No stranger to the Lighthouse stage, David Leyshon is getting ready to bring comedy, music, and murder to Port Dover in April.
(Lighthouse Festival): Tell us a little bit about yourself and your theatre background.
(David Leyshon): I’m originally from Saskatchewan, and really began my career in Alberta. I made my way out to Ontario in the early 2000s to join the company at the Shaw Festival. I spent seven seasons with the Shaw, and one with the Stratford Festival. After eight seasons of repertory theatre, I was excited for a change of scenery and new challenges. Since then, I have been working in theatres across the country, from Halifax to Vancouver Island. as well as teaching at a number of post-secondary institutions. I’ve been lucky to work in both plays and musicals, new works and classics, over the course of my career, which has brought a great deal of variety to my experiences in the theatre!
(LF): Why did you want to direct Lighthouse Festival’s 2026 Community Show, Curtains?
(DL): When I have worked at the Lighthouse, I have really enjoyed my time at the theatre, and in the community. The Community Show is an amazing opportunity to work with people from the community that love theatre, and love the Lighthouse! Curtains really is a love letter to the theatre, and to ’show people’ – people who love to act, create, work onstage and off, who want to be a part of telling stories – and we have a great group of people involved at every level who exemplify those very things!
(LF): How did you get started in directing?
(DL): A number of years into my acting career, I started to quietly get bitten by the directing bug. I became more and more interested in the big picture and shaping the telling of a story. I was doing a play in Calgary about 15 years ago when the artistic director really encouraged me to start directing and ultimately asked me to help with a three-hander musical called If I Weren’t With You in her next season. This was the beginning of my directing career.
(LF): What is your favourite part of the directing process?
(DL): Both as an actor and a director, I love the rehearsal process. The dissecting of the play, figuring out what makes the characters tick, and how we can tell the story efficiently and clearly, giving the characters depth – which will ultimately allow the audience to connect with them. I also love the collaborative nature of working with designers, to create the world of the play that the actors get to play in!
(LF): What do you think patrons are going to love about this year’s Community Show?
(DL): This show is a great combination of two things that audiences love – it’s a musical, and it is also a murder mystery! It has larger-than-life characters, great music, tons of humour and under it all, the show has a giant heart.
(LF): What are you most excited about while directing Lighthouse Festival’s 2026 Community Show, Curtains?
(DL): I’m most excited to work with all the people involved, from the cast to those doing the costumes and working backstage – every play has to create a community – a group of like-minded people who are all coming together to make the play happen – and all the people involved in this project are doing it because they love contributing to the creation of something – and that is very exciting.
(LF): What do you think makes Curtains such a special (and hilarious) musical for a community cast to bring to life?
(DL): It is a big ensemble show – that is to say, everyone is really busy in this show! The whole company has lots to do, and I think this will make everyone feel really a part of bringing this show to life. Every person on the stage is contributing to the mystery, singing and dancing, and a big part of taking the audience on this wild and fun ride!
(LF): What has it been like working with this year’s cast and creative team so far?
(DL): It has been fantastic! I have an incredibly organized stage manager, fantastically talented musical directing team, an energized and excited cast, and so much support from the team at the Lighthouse – it’s been, and I have no doubt will continue to be, a joy!
