Frontmezzjunkies Reports: Tarragon Theatre’s 2025/26 Season
April 3, 2025, TORONTO – Artistic Director Mike Payette and Executive Director Lisa Li are proud to announce Tarragon Theatre’s 2025/26 season, a thrilling lineup of world premieres, North American debuts, and powerful storytelling that will captivate audiences with fresh perspectives, bold narratives, and unforgettable performances. This season features exciting returns to Tarragon from formative artists, new partnerships with some of the finest local and national theatre companies, and works from outstanding voices from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Audiences are invited to a bright year of exceptional plays that move, inspire, and celebrate the power of live Canadian theatre.
“The past years have been an exciting time at Tarragon as we’ve brought back loyal audiences and welcomed new members to expand our reach in Toronto and across the country. We are grateful to those who make Tarragon such a vibrant hub of creation for all to enjoy,” notes Artistic Director Mike Payette. “This season celebrates the incredible impact of some of Canada’s most honoured playwrights while encouraging new discoveries through the next generation of Canadian classics. This is one of our largest and most ambitious seasons in recent history, and we look forward to introducing local and national audiences to the rich scope of creativity coming from the strongest of storytellers.”
Reflecting on the new season, Executive Director Lisa Li adds, “The 25/26 season is Tarragon at its best. We’ve planned an audacious season of productions and activities that highlight some of our country’s most distinguished artists.” She continues, “We’ll be working with partners all over Canada, underlining Tarragon’s national mandate and the importance of Canadian works during this moment in time. As the first season designed by Mike and I, it marks a new beginning, and we can’t wait to share it with our beloved audiences.”
Tarragon’s season begins with the multiple award-winning Bremen Town, written and directed by Gregory Prest. The hit Next Stage show comes to Tarragon in its first full-scale production. Starring Nancy Palk (Tarragon’s Withrow Park) as Frau Esel and featuring outstanding performances from theatre legends like Oliver Dennis (Soulpepper’s King Lear/Queen Goneril) and William Webster, as well as an exceptional ensemble, Bremen Town fuses music and storytelling in a hilarious folk tragicomedy. Frau Esel’s journey begins previews on September 30, 2025.
Continuing in the fall, Tarragon welcomes internationally-acclaimed creator Sunny Drake’s CHILD-ish to Toronto audiences. Produced in Association with the CHILD-ish Collective, CHILD-ish grew from a multi-year interview process with children aged 5-12 and offers a new twist on verbatim theatre. In CHILD-ish, rather than pretending to be children, actors present the words of children as adults. Directed by Andrea Donaldson, this unique play for adults is equally laugh-out-loud and deeply resonant, bringing fresh ideas into our complex world. Previews begin for this Toronto Premiere run on October 21.
Kicking off November, Tarragon and Obsidian Theatre Company partner for the first time to bring a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun) from Olivier and BAFTA Award-winning playwright debbie tucker green. A triptych of connected stories featuring three couples in a beautiful exploration of love, desire, and connection. Obsidian Theatre’s Artistic Director Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu (Tarragon’s Post-Democracy) returns to Tarragon as director of this North American Premiere, which begins previews November 11.
Tarragon rings in the new year with the 3rd edition of the Greenhouse Festival! The Greenhouse Festival continues the process-led residency program, focused on growing vibrant, theatrical ideas while facilitating exchange between artists and audience. Previous Greenhouse Festival artists and their works, like Emilio’s A Million Chameleons by Adam Francis Proulx and Jane, from Pantheon Projects, have since gone on to other stages across the country, Off-Broadway, and beyond! A call for applications for the Greenhouse Festival 2026 cohort will be announced soon.
As part of Tarragon’s commitment to national collaborations, the season continues with the beautiful World Premiere of Mischief by Lisa Nasson, a co-production between Native Earth Performing Arts and Halifax’s Neptune Theatre. Directed by Mike Payette (Tarragon’s Cockroach) with NEPA’s Joelle Peters, this funny, breathtaking, and deeply moving piece welcomes the lauded Lisa Nasson (Women of the Fur Trade, NAC/NEPA; Controlled Damage, Neptune/NAC) in her Tarragon debut. Mischief begins previews January 15, 2026.
Kitchener’s Green Light Arts presents, in association with Tarragon, Governor General’s Award winner Nicolas Billon with The Neighbours, a North American Premiere from the mind that brought the renowned plays Butcher and Iceland to national acclaim. This tension-filled thriller asks how good people can be entangled in another’s act of cruelty. Directed by Matt White, The Neighbours begins previews February 24.
After twenty-plus years, Tarragon is thrilled to welcome back multi-Governor General’s Award winner Judith Thompson with the Toronto Premiere of Queen Maeve. Starring theatre icon Clare Coulter in the titular role of a woman in a nursing home, who also happens to be the great Irish Warrior. Directed by Mike Payette (Tarragon’s Paint Me This House of Love), Queen Maeve intertwines magic with reality and brings Thompson’s unique masterwork of storytelling to the stage. Previews begin March 3.
