TORONTO STAR LIVE Series to Launch at Soulpepper with Chrystia Freeland

Soulpepper Theatre Company has announced its inaugural Civic Programming lineup, bringing live journalism, documentary film, music, conversation and free weekly events to its home in Toronto's Historic Distillery District. Rooted in the belief that civic life is built by active, in-person participation, this programming expands access to arts and culture while creating new opportunities for Torontonians to gather, exchange ideas and connect with one another. Soulpepper's unprecedented reimagining of theatre's place within the city's broader cultural ecosystem breaks down barriers between performance and public life—harnessing the power of shared experience to foster the curiosity, empathy and connection that strengthen individuals and cities alike.

“From its beginnings, theatre has been a civic project. Plays were more than entertainment; they put the questions driving public life onstage and asked an audience to confront them together,” says Soulpepper Artistic Director Paolo Santalucia. “A great play is not the end of the theatre's work—it is one of the ways that work begins. The larger purpose of a theatre is to create a place where strangers meet, where certainty is tested, and where we learn what it means to belong to one another as citizens. By bringing journalism, documentary film, music, political conversation, and storytelling into our theatre, we are reclaiming that purpose. We want Soulpepper to be a place where Toronto does more than watch: we want to be where Toronto gathers to think, argue, listen, celebrate and imagine itself as something better.”

A centrepiece of the programming, Toronto Star Live at Soulpepper brings journalism to the stage with two timely conversations about how we think, change and make decisions. The series launches in October with a conversation with former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland on power, democracy and a changing world,, inspired by her new book, Unreliable Boyfriend: An Insider's View of Dealing with a Chaotic Superpower, Plutocrats and Other Complicated People. In November, chess champion, artist and writer Jennifer Shahade takes part in The Next Move,drawing on her new book, Thinking Sideways: How to Think Like a Chess Player and Win at Life, to explore resilience, decision-making and the strategies that shape our lives beyond the board.

The invitation to come together extends beyond the stage through Public Tuesdays, a free weekly series that transforms Soulpepper's lobby into part hangout, part happening and part public gathering. At a time when Toronto needs more welcoming third spaces and accessible cultural experiences, Public Tuesdays offers both: an open invitation for anyone to gather, participate and connect, whether or not they are seeing a show.

“A liveable city is one where people can take part in its cultural life on an ordinary Tuesday night. You should be able to walk out your front door and find something interesting to see, hear, think about or participate in—without needing to spend $100. These experiences aren't extras; they're how we encounter new ideas, connect with one another and make a city feel like home. Public Tuesdays is our way of creating that kind of space: free, welcoming and open to everyone,” said Rohan Kulkarni, Director of Social Impact at Soulpepper Theatre Company.

Highlights include a Spring Awakening musical singalong presented with BELT; Repercussions Live!, an evening of drinks, games and political conversation hosted by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and Joan Summers on the night of the U.S. midterm elections; and Around the Table, a catered community dinner and food-drive kickoff in support of Daily Bread Food Bank. Other Tuesdays throughout the fall will bring people together for storytelling, film, literary events and playful holiday gatherings. Admission to every Public Tuesday is free, with an optional Pay-What-You-Choose contribution.

The exchange of ideas continues through a new series with Hot Docs, pairing three powerful documentaries from Canada and around the world with live discussions that bring their ideas into the room. The fall lineup includes Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance, a vital chronicle of Canada's 2SLGBTQ+ rights movement, and Everybody to Kenmure Street, an inspiring portrait of a Glasgow community resisting the deportation of two neighbours. A third holiday documentary will be announced at a later date. Like Public Tuesdays, all three screenings are free to attend.

Together, these programs extend Soulpepper's work beyond its stages, bringing journalists, artists, filmmakers, community leaders and audiences into the theatre for experiences designed to spark curiosity, conversation and connection.

FALL 2026 CIVIC PROGRAMMING

TORONTO STAR LIVE

Bringing journalism to the stage.
Presented in partnership with the Toronto Star, this new monthly series transforms Soulpepper into a public forum where journalists, guest speakers and audiences come together to examine the ideas shaping Toronto right now. Each ticketed event takes place in the Baillie Theatre, with participatory activities in the Atrium before and after the conversation.

Monday, October 19 | Chrystia Freeland on power, democracy and a changing world
A candid one-on-one conversation about strength, humility and what it takes to accept a change of heart. The evening asks what becomes possible when public figures revisit their assumptions—and what it means to say, honestly, that your thinking has changed.

