Frontmezzjunkies reports: Rainbow on Mars Premiere
The World Premiere of Rainbow on Mars by Devon Healey.
Outside the March Theatre, Canada’s leading immersive theatre company is teaming up with The National Ballet of Canada and Healey’s Peripheral Theatre for a game-changing reclamation of Blindness, colliding dance and theatre
August 9 – 20, 2025
Ada Slaight Hall, Daniels Spectrum
Toronto, ON – Audiences are invited on an odyssey into the mystery and splendour of Blindness in this multidisciplinary world premiere by Outside the March Theatre in co-production with The National Ballet of Canada and Peripheral Theatre.
RAINBOW ON MARS (RoM) is Pan’s Labyrinth-meets-The Matrix in a love story inspired by Healey’s own journey into Blindness. It follows a young woman hurled into an upside-down world of fabulists, fabricators, and fatalists as she discovers it’s not only her vision that isn’t what it seems. It’s the first play from the award-winning artist and academic, sure to leave Blind and sighted audiences alike with a visceral experience of the extraordinary power of perception.
The project is co-directed by award-winning visually impaired stage combat director Nate Bitton alongside acclaimed immersive theatre director and OtM Artistic Director Mitchell Cushman (OTM’s No Save Points; Trojan Girls…). RAINBOW ON MARS features a cast of 19 performers with various expressions of Blindness and sight, and includes dancers of The National Ballet of Canada RBC Apprentice Programme. It is choreographed by the internationally recognized Robert Binet (Swan Lake, The Dreamers Ever Leave You), one of the country’s leading choreographers and the Artistic Director and Co-CEO of Fall for Dance North.
“Since meeting through this project in 2021, I have had the extraordinary pleasure of diving with Devon into the profound relationship between Blindness and dance,” says Binet. “Both put us deeply in touch with our bodies, making every movement high-stakes and high-impact. Supporting Devon and Outside the March in telling this story is an immense privilege, and I look forward to building this world with the brilliant dancers of the National Ballet’s Apprentice Programme.”
RAINBOW ON MARS also marks the theatrical debut of Immersive Descriptive Audio (IDA). Created by Healey, this new accessible stagecraft practice is designed for Blind and sighted audience members alike, embedding a richer audio descriptive experience and sound design as a character within the narrative itself.
“IDA engages the stories of the eyes and shows how a blind perspective is an integral part of the human sensorium and of perception,” says Healey. “It breaks with conventions of narrating only what is there to be seen and weaves together the internal thoughts and felt movements of the performers; their breath; the imaginary of the lighting, set, costume, and sound designers; as well as me, the Blind artist. IDA is not merely a description of a performance; it is a performance!”
The creation of IDA began with the development of RoM, supported over the past five years through OtM’s TD Forward March New Work Development Program and The Metcalf Foundation, including a work-in-progress presentation at 2021’s SummerWorks Festival. Following additional development with OtM and The National Ballet of Canada, in 2024, Healey and choreographer Binet took their exploration of IDA to The Royal Ballet in London, UK, applying their practice to the premiere of Binet’s Dark with Excessive Bright.
RoM will transform the beautiful Ada Slaight Hall at Daniels Spectrum into an immersive arena. It features an in-the-round seating configuration that immerses the audience right in the action, anchored by Nick Blais’ stunning set design (Blais is OtM’s Head of Design and is currently nominated for no less than four different productions at the recently announced Dora Mavor Moore Awards). Heidi Chan’s original sound design and compositions are meticulously crafted to support the play’s Immersive Descriptive Audio, creating a truly surround-sound experience for Blind and sighted audience members, harnessing Outside the March’s newly acquired state-of-the-art immersive production equipment (more below). Multiple-award-winning designers and longtime OtM collaborators Melissa Joakim (Lighting) and Anahita Dehbonehie (Costumes) complete the production’s innovative design team.
RoM’s stellar cast includes Blind and sighted actors and new voices alongside some of Toronto theatre audiences’ favourites. It sees playwright Healey herself in the lead role, as well as real-life husband and RoM co-director Nate Bitton (the project is co-produced by the pair’s production company, Peripheral Theatre). It features Dora Award-winner and OtM founding artist Amy Keating (OtM’s Trojan Girls…, The Flick); Dora-nominated Sofía Rodríguez (Aluna/Nightwood Theatre’s The Solitudes); theatre and film veterans Vanessa Smythe (TV: The Expanse) and Jeff Yung (TV: Avatar: The Last Airbender); and Elliot Gibson in their professional debut.
Alongside the actors are the 12 dancers of The National Ballet of Canada RBC Apprentice Programme, appearing as a chorus. Together, these 19 performers are set to create an epic performance experience with the audience immersed in the action.
Launched in 2019 with the generous support of the Metcalf Foundation, Sharing the Stage connects The National Ballet of Canada with Toronto’s dance and theatre community through shared performances and accessible programming. It began with outdoor performances at Harbourfront Centre featuring such companies as Compañía Carmen Romero, Esie Mensah Creations, Holla Jazz, Human Body Expression, Little Pear Garden Dance Company, Lua Shayenne Dance Company, Rock Bottom Movement, Samantha Sutherland and Tanveer Alam. Most recently, the programme featured a performance with Nova Dance at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
“We are delighted to partner with Outside the March for our next Sharing the Stage project. Rainbow on Mars promises to be an exciting and unique experience for the audience and performers alike,” says National Ballet of Canada Artistic Director Hope Muir. “With this project, we are thrilled to be collaborating with a new community, offering innovative ways to access dance and theatre that are immersive and captivating.“
RAINBOW ON MARS caps Outside the March’s 2024-25 15th Anniversary Season, which also featured Rosamund Small’s Performance Review (currently nominated for the Dora award for Outstanding New Play). Outside the March is an award-winning trailblazer of immersive experiences that fuse theatre with other storytelling disciplines.
