Gregory Prest Brings BREMEN TOWN to Tarragon

Tarragon Theatre will kick off the 2025/26 season by announcing the World Premiere of Bremen Town, A Tarragon Theatre Production. The new folk tragicomedy is written and directed by award-winning creative talent, Gregory Prest, and runs in the Mainspace from September 30 - October 26, 2025, opening October 8. 

In this cheeky, heartfelt, dark-yet-comedic story, Bremen Town offers audiences a story that empowers voices of older generations. Bremen Town, and its all-star and multi-award-winning ensemble, brings an incisive look at what it's like to be left behind as you age. In it, after decades of dedication, housekeeper Frau Esel - played by the inimitable Nancy Palk - is fired and sent out to pasture. What ensues is a tragicomedy where audiences accompany her as she furiously sets off on a winding journey to live with her estranged son, meeting unforgettable characters on the way.  

Loosely based on a tale by The Brothers Grimm, this play bridges humour and folklore, accented by live musical stylings that deepen Bremen Town's storytelling with charm. 

“We are thrilled to launch our 25/26 season with an unforgettable tale told by an exceptional company of artists. Gregory Prest's creativity and stunning storytelling shine through Bremen Town, which receives its full-scale production premiere following an incredible award-winning run at Next Stage. Sharp, magical, funny and deeply theatrical, Bremen Town is an hilarious and moving celebration of courage, heroism, and the unique journey of life,” notes Artistic Director Mike Payette. 

Bremen Town is written and directed by Gregory Prest [Moliere (Tarragon), De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail (Soulpepper), Pillow Talk (Crave)]. With performances by Tatjana Cornij [Tarragon debut, A Mid Summer Night's Dream (Soulpepper Theatre)], Oliver Dennis [Side Man (Tarragon), People, Places and Things (Coalmine)], Farhang Ghajar [Tarragon debut, The Seagull (Soulpepper), Mad Madge (Nightwood)], Veronica Hortiguela [Feast (Tarragon), MONKS (Theatre Centre/Crow's/T.O Fringe)], Sheila McCarthy [Tarragon debut, Little Mosque on the Prairie (CBC), Women Talking], Dan Mousseau [Tarragon debut, There is Violence and There is Righteous Violence and There is Death or, The Born Again Crow (Native Earth, Buddies in Bad Times), Prodigal (Howland/Crow's Theatre)], Nancy Palk [Withrow Park (Tarragon), Mad Madge (Nightwood)] and William Webster [Pal Joey (Tarragon), King Lear (Stratford)].

This fulsome production of Bremen Town offers a fully realized production of the Next Stage piece that took audiences by storm in 2023. 

Several members of the Dora-winning Bremen Town ensemble from Next Stage 2023 return in this fully realized production, and are joined by new talent such as Dan Mousseau and Sheila McCarthy, debuting at Tarragon hot off her role in the Oscar-winning Sarah Polley film, Women Talking. 

The world premiere production of Bremen Town runs in the Mainspace from September 30 - October 26, 2025, opening October 8.