Toronto theatre listings
A list of shows currently playing or opening soon in Toronto theatres, with links to reviews and features where available
Currently playing
AVA: THE SECRET CONVERSATIONS by Elizabeth McGovern (Karl Sydow/Mirvish). Oscar- and Emmy-nominated actor McGovern (Downton Abbey, Ragtime, Ordinary People) plays screen star Ava Gardner in this two-hander based a series of interviews she gave to journalist Peter Evans in the late 1980s. See my review here. Runs to November 30 (extended) at the CAA Theatre (651 Yonge). mirvish.com ✭✭
THE CHRISTMAS MARKET by Kanika Ambrose (b current Performing Arts, in association with Crow’s Theatre and Studio 180 Theatre). Philip Akin directs the world premiere of Ambrose’s play about Caribbean migrant workers finding friendship and a sense of belonging during their first Canadian winter. Runs to December 7 (extended) at Crow’s Theatre’s Studio Theatre (345 Carlaw). crowstheatre.com
THE COMEUPPANCE by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Soulpepper). Mazin Elsadig stars in Jacobs-Jenkins’ play about millennials reuniting for their 20th high school reunion. See interview with Jacobs-Jenkins here. Runs to November 23 at the Young Centre’s Michael Young Theatre (50 Tank House Lane). soulpepper.ca
DISSONANT SPECIES by Heather Marie Annis and Michael Gordon Spence (Theatre Gargantua). Jacquie P. Thomas directs this new play about finding harmony in the growing dissonance around us. Runs to November 23 at the Factory Theatre Mainspace (125 Bathurst). theatregargantua.ca
HOW DO WE GET OUT OF HERE? by Dudi Gordon (Psik Theater Production). Gordon stars opposite Tal Nativ in her play about the owner of a butcher shop chain who gets stuck in a storage room with one of the store’s employees, a woman on the autism spectrum. Runs to November 23 at the Greenwin Theatre, Meridian Arts Centre (5040 Yonge). hgjewishtheatre.com
AN ORCHID AND OTHER SUCH LILIES AND LIES by D. Halpern (Dandelion Theatre). Veteran actors Walter Borden and Scott Wentworth star in this play about aging, masculinity, friendship and the desire to control one’s end. Runs to November 23 at the Red Sandcastle Theatre (922 Queen East). redsandcastletheatre.com
SHREK THE MUSICAL by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori (Young People’s Theatre). Herbie Barnes directs the TYA version of the acclaimed musical about a green ogre and his donkey sidekick who try to save a princess from a terrible fate. Runs to December 30 at Young People’s Theatre (165 Front East). youngpeoplestheatre.org
Related story: 10 artists to watch this fall
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Opening this week (Nov 17 to 23)
THE GROUNDSWELL FESTIVAL (Nightwood Theatre). The feminist theatre company presents readings from its 2025 Write from the Hip playwrights program, which includes Beck Lloyd, Mason McDonald, Tanvi Vyas, Renée Wong, and Brianna Wright. November 17 to 20 at the Nancy & Ed Jackman Performance Centre (877 Yonge). nightwoodtheatre.net
THE DISHWASHERS by Morris Panych (Red One Theatre Collective/Mildred’s Temple Kitchen). Panych’s acclaimed play about restaurant dishwashers gets performed in an actual restaurant kitchen in this first production in nearly 10 years by the Dora Award-winning company. November 18 to December 6 at Mildred’s Temple Kitchen (85 Hanna). dishwashers2025.eventbrite.ca
A PROFOUNDLY AFFECTIONATE, PASSIONATE DEVOTION TO SOMEONE (-NOUN) by debbie tucker green (Obsidian/Tarragon). Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu directs the North American premiere of green’s play, a triptych about love, desire and human connection. Previews from November 11, opens November 19 and runs to December 7 at the Tarragon Mainspace (30 Bridgman). tarragontheatre.com
