REVIEW: Crow’s adaptation of A Fine Balance sets a high bar for the 2026-27 Toronto theatre season

To be born poor is to be born with the deck stacked against you. This is as true in Canada today as it was in India during the 1970s, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a nationwide state of emergency in response to opposition and civil unrest. It’s during this period, now known as the Emergency, that Rohinton Mistry’s excellent Giller-winning novel A Fine Balance takes place. Crow’s Theatre is producing the world premiere of Anosh Irani’s stage adaptation, setting a high bar for the rest of the 2026-27 Toronto theatre season.

Director Chris Abraham’s production primarily follows the lives of four characters: a pair of lower-caste tailors, Omprakash (Ben Yoganathan) and his uncle Ishvar (Anand Rajaram); their boss, the widowed Dina (Zorana Sadiq); and her lodger Maneck (Siddharth Sharma), the son of Dina’s childhood friend. As the Emergency’s economic crisis deepens and inhumane policies come into effect, the four find themselves struggling to survive, relying on themselves and each other to make it to the next day. 

Irani had an immense task condensing the 700-plus-page novel into a two-and-a-half-hour runtime. The result is a fast-paced, action-packed adaptation that still spends enough time with the characters to showcase their unique personalities and allow us to grow attached to them — making their tragic experiences all the more devastating. Like the novel, the script switches rapidly from brutality to levity, with the characters’ humour providing momentary relief to each other and the audience. Those who’ve read the book, as I have, will likely catch moments of foreshadowing in the first half. For me, these hints of what’s to come make the dreadful events more, not less, heart-wrenching, as the characters fail to escape their fates.

Under Abraham’s direction, the six-person cast animates Irani’s script in a manner both heartwarming and devastating. Yoganathan and Sharma earnestly capture the youthful energy of 17-year-old boys adapting to a new city. They play off each other, with Yoganathan’s Om the ever-joking foil to Sharma’s serious Maneck. Rajaram is magnetic as Ishvar, remaining ever-positive and hopeful as he tries to fend for himself and his nephew. His warmth and generosity are infectious, and as he encourages the characters to give each other a chance, I found my own connection to the pricklier characters growing as I, too, gave them the benefit of the doubt.   

Looking at the proscenium stage feels like peering into the novel’s pages. Dina’s apartment takes up the majority of the playing space, consisting of a veranda, a sitting room, and a small bedroom. Michael Gianfrancesco’s set is incredibly detailed, with era-appropriate appliances, modest wood furnishings, and a doorplate recognizable to Mistry’s readers. Thomas Ryder Payne’s sound design brings the busy city to life through samples of traffic and trains, and when scenes occur outside of the apartment, Imogen Wilson’s lighting design draws the audience’s attention to the front of the stage where the cast and crew move small set pieces on stage and darkness swallows the apartment set.

A Fine Balance joins a growing body of South Asian theatre produced in Toronto. From the entirely South Asian cast, to the Hindi film posters and wall calendar featuring Indian art, and even the characters’ habits and slang, it showcases the community it depicts without trying to explain itself to every viewer. All the while, the show evokes the atrocities of the Emergency, a time of India’s history with which many in the West are unfamiliar. Like Mistry’s novel, it remains human in scope, focusing on how the Emergency impacts the characters, as opposed to narrating policies and political actions. 

This is an incredibly sad story. But it’s also a story of resilience, community, and hope. I walked out of the theatre teary-eyed and heartbroken, but hopeful. As Canadians navigate rising poverty and our own economic crisis in an increasingly individualistic society, A Fine Balance is a poignant reminder of how life-changing coming together can be — and that a little dignity can go a long way.

A Fine Balance runs at Crow’s Theatre until October 25. More information is available here.

Intermission reviews are independent and unrelated to Intermission’s partnered content. Learn more about Intermission’s partnership model here.

WRITTEN BY

Shivani Nathoo

Shivani (she/her) is an engineer and an interdisciplinary artist. Growing up, she floated between many mediums, including fibre and beading arts, music, and writing. As an adult, she carries this curiosity with her, continuously trying new things and growing her artistic practice. She was a participant of the Toronto Fringe’s New Young Reviewers program in 2025. She also runs the blog Arts in the City, where she publishes reviews and essays on the Arts scene in Toronto. She is passionate about equity in the arts and STEM, and an avid fan of live performance. When she’s not working, you can find her in the audience at a theatre or concert hall.

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