Announcing the ON Criticism: 2025/26 Theatre Critics Lab cohort
Intermission and our partner theatres — the Grand Theatre, Talk is Free Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, and Theatre Aquarius — are thrilled to welcome the cohort of ON Criticism: the 2025/26 Theatre Critics Lab!
Caelan Beard (Brampton), Alexandrea Marsh (London), Phillip Dwight Morgan (Toronto), Izzy Siebert (London), Joe Szekeres (Oshawa), and Hunter Weaymouth (Hamilton) will work with Intermission senior editor Liam Donovan and editorial director Karen Fricker in this six-month-long training and professional development program.
The program focuses on selected productions in each partner theatre’s season: Twelve Dinners (Talk is Free), Primary Trust (the Grand, a co-production with Crow’s Theatre), Mischief (Tarragon Theatre, a co-production with Native Earth Performing Arts and Neptune Theatre), and It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken (Theatre Aquarius, in partnership with Thousand Islands Playhouse).
The cohort will learn from guest speakers providing expertise about the focus productions, and about building skills and professional competencies in theatre criticism.
Intermission readers can look forward to seeing these exciting writers’ bylines on our site very soon!
Krystal Abrigo
Krystal is Intermission's Publishing and Editorial Coordinator. A Scarborough-based writer of Philippine and Egyptian descent who enjoys reading bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and James Baldwin. At any given moment, you can probably find her at a concert, or on a long walk somewhere in Toronto (or elsewhere).
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iPhoto caption: 'Vampyr.' Photo by Nicolas Calderon.
REVIEWS: Festival TransAmériques 2026
The 20th edition of Montreal’s FTA does right by its name, featuring a curated lineup of 25 theatre and dance productions with roots mostly in the Americas. This year, Intermission presents its most comprehensive FTA coverage ever, with four critics publishing a total of 16 capsule reviews — responses that will appear below over the course of the two-week festival.
iPhoto caption: Amaka Umeh, Astrid Van Wieren, and the Ensemble in 'Narnia.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
TAPA unveils 2026 Dora Award nominees
The general theatre division is tightly contested. The Welkin, Rogers v. Rogers, Through the Eyes of God, and Le malentendu (a.k.a. The Misunderstanding) are tied for the most nominations, with five each.
iPhoto caption: Ryan Hollyman and Monica Dottor. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
cicadas, a new eco-thriller by David Yee, begins previews at Tarragon
In a near-future version of Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood, a house turns on its inhabitants. Unsettling phenomena begin to surface: unexplained leaks, invasive moss, and a persistent, otherworldly hum.
iPhoto caption: Michaela Washburn, Teneil Whiskeyjack, Jesse Fervais, Tracey Nepinak, and Valerie Planche in 'Strife.' Photo by Jae Yang.
Q&A: Matthew MacKenzie on Strife and Indigenous sovereignty in storytelling
In plays including Bears, After the Fire, and The First Métis Man of Odesa, Métis playwright Matthew MacKenzie has centred Indigenous perspectives while examining how identity and power operate within both personal and political spheres.
iPhoto caption: Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet). Jessica B. Hill, Praneet Akilla, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Mike Shara, Caroline Toal. Photo by Elana Emer.
Paul Gross, Cabaret, and Ann-Marie MacDonald headline Canadian Stage’s 2026-27 season
Casting highlights include Sara Farb and Allan Louis in Cabaret, Paul Gross returning to Canadian Stage in Creditors, and playwrights Keith Barker and Kate Hennig performing in their own works.
iPhoto caption: Maria Paula Carreño-Martínez in 'Kill Your Father.' Photo by Galactticaaa.
Q&A: How Expandido Arts Collective is reimagining the Medea myth
Originally written in Portuguese as Mata Teu Pai, Passô’s play reimagines the myth of Medea through a contemporary feminist lens.
iPhoto caption: Eva O'Connor in 'Chicken.' Photo by Hildegard Ryan.
This year’s Bealtaine Theatre Festival features a Ulysses adaptation and a solo show about a chicken
The 2026 edition will unfold at the Corleck, a new waterfront performance venue set to officially open in November. Bealtaine audiences will be among the first to experience the space.
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