New Ideas Festival Returns To Toronto

Toronto's longest-running festival for new and experimental theatre returns this fall. Alumnae Theatre Company will present the 37th annual New Ideas Festival, running November 19-30, 2025. This year's festival features eight original one-act plays from Canadian playwrights, offering audiences a rare chance to experience fresh voices and boundary-pushing storytelling live on stage.

For nearly four decades, the New Ideas Festival has been a vital platform for emerging and established theatre makers to debut innovative work and shape the future of Canadian theatre. With an eclectic lineup spanning genres and themes, this season promises compelling new stories, bold artistic risks, and the thrill of discovery for Toronto's arts lovers.

Week 1 November 19-23, 2025

• Dirt and Oranges by Beatriz Yuste, directed by Ilana Linden.
• There Were No Birds to Fly by Elaine Freedman, directed by Molly Thom.
• Lisaveta's Journey by Rosalind Goldsmith, directed by Svjetlana Jaklenec.
• Heel by Paige Prystupa, directed by Dana Fradkin.

Week 2 November 26-30, 2025

• Hurricane Tales by Chloë Whitehorn, directed by Alyssa Featherstone.
• Lullabies & Nursery Rhymes by R. J. Downes, directed by Sarini Kumarasinghe.
• Cosmo Girls by Lawrie Carruthers, directed by Sandra Cardinal.
• Father Comes Home by Nina Kaye, directed by Declan Meagher.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Lead Performer in a Musical - Top 3

1. LJ Benet - The Lost Boys, A New Musical

20.4% of votes

2. Joshua Henry - Ragtime

15.7% of votes

3. Sam Tutty - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

9.7% of votes

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