Today, on Earth Day, Why Not Theatre is excited to announce THE CLIMATE COMMISSIONS, a new series of plays commissioned from national and international playwrights exclusively for the 2025-2026 ThisGen Fellowship, running June 4-6 at The Theatre Centre.

ThisGen Fellowship is a prestigious, hands-on theatre training program that supports BIPOC women and non-binary artists in reaching the next level of their careers.

A triple bill, THE CLIMATE COMMISSIONS features workshop presentations of MATRIATE by Tara Beagan, 2025 Governor General Award for Drama winner for Rise, Red River, and the 2020 Siminovitch Prize Laureate; MANY WATERS by Sabrina Mahfouz, award-winning British writer who grew up in London, UK, and Cairo, Egypt; and A RITUAL OF RETURN by Ta-Nia, an American-based duo dedicated to creating uncompromising Black spaces of liberation by challenging traditional boundaries in the theatre.

“I am thrilled that this year we are colliding our passion for creating new work with our commitment to training leaders across the sector through our ThisGen Fellowship. This program has always involved practical hands-on training and these commissions provide a unique opportunity for ThisGen artists to direct, dramaturg, and produce innovative artistic works; especially as fewer and fewer opportunities to develop new work in Toronto exist. We’ve learned first hand, from our production of What You Won’t Do for Love with David Suzuki and Tara Cullis, the vital role artists can play in the climate crisis.” - Miriam Fernandes, Co-Artistic Director. Why Not Theatre

MATRIATE, written by Tara Beagan and directed by Cheyenne Scott, is a short, powerful play centered on an Indigenous burial ground threatened by development. Bon, a worker who refuses to vacate the construction site, chooses instead to remain close to the uncovered burial of the Nlaka’pamux woman, Tshoolsh. As machinery approaches and pressure mounts, the play explores the intersection of land, loss, and agency revealing the deep spiritual bond between the living and the dead.

The only time estranged sisters Amina and Khadija see one another these days is in court, as opposing counsel for a case between Guyanese labourers and a Canadian oil corporation drilling offshore in Guyana. In MANY WATERS, written by UK playwright Sabrina Mahfouz and directed by Michelle Mohammed, the two feuding lawyers come together in sisterly love for their mother’s funeral and to travel to their estranged homeland, where grief becomes the catalyst for difficult conversations about inheritance, environmental responsibility, and the future.

Emaya is on a journey to meet her ancestors. In A RITUAL OF RETURN, created by American duo Ta-Nia (Talia Paulette Oliveras and Nia Farrell) and directed by Adonis Critter King, Emaya, struggling to imagine a future amid widespread loss, encounters her ancestral presences who offer hope and guidance and remind her of her own endurance, community, and possibility.

ThisGen Fellowship is also a powerful professional platform. By pairing rigorous training with visible artistic leadership opportunities, the Fellowship is also designed to actively shift perception within the field and to ensure that institutions, presenters, and senior leaders see ThisGen Fellows as the next generation of bold, capable, cultural leaders shaping Canadian theatre.

Why Not is proud to present the June 5 performance of THE CLIMATE COMMISSIONS as part of the Luminato Festival Industry Series where bold ideas meet big opportunities, furthering Why Not’s commitment to creating opportunity for artists to lead, to create, and to be seen. More details to come including casting and ticket on-sale date.

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Why Not Theatre

presents

THE CLIMATE COMMISSIONS

A Triple Bill of Workshop Presentations

MATRIATE written by Tara Beagan

Director Cheyenne Scott

Dramaturg Brefny Caribou

Produced by Shyanne Duquette and Sue-Tanya Lee

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MANY WATERS written by Sabrina Mahfouz

Director Michelle Mohammed

Dramaturg Keavy Lynch

Produced by Lily Chang and Jade Silman

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A RITUAL OF RETURN created by Ta-Nia

Director Adonis Critter King

Dramaturg Mya Wong

Produced by Shannon Corenthin and Meryl Ochoa

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The Theatre Centre, BMO Incubator

1115 Queen Street West, Toronto

Thursday, June 4, Friday, June 5, Saturday, June 6, 2026 @ 7pm

More information and ticket on-sale date to come.