Between Breaths at the Firehall Arts Centre
The Western Canadian premiere of Between Breaths is on stage at the Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver this November. Inspired by a true story from Newfoundland, it is a profound play that sails through Dr. Jon Lien’s life’s work saving whales trapped in fishing nets. You can enter to win tickets to opening night!
Between Breaths at the Firehall Arts Centre
- Dates: November 12 to 23, 2025
- Matinées November 15, 16, 19 22, 23; post-show talkback November 20
- Location: Firehall Arts Centre (280 E Cordova, Vancouver)
- Tickets: Available online now from $30
from Wednesday, November 12 to Sunday, November 23, 2025.
Dr. Jon Lien, known to many as “The Whale Man” bridged the divide between science and the local fishing community with empathy and respect. But as the play traces Dr. Lien’s legacy, it also reveals his most personal struggle: a battle with dementia that slowly threatened the very core of his identity.
Between 1978 and 2002, he managed to personally save the lives of over 500 marine animals.
Set to a hauntingly beautiful live score by celebrated Newfoundland indie folk trio The Once, Between Breaths is a powerful meditation on memory, loss, and the deep connections that endure even as everything else fades. It is a play about hope, endings, and the human spirit’s quiet resistance against disintegration.
Credits
by Robert Chafe
a Production by Artistic Fraud
a Firehall Arts Centre Presentation
CAST
Darryl Hopkins – Wayne
Steve O’Connell – Jon Lien
Bernardine Stapleton – Judy Lien
BAND
Andrew Laite – Vocals/Guitar
Valmy Assam – Vocals
Josh Sandu – Mandolin/Bodhran/Harmonica/Vocals
CREATIVE/PRODUCTION TEAM
Robert Chafe – Playwright
The Once (Phil Churchill, Geraldine Hollett, Andrew Dale) – Composers
Jillian Keiley – Director
Iris Turcott – Dramaturge
Sarah Garton Stanley – Additional Dramaturgy
Crystal Laffoley – Stage Manager
Brian Kenny – Sound Designer
Pat Dempsey – Associate Sound Design, FOH Audio and Technical Director
Shawn Kerwin – Costume Designer
Sharon King-Campbell – Assistant Director
Duane Andrews – Additional Orchestration
Kellie Walsh – Music Director
James Richardson – Producer
Enter to Win
I have a pair of tickets to give away to opening night! Here’s how you can enter to win:
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