Soulpepper Theatre Unveils 2025 Spring and Summer Programming
The lineup includes Takwahiminana, Red Like Fruit, and more.
By: Josh Sharpe Mar. 13, 2025
Soulpepper Theatre has unveiled its 2025 spring/summer programming, a bold celebration of Canadian artistry and storytelling. Featuring two world premieres, a Toronto premiere, and a remount of one of the country’s most beloved plays, Soulpepper’s summer productions offer audiences a dynamic mix of innovation and tradition.
From daring new voices exploring urgent contemporary themes to an electrifying docu-concert, these productions promise to entertain, challenge, and inspire. Each show is a testament to the creativity, resilience, and impact of Canadian theatre, ensuring an unforgettable season of groundbreaking performances.
“What connects us as a city and a country? Stories do. In the coming months, Soulpepper is bringing audiences together with a lineup of all-Canadian plays that captivate, move, and ignite conversation—featuring artists both new and familiar” said Artistic Director, Weyni Mengesha. “Our 2025 Spring/Summer season is all about bold, heartfelt storytelling that reflects the world around us and reminds us of our shared experiences—including the joys and complexities of being Canadian. We’re thrilled that in the coming months we'll be premiering a new concert, bringing back Kim’s Convenience, AND featuring two new works on our stages including the Soulpepper debut of Governor General’s Award-winning playwright, Hannah Moscovitch, as well as new work from Matthew MacKenzie. We look forward to welcoming audiences near and far to Soulpepper to experience this incredible series of theatre and live performance.”
2025 SPRING/SUMMER PRODUCTIONS
TAKWAHIMINANA
by Matthew MacKenzie
Directed by Mike Payette
Choreography by Anoshinie Muhundarajah
Starring Michaela Washburn
A Soulpepper presentation of a Punctuate! Theatre production
World Premiere
April 30 - May 11, 2025 (Preview: April 30; Opening Night: Thursday May 1)
Tankhouse Theatre
RED LIKE FRUIT
by Hannah Moscovitch
Directed by Christian Barry
Starring Michelle Monteith & David Patrick Flemming
A Soulpepper & Luminato Festival presentation of the 2b theatre company production
Toronto Premiere
May 28 - June 15, 2025 (Preview: May 28; Opening Night: Thursday May 29)
Michael Young Theatre
SIX STRING: A HISTORY OF THE GUITAR
Created by Beau Dixon & Frank Cox O’Connell
A Soulpepper Concert
World Premiere
July 18 - 27, 2025 (Opening Night: Friday July 18)
Baillie Theatre
KIM’S CONVENIENCE
by Ins Choi
Directed by Weyni Mengesha
Starring Ins Choi, Kelly Seo, Esther Chung, Ryan Jinn, and Brandon McKnight
A Soulpepper production in association with American Conservatory Theater & Adam Blanshay Productions
August 8 - 17, 2025 (Opening Night: Friday August 8)
Baillie Theatre
This new series of programming kicks off in April when Soulpepper presents the World Premiere of Punctuate! Theatre’s TAKWAHIMINANA. A darkly funny and deeply moving new play from award-winning writer Matthew MacKenzie (First Métis Man of Odesa, Bears) & directed by Mike Payette (Come Home: The Legend of Daddy Hall - Tarragon Theatre; Choir Boy -Canadian Stage & Arts Club Theatre Company) TAKWAHIMINANA follows Sharon (Michaela Washburn; This Is How We Got Here - Native Earth; Guarded Girls - Tarragon Theatre/Green Light Arts), a Métis woman born in India, who finds herself at a lavish dinner party where her Indigenous knowledge is fetishized and commodified. Blending biting satire with mesmerizing Bharatanatyam choreography, this production offers a theatrical feast that is as sharp as it is stunning.
In May, Soulpepper partners with Luminato Festival to present the Toronto Premiere of 2b Theatre’s RED LIKE FRUIT by Hannah Moscovitch (Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story), Directed by Christian Barry (Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story - National Arts Centre, Edinburgh Fringe), The God that Comes - Edinburgh Fringe, PuSh, Tarragon Theatre, Pittsburgh International Fest, Noorderzon, Aarhus), a taut psychological drama that unpacks power, memory, and complicity in the post-#MeToo era. When journalist Lauren (Michelle Monteith; August: Osage County - Soulpepper Theatre; Suits) begins investigating a high-profile domestic violence case, her own past memories resurface, leading her to an unsettling realization. As she enlists Luke (David Patrick Flemming; What a Young Wife Ought to Know - Crow’s Theatre, GCTC, The Grand Theatre) to narrate her experiences, questions emerge about whose voices shape the stories we tell and why. With Moscovitch’s signature sharpness and emotional depth, this provocative new work challenges our perceptions of truth and trust.
In July, Soulpepper brings the world premiere of a new concert to audiences - SIX STRING: A HISTORY OF THE GUITAR, a thrilling docu-concert from creators Beau Dixon (On A Night Like This, Detroit: Music of the Motor City - Soulpepper Theatre) & Frank Cox-O’Connell (Ladies of the Canyon: Joni and the California Scene, The Big Easy: Music of New Orleans - Soulpepper Theatre). Blending iconic songs with compelling narratives, this production traces the evolution of the guitar through jazz, flamenco, blues, and rock, showing how new technologies and fearless artists transformed the sound of the 20th century. From the folk traditions of Django Reinhardt to the electrifying rock of Chuck Berry, this six-stringed powerhouse has shaped culture, soundtracked movements, and fueled social change.
KIM’S CONVENIENCE returns in August for 12 performances to kickoff the production’s highly-anticipated North American tour beginning with a run at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater in September, with more stops to be announced soon. Written by Ins Choi (Kim’s Convenience -CBC; Bad Parent - Soulpepper Theatre, Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre & Prairie Theatre Exchange) and directed by Weyni Mengesha (A Streetcar Named Desire, What the Constitution Means to Me - Soulpepper Theatre), this remount run will also welcome back the cast of the current production: Ins Choi as Appa, Kelly Seo as Janet, Esther Chung as Umma, Ryan Jinn as Jung, and Brandon McKnight as Rich/Alex/Mr. Lee/Mike. This heartwarming and hilarious story follows Mr. Kim, a Korean-Canadian shopkeeper navigating a changing Toronto and his evolving relationship with his second-generation children. Since premiering at Soulpepper, KIM’S CONVENIENCE has become the most successful Canadian play of all time & a global sensation, inspiring the hit CBC and Netflix TV series.
Rounding out the summer, Soulpepper’s Creative Collaboration Initiative partners at the Toronto Fringe Festival take over the venue in July to create a Festival Hub right in the heart of Toronto’s Distillery District. This new hub will allow the Toronto Fringe to host five performance venues in one building including Soulpepper’s Michael Young Theatre, Tank House Theatre, Cabaret, TD Studio, and RBC Studio, in addition to animating the atrium and courtyard with the legendary Fringe Patio, festival box office, and free ancillary programming.
With a season filled with world premieres, returning favourites, and groundbreaking stories, Soulpepper continues its commitment to championing Canadian artists and narratives. These productions are more than just performances—they are reflections of our shared history, our present conversations, and our collective future.
Tickets for Soulpepper’s spring/summer productions are on sale now. Visit www.soulpepper.ca for more information.
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