MEASURE FOR MEASURE to Return to Crow's Theatre This Season

In September, House + Body's bold reimagining of Shakespeare's MEASURE FOR MEASURE – one of the buzziest indie breakthroughs of the 24.25 season – returns to open Crow's Studio Theatre for the new season, on stage September 15th to October 4th. (Media night: September 19th)

Included on both the Toronto Star and NEXT Magazine Top Ten Stage Production lists for 2025, the originating cast returns for this production, including Jamie Cavanagh (Invasion Christmas Carol/Assembly), Katherine Gauthier (Bad Roads/Crow's), Sébastien Heins (Slave Play/Canadian Stage), Beck Lloyd (Dance Nation/Coal Mine), and Danté Prince (Medusa/Soulpepper).

Adapted and directed by House + Body Artistic Director–and Crow's Theatre's Associate Artistic Director–Christopher Manousos, this inventive staging playfully sets Shakespeare's 1604 drama of justice and morality inside a contemporary sound studio where five actors take on all twenty characters throughout a live radio stream. In Shakespeare's story, Isabella's brother is sentenced to death, and she embarks on a journey to save his life but is forced to confront a system where authority wavers and moral certainty erodes. While placing this narrative front and center, the audience experiences the classic play through the actress stepping in at the last minute to play the role of Isabella. With no rehearsal, she must quickly adapt to this high-pressure environment, but things get complicated when the action off-stage becomes as heated as they are onstage. In this fast, sharp, and darkly funny re-telling, MEASURE FOR MEASURE asks who holds power – and who pays the price.

“The inspiration to set the play within a play inside a contemporary sound studio seemed to offer endless creative opportunities,” shares Manousos. “To explore the tension between what is seen and what is heard, and to give the audience a contemporary point of entry into the play, where they get to watch one story while hearing another. It's an opportunity to stretch their senses while leaning into the complexity of the original play.”

"MEASURE FOR MEASURE is my favourite Shakespeare; it's both light and dark, humorous and complicated, set against the backdrop of a city that has lost its way. The play challenges the idea that just because something is law doesn't mean it's morally just, offering a meaningful mirror to the state of the world right now. I'm thrilled that we get to spend more time with it and share it with even more audiences.”

“Within ten minutes of seeing MEASURE FOR MEASURE, I knew we had to bring this production back for a full-length run in our season,” shares Crow's Theatre Artistic Director Chris Abraham. “I was completely engrossed from start to finish by how energetic, inventive, and timely the production was. I'm especially excited that we now have the opportunity to share this production with even more of Crow's audiences and with the city of Toronto, giving more people the chance to experience this powerfully engaging production."

Joining Manousos on the creative team are lighting designer Chris Malkowski (The Surrogate/House + Body) and sound designer Riel Reddick-Stevens (Sex Goddess/House + Body)
and Costume Designer Andrew Broderick (The Surrogate/House + Body). 

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