Canadian Stage lineup offers a mix of domestic classics and provocative imports

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This article was published 07/04/2025 (353 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Canadian Stage’s upcoming season includes a return of Robert Lepage, the Canadian premiere of the controversial “Slave Play,” and a reinvigorated “A Doll’s House” that took Broadway by storm.

The not-for-profit theatre says the 2025/2026 lineup will see Lepage revive his 2000 space-race saga “The Far Side of the Moon,” including a score by Laurie Anderson, from Nov. 1 to 16; while Canadian Stage associate artistic director Jordan Laffrenier will direct Jeremy O. Harris’ provocative exploration of race and sex, “Slave Play,” running Sept. 27 to Oct. 19.

The new year features Amy Herzog’s Tony-winning adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s classic, “A Doll’s House,” directed by Canadian Stage artistic director Brendan Healy running Jan. 17 to Feb. 1 and starring Hailey Gillis as Nora.

Family-friendly fare includes this year’s Shakespeare-in-the park show, “Romeo & Juliet,” July 13 to Aug. 31 with Praneet Akilla of the Paramount Plus show “Sky Med,” and Ross Petty’s holiday Panto show “Robin Hood: A Very Merry Family Musical,” from Nov. 26 to Jan. 4 with Julia Pulo from last year’s “Wizard of Oz” spoof.

World premieres include Kanika Ambrose’s “Moonlight Schooner,” directed by Sabryn Rock from Nov. 21 to Dec. 14; and in the new year, Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Erin Shields presents “You, Always,” directed by Andrea Donaldson from Jan. 31 to Feb. 15.

Healy says Canadian Stage chose productions meant to foster human connection and reflect Toronto’s diversity, although Canada-U.S. tensions were also top of mind: “I am feeling an increase of patriotism for our country.”

Still, he notes the lineup includes three American plays – Herzog’s take on “A Doll’s House,” “Slave Play,” and Lynn Nottage’s “Clyde’s” opening April 11, 2026 – because they “speak to today’s world in vital, original, and insightful ways.”

“I stay committed to Canadian Stage’s internationalist mandate despite my outrage at the politics of the day,” Healy said Monday in a release.

“It is often said that art knows no borders. I believe that this is because the human experience is universal.”

Also on the lineup is “Little Willy,” billed as a “sassy take” on “Romeo and Juliet” from Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, running Feb. 27 to April 5, 2026.

Canadian Stage says there was an increase in single ticket sales in the current season, with the most single ticket buyers seen since 2003. The organization also saw a 51 per cent year-over-year increase in subscription revenue.

Season pass renewals for the 2025/2026 season are available now, first-time pass purchases open April 14, and single tickets go on sale June 30.

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Online: www.canadianstage.com

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2025.