Frontmezzjunkies reports: Crow’s Theatre’s 2025/26 Season
CROW TAKING FLIGHT. CITYWIDE AND BEYOND.
Crow’s Theatre announces an exhilarating 12-show 25.26 season of Canadian and World Premieres, a visionary new strategic partnership with Soulpepper Theatre, and a further expansion of their Streetcar Crowsnest venue
Lucy Kirkwood’s THE WELKIN – Dave Malloy’s OCTET – THE VEIL by Keith Barker & Thomas Morgan Jones – THE CHRISTMAS MARKET by Kanika Ambrose – Michael Healey’s ROGERS V. ROGERS – NARNIA by Fiona Sauder & Landon Doak – PU SONGLING: STRANGE TALES from Theatre Smith-Gilmour – Tennessee Williams’ SUMMER AND SMOKE – THE SURROGATE by Mohsin Zaidi – MARY, MARY, MARY, MARY by Erin Shields – Andrew Kushnir’s THE DIVISION – PRIMARY TRUST by Eboni Booth
TORONTO (April 9, 2025) – Today, Crow’s Theatre Artistic Director Chris Abraham and Executive Director Sherrie Johnson are thrilled to lift the curtain on an exhilarating 42nd season of programming and to announce an innovative three-year partnership with Soulpepper Theatre that imagines a collaborative and robust vision for the future of theatre in Toronto. Maintaining an astonishing growth trajectory, the company also announces a further expansion of the Streetcar Crowsnest with the addition of the Nada Ristich Studio-Gallery becoming a dedicated third public venue, facilitated by an ongoing $7 million campaign to fund Crow’s Theatre’s expansion along Dundas Street East, an Arts Endowment, and expanded programming—now 80% to goal. Programming for the third venue will be announced in the fall, with an expected launch date of January 2026.
The 25.26 Crow’s Theatre season, generously supported by Lead Season Sponsor BMO, features an expansive lineup of twelve original productions—including three Canadian Premieres and seven World Premieres, three of which are Crow’s Theatre commissions.
“This season, we’re inviting audiences into a collection of plays that pulse with life—stories of reinvention, of individuals who refuse to accept the world as it’s been handed to them and who dare to imagine something better,” said Artistic Director Chris Abraham. “Across the 25.26 program, we’re also turning our attention to the quiet power of communities—how people come together, reimagine what’s possible, and transform daily life through acts of care, friendship, and unexpected courage. Whether in an improvised courtroom in 1772, a migrant workers’ camp, a corporate boardroom, or in a recovery group for Internet and screen addicts, these stories explore how we find belonging, forge connection, and reshape the stories we live by.”
That spirit of collaboration will also fuel a bold new initiative: a three-year strategic partnership with Soulpepper Theatre, designed to grow audiences, expand artistic ambition, and strengthen the city’s cultural future. Since opening its doors in 2017 with a $2.5 million budget, Crow’s Theatre has continued to push boundaries and create new opportunities for artists. This year, the company will reach an impressive 125,000 audience members and is projecting a $9 million operating budget for 25.26. This momentum reflects not only the appetite for bold, contemporary storytelling but also a renewed public enthusiasm for live performance. As Crow’s Theatre’s national and international profile continues to rise—with commercial transfers of FIFTEEN DOGS and NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812, and a tour of THE LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: OR AS YOU LIKE IT to the Edinburgh International Festival—the company remains focused on reimagining how theatre is made and shared in Toronto, and doing its part to help build a thriving ecosystem for the arts.
STRONGER TOGETHER—A NEW VISION FOR COLLABORATION WITH SOULPEPPER
Crow’s and Soulpepper’s collaboration will bring together the creative capacities and city-building vision of two of the country’s most dynamic arts organizations. This new multi-year pilot initiative will enable the companies to nurture new audiences, take bigger creative swings to deliver visionary large-scale productions, collaborate on new music programming, and jointly develop bold new works that define the next era of Canadian theatre—all with the goal of building a broader, more connected audience for ambitious homegrown theatre and re-establishing Toronto as a global destination for visionary live performance. With both companies’ long histories of artistic excellence and innovation, this partnership allows them to share knowledge and insight in unprecedented ways, igniting the appetite for the performing arts at a time when Toronto audiences are demonstrating renewed enthusiasm for live performance like never before.
