Frontmezzjunkies reports: Icarus Theatre’s New Three-Show Season
ICARUS THEATRE ANNOUNCES 1ST THREE-SHOW SEASON,
BRINGING TOGETHER EMERGING AND ESTABLISHED ARTISTS
TO PRESENT THREE THRILLING PRODUCTIONS, TWO NEVER BEFORE SEEN IN TORONTO
- Anthony Goncharov directs OLEANNA by David Mamet at the Tarragon Theatre Extraspace
- Erik Richards directs the first production of Dennis Kelly’s DNA in Toronto at the Theatre Centre BMO Incubator
- Emily Anne Corcoran stars in the first production of Polly Stenham’s JULIE in Toronto, at the Tarragon Theatre Extraspace
Toronto, July 2025 – Following their critically acclaimed production of Constellations being
picked up for an Atlantic Canada Tour, Icarus Theatre is taking a bold leap in producing a
three-show season for 25/26.
“This season has been a long time in the making. We’re taking a risk and going bigger than ever to show Toronto what scrappy indie theatre makers are capable of.” says Artistic Director Anthony Goncharov. “We’ve picked scripts that are challenging and decisive – the kind of plays that on a read many would think ‘someone should do that’ – but are intimidating for a variety of reasons. It comes with a certain kind of responsibility, for sure. But I believe in the integrity of my peers, and know that we’re going to rise to the challenge, and show that brilliant things can happen when you match emerging artists, excellent scripts, and established professionals.”
The premiere season launches with David Mamet’s thrilling drama, OLEANNA, one of the
most celebrated and controversial plays of the past 40 years. More relevant than ever, the play
explores structure, power, and how we decide what the ‘truth’ is.
“I’ve been sitting on this play for almost three years now.” shares Goncharov. “I read it shortly after our production of Lobby Hero in 2022 and thought: ‘that’s what I’m doing next.’ I had just graduated college, and it was absolutely unreal to read this play from 1992 that had echoes of so many stories I had heard from my classmates and seniors. Obviously, I was a bit off with the timing of the production, but my eye hasn’t left it since. The play is terrifying – I think for me as an artist, but also as a person. It points out this fundamental, structural issue in our systems of power, and it does so while revealing the worst intentions in all of us. Just talking about it makes my heart start to race, and I’m looking forward to hearing the audience’s reactions, and their arguments at the bar afterward.”
Second, director Erik Richards takes the helm of Toronto’s first production of Dennis Kelly’s
DNA, at the Theatre Centre BMO Incubator. A massive ensemble of ten teenagers crumbles
when they kill their friend Adam by accident. When faced with the unimaginable, who will run,
who can’t handle the pressure, and most importantly, who will take control?
“The thrill for me in DNA is the staging of the mob mentality. The buzzing consciousness of the gang and the lengths to which the kids go to avoid responsibility and maintain the status quo. I find an uneasiness in the shades of humanity in his writing,” says director Erik Richards. There is a breadth to it, which feels vast but familiar. Kelly explores archetype in such an unsettling light as we watch his domestic characters agonize over the reality of their circumstances.”
Finally, company member Emily Anne Corcoran (Icarus’ Constellations, Lobby Hero) takes on the titular role of Julie in Polly Stenham’s thrilling modern adaptation of Strindberg’s 1888 classic.
“Strindberg’s classic has been a much-revered favourite of mine for as long as I have been reading plays,” says Corcoran. “I would have told you I was completely uninterested in modern adaptations of the classics…that was until I read Polly Stenham’s Julie. She breathes new life into these characters we know so well and adds a new depth to the story that couldn’t exist in the original. It’s gutting, it’s messy, it’s delicious. Waiting for rehearsals to start in the new year, I’m like a kid in the days leading up to Christmas. I can’t wait to dive into this play and to bring to life my dearest, darlingest, most horrible Julie.“
ICARUS THEATRE’S 25/26 SEASON:
OLEANNA
Runs August 21-30 at the Tarragon Theatre Extraspace
Written by David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross; American Buffalo)
Directed by Anthony Goncharov (Icarus’ Constellations, Lobby Hero)
One of the most celebrated and controversial plays of our generation, Oleanna explores the
fallout of an explosive series of conversations between a female student and her male college
professor. In three scenes, this play brilliantly examines power, structure, and how we decide what reality is.
“CAROL: ‘Don’t you have feelings?’ Your final argument. What is it that has no feelings. Animals. I don’t take your side, you question if I’m human.”
DNA
Runs November 6-16 at the Theatre Centre BMO Incubator
Written by Dennis Kelly (Girls and Boys)
Directed by Erik Richards (ReadyGo Theatre’s Monster)
Adam is dead, and it’s everyone’s fault. So what now? On the brink of their high school
graduation, ten teenagers fear the consequences of their actions and the weight of social
responsibility. The good news? Phil has a plan, but he needs everyone’s help. A play in one act,
Denis Kelly’s thrilling DNA viscerates the primality of youth and the morality of leadership.
“LEAH: Yep. Everyone’s happier. It’s pouring into the school, grief, grief is making them happy.”
JULIE
Runs March 19-28, 2026, at the Tarragon Theatre Extraspace (Media Dates March 20 and 21)
Written by Polly Stenham (after Strindberg) (Hotel; That Face)
Starring Emily Anne Corcoran (Icarus’ Constellations, Lobby Hero)
A seductive dance of power and pain unfolds when Julie leaves her late-night party with
London’s elite, opting instead to spend the night with her father’s driver. What follows is a
savage fight for survival. Vicious and unrelentingly relevant, Julie is Polly Stenham’s critically
acclaimed 2018 adaptation of Strindberg’s 1888 classic Miss Julie, reframed for today’s world.
“JEAN: Love to me is a game I can play when I have a few hours off, I don’t have all day and night like you do. It’s not a blood sport to me. That’s a luxury. To torment yourself like this is a luxury. To have the fucking time.”
ABOUT ICARUS THEATRE
Since its start in 2022, Icarus Theatre has quickly grown into one of Toronto’s most exciting
small indie theatre companies. Despite their short chronological footprint, the company has
created critically acclaimed productions of Lobby Hero, Fiji, and Constellations, and ran one of
Toronto’s most popular monthly theatre events for two of those three years, the Dark Day
Cabarets. Their productions focus on powerful, thought-provoking scripts, with detailed and
embodied performances.
