Mahabharata and A Strange Loop win big at the 2025 Toronto Theatre Critics’ Awards | Canada Voices

Two late-in-the-season shows – Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata, presented by Canadian Stage and based on the Sanskrit epic, and A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer-winning musical co-produced by Soulpepper, Crow‘s Theatre, TO Live and the Musical Stage Company – dominated the 2025 Toronto Theatre Critics’ Awards.

Those productions – a six-hour, two-part play and a 100-minute musical – couldn’t be more different in form. But both works are surprisingly similar in theme, presenting compelling arguments about storytelling, creative legacy and the importance of family – and each won three awards, juried this year by critics from publications including The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Next Magazine and Intermission Magazine, among others.

A Strange Loop took home the award for best production of a musical, best ensemble performance in a musical and best lead performance in a musical (Malachi McCaskill). Mahabharata, meanwhile, won best production of a play and best sound design of a play or musical.

Mahabharata also shared the title of best new Canadian work with Monks, a clown show about two friars counting lentils and killing time, co-created by Veronica Hortigüela and Annie Luján. (The former will play at Lincoln Center in New York this June; Monks is currently scheduled for a two-day run at County Stage Company in Prince Edward County this July.)

Coal Mine Theatre, located on Toronto’s east end and known for programming edgy new plays from outside Canada, won four awards split between three different shows. American playwright Annie Baker’s Infinite Life, produced by Coal Mine last fall, shared the award for best international work with What the Constitution Means to Me, written by Heidi Schreck and produced by Soulpepper and Nightwood Theatre, in association with Necessary Angel and Talk Is Free Theatre.

Schitt’s Creek‘s Noah Reid, meanwhile, won the award for best lead performance in a play in Coal Mine’s production of A Case for the Existence of God. He shared the award with Ins Choi, who wowed critics with his performance as Appa in Kim’s Convenience at Soulpepper this winter.

Bonnie Beecher and Jeff Pybus were recognized for their outstanding, club-inspired lighting in Coal Mine’s production of People, Places and Things. They shared the award for best lighting in a play or musical with Chris Malkowski, who created the design for House + Body’s production of Measure for Measure, produced in association with Crow‘s Theatre this spring.

For her work in Infinite Life, Nancy Palk took home the award for best supporting performance in a play, which she shared with Dan Mousseau for his performance in There is Violence and There Is Righteous Violence and There Is Death Or, The Born-Again Crow, co-produced by Buddies in Bad Times and Native Earth Performing Arts.

Rounding out the performance categories are Julia Pulo, who won best supporting performance in a musical for her work in Life After; the cast of Goblin:Macbeth, who were awarded best ensemble performance in a play; and Haley McGee, who won a new category, best solo performance in a play or musical, for her onstage work in Age Is a Feeling.

In a particularly strong year for directors, two were commended for their extraordinary work: Dylan Trowbridge, whose production of Cock, produced by Talk Is Free Theatre, situated audiences in a converted warehouse space in eastern Toronto, and Ilana Khanin, whose work on Lyndsey Bourne and Sam Kaseta’s I Was Unbecoming Then beat out an impressive roster of competitors at more established theatre companies.

On the scenographic side of things, Ken Mackenzie took home the award for best scenic design for his work on Last Landscape, a Bad New Days project produced in partnership with Common Boots Theatre at Buddies in Bad Times. The jury was particularly impressed by Mackenzie’s use of found objects and reusable materials, resulting in a theatrical set that was almost entirely recyclable.

For work on Oraculum at Buddies in Bad Times, Pythia won the award for best costume design.

This year, the jury issued two special citations for work outside the scope of the traditional award categories: Weyni Mengesha, for her transformative leadership at Soulpepper Theatre Company, and There is Violence and There Is Righteous Violence and There Is Death Or, The Born-Again Crow, for excellence in writing, production and dramaturgy.

“Caleigh Crow‘s script was as sharp as it was playful, with no shortage of rich offerings for the incredible design team,” wrote jury member Stephanie Fung in a blurb. “The Born-Again Crow was not just a standout co-production between Buddies and Native Earth, but a perfect fusion of their respective styles and ethos.”