Glitch Theatre
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA Vancouver-based Canadian disability theatre company now operating under the name Glitch Theatre.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Glitch Theatre is a Canadian disability theatre company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The organization was founded as Realwheels Theatre in 2003 by actor James Sanders, who became quadriplegic in 1990, after Sanders and Trevor Found had established the Realwheels Ad Hoc Collective in 2000. The company developed from an initial interest in producing plays without disability-centered narratives into an organization focused on expanding public understanding of disability and increasing the participation of disabled artists in professional and community culture. The company’s work spans professional theatrical productions, community performance projects, artist development, and disability-led cultural programming. Its productions have included new Canadian plays, adaptations, collaborations, and works that engage directly or indirectly with disability, access, identity, and embodied experience. Early milestones included Skydive, commissioned from playwright Kevin Kerr and presented in 2007, and Spine, another Kerr collaboration produced in connection with the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad. Skydive received the 2007 CITT/ICTS Award of Technical Merit. Realwheels expanded its community activity through projects such as SuperVoices, SexyVoices, Comedy on Wheels, and Wheel Voices: Tune In!. The latter premiered virtually in 2021 during the period when the COVID-19 pandemic required many arts organizations to adapt their presentation models. The company also introduced the Realwheels Acting Academy in 2021, a training initiative designed for people with disabilities. The academy was created with support and input from members of the disability community and was intended to address barriers to participation in the cultural sector. Leadership evolved over time. James Sanders served as artistic director until 2014, when managing director Rena Cohen assumed both managing and artistic leadership responsibilities. Tomas Mureika joined as artistic director in 2021. The company announced Kirsten Kirsch as its first playwright-in-residence in 2019, with the residency beginning in 2020. In 2023, the organization marked its twentieth anniversary with a season that included Saturday Night At Axles, Vascular Necrosis, and the radio play Disability Tour Bus. For the 2025–26 season, the organization announced a rebrand from Realwheels Theatre to Glitch Theatre. The rebranded company launched the season with Faye's Room, a world-premiere mainstage production by autistic playwright Alex K. Masse. The production was presented as the company’s first mainstage work since the COVID-19 pandemic and involved a predominantly neurodiverse team of directors, designers, and performers. The rebrand represents a new public identity for an organization whose continuing purpose is to place disability experience, access, and disabled creative participation at the center of theatrical practice.
History
Glitch Theatre originated in Vancouver’s disability arts community under the name Realwheels Theatre. In 2000, actor James Sanders and Trevor Found formed the Realwheels Ad Hoc Collective. Sanders had become quadriplegic in 1990, and the collective’s early work explored theatre-making without requiring disability to be the central subject of every play. Following the success of its initial productions, Sanders founded and incorporated Realwheels Theatre as a registered nonprofit in 2003. The organization’s stated artistic and social purpose developed around encouraging a deeper public understanding of disability experience. Its model combined professional theatre with opportunities for disabled artists and community members to participate directly in performance. This approach distinguished the company from organizations that merely address disability as a theme: Realwheels also emphasized the employment, training, authorship, and visibility of people with disabilities within the cultural sector. The company’s first major production after incorporation was Skydive in 2007. Written by Kevin Kerr on commission from Realwheels, the production starred Sanders with Bob Frazer and received the CITT/ICTS Award of Technical Merit. Realwheels continued its relationship with Kerr through Spine, which was co-produced in connection with the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad. Other professional productions over the following years included Whose Life is it Anyway?, Re-Calculating, Creeps, Sequence, and Act of Faith. These works reflected the company’s interest in combining established theatrical forms with questions concerning bodily difference, social expectations, identity, and access. Realwheels also developed a community-performance stream. SuperVoices was presented in 2015, followed by SexyVoices in 2016 and Comedy on Wheels in 2017. Community productions were open to artists who self-identified as living with a disability, creating a less restrictive route into performance than conventional professional casting and training systems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization adapted its public activity to digital formats. Wheel Voices: Tune In! premiered in 2021 with a virtual cast, while In Camera, a live-streamed production translated by Cory Haas from Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit, formed part of the company’s digital-era work in 2022. Leadership changed in 2014, when Rena Cohen, previously managing director, took on the artistic director role in addition to her management responsibilities. In 2019, Realwheels announced Kirsten Kirsch as its inaugural playwright-in-residence, with the residency beginning in 2020. Tomas Mureika joined as artistic director in 2021. That same year, Realwheels established the Realwheels Acting Academy, whose first cohort began in September. The academy was intended for people with disabilities and was developed partly with disability-community participation, with the broader goal of changing systemic patterns of exclusion in arts training and employment. The company’s twentieth-anniversary programming in 2023 included Saturday Night At Axles, commissioned from artistic associate Adam Grant Warren, Vascular Necrosis by Jordyn Wood, and the radio play Disability Tour Bus. These projects demonstrated the range of the organization’s activity across stage and audio formats. At the start of the 2025–26 season, the organization announced that it would operate as Glitch Theatre rather than Realwheels Theatre. The rebrand accompanied the world premiere of Faye's Room by Alex K. Masse, described as the company’s first mainstage production since the pandemic. Masse is an autistic playwright, and the production was assembled with a predominantly neurodiverse group of directors, designers, and performers. The change of name marks a new phase in the company’s public identity while continuing its longstanding emphasis on disability-led creation, access, and participation.