Today also marks the announcement of another major OtM co-production fusing theatre and dance—this time, contemporary dance. In April 2026, OtM will co-produce the professional Toronto premiere of Clare Barron’s Pulitzer-nominated Dance Nation in partnership with Danforth darlings Coal Mine Theatre and in association with Rock Bottom Movement, one of the city’s most daring contemporary dance companies. The production will feature a full immersive takeover of Coal Mine’s entire East End venue.
“OtM has always been multi-disciplinary in our bones, unabashedly taking immersive influence from a wide range of media, be they video games, escape rooms, rave DJ sets or detective fiction,” says OtM Artistic Director Mitchell Cushman. “I couldn’t be more excited for Toronto to experience these two powerhouse dance-infused productions over the next year, beginning with Rainbow on Mars this August—Devon’s transformational and form-breaking wonderland of sensorial adventure.”
Performance Review, Rainbow on Mars, and Dance Nation are all made technically possible by OtM’s Outfit the March, a $1.7 million capital project to acquire top-of-the-line portable production equipment that can create immersive magic in almost any space, from coffee shops to major theatre venues and anywhere in between. The project has raised $1.2 million to date, supported by The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation, The Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, The Stanley Shalom Zielony Foundation, The Metcalf Foundation, Robert Sirman, and others. The project is set to include a subsidised low-/no-cost rental program for independent organizations and artists in our community, supported by a Strategic Innovation grant from The Canada Council for the Arts and managed in partnership with The Canadian Green Alliance. Rainbow on Mars’ Immersive Descriptive Audio is underpinned by Outfit the March-acquired audio equipment, allowing the production to create a fully immersive, accessible sound experience.
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RAINBOW ON MARS
Written and Created by Devon Healey
An Outside the March Experience
In co-production with The National Ballet of Canada and Peripheral Theatre
Co-directors: Nate Bitton and Mitchell Cushman
Choreographer: Robert Binet
Set & Props Designer: Nick Blais
Sound Designer & Composer: Heidi Chan
Costume Designer: Anahita Dehbonehie
Lighting Designer: Melissa Joakim
Assistant Director: Keavy Lynch
Script Development Support: Vanessa Smythe, Nate Bitton, and Mitchell Cushman
Rehearsal Assistant: Katherine Semchuk
Director of Production: Tori Morrison
Stage Manager: Jeff Soucy
Assistant Stage Manager: Emily Cornelius
Technical Director: Sebastian Marziali
Head of Wardrobe: Laura Delchiaro
Head of Props: Lochlan Cox
Performers:
Nate Bitton
Elliot Gibson
Devon Healey
Amy Keating
Sofía Rodríguez
Vanessa Smythe
Jeff Yung
and the dancers of The National Ballet of Canada RBC Apprentice Programme
Producers: Lucy Coren & Laura McCallum
Associate Producer: Laura Philipps
Access Consultant: Rachel Marks
Box Office Manager: Madeleine Brown
Marketing Manager: Griffin McInnes
Marketing Associate: Kyah Green
Publicity: Suzanne Cheriton | Red Eye Media
Digital Marketing Support: Greg Jukes
Promotional Photography: Dahlia Katz
Promotional Videography: Will Innes | Peach Juice Creative
Promotional Graphic Design: Raul Delgado
Teaser Poster Illustration and Design: Jared Olsever
Program Design: Michael Stevens
OtM Leading Season Supporters
Richard Rooney & Laura Dinner
David Daniels & Kate Alexander Daniels
Sandra & Jim Pitblado
Josh Hellyer & Audrey S. Hellyer Foundation
Bulmash-Siegel Foundation
Stanley Shalom Zielony Foundation
Andrew Cumming
Sylvia Soyka
Emerald Foundation
Canada Council for the Arts
Ontario Arts Council
Toronto Arts Council
Government of Canada
The Metcalf Foundation
The Hilary & Galen Weston Foundation
Rama Gaming House and Charitable Gaming
TD Ready Commitment
Koskie Minsky
The RBC Apprentice Programme is sponsored by The RBC Emerging Artists Project.
The National Ballet of Canada gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of the Canada Council for the Arts; the Ontario Arts Council; the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council; the Government of Canada – Department of Canadian Heritage with the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity; and the Government of Ontario with the Honourable Stan Cho, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming and Minister of Sport.
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Venue
Ada Slaight Hall
Daniels Spectrum
585 Dundas St E
Toronto, ON M5A 2B7
Dates and Times
Saturday August 9 – 7:30PM (Preview)
Sunday August 10 – 7:30PM(Preview)
Tuesday August 12 – 7:30PM (Preview)
Thursday August 14 – 7:30PM
Friday August 15 – 7:30PM
Saturday August 16 – 1:30PM
Saturday August 16 – 7:30PM
Sunday August 17 – 1:30PM
Sunday August 17 – 7:30PM
Tuesday August 19 – 7:30PM
Wednesday August 20 – 1:30PM
Wednesday August 20 – 7:30PM
Runtime
2.5 hours with intermission
Tickets
