Tantoo Cardinal to Star in WITCH at Soulpepper Theatre Company

In the new year, Tantoo Cardinal, will lead Soulpepper Theatre Company's Toronto Premiere production of Jen Silverman's acclaimed satire, WITCH.  Directed by Courtney Ch'ng Lancaster, WITCH runs January 29th to March 1st, 2026, in Soulpepper's Michael Young Theatre.
 
Fiendishly funny, subversive, and razor-sharp, WITCH is a wickedly modern take on Jacobean drama The Witch of Edmonton (circa 1600s), in which power is up for grabs, survival is a gamble, and the devil might just be the most honest one in the room.  In the play, a charming devil strolls into the quiet village of Edmonton, ready to strike a deal—a soul in exchange for their deepest desire. Simple enough. But when he sets his sights on Elizabeth, long ostracized as a “witch," she refuses to be bought. As the devil returns to convince her - and then returns again - unexpected passions flare, alliances are formed, and the village is forever changed.
 
Cardinal stars as the titular Witch (Elizabeth Sawyer), alongside Shawn Ahmed (as Frank Thorney), Thomas Mitchell Barnet (as Cuddy Banks), Oliver Dennis (as Sir Arthur Banks), Nicholas Eddie (as Scratch), and Heeyun Park 박희윤 (as Winnifred).

In a career spanning 50 years and more than 120 film, television, and theatre roles, Cree and Métis actor Cardinal has helped transform the face of film and television when it comes to portraying Indigenous people and stories. One of the most widely recognized First Nations actors of her generation, she has portrayed an astounding array of complex and diverse characters and persistently challenged negative stereotypes of Indigenous culture and communities. Her many film credits include the Oscar-winning Dances With Wolves (with Kevin Costner and Graham Greene), Legends of the Fall (with Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt), Black Robe, Smoke Signals, Wind River, Falls Around Her, and Martin Scorsese's 10-time Oscar nominated Killers of the Flower Moon (with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro).  A Member of the Order of Canada, Cardinal's many other awards and honours include a Gemini Award, the Earle Grey Award (Canadian Screen Award) for lifetime achievement, the ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence, the Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award (Toronto Film Critics Association), the Birks Diamond Women in Film Award, and honorary doctorates from five universities.
 
She was last on stage in Toronto in a production of Hamlet at the Tarragon Theatre in 2018.
An acclaimed playwright, TV writer, poet, and novelist, Jen Silverman's plays include Collective Rage: A Play In 5 Betties (Woolly Mammoth, Southwark Playhouse in London, MCC Theater) and The Moors (Yale Rep, The Playwrights Realm). They made their Broadway debut in 2024 with The Roommate which starred Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone, and most recently adapted August Strindberg's The Creditors, produced by Audible at Minetta Lane starring Liev Schreiber, Maggie Siff, and Justice Smith, and now available on Audible. Jen is a member of New Dramatists, a three-time MacDowell fellow, recipient of the Yale Drama Series Award, the Helen Merrill, a Lilly Award, and the 2016-2017 Playwrights of New York Fellowship. They are also the author of a collection of short stories and two novels including 2024's There's Going To be Trouble. Jen's debut novel We Play Ourselves was featured in The New York Times, selected by O Magazine as an “LGBTQ Book That Will Change the Literary Landscape,” and by Harper's Bazaar as one of the “20 Best LGBTQ Books of 2021.” Jen also writes for TV and film, including contributing to HBO's Tales of the City and Tokyo Vice. WITCH first premiered in 2018 and has since toured across the United States to significant acclaim. 
 
Joining Ch'ng Lancaster on the creative team are set designer Nick Blais, Costume Designer  Ting-Huan 挺歡 Christine Urquhart, lighting designer Jareth Li, sound designer Olivia Wheeler, fight and intimacy director Anita Nittoly, and choreographer Monica Dottor.
 
WITCH is on stage January 29th to March 1st. with performances Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00pm and Wednesday, Saturday and Sundays at 2:00pm at Soulpepper's Michael Young Theatre (50 Tank House Lane).

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