The first year of this pilot partnership will see Soulpepper and Crow’s Theatre create a joint offer for audiences, with Crow’s and Soulpepper producing a total of 24 productions between the two venues (four of which will be co-productions between the two companies). Under the partnership, subscribers at both theatres will have the opportunity to attend productions at partner venues at reciprocal discounts, making it easier for audiences to experience more theatre and explore the full breadth of programming across both companies. Through expanded joint marketing efforts, this collaboration will also increase the visibility of Toronto’s theatre artists, helping to grow and diversify audiences for both companies and the wider not-for-profit sector.
“Soulpepper and Crow’s, while both distinct organizations with unique creative missions, share many common values, including a commitment to creative excellence, city-building, and the development of new Canadian work,” comments Crow’s Theatre Artistic Director Chris Abraham. “Our joint presentation with Soulpepper of THE MASTER PLAN in the 24.25 season, which played to capacity audiences for the second year in a row, suggested uncharted possibilities to expand upon production partnership into something longer term –a vision for a new approach to collaboration that would not only deepen production capacity but also nurture a more active and engaged audience for theatre in our city.”
“We all want to serve our city and organizations better, and in our business, we channel energy and creativity through the magic of live theatre,” adds Executive Director Sherrie Johnson. “In an atmosphere of changing dynamics, we have all been looking for a new road map to navigate a tumultuous environment. At some point, you have to dig in, stop searching, and build it. This strategic partnership with our trusted allies at Soulpepper is born from a place of both courage and vulnerability. Ultimately, we all want to live in a city where the arts have value and as many people as possible experience the wonder and passion of live performance.”
In addition to the expanded relationship with Soulpepper, Crow’s deepens partnerships across the 25.26 season with The Howland Company, Project: Humanity, b current, Studio 180, The Musical Stage Company, Here For Now Theatre, and other independent companies, fostering artistic collaborations that bring the arts community together by transcending traditional barriers. The season itself is a tapestry of different voices—emerging and established, local and global, classic and contemporary.
RESILIENCE, RETELLING and REIMAGINING BELONGING—CROW’S THEATRE’S 25.26 SEASON
In the spirit of coming together to challenge, reinvent, and chart new paths forward, Crow’s Theatre’s 25.26 season is bound together by plays that reveal the ways we find belonging, forge connection, and rewrite the stories we tell ourselves and each other.
The Crow’s season gets underway with two Canadian Premiere co-productions under the umbrella of the partnership with Soulpepper. On stage at the Baillie Theatre at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in September (also produced in collaboration with The Howland Company) Weyni Mengesha (Soulpepper’s The Guide to Being Fabulous) directs the Canadian Premiere of THE WELKIN, UK playwright Lucy Kirkwood’s thrilling new history play about a jury of twelve women in 1759 England who must decide whether an accused murderess is pregnant, thereby determining her fate. First produced at The National Theatre in London in 2020 and followed by an acclaimed off-Broadway run in 2024 starring Sandra Oh, THE WELKIN is a powerful examination of women’s voices set against a world determined to ignore them, reminiscent of Twelve Angry Men, The Crucible, and Women Talking.
On the Guloien Theatre stage at Streetcar Crowsnest, Crow’s Artistic Director Chris Abraham reunites with the work of three-time Tony Award nominee Dave Malloy—whose NATASHA, PIERRE, & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 was a runaway success in the Crow’s 23.24 season—for OCTET. The third work of Malloy’s to be produced at Crow’s, OCTET is a chamber choir musical about a technology addiction support group, offering a hilarious and deeply moving exploration of human connection in the digital age. One of Malloy’s most recent offerings, the songs in OCTET are rendered entirely by the naked human voice, a voice struggling to survive in battle against the monolith of the Internet—one of the most fundamental battles of the 21st century. This unmissable production will be brought to life by a luminous cast that includes Alicia Ault (In Real Life), Jacqueline Thair (Shaw’s My Fair Lady), Hailey Gillis (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), Zorana Sadiq (Trident Moon), Andrew Broderick (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), Ben Carlson (Rosmersholm), and Damien Atkins (De Profundis). NATASHA, PIERRE, & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 and STRANGE LOOP collaborators, The Musical Stage Company also co-produce.
