Dora Awards 2025 nominations: snubs and surprises
Should Mahabharata have taken two slots in every category? Why no love for Ronnie Burkett and Maev Beaty? And other puzzling questions.
The two-part epic Mahabharata, Life After, Last Landscape and FLEX are among the most-nominated shows at this year’s Dora Mavor Moore Awards, announced at a live press conference this morning at the Four Seasons Centre.
The ceremony, recognizing a full year of fall-to-spring productions, will take place on June 30 at Meridian Hall, hosted by actor Peter Fernandes who, in a nice bit of kismet, received his second Dora nomination as the lead in Canadian Stage’s production of Fat Ham.
While the awards, administered by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, or TAPA, are voted on by various Dora juries, the general public can vote on Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award for their favourite production, named after the late great theatre writer and my much-missed colleague and friend at NOW Magazine. You can vote here until June 23 at 11:59 am EST. The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony.
In all, the jurors selected some fine shows this year. And keep in mind that Mirvish Productions is not part of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, which explains why productions like Life of Pi, Titanique and Moulin Rouge are not on this list, which you can find at the end of the article.
That said, here, with a focus on theatre, are some Dora nomination surprises and snubs: