Tarragon Theatre reveals premiere-packed 55th anniversary season, including return of Yaga and MONKS
iPhoto caption: Photo Tarragon Theatre by Teagan McCanny.
Tarragon Theatre’s 2026-27 season features world premieres by Anahita Dehbonehie, Katherine Gauthier, Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho), and Luke Reece, plus four other Canadian works.
“I have been so fortunate to witness and learn from the breadth of Tarragon’s impact during my five seasons here,” wrote artistic director Mike Payette in a press release sent out this morning. “There is lots to celebrate this season, and we hope it is one that inspires, moves, and transports audiences to new worlds within and around them.”
In addition to its subscription season, Tarragon will host the North American premiere of David Ireland’s The Fifth Step, a guest presentation from Studio 180 Theatre.
The company is also bringing back the curated Sally Stavro Family Series, which offers free tickets to audience members under the age of 12.
Tarragon’s 2026-27 slate of full productions is listed below.
Prophetess
Written by Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho)
Directed by Mike Payette
November 24 to December 27, 2026 in the Mainspace
Margaret, the chair of her English department, snaps awake, haunted by a nightmare of spiders. As she confides in her love, Henry, over breakfast, that very same spider from her dream manifests — speaking, growling, and cursing her. Inspired by Shakespeare’s history plays, Prophetess excavates etymology to consider the words we choose to define ourselves.
MONKS
A Veronica Hortigüela and Annie Luján production, presented by Tarragon Theatre
Created and directed by Veronica Hortigüela and Annie Luján
October 20 to November 8, 2026 in the Extraspace
In this runaway Toronto Fringe Festival hit, the medieval monks who reside in a hilltop monastery have always lived in total isolation. But when the Abbott ventures into town, two brothers seize the chance to invite a wagon full of strangers into their austere abode.
The Night Logan Woke Up
A Tarragon Theatre, Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, and Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre co-production
Written by Michel Marc Bouchard
World-premiere English translation by Robert Chafe
Directed by Jillian Keiley
November 17 to December 13, 2026 in the Mainspace
As a girl growing up in a small Newfoundland town, Emilia Lynch would cheat insomnia by slipping into neighbouring houses to spy on people as they slept. Many years later, Emilia — now an internationally renowned embalmer to the rich and famous — has returned after the death of her mother. As she prepares for the funeral alongside her three brothers, a shocking revelation is unearthed in the will.
Call Me By My Cousin’s Name
A Tarragon Theatre and Outside the March co-production
Written by Anahita Dehbonehie
Directed by Mitchell Cushman
February 2 to 28, 2027 in the Mainspace
William is an expert on his Persian wife Tara: her mother, her culture, her turn-ons. Yet their marriage is collapsing fast. So he plans one last big surprise with the help of his infinitely patient colleague Shahriar — who is desperate for a favour of his own.
The Shoplifters
Written and directed by Morris Panych
March 2 to 28, 2027 in the Extraspace
This Morris Panych comedy features Alma, a career shoplifter who prefers the five-finger discount over a seniors’ day deal. But it’s not just an empty wallet that leads Alma to a life of petty crime. Along for the ride is Phyllis, Alma’s less-cool accomplice.
You’re Still Here
Written by Katherine Gauthier
Directed by Andrew Kushnir
March 23 to April 18, 2027 in the Mainspace
A new medical technology attempts the impossible task of accurately predicting when a person will die. When it’s quietly introduced into a hospice, Dr. Froese, a leading palliative care physician, must navigate the ethical and emotional tremors it sends through his daily life.
Definition
A Tarragon Theatre and Obsidian Theatre Company co-production
Written by Luke Reece
Directed by Mike Payette
April 27 to May 23, 2027 in the Extraspace
Ali is living away from her family, trying to make peace with her past. Back home, her husband Martin struggles to find new meaning and their daughter, Emerson, competes in her first spelling bee. Unfolding from a chance encounter at a library in 1999, the family’s present-day realities — and once-imagined futures — seek new meaning.
Yaga
Written by Kat Sandler
Directed by Jill Harper
May 11 to June 6, 2027 in the Mainspace
A gruesome murder in a small town leads a local sheriff, a professor with a taste for younger men, and a green detective into a labyrinth of secret lives, ancient magic, and multiple suspects. Returning to Tarragon after the debut of its 2026 TV adaptation, Yaga is a fairy-tale-meets-whodunnit inspired by Baba Yaga, the witch from Slavic folklore who lives alone in the woods grinding the bones of the wicked.
For more information, visit the company’s website, where subscriptions are now on sale. Single tickets will be available on July 1, 2026.
Tarragon Theatre is an Intermission partner. Learn more about Intermission’s partnership model here.
Liam Donovan
Liam is Intermission’s senior editor. He lives in Toronto. His Substack newsletter is available at loamdonovan.substack.com.
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