These musicals and plays from the 2025-26 season won big at the Toronto Theatre Critics’ Awards

Meanwhile, the Crow’s Theatre, Soulpepper and Musical Stage Company co-production of Dave Malloy’s “Octet” also received multiple prizes, winning for best production of a musical and best ensemble performance in a musical. The a cappella show, which previously won a slew of awards in New York City, follows a group of internet addicts and explores the perils of our increasingly digital society. 

Established in 2011, the TTCAs are decided by a jury of professional theatre critics in Toronto (including myself), representing publications such as the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail and NEXT Magazine, among others. This year’s awards were distributed among 22 productions, ranging from big-budget Broadway tours to intimate presentations at one of the city’s many storefront venues. 

Coal Mine Theatre, an independent company known for presenting local productions of acclaimed international works, picked up three awards for a trio of its productions. Jonathan Spector’s “Eureka Day,” which marked its Canadian premiere at Coal Mine earlier this year, and follows a private school grappling with vaccine mandates and a mumps outbreak, was named best international work.

Additionally, Kristen Thomson, who played a down-on-her-luck worker in “Fulfillment Centre,” won the prize for best supporting performance in a play, sharing the award with Matthew G. Brown of “The Christmas Market” (a B Current Performing Arts production in association with Crow’s Theatre and Studio 180 Theatre).

Canadian choreographer Alyssa Martin was also recognized for her work on Coal Mine Theatre’s “Dance Nation” (co-produced with Outside the March, in association with Rock Bottom Movement). She was in good company, sharing the prize with Christopher Wheeldon, the star choreographer who helped bring to life the Michael Jackson jukebox musical “MJ,” which was presented at Mirvish last fall. 

The prestigious award for best new Canadian work, recognizing exceptional writing by a Canadian dramatist, went to the Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Nicolas Billon for “The Neighbours,” a bone-chilling exploration of what it means to be complicit in the actions of others. The one-act work, produced by Green Light Arts in association with Tarragon Theatre, received rave reviews from critics earlier this winter. 

The award for best lead performance in a play was shared between Sophia Walker, for her barn-burning turn in “Slave Play” at Canadian Stage, and Nicholas Eddie, for Tracy Letts’ “Bug” at the King Black Box Theatre, in partnership with Elkabong Theatre Projects.

For best lead performance in a musical, “& Juliet” star Vanessa Sears shared the award with Martin Julien, who starred as Man in Chair in the Shifting Ground Collective revival of the Canadian musical “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

In the best supporting performance in a musical category, Toronto stage veteran Damien Atkins picked up the award for his deliciously villainous turn in the Canadian Stage holiday panto “Robin Hood: A Very Merry Family Musical” alongside newcomer Thomas Winiker for his breakout performance in the Tony-winning musical “Kimberly Akimbo” at Mirvish. 

The final acting award, for best ensemble performance in a play, was split between the casts of “The Division” (a Project: Humanity and Pyretic production, in association with Crow’s Theatre) and “Pu Songling: Strange Tales” (a Theatre Smith-Gilmour production in association with Crow’s Theatre). 

Bowtie Productions’ revival of the Jonathan Larson musical “Tick, Tick… Boom!” earned one award for director Meredith Shedden, whose scrappy yet imaginative staging elevated the original material. 

This year’s four design awards were split between scenic designer Sophie Ann Rooney for “Bug”; lighting designer Bonnie Beecher for the Soulpepper, Howland Company and Crow’s Theatre co-production of “The Welkin”; costume designer Melanie McNeill for Eldritch Theatre’s “Night at the Grand Guignol”; and sound designer Ashley Naomi for “The Veil” (a Thought For Food production in association with Crow’s Theatre and the Guild Festival Theatre). 

Two new awards were also presented for the first time this year: the inaugural prize for best digital design went to Nathan Bruce (“Rogers v. Rogers” at Crow’s Theatre), while the award for best puppetry was given to the renowned Canadian artist Ronnie Burkett for his work on “Little Willy,” a parody of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” 

As well, the TTCA jury also handed a special citation to Eldritch Theatre, in recognition of the company’s growth over the past season and commitment to presenting high-quality horror shows at the Red Sandcastle Theatre.