The Top 10 Toronto theatre artists of 2023
Paolo Santalucia, Hailey Gillis, Philip Akin, Peter Fernandes and others delivered five-star work this year
People often talk about how Canada lacks a "star system." That doesn't mean we don't have talent. Far from it, especially in the theatre world. Our artists might not be household names (as if that matters), but they're doing phenomenal work, both onstage and off.
Here are 10 theatre artists – well, actually, 11 – who made this year extra memorable. Continuing in the tradition begun by Jon Kaplan, my late colleague at NOW, I'm only including people who were involved in at least two productions this year. Which means Rick Miller, whose virtuosic BOOM X amounted to a master class in quick and efficient character work, didn't qualify.
As far as the star system goes, each one of these artists is a five-star wonder.