Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons – Theatre Aurinko
The average person will speak 123,205,750 words in a lifetime. But what if there were a limit? Oliver and Bernadette are about to find out. Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons imagines a world where we’re forced to say less. It’s about what we say and how we say it; about the things we can only hear in the silence; about dead cats, activism, eye contact and lemons, lemons, lemons, lemons, lemons.
November 6 – 15
The Assembly Theatre – 1479 Queen Street West
https://theatreaurinko.ca/lemons
All the Cows are Dead – Talk Is Free Theatre
All The Cows Are Dead follows an artisan butcher who instructs his petulant and misanthropic nephew how to be more like him, leading both to discover how both the butcher and the poet are, in fact, the same.
November 5 – 18
Soul Provisions – 68 Tycos Drive (rear of the building)
https://www.tift.ca/shows/all-the-cows-are-dead
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) – Canadian Stage
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of her landmark play, acclaimed novelist and playwright Ann-Marie MacDonald steps into the spotlight as Constance Ledbelly, the overlooked academic who tumbles headlong into Shakespeare’s worlds and discovers that the heroines (and even Constance herself) may be capable of far more than anyone imagined.
At once wildly funny and moving, this Canadian classic unleashes Desdemona and Juliet as fierce forces of their own destiny and reminds us that sometimes the bravest act is claiming your own story.
November 6 – 22
Bluma Appel Theatre – 27 Front St. E
https://www.canadianstage.com/shows-events/season/goodnight-desdemona-good-morning-juliet
Radiant Vermin – Riot King
Ollie and Jill want to tell you about their dream home. Some of the things they did to get it, you might find shocking. But they want you to know they did it all for their baby…
Radiant Vermin is a wickedly comedic satire about a young couple who are offered a way onto the property ladder that may turn out to be too good to be true. Through a whirlwind retelling of everything they’ve done to get their dream home, Ollie and Jill show us just how far we might go to build a better life for ourselves. Playful, provocative, and viciously sharp, this outrageous dark comedy comments on the housing crisis, homelessness, and what it really takes to support a family in today’s world. It will leave Toronto audiences shocked, thrilled, and feeling a little more connected to everyone who calls this city home.
November 12 – 22
Red Sandcastle Theatre – 922 Queen St. E
https://www.riotking.com/radiantvermin
How to Defend Yourself – Icarus Theatre
Seven college students gather for a DIY self-defense workshop after a sorority sister is assaulted. They practice using their bodies as weapons. They learn to fend off attackers. They learn “not to be a victim.” Self-defense becomes a channel for their rage, anxiety, confusion, trauma and desire—lots of desire.
November 12 – 28
BMO Incubator at The Theatre Centre – 1115 Queen St. W
https://theatrecentre.org/event/how-to-defend-yourself/
Pippin – Bowtie Productions
Step into a world of wonder and self-discovery with Pippin. This musical, from prolific writer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell), follows the journey of young Pippin as he seeks happiness and fulfillment amidst a troupe of actors who may or may not have his best interests at heart.
Winner of four 2013 Tony Awards, featuring unforgettable music, stunning choreography, and themes that resonate across generations, this reimagined production of Pippin invites you to explore the joys and challenges of finding your true purpose – your “corner of the sky.”
November 15 – 21
Factory Theatre Mainspace – 125 Bathurst Street
https://bowtieproductions.ca/pippin
Macbeth – Crow’s Theatre
Shakespeare’s most haunting tragedy traces Macbeth’s ruthless climb to power in this solo performance, set against the cutthroat world of the modern tech industry.
One prophecy sets the scene for Macbeth’s terrifying unraveling, where every thought, every fear, every choice pushes him beyond the point of no return. In this electrifying reimagining, the collision of unstoppable technology and human free will forces us to confront the fragility – and ferocity – of the human spirit.
Discover what happens when the scale of a Shakespearean tragedy is transformed into a gripping ninety-minute performance.
Evan Buliung, one of Canada’s leading stage actors and veteran of twelve seasons at the Stratford Festival, returns to Crow’s after his acclaimed performance as Pierre in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.
November 3 – December 6
Studio Theatre at Streetcar Crowsnest – 345 Carlaw Ave
https://www.crowstheatre.com/shows-events/macbeth
The Plague – Outliers Theatre Collective
The Plague is Albert Camus’s story of living through a time of crisis and fighting back against despair. First published in 1947, the novel was an immediate best-seller, striking a powerful chord with readers who were struggling to understand the fascist “plague” that had just overwhelmed Europe. Seventy years later, author and director Neil Bartlett has adapted Camus’s novel for the stage for our own dangerous times. Using just five actors, his frank and gripping new stage version uses Camus’s original words to put chaos under the microscope and to find hope in the power of our common humanity.
November 17 – 29
Small World Centre – 180 Shaw Street
https://www.outlierstheatrecollective.ca/the-plague-2026
The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show – BenDeLaCreme
The greatest holiday show south of the North Pole returns for its 9th year with another brand spankin’ new wintertide wonder! Award-winning comedy icons, writers, actors, and drag queen powerhouses BenDeLaCreme & Jinkx Monsoon are coming back to town with the wildly successful, internationally acclaimed, The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show (BenDeLaCreme Presents).
November 19
Meridian Hall – 1 Front Street E
Provisions – A Lester Trips (Theatre) Production in Association with Factory Theatre
Have you ever danced on the head of a pin? – the last text sent by the cast and crew of a failed reality tv show set on the moon before they stopped sending footage and went silent.
On earth, an ordinary broke person in the microgig economy accepts an odd job: accompany an agentic AI to the moon to retrieve the people and data from the failed lunar reality tv venture, and return them to earth before they suffocate. She soon discovers the inhabitants are not easily convinced to leave an erotic choose-your-own virtual reality simulation to board a space megabus back to burning earth. A secret VR love affair, a nun digging a gooneral, and all manner of bodily and metaphysical decomposition confirm suspicions that this gig extends far beyond occasionally assisting a bot with slippery door handles.
November 13 – 29
Studio Theatre at Factory Theatre – 125 Bathurst
https://www.factorytheatre.ca/shows/provisions/
The Night Logan Woke Up – Tarragon Theatre, Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, and Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre
As a girl, Emilia Lynch would cheat insomnia by slipping into neighbouring houses to spy on people as they slept, including her childhood crush Logan Goodyear.
Now, many years later, Emilia— an internationally renowned embalmer to the rich and famous— has returned to her small Newfoundland town following the death of her mother. As she prepares for the funeral alongside her three brothers, a shocking revelation is unearthed in her mother’s will; the final devastating consequence of the night Logan woke up.
Surreal, daring, and darkly funny, The Night Logan Woke Up is one of Bouchard’s finest works, making its long-awaited English language world premiere.
November 17 – December 13
Tarragon Theatre Mainspace – 30 Bridgman Ave
https://tarragontheatre.com/plays/tarragon-season-26-27/the-night-logan-woke-up/
Parfumerie – Soulpepper Theatre Company
“‘Dear Friend’, that’s how we addressed one another. No names just ‘dear friend.’”
On a snowy night in downtown Budapest, a perfumery hums with chatter, gossip, and the spark of romance. Behind elegant counters, clerks scramble through the holiday rush as a secret love ignites. Tender, sharp, and riotously funny: Parfumerie is a romantic comedy about yearning, connection, and the leap of faith love demands.
November 18 – December 20
Baillie Theatre at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts – 50 Tank House Lane
https://soulpepper.ca/whats-on/parfumerie
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