- 2025
Realwheels becomes Glitch Theatre
[1]The organization announced its rebrand as Glitch Theatre for the 2025–26 season and launched the season with Faye's Room.
- 2023
Twentieth anniversary season
[1]The company marked two decades of activity with stage and audio works including Saturday Night At Axles, Vascular Necrosis, and Disability Tour Bus.
- 2021
Realwheels Acting Academy opens
[1]The academy admitted its first cohort of students with disabilities in September 2021.
- 2019
First playwright-in-residence is announced
[1]Kirsten Kirsch was named Realwheels’ inaugural playwright-in-residence for a residency beginning in 2020.
- 2014
Artistic leadership changes
[1]Rena Cohen assumed the artistic director role in addition to her managing director responsibilities.
- 2010
Spine is produced for the Vancouver Cultural Olympiad
[1]Realwheels collaborated with Kevin Kerr again on Spine in connection with the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.
- 2007
Skydive becomes the first major post-incorporation production
[1]The Kevin Kerr commission starred James Sanders and Bob Frazer and received the CITT/ICTS Award of Technical Merit.
- 2003
Realwheels Theatre is incorporated
[1]James Sanders founded and incorporated Realwheels Theatre as a registered nonprofit organization.
- 2000
Realwheels Ad Hoc Collective is formed
[1]James Sanders and Trevor Found created the collective that later developed into Realwheels Theatre.
Products and positioning
A disability-led and disability-focused theatre organization that combines professional production, community participation, artist training, and accessible cultural practice.
Professional theatre production · 2007
Skydive
A Kevin Kerr play commissioned by Realwheels and presented in 2007. James Sanders performed alongside Bob Frazer. The production was the company’s first major work after its incorporation and received the 2007 CITT/ICTS Award of Technical Merit.
Professional theatre production · 2010
Spine
A second Realwheels collaboration with playwright Kevin Kerr, co-produced in connection with the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad. It extended the company’s early practice of commissioning contemporary theatre within a disability-focused organizational context.
Virtual community performance · 2021
Wheel Voices: Tune In!
A community performance presented virtually in 2021. The project used a virtual cast and demonstrated how Realwheels adapted its participatory programming during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Artist training program · 2021
Realwheels Acting Academy
A training initiative established for people with disabilities. Its first student cohort began in September 2021, with the program seeking to increase disabled people’s direct participation in the cultural sector and contribute to systemic change in arts education and employment.
Mainstage theatre production · 2025
Faye's Room
A world-premiere play by autistic playwright Alex K. Masse that opened Glitch Theatre’s 2025–26 season. It was the organization’s first mainstage production since the COVID-19 pandemic and featured a predominantly neurodiverse creative and performing team.
Marketing campaigns
- 2023Twentieth Anniversary Season
Canada
A season commemorating twenty years of Realwheels activity through stage and audio works.
Outcome. Featured Saturday Night At Axles, Vascular Necrosis, and Disability Tour Bus.
- 2021Wheel Voices: Tune In!
Canada · Digital
A virtual community performance developed during the pandemic period, with participation by a virtual cast.
Outcome. Maintained community performance activity through an online format.
- 2017Comedy on Wheels
Canada
A community-oriented comedy performance involving artists who identified as living with disability.
Outcome. Continued the organization’s open community performance model.
- 2016SexyVoices
Canada
A further community performance initiative within Realwheels’ disability arts programming.
Outcome. Provided another participatory platform for disabled community artists.
- 2015SuperVoices
Canada
A community performance project in which artists identifying as living with disability could participate.
Outcome. Expanded the company’s community-based performance program.
Brand decisions
2025
Rebrand to Glitch TheatreStrategyBackground
At the beginning of the 2025–26 season, the organization introduced a new public identity after operating for more than two decades as Realwheels Theatre.
Action taken
The company announced that it would henceforth be known as Glitch Theatre.
Aftermath
The rebrand was launched alongside Faye's Room, the company’s first mainstage production since the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021
Creation of the Realwheels Acting AcademyStrategyBackground
The company sought to address barriers limiting disabled people’s access to arts training and cultural employment.
Action taken
Realwheels created an acting academy for people with disabilities and admitted its first cohort in September.
Aftermath
The academy became part of the company’s longer-term effort to increase disabled participation and encourage systemic change in the cultural sector.
2003
Formal incorporation as a disability theatre nonprofitStrategyBackground
The Realwheels Ad Hoc Collective’s early productions led to the creation of a permanent organization.
Action taken
James Sanders founded and incorporated Realwheels Theatre as a registered nonprofit.
Aftermath
The organization developed a sustained program of professional productions, community performance, and disability-focused cultural work.
Sources2 sources
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