Monday, November 23 | The Next Move in conversation with Jennifer Shahade
Toronto Star journalists are joined by chess champion, artist and writer Jennifer Shahade for a conversation inspired by her new book, Thinking Sideways: How to Think Like a Chess Player and Win at Life. With a chess grandmaster to be announced, the evening explores decision-making, resilience and the strategic thinking that can help us navigate life beyond the board.

PUBLIC TUESDAYS

Find your company.

Every Tuesday, Soulpepper turns its lobby into a live social space: part hangout, part happening, part public gathering. Audiences can expect music, games, films, storytelling and conversation—the kind of encounters that remind us why we're lucky to call Toronto home. Bring a friend. Talk to a stranger. Put your phone away. And take part in a new weekly ritual that makes the city feel human.

Tuesday, September 29 | The Guilty Ones: A Spring Awakening Musical Singalong with BELT
No, the Spring Awakening on Soulpepper's stage is not the musical. But that doesn't mean Toronto can't sing about repressed teenage sexuality in late-19th-century Germany. To launch the first Public Tuesday of the season, Soulpepper is hostinghigh-energy singalong of the Broadway phenomenon's greatest hits. No experience necessary—just bring your voice.

Tuesday, October 6 | ALL TOLD with Replay Storytelling: Lies My Parents Told Me
Replay Storytelling and Soulpepper present an evening of true stories told by the people who lived them. Lies My Parents Told Me brings together twisted tales about the people who raised us—from white lies and family myths to the tender truths hiding underneath them. Featured storytellers will be joined by brave volunteers from the audience.

Tuesday, October 20 | Prom Night: Carrie (1976)
In celebration of the iconic horror classic's 50th anniversary, Soulpepper and Sleepless Cinema present a special screening of Carrie. Throw on your formalwear for a blood-soaked evening of cinema, '70s music, sweet treats, photo ops and the crowning of a prom court. Just don't get too attached to the decorations.

Tuesday, November 3 | Repercussions Live!
On the night of the U.S. midterm elections, and in the shadow of Toronto's municipal election the week before, hosts Elamin Abdelmahmoud (CBC's Commotion) and Joan Summers (Former Senior Editor of Paper Magazine, Eating for Free) dissect the state of our co-dependent politics and face the consequences of our collective decisions together. Drinks, games and lively discourse will ensue.

Tuesday, November 17 | Type Books: Book Club
What are we reading, and what does it say about the world we're living in? TYPE Books and Soulpepper invite you to a new monthly book club for readers who like their books relevant, surprising, and connected to the world around us. Read, discuss, and share your big ideas in a room full of curious readers and fellow book lovers.

Wednesday, November 25 | Around the Table: A Dinner in Support of Daily Bread Food Bank
In the dark nights of November leading into the holiday season, Soulpepper invites the city to share the warmth of a common table. Join us for a catered community dinner that kicks off a food drive in support of Daily Bread Food Bank, one of Toronto's most vital organizations addressing food insecurity and poverty. The need is widespread: one in 10 Torontonians relies on food banks, which recorded more than four million visits across the city last year.

Tuesday, December 8 | You've Got Mail & The Shop Around the Corner Double Feature
Join us for a double feature of The Shop Around the Corner and You've Got Mail, two beloved romantic comedies inspired by Parfumerie, onstage this holiday season at Soulpepper. From anonymous letters to dial-up internet, both films follow sparring shopkeepers who unwittingly fall in love from opposite sides of a correspondence.

Tuesday, December 15 | The Best Worst Made-for-TV Christmas Movie
In a shameless embrace of the lowbrow pleasure of formulaic small-screen holiday films, Soulpepper hosts a deeply unserious screening of the best of the worst of the genre. Expect special guests, commentary, genre-deconstructing games, prizes and enough holiday clichés to fill a small, inexplicably charming town. Movies and guests to be announced at a later date. 

Additional Public Tuesdays will be announced throughout the fall, with a full calendar of storytelling, film, literary and holiday events available online.

HOT DOCS AT SOULPEPPER

Today's most powerful documentaries, side by side with the plays you love.
In partnership with Hot Docs, Soulpepper presents a monthly screening series bringing bold and visionary documentary filmmaking from Canada and around the world to Toronto's East End. Each screening is followed by a live conversation that brings the film's ideas into the room. All three fall events take place in the Cabaret, with doors at 6:30 p.m. and the screening and conversation running from 7 to 9:30 p.m. A third holiday documentary screening will be announced at a later date. 

Tuesday, October 13 | Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance
A vital Canadian documentary tracing the rise of the country's 2SLGBTQ+ rights movement through powerful first-person testimony and rarely seen archival footage. A conversation with Rodney Diverlus and additional queer activists will follow the screening.

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