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  "description": "Through the Eyes of God, Octet, The Neighbours, The Division and Eureka Day wowed critics this season",
  "path": "/toronto-theatre-critics-awards-honour-outstanding-local-shows/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-14T12:30:22.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.goaheadsumi.com",
  "tags": [
    "TTCA website",
    "here",
    "The Neighbours",
    "Eureka Day",
    "Through the Eyes of God",
    "Octet",
    "Slave Play",
    "Bug",
    "The Christmas Market",
    "Kristen Thomson",
    "Fulfillment Centre",
    "The Division",
    "Pu Songling: Strange Tales",
    "Shifting Ground Collective",
    "Vanessa Sears",
    "& Juliet",
    "Robin Hood: A Very Merry Family Musical",
    "Kimberly Akimbo",
    "Tick, Tick… Boom!",
    "The Welkin",
    "Night at the Grand Guignol",
    "The Veil",
    "Alyssa Martin",
    "Dance Nation",
    "MJ",
    "Rogers v Rogers",
    "Little Willy",
    "Toronto Theatre Listings"
  ],
  "textContent": "**_Through the Eyes of God_** , **Anusree Roy** ’s searing drama about an Indian mother trying to rescue her trafficked daughter, is among the big winners at this year’s **Toronto Theatre Critics’ Awards**.\n\nThe play won three awards: best production of a play (**Theatre Passe Muraille** produced it), best solo performance in a play or musical (for actor **Gabriella Sundar Singh**) and best director (**Thomas Morgan Jones**).\n\n“This production ought to tour Canada, or even the world, as soon as possible – in Toronto, it showcased Canadian theatre at its most daring, and by extension, its most impressive,” wrote TTCA co-chair Aisling Murphy in a press release out today.\n\nThis marks the 13th year the awards, decided on by a group of Toronto-based theatre critics (myself included), have been handed out. Shows opening between May 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026 were considered.\n\nThis year was the first time the TTCAs have acknowledged artists in the categories of choreography, digital design and puppetry; those awards, respectively, went to **Alyssa Martin** (**_Dance Nation_**) and **Christopher Wheeldon** (**_MJ: The Musical_**) tied, **Nathan Bruce** (**_Rogers v. Rogers_**) and **Ronnie Burkett** (**_Little Willy_**).\n\nThe east end indie company **Eldritch Theatre** received a special citation, “for their biggest, spookiest season yet.”\n\n“Until this season, Eldritch Theatre artistic director Eric Woolfe primarily created and performed all of the company’s strange and macabre shows, with the support of a small team,” wrote critic Robyn Grant-Moran.\n\n“With critical acclaim and a cult following, it would be easy to stay put. This season, however, marked a change: _Night at the Grand Guignol_ featured a cast of three (none of them Woolfe), while season closer _Zombocalypse!_ squeezed five (Woolfe included) onto the cozy stage at Red Sandcastle Theatre. Eldritch Theatre’s dark and twisted tales grew bigger and more complex with more weird little guys and angsty outsiders, without compromising Woolfe’s unique style.”\n\nThe TTCAs signal the end of the 2025-26 theatre season. The Dora Awards nominations will be announced June 1.\n\n## Sign up for So Sumi\n\nReviews, interviews and features about Toronto's performing arts scene by Glenn Sumi\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\nNo spam. Unsubscribe anytime.\n\nOn a more personal note: we theatre critics live such odd lives, scribbling in the dark and trying to make sense of what we see the day after, or the day after that. I see my fellow critics more often than most of my friends and family members, and yet we don’t always share our thoughts about shows. It’s not that we’re territorial, I think, it’s just that we’re trying to be considerate and respectful. So it’s rare that we get together as a group and discuss what we’ve seen. And is there anything more satisfying than talking about the _best_ that you’ve seen?\n\nHere, by the way, is the new TTCA website, which includes the present voting membership and past winners.\n\nOf the 2026 winners, you can catch _& Juliet_ (best lead performance in a musical for Vanessa Sears) at the Royal Alex until August 30 (tickets here); _The Division_ (best ensemble performance in a play) continues at Crow’s Theatre’s Studio until May 24 (tickets here); and _Rogers v. Rogers_ (best digital design) returns as part of Canadian Stage’s season in November and December at the Berkeley Street Theatre (info here).\n\nYou can also listen to Nicolas Billon’s best Canadian play winner _The Neighbours_ as part of CBC podcast _PlayME_ ’s season (link here or wherever you get your podcasts).\n\nHere is the full list of winners. (I’ve linked to my reviews of the shows, or artist features, where available.)