SAME BOAT
A THEATRE COMPANY IN HAMILTON, ONTARIO
Founded in 2015, Same Boat Theatre creates in-person theatrical experiences for Hamilton audiences, in collaboration with Hamilton-based artists.
Same Boat has built its reputation on thought-provoking new plays, like Your Own Sons (2017) and Whale Fall (2022-23), earning critical acclaim, awards and audience praise , leading to opportunities to tour their work across Canada.
While Same Boat remains committed to developing new work through projects like their DISPATCHES reading series (hosted in collaboration with Last Supper Books), Same Boat has found renewed inspiration and creative drive in reinterpreting established work in unexpected places.
In collaboration with fellow indie Rook’s Theatre, Same Boat has built immersive site-specific productions of some of the most famous works in the western canon, first with Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in 2024 built in the historic 140 year old St. Luke’s Mission in Hamilton’s North End and in 2025 with Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, in the Back Hall at Eucharist Church, in the Lansdale neighbourhood. Both projects celebrated incredible community engagement, selling out runs and bringing fresh audiences into overlooked buildings in their neighbourhoods.
Now in their eleventh production year, Same Boat has its eye on the horizon as they continue to explore new ways of making theatre for and with Hamilton
Aaron Joel Craig (he/him) is a director, dramaturge, designer and performer. His theatre work focuses on questions of identity, power and how to stay hopeful in a difficult world. Some past projects include Test, Your Own Sons and The Conspiracy of Michael, and the national tour of Whale Fall, all with Same Boat, and Henry the Fifth and Waiting for Godot for Redeemer University and, most recently, Hamlet, the inaugural co-production between Same Boat and Rook’s Theatre. He lives in the East End of Hamilton with his partner, Cath, their two kids, and his probably-too-big record collection. You can find him somedays at Last Supper Books, which also serves as the home of his company Same Boat’s monthly play reading and development series, Dispatches.
Aaron Joel Craig - Artistic Director
Stephen Near - Director, New Play Development
Stephen Near (he/him) is a playwright and performer from Ottawa, ON and a graduate of York University. His plays have been performed across Canada in such festivals as the Ottawa Fringe, the Toronto Fringe, the Hamilton Fringe, New Ideas, and Summerworks. He is an alumnus of the Sage Hill Writing Experience and the Banff Centre and has studied playwriting with Linda Griffiths, David Copelin, Daniel MacIvor, Brian Quirt, and Beverley Cooper. In 2015, Stephen established the First Stage Series of new play development at the Players Guild of Hamilton. Stephen is a member of the Playwright’s Guild of Canada and the Theatre Aquarius Playwrights Unit. Recent writing credits include Monstrous Invisible (Theatre Aquarius), Interface (2011 Hamilton Fringe – New Play Contest 1st Prize), Plain Speak (2012 HamilTEN Festival), Test (2013 Hamilton Fringe – New Play Contest 2nd Runner-Up), The Conspiracy of Michael (2014 Hamilton Fringe), and Finding Mr. Right (2015 Hamilton Fringe). He lives in Hamilton with his wife Leanne, daughter Rebecca, and son Brenden.