Following their hit three-show season last year, up-and-coming indie theatre company ICARUS THEATRE is incredibly excited to announce a bold and exciting 26.27 season, with a line-up of hotly anticipated plays, none of which have ever been seen in Toronto, as well as the return of their fan-favourite Dark Day Cabaret Series.

The year ahead is filled with the kind of challenging, youthful and daring work the company is known for, with some of Toronto’s best established and up-and-coming talent helming two premieres and one incredible Canadian work. It’s an unmistakably Icarus season, with thrilling, contemporary plays filled with top talent in intimate venues.

“This season is, without a doubt, our most thrilling and ambitious year of theatre yet.” Says company founder and Artistic Director Anthony Goncharov. “A Canadian Premiere, a Toronto Premiere of a Canadian-written hit, and an incredible Off-Broadway script - it’s really gearing up to be a can’t-miss season. This all female-written slate of shows centres around women’s stories - astronauts, sorority sisters, software engineers and friends. The plays themselves are loud, moving, and modern - dealing with new-age issues and themes that aren’t regularly featured onstage. They’re the kind of shows that will keep you talking in the lobby or the car ride home; the kind of shows Icarus’ reputation has been built on. We were incredibly lucky to get our hands on any of these pieces at all, and I think the exceptionally high-calibre talent we’ve hired will do them every bit of justice they deserve.”

The season blasts off with the Canadian Premiere of Amy Berryman’s Walden, fresh off its acclaimed 2024 Off-Broadway run. A moving and poignant one-act set in the near future, the story explores what connection and home means when the Earth is expiring, through the lens of two astronaut sisters. The play stars a heavy-hitter cast, including Dora-Nominees Charlotte Dennis (Job) and Oshen Aoun (The Green Line), and company member Emily Anne Corcoran (Julie).

“Walden’s vision of a near dystopia is not dissimilar to our own present.” says director Erik Richards. “A world wracked with climate change, conflict and flagrant pursuits of technology and wealth beyond the wildest comprehensions of our ancestors. I am drawn to the play’s nearness - everything in Walden is just one or two steps away from where we are now. Amy Berryman does an incredible job of conveying the gravity of a setting that feels both possible and terrifying. The conversations between twin sisters Stella and Cassie feel raw and familiar, like discussions we’ve all had with loved ones of our own, as they grapple with the impossible decision of leaving our planet behind.”

In November, Emily Anne Corcoran directs Liliana Padilla’s cult-classic How to Defend Yourself, a hilarious and heartbreaking piece about a sorority coping with the assault of one of their sisters through a series of self-defense workshops. A powerhouse ensemble of up-and-coming Toronto talents shepherds the story into the Theatre Centre BMO incubator including Parastoo Amanzadeh, Paula Goldie, Anthony Goncharov, Sasha Khan, Heeyun Park (박희윤), Samel Sunil and Kaeley Jade Wiebe.

"This extraordinary play is a championing of the younger versions of ourselves who are on the precipice of life; exhilarated and terrified, confused, eternally mortified and scared that something has gone wrong inside of us.” shares Corcoran. “HTDY allows the young women in this show the space to come face-to-face with how dangerous it can be to live in a woman’s body and how, at the same time, they can still ache so desperately to be wanted, to be desired, to be touched. The show takes them seriously in their confusion, in their shame and in their pleasure and in doing so allows them so much dignity in their growing. I can’t wait to bring them to the stage."

Finally, Artistic Director Anthony Goncharov takes on the Toronto Premiere of Mob by Catherine-Anne Toupin, translated by Chris Campbell. The techno-thriller has sold out and extended each and every Canadian run it has had, including both Centaur Theatre in Montreal and Workshop West in Edmonton. The production stars Krystina Bojanowski (Master and Margarita) as Sophie, a video game developer who gets fired from her job under duress.

“I grew up as a child of the internet.” says Artistic Director Anthony Goncharov. “Mob explores a side of the web that I became intimately aware of as a young man, but one that very rarely enters public discussion: seemingly ‘well-adjusted’ people, who make it their hobby to torment others online. These people don’t exist on Instagram, or Facebook, or even Reddit - but in deeper, darker holes of cyberspace. In a sense, these places are where people are at their most honest, and it’s not a small portion of the population that reside there. Mob really asks the question: what are these people like in real life? What happens when they meet the object of their hatred? It’s a dangerous and thrilling script, and I’m very excited to venture into it with Krystina.”

Season Passes for the 26.27 Season are available now, with a full 3-show bundle starting at just $90 with no fees or taxes added. Single tickets will go on sale July 17, 2026, with preview tickets costing just $20, and general admission tickets costing $32 + fees/taxes. Patrons will also be able to elect to purchase “supporter” tickets for $42 as a way to support the company. For more information, visit www.icarustheatre.ca.

ICARUS THEATRE’S 26/27 SEASON:

WALDEN (CANADIAN PREMIERE)

Runs September 10-26, 2026 at the BMO Theatre Incubator

Written by Amy Berryman

Directed by Erik Richards

With Charlotte Dennis, Emily Anne Corcoran and Oshen Aoun

In the near future, Cassie returns from a year-long moon mission alone. Her usual companion, her sister Stella, is waiting for her on an environmental reserve with her new fiancé. Time forces the sisters to choose between life on Earth or pursuing a future in space, as the Earth dies and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance. Walden is a moving and poetic new play that wrestles between the gravitational pulls of duty and desire.

NOMINEE - JOHN GASSNER AWARD FOR AN OUTSTANDING NEW PLAY

“It’s a place to start over. It’s a place where we haven’t committed acts of genocide against each other. There’s been no pain there. No wars. No greed. No murder. There are no gods, no men to rule us, no animals to kill. No history of-hurting one another.”

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DARK DAY CABARETS (In Association with Crow’s Theatre)

Monthly from September 2026-December 2026

After a year on hiatus, Icarus’ incredibly popular Dark Day Cabarets make their return - this time at Crow’s Theatre! Five new singers from Toronto’s incredible theatre community take the stage each month backed up by a three-piece band. They’re loud, rowdy, and one of Toronto’s most popular Music Theatre events.

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HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF

Runs November 12-28, 2026 at the Theatre Centre BMO Incubator

Written by Liliana Padilla

Directed by Emily Anne Corcoran

With Parastoo Amanzadeh, Paula Goldie, Anthony Goncharov, Sasha Khan, Heeyun Park (박희윤), Samel Sunil, and Kaeley Jade Wiebe

Seven college students gather for a DIY self-defense workshop after a sorority sister is assaulted. They practice using their bodies as weapons. They learn to fend off attackers. They learn “not to be a victim.” Self-defense becomes a channel for their rage, anxiety, confusion, trauma and desire—lots of desire.

WINNER - YALE DRAMA SERIES PRIZE

“I wish girls fought more. Like beat the shit out of each other for fun. I wish that was like a socially acceptable thing to do. Fight club, you know? If it was me and you, I think I’d win.”

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MOB (TORONTO PREMIERE)

Runs February 4-20, 2027 at VideoCabaret

Written by Catherine-Anne Toupin (translated by Chris Campbell)

Directed by Anthony Goncharov

With Krystina Bojanowski

Sophie is ‘politely’ asked to leave her game dev job - and decides to leave town looking for a way to suppress her rage and humiliation. Arriving at a remote B&B, she is welcomed by Louise and her awkwardly charming nephew Martin. As it turns out, Martin and Sophie have a lot in common and quickly develop an unlikely connection. But no one is quite who they appear to be.

“I can say what I want. It’s my right. Just don’t read it if you don’t like it. If you can’t take it, if you’re too sensitive, just don’t.”