babushka heartwarming and entertaining. Depending on your mood and theatregoing companions, both are the perfect activity for an October in the mountains.”
From the minds of the twisted genius of Calgary’s The Old Trout Puppet Workshop, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow riffs on Washington Irving’s original story through the visionary style that the Siminovitch Prize-nominated Old Trouts are known for. Directed by Craig Hall—artistic director of Rosebud Theatre and former artistic director of Vertigo Theatre—and written by company co-artistic director Judd Palmer and Calgary-based writer, actor, and director Anna Cummer, Sleepy Hollow marks the company’s first new production since 2019’s acclaimed Ghost Opera, a co-production with Calgary Opera and Banff Centre. The Old Trout Puppet Workshop is legendary for its ten touring productions, popular around the world, most notably including Beowulf (2002), Ignorance (2011), and Famous Puppet Death Scenes (2006). After appearing in Banff, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow will appear in Alberta Theatre Projects’ 2025-26 season.
Kohkom’s Babushka is the latest production from Edmonton’s "ever-enterprising" (The Edmonton Journal) Punctuate! Theatre. Taking inspiration from the children’s book by Marion Mutala, about the friendship between two young girls—one Métis, one Ukrainian—the play is written by real-life childhood friends Lianna Makuch and Joleen Ballendine, themselves Ukrainian and Métis. Makuch also directs. Following this world premiere run, the production will be produced in Edmonton later this season.
As a post-secondary institution based in the heart of the Rocky Mountains specializing in training and education in arts, leadership, Indigenous culture, and mountain culture, Banff Centre’s Theatre Arts department is a hub for new play development across Canada. Known for its popular Playwright’s Lab, many of the country’s biggest names in playwrighting have used Banff Centre residencies as valuable opportunities for feedback, guidance, and workshopping.
Both productions of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Kohkom’s Babushka are the culmination of a gift from the Slaight Foundation. This gift allowed for various programs, including residencies for playwrights from across the country, several script workshops, actor training, and now, full productions.
“These productions are the culmination of residencies for theatre artists including actors, playwrights, stage managers, and producers, that have taken place over the past four years. The process powerfully demonstrates the value of Banff Centre’s work offering creative time and space and training opportunities to artists from across Canada as well as elsewhere in the world. We are very grateful for the visionary support provided by the Slaight Foundation that has made these programs possible,” says Josephine Ridge, Executive Director, Arts at Banff Centre.
Love Theater in Calgary? Join The Community!
Whether you've got past experience writing about theater or just starting, the BroadwayWorld Community offers a unique opportunity to become a champion for your local arts community, helping raise awareness of local offerings and adding another local voice to the conversation at a time arts coverage is shrinking in the press across the continent. Join us and become a pivotal part of the movement that celebrates and promotes the arts in the digital age.
Learn MoreVideos