Canadian Stage reveals 2025-26 programming
iPhoto caption: Photo courtesy of Canadian Stage.
World premieres from local playwrights Erin Shields and Kanika Ambrose feature in Canadian Stage’s 2025-26 season, announced this morning. The lineup also includes a Robert Lepage remount and a pair of Tony Award-nominated dramas.
“Canadian Stage is an anchor theatre in this city,” wrote Canadian Stage artistic director Brendan Healy in a press release. “As Toronto’s largest not-for-profit theatre and one of the longest running, our responsibility is to produce world-class theatre that connects with as many people in the city as possible, that is as diverse as this city is, and that… engages with current dialogues while also entertaining and delighting our audiences.”
The company reported that during the 2024-25 season, it experienced a 51 per cent year-over-year increase in subscription revenue, and had the most single ticket buyers since 2003.
Next season’s slate of full productions is listed below.
Romeo & Juliet
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Marie Farsi
July 13 – August 31, 2025
High Park Amphitheatre
Dream in High Park returns for its 42nd year with a cast made up of Praneet Akilla, Lili Beaudoin, Matthew G. Brown, Joella Crichton, Daniel Krmpotic, Ziska Louis, Diego Matamoros, Dan Mousseau, Meilie Ng, Asher Rose, Mike Shara, and Michaela Washburn.
Slave Play
Written by Jeremy O. Harris
Directed by Jordan Laffrenier
September 27 – October 19, 2025
Berkeley Street Theatre
A provocative drama that has sparked conversations from Broadway to the West End, Slave Play deconstructs race, sex, and the impact history has on our most intimate relationships. This Canadian premiere production will feature Justin Eddy, Sébastien Heins, Beck Lloyd, Kwaku Okyere, Gord Rand, Amy Rutherford, Jess Salgueiro, and Sophia Walker.
The Far Side of the Moon
Written and directed by Robert Lepage
November 1 – November 16, 2025
Bluma Appel Theatre
This Ex Machina production from 2000 explores the personal and political turmoil of the Cold War era through the tale of two Quebec City brothers. Robert Lepage’s signature visual storytelling draws the audience into a world on the brink of change, delving into the impact global conflict has on individuals.
Moonlight Schooner
Written by Kanika Ambrose
Directed by Sabryn Rock
November 21 – December 14, 2025
Berkeley Street Theatre
May Day, 1958. A terrible storm strands a small group of Black sailors on the island of St. Kitts. As the looming unknowns of imperialism threaten their dreams of a better future, the sailors indulge in a responsibility-free night on the town. A world premiere from the writer-director duo behind our place and Truth, this Necessary Angel Theatre Company production (presented in association with Canadian Stage) will feature Michael Blake, Lisa Codrington, danjelani ellis, Daren A. Herbert, and Nathan D. Simmons.
Robin Hood: A Very Merry Family Musical
Written by Matt Murray
Directed by Mary Francis Moore
November 26, 2025 – January 4, 2026
Winter Garden Theatre
Following on from the 2024 Wizard of Oz panto, writer Matt Murray reunites with actor Julia Pulo to transform Robin Hood into a savvy, spirited heroine. Set in the forests of High Park, with pop hits galore.
A Doll’s House
Written by Henrik Ibsen
Adapted by Amy Herzog
Directed by Brendan Healy
January 17 – February 1, 2026
Bluma Appel Theatre
Healy revitalizes Ibsen’s late-19th-century classic with the help of an accomplished ensemble of Canadian actors: Michael Blake, David Collins, Laura Condlln, Hailey Gillis, Gray Powell, and Elizabeth Saunders.
You, Always
Written by Erin Shields
Directed by Andrea Donaldson
January 31 – February 15, 2026
Berkeley Street Theatre
In this world premiere from Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Erin Shields, sisters Liz and Delia unravel a lifetime of memories, travelling across space and time to trace the push and pull of their relationship over 50 years of shared history. Starring Maev Beaty and Liisa Repo-Martell.
Little Willy
Created and performed by Ronnie Burkett
February 27 – April 5, 2026
Berkeley Street Theatre
After a sold-out run of Little Dickens in 2022, Ronnie Burkett returns to Canadian Stage with his irreverent army of marionettes — this time for a sassy take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. A Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes production.
Clyde’s
Written by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Philip Akin
April 11 – April 26, 2026
Bluma Appel Theatre
In this Canadian premiere from the playwright of Canadian Stage’s 2020 Sweat, Clyde runs a truck-stop sandwich shop, staffed by ex-convicts looking for a shot at redemption. Despite her callous management style, the cooks learn to reclaim their lives. The cast will feature Augusto Bitter, Jasmine Case, Sterling Jarvis, Johnathan Sousa, and Sophia Walker.
Canadian Stage is an Intermission partner. Learn more about Intermission’s partnership model here.
iPhoto caption: Louise Pitre in 'Kimberly Akimbo.' Photo by Emelia Hellman.
REVIEW: Mirvish’s well-cast Kimberly Akimbo never stops surprising
The simple and the unconventional meld radiantly throughout Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire's Tony Award-dominating 2021 musical.
iPhoto caption: Athena So, Mike Nadajewski, Taylor Garwood, and Ben Page in rehearsal for 'All the Cows Are Dead.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
What I discovered at rehearsals for TIFT’s world premiere musical All the Cows Are Dead
I’m sure most new musicals have interesting rehearsal processes — but it helped my excitement level that All the Cows Are Dead is a site-specific, existential two-hander from one of Ontario’s most risk-taking companies. There'll also be countless balloons.
iPhoto caption: L to R, top to bottom: 'The 39 Steps' (photo by Raph Nogal), 'Benevolence' (photo by Jae Yang), 'The Born-Again Crow' (photo by Jeremy Mimnagh), 'Dimanche' (photo by Thomas Müller), 'Last Landscape' (photo by Fran Chudnoff), 'The Merchant of Venice' (photo by Kyle Purcell), 'Slave Play' (photo by Dahlia Katz), 'Waiting for Godot' (photo by Elana Emer), 'The Welkin' (photo by Dahlia Katz).
Twelve indelible moments of performance from 2025
With the lights fading on another year of fleeting thrills in dark rooms, we asked 12 Ontario performing arts writers to reflect on a moment that stayed with them. The results mainly stem from Toronto theatre productions, but there are a few surprises weaved in.
iPhoto caption: Connor Mitton and members of the company of 'Sex Dalmatian’s Hot Holiday Spectacular.' Photo by Jeremy Mimnagh.
REVIEW: Sex Dalmatian’s Hot Holiday Spectacular is a peppermint-coated acid trip
Rock Bottom Movement’s surrealist mandate is on full display in this 15-dancer fantasia, which begins with an invitation to let go: “The only thing you need to know is not to know anything at all,” pronounces the Mayor of Sex Dalmatian, the evening’s narrator and the mayor of the titular canine’s mind.
iPhoto caption: Tom Rooney in 'Rogers v. Rogers' at Crow's Theatre. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Tom Rooney dazzles in world premiere of Michael Healey’s Rogers v. Rogers
Rooney and Healey skewer the Rogers family with a disarmingly relaxed virtuosity that the surrounding Crow's Theatre production sometimes supports, and sometimes lets down.
iPhoto caption: Lauren Gillis and Alaine Hutton in 'Public Consumption.' Photo by Eden Graham.
REVIEW: Lester Trips’ stylish Public Consumption captures the internet’s profound emptiness
Rather than directly representing online life, Public Consumption speculates — with virtuosity — about how the digital world affects our bodies. And the show's findings are by no means comfortable.
Comments