Why Not Theatre’s production of Mahabharata, presented in 2025 at Canadian Stage, and the Canadian premiere of Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop both won three Toronto Theatre Critics Awards each for 2025 to lead the pack. A Strange Loop was a Soulpepper Theatre, Musical Stage Company, Crow’s Theatre, and TO Live production.
Mahabharata won the prizes for best production of a play, best new Canadian work (shared with Veronica Hortigüela and Annie Luján’s Monks), and best sound design and music (John Gzowski and Suba Sankaran).
A Strange Loop took home the awards for best production of a musical, best lead performance in a musical (Malachi McCaskill), and best ensemble in a musical.
The Toronto Theatre Critics Awards, founded in 2011, are chosen by a jury of theatre critics, industry professionals and select audience members, who together view hundreds of productions each year. The list includes: Ryan Borochovitz, Joshua Chong, Paula Citron, Liam Donovan, Karen Fricker, Stephanie Fung, Arpita Ghosal, James Karas, Ilana Lucas, Aisling Murphy, Steven Ross, Drew Rowsome, Scott Sneddon, and Glenn Sumi – the largest number of voters in the awards’ history.
Here’s a quick look at some of the highlights.
Coal Mine Theatre snagged the most awards of any company overall, counting four for its productions and artists, including:
Best Director of a Musical went to Ilana Khanin for I Was Unbecoming Then, a chamber musical about 12 girls in a Vancouver school choir. The musical by Lyndsey Bourne and Sam Kaseta, and produced by Olivia Daniels, was staged at the Toronto Fringe’s Next Stage Festival.
Caleigh Crow’s There is Violence and There is Righteous Violence and There is Death or, The Born-Again Crow (Buddies and Bad Times/Native Earth Performing Arts) received a special citation.
“If you’ve submitted a cover letter in the past year, this show probably hit close to home. The Born-Again Crow was a spectacle in a slow cooker that uniquely captured the disenchantment of a younger working class,” writes jury member Stephanie Fung.
“Jessica Carmichael’s direction was both inventive and indulgent, fleshing out the emotional reality before exploding it across the stage. And the electric cast (Tara Sky, Cheri Maracle, Dan Mousseau, Madison Walsh) embodied that dynamism with ease. Caleigh Crow’s script was as sharp as it was playful, with no shortage of rich offerings for the incredible design team (Shannon Lea Doyle, Asa Benally, Hailey Verbonac, Chris-Ross Ewart) to run with. The Born-Again Crow was not just a standout co-production between Buddies and Native Earth, but a perfect fusion of their respective styles and ethos.”
Soulpepper Theatre artistic director Weyni Mengesha also received a special citation for her tenure as artistic director of Soulpepper Theatre.
“As Weyni Mengesha’s tenure at Soulpepper Theatre Company comes to an end, the jury wishes to recognize her myriad contributions to theatre in Toronto since her appointment in 2018. Mengesha shored up Soulpepper during a period of intense change — and a global pandemic not long after that — and today leaves behind a company in stellar artistic shape,” writes jury member Aisling Murphy.
“In recent years Soulpepper has proven time and again that the institution can weather big changes, take thrilling artistic risks and foster a nurturing environment for artists and audiences alike. That resilience thanks in no small part to Mengesha — she will be missed.”
Congratulations to all the winners, who will receive a certificate and a tribute to their work written and signed by a TTCA voter.
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