Tarragon’s national collaborations go west in association with Edmonton’s Punctuate! Theatre and the World Premiere of Strife by Matthew Mackenzie (Punctuate! Theatre’s First Métis Man of Odesa). Mackenzie, a two-time Dora Award winner for Outstanding New Play (Bears, First Métis Man of Odessa), offers a tense, poetic, and powerful reflection on loss and strength when a tough oil-patch worker must come to terms with the murder of her climate-activist brother. Strife makes its mark from April 7.
Partnerships continue with a co-production from Tarragon and the National Arts Centre English Theatre with the World Premiere of cicadas, created by Chris Thornborrow and David Yee. Originally conceived in partnership with the NAC Orchestra, Siminovitch Prize laureate Yee (Factory Theatre’s acts of faith) returns to Tarragon for the first time since his Governor General’s Award-winning production, carried away on the crest of a wave. Co-creating the piece with award-winning composer Chris Thornborrow, and featuring live music and stunning scenography, cicadas is a modern eco-thriller directed by acclaimed NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino (Factory’s The Waltz). Swarming Toronto starting May 5.
The season concludes with a presentation of The Caged Bird Sings – a Modern Times and Theatre ARTaud Production. Originally presented at the Aga Khan Museum in 2024, The Caged Bird Sings is a critically acclaimed re-imagining and radical adaptation of Rumi’s “Masnavi”. Written by the team of Rouvan Silogix, Rafeh Mahmud, and Ahad Lakhani, and directed by Rafeh Mahmud (Tarragon/Modern Times Stage’s Craze), The Caged Bird Sings comes to light on June 9.
Tarragon is pleased to partner with two Toronto-area companies on pieces that will be staged outside of our venue including the World Premieres of Moonlight Schooner by Kanika Ambrose – A Necessary Angel production in association with Canadian Stage and Tarragon Theatre, as well as Enormity, Girl, and the Earthquake in Her Lungs by Chelsea Woolley; produced by Nightwood Theatre, in association with Tarragon Theatre.
Giving families access to great live theatre marks the return of The Sally Stavro Family Series offering curated performances from youth- focused theatre companies and artists. The Family Series brings productions, workshops and other activities throughout the season. With free tickets for youth under 12, this programming provides the perfect opportunity for an introduction to live performance for the next generation of theatre champions.
Tarragon will also continue its partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University’s Performance at the Creative School, where Tarragon commissions playwrights to develop a new piece specifically for the graduating class with a public performance at Tarragon Theatre.
As the premier company of new Canadian works, Tarragon’s robust 25/26 season magnifies our national mission of developing and producing Canadian plays, empowers the rich scope of Canadian artists, and delivers a captivating theatre home for all audiences.
Tarragon Theatre’s 2025/26 Season At-A-Glance
Bremen Town
Written & Directed by Gregory Prest
World Premiere
A Tarragon Theatre Production
September 30 – October 26, 2025
Mainspace
After forty-five years of hard work and dedication, Frau Esel, the longest-serving housekeeper of Völksenhaus, has been fired and sent out to pasture. In a rage, she sets out on a winding journey to Bremen to live with her estranged son.
Gregory Prest brings Bremen Town, a rural folk tragicomedy, to Tarragon Theatre. Featuring Nancy Palk as Frau Esel, Oliver Dennis, William Webster, and an exceptional ensemble cast, Bremen Town bridges music and storytelling together in this award-winning production!
CHILD-ish
Created by Sunny Drake
with contributions from The CHILD-ish Collective
Directed by Andrea Donaldson
Toronto Premiere
A Tarragon Theatre production in Association with The CHILD-ish Collective
October 21 – November 16, 2025
Extraspace
Kids words for grown ups.
Forty whip-smart and brutally honest children are asked about love, life, and the world. From their fresh perspectives, four adult actors speak their exact words and make them their own!
Using the words of a younger generation, new ideas and experiences come to life through the voices of adults. Hilarious, profound and surprising, CHILD-ish is an intergenerational new twist on ‘verbatim theatre’ from a creative team that spans ages 6-77.
a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun)
Written by debbie tucker green
Directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu
North American Premiere
A Tarragon Theatre and Obsidian Theatre Co-Production
November 11 – December 7, 2025
Mainspace
Three couples.
What might be.
What once was.
What could have been.
…profoundly… is a bold and unflinching exploration of love, desire, and human connection. Intimate, raw, and deeply moving, where hope meets vulnerability, and longing becomes language of its own. A must-see experience for those who believe ‘love’ is more than just a word – it’s an act, a feeling, a surrender.
With laughter through tears and the chasms between them, this triptych beautifully weaves the journeys of three couples seeking connection against all the elements that separate them. After the critically-acclaimed World Premiere at UK’s Royal Court, Tarragon and Obsidian come together in bringing a brand new production to Canada, marking its North American debut.
