Tarragon Theatre unveils new season

Tarragon Theatre announced its 2022-23 season Wednesday, with a lineup featuring seven world premiere live performances. As theatre doors open, artistic director Mike Payette, appointed in 2021, wants to welcome a new, multicultural and intergenerational audience.

For him, that means embracing intersectionality at all levels, from the creative process and development to the productions themselves.

“I want people to feel like there is a home for them,” he says. “And that theatre can be accessible to absolutely everyone.”

Kicking off the season, Cockroach, by Toronto Theatre Critics award-winner Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho), is a coming-of-age play that follows a boy moving through trauma while navigating queerness, culture and survival. Directed by Payette, with movement from choreographer Hanna Kiel, the production will begin its run on Sept. 13, 2022.

Later, the season will welcome back beloved playwright Hannah Moscovitch, a Governor-General’s Award winner. Her newest work, Post-Democracy, asks: “What happens to morality when human beings have limitless power?”

The season will also feature captivating storytellers making their Tarragon debuts, including Makram Ayache with The Hooves Belonged to the Deer, produced in association with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and directed by theatreiconPeterHinton-Davis. It tells the story of a queer Muslim boy attempting to reconcile his sexuality and faith.

Other productions include Yolanda Bonnell’s My Sister’s Rage, premiering in October, and Amy Lee Lavoie and Omari Newton’s Redbone Coonhound, Anoshi Irani’s Behind the Moon and Chelsea Woolley’s Paint Me The House of Love, set to open next year.

“This season is the result of a scope of richness of storytellers that make our country unique,” Payette, 37, says.

Tarragon will be working with many first-time collaborators to bring audiences fresh takes and capture diverse Canadian experiences. Just like in the creative process or in the rehearsal room, Payette says such opportunities can also make “amazing things happen from a company level.”

Beyond its productions, Tarragon will host the Greenhouse Festival in January, where audiences can experience 45-minute works from resident artists throughout its building. The theatre is also working with Nightswimming to bring back Pure Research, a professional performance research program for artists, after a fouryear hiatus. In spring 2023, Tarragon will welcome back Paprika Festival, celebrating the work of emerging artists.

With its upcoming programming, Tarragon is evolving what it means to be “Canada’s neighbourhood theatre,” Payette says.

“I look at what the definition of your ideal neighbourhood looks like. It’s one that you feel safe in, it’s one that you can have really awesome dialogue about the day, the world, the arts, and it’s one that is available to listen and support.”

Audiences will be able to experience the season in person or enjoy the productions virtually through limited digital runs. More information canbe found attarragontheatre.com.