The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity will present PLAY DEAD, the debut acrobatic‑theatre show by Montréal collective People Watching, on Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. in the Jenny Belzberg Theatre — a ticketed, 70‑minute performance that falls within Banff’s SnowDays festival and could affect local programming, parking and audience plans.
Banff Centre’s event page lists the performance as 70 minutes long with a content warning for partial nudity and fake blood, and tickets sold in three tiers: Tier A $45, Tier B $35 and Tier C $25. The listing is part of the Centre’s 2025–26 winter season announcement published November 19, 2025, which names the show among other visiting acts.
People Watching is a six‑member Montréal collective that blends circus, dance and physical theatre; the company’s materials note training ties to the École nationale de cirque and credits with groups such as Les 7 Doigts and Cirque du Soleil. PLAY DEAD has toured festivals in Canada, Europe and elsewhere, and its tour calendar shows the Banff date as a single‑evening presentation in January 2026.
The Jenny Belzberg Theatre, on the Banff Centre campus at 107 Tunnel Mountain Drive, was renovated and reconfigured to approximately 638 seats (renovation completed circa 2019–2020), which matters for ticketing and local audience flow during a busy winter weekend. Banff’s SnowDays festival runs mid‑January to early February, with the Weekend of Wonder scheduled January 22–25, 2026 — meaning downtown Banff and Central Park will have free outdoor programming and heavier visitor traffic the same weekend.
Banff Centre’s season blurb describes PLAY DEAD as “a surreal mix of circus, dance, and physical theatre” that looks for humour and beauty in everyday life, a style that has earned the company festival praise and several award nods over recent seasons. Reviews quoted on company and presenter pages praise the show’s mix of daring movement and theatrical imagination.
Tickets are available through the Banff Centre box office online or by phone; the Centre lists box office/audience services at 403‑762‑6301 (toll‑free 1‑800‑413‑8368) and a main switchboard at 403‑762‑6100. Presenters and local businesses should note the single January 24 evening booking when planning other events or promotions that weekend, since SnowDays typically increases visitor traffic and hotel demand — for precise parking, crowd or occupancy figures, contact Banff & Lake Louise Tourism or Banff Centre audience services.