FULFILLMENT CENTRE by Abe Koogler (Coal Mine Theatre). Ted Dykstra directs a fine cast (Evan Buliung, Gita Miller, Kristen Thomson and Emilio Vieira) in this play about four lonely people looking for fulfillment in the New Mexico desert. See related story here. Previews from November 16, opens November 20 and runs to December 7 at Coal Mine Theatre (2076 Danforth Ave). coalminetheatre.com
SPYCRAFT by Kirk Dunn and Claire Ross Dunn (A Yarn of Two Arts Collective). Richard Greenblatt directs this espionage thriller about a middle-aged Canadian spy (Diane Flacks) who uses knitting to pass intelligence from the Germans to the Allies during World War II. November 22 to 28 at the Theatre Centre (1115 Queen West), as part an Ontario tour (see list of dates/venues here). theatrecentre.org
Opening soon
THE UNAUTHORIZED HALLMARK(ISH) PARODY MUSICAL by Bonnie Milligan, Joel Waggoner, Tim Drucker (Hallmark-ish). This new musical sends up the clichés and conventions of Hallmark holiday movies and features songs like “Tarriffs for Christmas.” Previews from November 20, opens November 25 and runs to January 4 at the Royal Theatre (608 College). https://feverup.com/m/407922
MOONLIGHT SCHOONER by Kanika Ambrose (Necessary Angel, in association with Canadian Stage and Tarragon). Sabryn Rock directs the world premiere of Dora Award-winner Ambrose’s play exploring imperialism and a group of Black sailors stranded on St. Kitts after a storm. Previews from November 21, opens November 26 and runs to December 14 at the Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley). canadianstage.com
THE SOUND OF MUSIC by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (Mirvish). Tony-winner Jack O’Brien directs this touring production of the beloved musical about a young postulant who becomes a governess to a group of children in 1938 Austria while she decides whether to become a nun. Previews from November 25, opens November 27 and runs to January 4 at the Princess of Wales Theatre (300 King West). mirvish.com
PUBLIC CONSUMPTION by Lauren Gillis and Alaine Hutton (Lester Trips, presented by Factory Theatre). Gillis and Hutton’s new body horror speculative fiction is about a cancelled actor convicted of heinous crimes who is sentenced to read vast amounts of erotic fanfiction to train an AI for content moderation. November 27 to December 7 at Factory Theatre (125 Bathurst). factorytheatre.ca
A VERY OLD MAN WITH ENORMOUS WINGS adapted by Dan Colley, Manus Halligan and Genevieve Hulme Beaman from the short story by Gabriel García Márquez (Canada Ireland Foundation). Colley presents a stage adaptation of García Márquez’s darkly comic tale, for audiences 8+. November 27 to 29 at the Theatre Centre (1115 Queen West). theatrecentre.org
BAD HATS’ NARNIA adapted from CS Lewis by Fiona Sauder, music and lyrics by Landon Doak (Bad Hats/Soulpepper/Crow’s). This musical adaptation of the classic Lewis fantasy story is by the same group who created new versions of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, performed by a talented company of actor musicians. In previews, opens November 28 and runs to December 28 at the Young Centre’s Baillie Theatre (50 Tank House Lane). soulpepper.ca
BUG by Tracy Letts (The King Black Box in partnership with Elkabong Theatre Projects). The talented Nicholas Eddie (Zeitgeist, Last Landscape) and L.A. Sweeney star in Letts’ play about paranoia, mental instability and the blurring of reality. Opens November 28 and runs to December 14 at The King Black Box (1224 King West, 3rd floor, no elevator). thekingblackbox.com
ROBIN HOOD: A VERY MERRY FAMILY MUSICAL by Matt Murray (Canadian Stage). Mary Francis Moore directs Julia Pulo, Damien Atkins, Eddie Glen and others in the annual holiday panto, which this year sends up the Robin Hood story. Previews from November 26, opens November 29 and runs to January 4 at the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre (189 Yonge). canadianstage.com