(This story is sponsored by Vancouver Civic Theatres.)

In an age of fake news and perfectly curated social media profiles, is it really any surprise that we’re desperately seeking something that’s real?

And with that has come an insatiable and growing appetite for documentaries—the ultimate in reality programing.

While we might find some escape in watching a big budget movie packed with special effects, there is surely nothing more dramatic or spectacular than nature itself.

By exploring everything from deep down at the ocean’s floor, to high above the Earth’s atmosphere, documentaries can lead us to ask the existential questions in ways that other forms of entertainment cannot.

And for the first time ever, Vancouver Civic Theatres is bringing the wonder of the documentary to the stage in four unmissable shows—all part of the National Geographic Live speaker series.

Taking place at Vancouver’s Orpheum theatre, the series will see some of National Geographic’s most dynamic and entertaining explorers share behind-the-scenes stories from the front lines of exploration. Alongside stunning imagery and gripping footage, the audience will be able to get up close with some of the greatest storytellers in the world.

And who needs Godzilla when you learn that a 50-foot-long dragon with spike-shaped teeth roamed the Earth 97-million-years ago?

Although this might sound like a character from a blockbuster movie, this describes the spinosaurus, the largest-known dinosaur to have ever lived.

 In “Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous”—the first of the National Geographic Live series taking place on October 10—researcher Nizar Ibrahim shares the real-life “tale for the ages” on the gigantic discovery.

Ibrahim is a postdoctoral scholar in vertebrate anatomy and paleontology at the University of Chicago and a 2014 National Geographic emerging explorer. In his presentation, he will recount the amazing story of how the spinosaurus was rediscovered a century after its bones were first unearthed and later destroyed in the Second World War.

With the help of animation and video, Ibrahim will bring to life this ancient monster—almost lost to science.

In the second of the series, “On the Trail of Big Cats” (on February 27, 2019), the audience will be taken on an adventure from Asian jungles to Latin American rainforests, by award-winning wildlife photographer Steve Winter. Photographing big cats for National Geographic since 1991, Winter will give a peak behind the lens of his explorations. Sharing his extraordinary tales from getting stuck in quicksand to mishaps with remote-controlled cameras, it’s sure to be a wild ride.

On March 12 (2019), Brian Skerry, a National Geographic photography fellow, takes the audience underwater in his talk “Ocean Soul”. Now a leading voice for marine conservation, Skerry’s adventures have lead him to the most extreme conditions beneath Arctic ice and to predator-infested waters. He has even lived at the bottom of the sea to get close to his subjects.

Skerry’s powerful presentations showcase stunning imagery and thrilling encounters, which reiterate the importance of protecting our oceans and the wildlife that inhabits them.

The series will end on a high (on May 7, 2019) with the final presentation, “View from Above” with Terry Virts. The celebrated NASA astronaut and National Geographic author will share his stories and spectacular photographs taken from space.

As a pilot of the space shuttle Endeavour, and crew member on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, Virts spent 200 consecutive days in space as commander of the International Space Station—one of the longest continuous space missions of any NASA astronaut.

From sea to stars, from past to future; these experts, pioneers, explorers, and trailblazers are superheroes—no capes required. And their riveting tales of adventure prove that true magic, theatre, drama, and poetry are to be found in the real world.

Don’t miss your opportunity to hear them tell their stories in this unique educational series. But make sure you act fast.

Joe Santos, marketing manager at Vancouver Civic Theatres, expects tickets to sell out quickly. And we can’t be the only ones thinking that this would make a perfect gift idea for Father’s Day, Christmas, and beyond.

“We were looking at where the voids were in the market,” says Santos. “It’s something that’s different and we’re optimistic that there’s the need and the appetite for something like this in Vancouver.”

National Geographic Live series tickets ($165) get you into all four shows and can be purchased here. Special pricing for family-packs and student matinees is available. For more information visit the Vancouver Civic Theatres website.