With heartfelt regret, due to the recent return to more stringent health and safety protocols in Ontario, Canadian Stage is today announcing the cancellation of the first two productions in their 2022 winter season, David Greig’s SOLARIS and Red Sky Performance’s MIIGIS: Underwater Panther.

As announced this past fall, Canadian Stage had hoped to re-open their theatre facilities this month, first with a sweeping production at the Bluma Appel Theatre of David Greig’s SOLARIS to be directed by Artistic Director Brendan Healy and scheduled to run January 25th – February 5th. Rehearsals for SOLARIS began in late December and have since been halted.

The presentation of Red Sky Performance’s MIIGIS: Underwater Panther (first programmed in the 2020/2021 season) was scheduled to run January 29th – February 6th at the Berkeley Street Theatre. It is the company’s sincere hope that both productions can be presented in the future.

“This is undoubtedly a tough announcement to be making,” said Canadian Stage Executive Director Monica Esteves. “Having artists and production teams back to work and rehearsals in our theatres these last few months felt like a breath of new life. The impact almost two full years of in-person closure has had on our industry cannot be understated – thousands of people on stage and behind the scenes have had their professional lives put on hold.”

“Despite this current challenge we remain proud to have taken the leap of faith in re-starting our engines for in-person presentations and to have hired artists and returned them to work in the rehearsal hall,” adds Artistic Director Brendan Healy. “As we responded to the circumstances of the pandemic this past summer with our outdoor 2021 Dream in High Park season, which helped almost twenty other performing arts organizations connect with audiences – we will continue to respond and adapt. One thing the pandemic has made very plain is that the performing arts are not a luxury, but a basic need for our collective well-being.”

Current Canadian Stage ticket holders are being contacted by the Box Office team and are being offered several options, including an account credit for the value of their tickets, a tax receipt for the value of their tickets, or a full refund.

The remainder of the season will continue as planned as the company looks ahead with optimism. Canadian Stage will welcome audiences back beginning in March with Daniel Brooks’ OTHER PEOPLE and Crazy Smooth’s IN MY BODY (co-presented with dance Immersion and TO Live), followed shortly thereafter by Aleshea Harris’s IS GOD IS (an Obsidian Theatre Company, Necessary Angel Theatre Company and Canadian Stage co-production) and Guillaume Côté’s CRYPTO (co-presented with TO Live).

Visit www.canadianstage.com.