\n\nNicolas Billon’s __The Neighbours__ , starring Ordena Stephens-Thompson and Tony Nappo, was named best new Canadian work. __Photo by Jae Yang__\n\n### Best New Canadian Work\n\nThe Neighbours__ by **Nicolas Billon** , production by Green Light Arts in association with Tarragon Theatre\n\n### Best International Work\n\nEureka Day by **Jonathan Spector** , production by Coal Mine Theatre\n\n### Best Production of a Play\n\nThrough the Eyes of God by Anusree Roy, produced by Theatre Passe Muraille\n\n __Octet__ won TTCAs for best production of a musical and best ensemble in a musical. __Photo by Dahlia Katz__\n\n### Best Production of a Musical\n\nOctet by Dave Malloy, production by Crow’s Theatre, Soulpepper and the Musical Stage Company\n\n### Best Lead Performance in a Play\n\n**Sophia Walker** , Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris, produced by Canadian Stage\n\n**Nicholas Eddie** , Bug by Tracy Letts, production by the King Black Box Theatre in partnership with Elkabong Theatre Projects\n\nMatthew G. Brown, here with Brenda Robins, gave one of the best supporting performances of the year in __The Christmas Market. Photo by Kenya Parsa__\n\n### Best Supporting Performance in a Play\n\n**Matthew G. Brown** , The Christmas Market**** by Kanika Ambrose, produced by b current Performing Arts in association with Crow’s Theatre and Studio 180 Theatre\n\nKristen Thomson, Fulfillment Centre by Abe Koogler, produced by Coal Mine Theatre\n\n### Best Ensemble Performance in a Play\n\n**Karl Ang** , **Ivy Charles** , **Mariya Khomutova** , **Daniel Maslany** and **Alon Nashman** , The Division by Andrew Kushnir, produced by Project: Humanity and Pyretic Productions in association with Crow’s Theatre\n\n**Dean Gilmour** , **John Ng 伍健琪** , **Diana Tso 曹楓** , **郝邦宇 Steven Hao** and **Madelaine Hodges 賀美倫** , Pu Songling: Strange Tales by Michele Smith, Diana Tso, Steven Hao, Madelaine Hodges, John Ng and Dean Gilmour (thanks to Michael Man, Lindsay Wu, Jeff Yung and Rosie Simon), produced by Theatre Smith-Gilmour in association with Crow’s Theatre\n\nVanessa Sears won a TTCA for her lead performance in __& Juliet. Photo by Dahlia Katz__\n\n### Best Lead Performance in a Musical\n\n**Martin Julien** , **_The Drowsy Chaperone_** by Lisa Lambert, Greg Morrison, Bob Martin and Don McKellar, produced by Shifting Ground Collective\n\nVanessa Sears, & Juliet by Max Martin and friends and David West Read, presented by Mirvish\n\n### Best Supporting Performance in a Musical\n\n**Damien Atkins** , Robin Hood: A Very Merry Family Musical**__** by Matt Murray, produced by Canadian Stage in association with the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres\n\n**Thomas Winiker** , Kimberly Akimbo by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori, produced by Mirvish and the Segal Centre for the Performing Arts\n\n### Best Ensemble Performance in a Musical\n\n**Damien Atkins** , **Alicia Ault** , **Andrew Broderick** , **Ben Carlson** , **Hailey Gillis** , **Zorana Sadiq** , **Jacqueline Thair** and **Giles Tomkins** , Octet by Dave Malloy, produced Crow’s Theatre, Soulpepper and the Musical Stage Company\n\n### Best Solo Performance in a Play or Musical\n\n**Gabriella Sundar Singh** , Through the Eyes of God by Anusree Roy, produced by Theatre Passe Muraille\n\n### Best Director of a Play\n\n**Thomas Morgan Jones** , Through the Eyes of God by Anusree Roy, produced by Theatre Passe Muraille\n\nDirector Meredith Shedden was acknowledged for her revelatory production of __Tick... Tick... Boom!__ , starring Joshua Kilimnik and Diana Del Rosario. __Photo by Taylor Long__\n\n### Best Director of a Musical\n\n**Meredith Shedden** , Tick, Tick… Boom!__ by Jonathan Larson, produced by Bowtie Productions\n\n### Best Scenic Design of a Play or Musical\n\n**Sophie Ann Rooney** , Bug by Tracy Letts, production by the King Black Box Theatre in partnership with Elkabong Theatre Projects\n\n### Best Lighting Design of a Play or Musical\n\n**Bonnie Beecher** , The Welkin__ by Lucy Kirkwood, produced by Soulpepper, the Howland Company and Crow’s Theatre\n\nMelanie McNeill’s __Night at the Grand Guignol__ costumes for Pip Dwyer (left), Jeanie Calleja and Natalia Bushnik won her a TTCA. __Photo by Jack Woolfe__\n\n### Best Costume Design of a Play or Musical\n\n**Melanie McNeill** , Night at the Grand Guignol__ by Eric Woolfe, produced by Eldritch Theatre\n\n### Best Sound Design and Music of a Play or Musical\n\n**Ashley Naomi** , The Veil by Keith Barker and Thomas Morgan Jones, produced by Thought for Food Productions in association with Crow’s Theatre and Guild Festival Theatre\n\nAlyssa Martin’s choreography for __Dance Nation__ earned her a TTCA. __Photo by Elana Emer__\n\n### Best Choreography\n\nAlyssa Martin, Dance Nation__ by Clare Barron, produced by Coal Mine Theatre and Outside the March in association with Rock Bottom Movement\n\n**Christopher Wheeldon** , MJ by Lynn Nottage, presented by Mirvish\n\n### Best Digital Design\n\n**Nathan Bruce** , Rogers v Rogers by Michael Healey, produced by Crow’s Theatre\n\n### Best Puppetry\n\n**Ronnie Burkett** ,__ Little Willy__ by Burkett, produced by Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes and presented by Canadian Stage\n\n### Special Citation\n\n**Eldritch Theatre** , for their biggest, spookiest season yet\n\n🎟️\n\nSee what else is currently playing in ****So Sumi**** ’s Toronto Theatre Listings",
  "title": "Toronto Theatre Critics‘ Awards honour the best of the 2025-26 season",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-17T23:04:39.598Z"
}