Mischief
Written by Lisa Nasson
Directed by Mike Payette with Joelle Peters
World Premiere
A Tarragon Theatre, Native Earth Performing Arts, and Neptune Theatre Co-Production
January 15 – February 8, 2026
Mainspace
Brooke is perfectly content with her job selling cigarettes to the local fishermen at her uncle’s convenience store on the Rez. But what happens when a woman appears in a utility closet and claims to have known her mother? And where can she turn when one act of mischief derails her peace?
A heartwarming story where ancestry and the cost of justice collide, Mischief is a gentle comedy from lauded Mi’kmaw artist Lisa Nasson that celebrates the power of community.
The Neighbours
Written by Nicolas Billon
Directed by Matt White
North American Premiere
A Green Light Arts Production in Association with Tarragon Theatre
February 24 – March 15, 2026
Extraspace
Simon and Denise reside in a modest house on a quiet street, their life blissfully low-key and unassuming. But when it comes to light that their next-door neighbour has been hiding a sinister secret, it forces the couple to re-examine the past, leading the audience to a surprising conclusion that asks hard questions about the bonds that unite us.
From Governor General’s Award winner, Nicolas Billon (Butcher, Iceland), The Neighbours examines how good people can be complicit in acts of cruelty.
Queen Maeve
Written By Judith Thompson
Directed by Mike Payette
Toronto Premiere
A Tarragon Theatre Production
March 3 – 29, 2026
Mainspace
A woman in a nursing home has seemingly made no impact on the world. Her secret is that she is actually the great Irish Warrior Queen Maeve, reincarnated into one of many deceptive forms.
From her bedroom, she confronts her past, losses she’s suffered, and mistakes she’s made in the name of love. Judith Thompson returns to Tarragon Theatre with her newest play, a masterwork of storytelling featuring Canadian theatre icon, Clare Coulter as Queen Maeve. Moving, heartbreaking, and beautiful, Queen Maeve intertwines magic with reality, and asks what it means to face your ‘twilight years’ with a sword in your hand.
Strife
Written by Matthew Mackenzie
World Premiere
A Punctuate! Theatre Production in Association with Tarragon Theatre
April 7 – 26, 2026
Extraspace
Monique, a tough and tenacious oil patch worker, is reeling from the brutal murder of her brother Nathan, an Indigenous climate activist. His violent death leaves Monique at a crossroads: trust the justice system or take action herself.
As she wrestles with her grief, Monique is plagued by a recurring dream in which she reconstructs Nathan’s bones from an owl pellet. This enigmatic vision is guided by the Owl, a spectral presence that is both a harbinger of darkness and a conduit for spirits with unfinished business. As the Owl urges her deeper into the mystery of her brother’s murder, Monique must confront the forces responsible and decide how far she is willing to go to find the truth.
Tense, poetic, and deeply visceral, Strife is a powerful reflection on loss, resilience and the battle between hope and vengeance.
cicadas
Created by Chris Thornborrow and David Yee
Directed by Nina Lee Aquino
World Premiere
A Tarragon Theatre and NAC English Theatre Co-Production
May 5 – May 24, 2026
Mainspace
In 2035, a decade after the Trinity Bellwoods Collapse, an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a young girl leads to a very peculiar house that has sunk into the earth.
Could a strangely luminous painting unlock long-buried secrets of what flowed beneath the home? Howling winds, storms, and the ever-present sound of cicadas remind us that nothing stays buried.
cicadas is a modern eco-thriller from the minds of Governor General’s Award and Siminovitch Prize laureate David Yee and award-winning composer Chris Thornborrow that serves as both mystery and warning.
The Caged Bird Sings
Created By Rouvan Silogix, Rafeh Mahmud, and Ahad Lakhani
Directed by Rafeh Mahmud
Tarragon Theatre Presents a Modern Times and Theatre ARTaud Production
June 9 – 21, 2026
Extraspace
Witness a radical re-imagining of Rumi’s “Masnavi”.
The Caged Bird Sings tells the story of three prisoners: two star-crossed lovers and scientists – Rumi and Jin – who share a cell with Sal, a mysterious vagrant. As they navigate their newfound reality and reconcile their past lives, they are haunted by ghosts and demons of their own making.
The Caged Bird Sings explores the literal and metaphorical prisons that we are put in, put ourselves in, and the ones that we create. Inspired by Sufi mysticism and concepts of Fanafillah, the critically acclaimed production examines our ability to overcome and break out of the cage.
ABOUT TARRAGON THEATRE
Tarragon Theatre is a creation and playwrights’ theatre. We develop, produce, and present premiere productions that investigate artistic form, offering enriching and provocative theatre experiences for the artist and audience. For over fifty years, our mission has been a foundation within Canadian theatre, new play development, and dramaturgy practice. We open our doors to celebrate and learn from the scope of voices that make up our country and the various artistic practices that resonate within them. Tarragon is equally a hub for creation and development as it is a production company, with the ultimate goal of creating a meaningful environment for artists to thrive and bridge their ideas from concept to realization.
For more information on productions, subscriptions, and tickets, visit www.tarragontheatre.com