Next, in the lead up to Halloween comes A Thought For Food Production, in association with Crow’s Theatre and the Guild Festival Theatre, the World Premiere of THE VEIL, a new play from Governor General’s Literary Award nominee Keith Barker and award-winning director Thomas Morgan Jones (Stratford’s A Wrinkle in Time). A dark fable about the perils of blind corporate ambition inspired by traditional Gothic horror, THE VEIL tells the story of a high-powered lawyer who inherits a sinister curse that stirs to life the ghosts of his numerous terrible misdeeds.
In November, b current Performing Arts, in association with Crow’s Theatre and Studio 180 Theatre, brings THE CHRISTMAS MARKET, a World Premiere from Dora Award–winning playwright Kanika Ambrose that opens a window into an overlooked experience of the holiday season. Directed by the eminent Philip Akin (Shaw’s The House That Will Not Stand), THE CHRISTMAS MARKET follows three Caribbean migrant workers at a rural holiday tree farm as they navigate their first Canadian winter, discovering unexpected friendship and forging unshakeable bonds.
Rounding out 2025, Chris Abraham (Stratford’s Much Ado About Nothing) reunites with longtime collaborators Michael Healey and Tom Rooney (Uncle Vanya) for the World Premiere of ROGERS V. ROGERS, one of the most anticipated productions of the year. Adapted from Alexandra Posadzki’s “Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada’s Telecom Empire“, Healey’s razor-sharp take brings his trademark political edge and comic precision to a story that is as much about corporate dynasties as it is about the fragile mechanisms of public trust. At the heart of this gripping drama is the collision between the power struggle within the Rogers family and the scrutiny of Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell, whose mandate to protect the public interest places him in direct conflict with unchecked corporate ambition. Starring Tom Rooney (Shaw’s My Fair Lady) in a tour-de-force performance as every character, ROGERS V. ROGERS is a timely, complex portrait of democracy under pressure.
For the holiday season, Crow’s Theatre, Soulpepper Theatre, and Bad Hats Theatre come together for a brand-new musical from the creators of the beloved hits PETER PAN and ALICE IN WONDERLAND, NARNIA, written and directed by Fiona Sauder with music and lyrics by Landon Doak and featuring a playful ensemble that includes Belinda Corpuz, Landon Doak, Sierra Haynes, Matthew Joseph, Matt Pilipiak, Jonathan Tan, and Amaka Umeh. A reimagining of one of literature’s most beloved family stories, NARNIA upholds Bad Hats’ tradition of inventive and uplifting original musical theatre, promising a magical experience to be shared by the young and young at heart.
In the new year, Theatre Smith-Gilmour, in association with Crow’s Theatre, presents the World Premiere of PU SONGLING: STRANGE TALES. Pu Songling’s visionary tales of the supernatural have captivated readers for centuries. This striking new adaptation brings Songling’s timeless fables to life as only Theatre Smith-Gilmour—one of the country’s most innovative and enduring companies—can.
On the Guloien stage in February, Crow’s Theatre and Soulpepper Theatre, in Association with Birdland Theatre, present a new production of Tennessee Williams’ timeless SUMMER AND SMOKE, directed by Crow’s Theatre Associate Artistic Director Paolo Santalucia (Soulpepper’s The Seagull) and starring Crow’s regular bahia watson (The Wedding Party) and Dan Mousseau (Prodigal). A rarely staged 20th-century masterpiece, SUMMER AND SMOKE is a blistering and rapturous story of love and longing and is considered one of Williams’ most tender and heart-rending works.
In the Studio Theatre, Here For Now Theatre, in association with Crow’s Theatre, House + Body, and b current Performing Arts, presents the World Premiere of a Crow’s Theatre commission, THE SURROGATE, from the award-winning and internationally acclaimed author of Dutiful Boy (Book of the Year, GQ, The Guardian), Mohsin Zaidi. Directed by Crow’s Theatre’s Artistic Associate Christopher Manousos (HOUSE + BODY’s Measure For Measure), THE SURROGATE is a gripping debut drama that explodes notions of contemporary parenthood, exploring privilege and the complexities of modern family-making, featuring Fuad Ahmed, Thom Nyhuus, and Sehar Bhojani (Trident Moon).
