Be Our Guest with Rachel Peake (Waitress & Grand Theatre 2025 2026 Season)

Rachel PeakeOriginally hailing from Saskatchewan, Rachel is a director and dramaturge of theatre and opera. She is currently the Artistic Director of the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario.​From 2021 to 2023 Rachel was the Associate Artistic Director of the Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver. There she oversaw the running of the Artistic Department from 2021-2022 during the Artistic Director's maternity leave. From 2017 to 2020 she was the Associate Artistic Director of the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, where she led the Citadel's New Play Development initiatives. In January 2023 she won the Ovation Award for Outstanding Direction for her work on Something Rotten!, produced by Theatre Under the Stars.​Rachel recently directed Macbeth for Calgary Opera (Betty Mitchell Award nominee - Outstanding Production of a Musical) , Sense and Sensibility for the Arts Club, 9 to 5: the Musical for the Citadel Theatre, Something Rotten! for Theatre Under the Stars, and The Pearl Fishers for Vancouver Opera. Rachel directed and dramaturged Hyperlink for the elbow, which was nominated for a Critic's Choice in Innovation. Recent directorial credits also include The Garneau Block for the Citadel, La Cenerentola for Vancouver Opera, and Phaedra/ Serenade for Pacific Opera Victoria.​Some additional career highlights include directing and dramaturging the world première opera, Stickboy, for Vancouver Opera; directing the première of The Contest of the Winds for Caravan Farm Theatre; helming SexyVoices, a community-based creation piece about love and sex in the disability community for Realwheels Theatre; directing Angels in America: Part One at Studio 58, and directing and co-conceiving the interactive project Sustainability in an Imaginary World at UBC.​Rachel was the co-Artistic Director of Solo Collective Theatre from 2008-2013 for whom she directed Cool Beans, Play With Monsters, After Jerusalem, The Project, and The Trolley Car.  She also spent four years as Resident Stage Director of Dark by Five at Gros Morne Summer Music where she directed and co-created fifteen new interdisciplinary works. ​Rachel interned at the Komische Oper in Berlin, at Stratford's Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction, and in the Shaw Festival's Neil Munro Directing Internship. She also studied extensively with her mentor, James Fagan Tait. Rachel is a graduate of the University of Alberta and Studio 58.Grand TheatreThe Grand Theatre is known for world-class theatre created and built in London, Ontario. As southwestern Ontario’s premiere 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.