Soulpepper Theatre
iPhoto caption: Damien Atkins as Oscar Wilde and Colton Curtis as Bosie in 'De Profundis.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
Next season, Soulpepper Theatre wants to prove it’s ‘more than just a place that plays happen’
“The lobby is maybe even a more important meeting place than the seats in the audience, because that’s actually where the connection happens,” says artistic director Paolo Santalucia of Soulpepper’s 2026-27 season, which will feature a suite of public programming as well as 12 productions.
iPhoto caption: Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu for Intermission Magazine. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
Spotlight: Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu
“I always question: ‘How am I going to do it?’ But the moment I get in the room with actors, it becomes clear," says Tindyebwa Otu. "We need to tell stories; we need to be in community. Every show I do, I feel like, ‘This could be the last one.’ I’ve felt like this since I became a mom. And yet, 10 years later, I’ve produced more artistic work than ever.”
iPhoto caption: Dan Mousseau and bahia watson in 'Summer and Smoke.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Tennessee Williams deep cut Summer and Smoke warms up Crow’s Theatre
I wondered if further following the directive to push upward instead of outward, balancing the corporeal dark with a little more spiritual lightness, might have made this ambitious and heartfelt production spark just a little bit hotter.
iPhoto caption: Nicholas Eddie and Tantoo Cardinal in 'Witch.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Soulpepper’s Witch is thematically alluring but dramatically thin
Jen Silverman’s play aspires to communicate something substantive about the human condition — touching on loneliness, ostracization, misogyny, ageism, yearning, and ego — yet it never quite settles on a cohesive or definitive thesis. Lancaster’s production commits to heady visuals and clever idiosyncrasies to fill the gap, with mixed results.