With spring arrives another Crow’s Theatre commission, the World Premiere of MARY, MARY, MARY, MARY, written by celebrated playwright Erin Shields (Soulpepper’s Queen Goneril) and directed by acclaimed UK director, and previous Artistic Director of Dublin’s The Gate Theatre, Ellen McDougall. A visceral and lyrical reimagining of the gospels’ most enduring icons, MARY, MARY, MARY, MARY blends ancient scripture with Shields’ trademark wit to reclaim the stories of four women who bore witness to miracles, now finally allowed to speak. A reckoning with history, this production features the powerhouse ensemble of Sabryn Rock, Michelle Monteith (Crow’s Bad Roads), Nancy Palk (Tarragon’s Withrow Park), Vivien Endicott-Douglas, and Amaka Umeh(The Wolves).
Next, Project: Humanity returns to Crow’s Theatre, co-producing with Pyretic Productions, with a gripping new work in which Andrew Kushnir (Casey and Diana) takes a journey back to his family homeland, Ukraine, to retrace his grandfather’s footsteps in THE DIVISION. On his journey, Kushnir unearths family mythology with astonishing connections to the present. With his signature blend of documentary theatre and personal storytelling, Kushnir faces the unspoken truths that shape both our personal and collective histories.
Concluding the season, Crow’s Theatre and The Grand Theatre present the 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama, Eboni Booth’s PRIMARY TRUST. Directed by Cherissa Richards, who won a Dora Award for her production of RED VELVET in the 22.23 Crow’s season, PRIMARY TRUST tells the story of Kenneth, who has lived a safe and comfortable life alone, working at a local bookshop. When the shop suddenly closes, however, Kenneth is forced to confront the fears and unspoken grief that have held him down. A fitting ending to a season that foregrounds our search for humanity, meaning, and connection, PRIMARY TRUST is a poignant meditation on our need for connection and the courage it takes to reach outwards and transform your life.
FLYING FURTHER—80% TO COMPLETION ON A $7 MILLION CAMPAIGN
Over the past several years, Crow’s Theatre has experienced extraordinary momentum, with consistent annual growth in the number of artists engaged, tickets sold, performances presented, and its overall operational budget. Last season, more than 85,000 audience members experienced work by Crow’s—at Streetcar Crowsnest, on tour, and through partner presentations across the country. This year, the company is on track to surpass 125,000 audience members, affirming its position as one of the fastest-growing and most vital cultural institutions in the country.
In that spirit of sustained growth and impact, Crow’s is thrilled to announce that it will once again expand its physical footprint—this time eastward to 1220 Dundas Street East—adding 5,180 square feet of space that will house production support facilities, new administrative offices, and a much-needed rehearsal hall.
This expansion will also pave the way for a further transformation of the existing Nada Ristich Studio-Gallery into a third multi-use performance venue, becoming the permanent home of an expanded Crow’s Cabaret. This exciting development promises to elevate Toronto’s East End arts scene with a vibrant array of alternative programming, including cutting-edge music, comedy, drag, and local and international fringe hits, firmly establishing Crow’s Theatre as a dynamic hub of creative expression and cultural engagement.
At the heart of this expansion is a deepened commitment to community. As Crow’s continues to grow, so too does its ambition to serve as a cultural space for the diverse communities of Toronto’s East End and beyond. With this new chapter, Crow’s is looking forward to expanding the theatre’s reach—not only as a destination for world-class performance, but as a home for gathering, dialogue, and shared experience. Whether through grassroots programming, local partnerships, or increased access to creative spaces, this initiative is rooted in the belief that theatre can—and should—be a vital and responsive part of community life. These exciting developments are made possible by Crow’s Takes Flight, a $7 million campaign designed to support three strategic pillars: (1) expanding artistic ambition through large-scale productions and citywide audience engagement; (2) enhancing spaces by creating new infrastructure and reimagining existing ones; and (3) establishing the company’s first endowment to provide long-term financial stability. With 80% of the campaign goal already raised, Crow’s is poised to enter a transformative new chapter, cementing its legacy as a leading creative hub and ensuring that future generations can continue to gather, reflect, and be inspired by the power of live theatre.
