Spring has finally sprung in Toronto. The local theatre scene is thriving this May, offering a diverse array of performances.

This month’s listings include small to medium size productions, two theatre festivals, all of which should pique your interest. I highly encourage you to support these shows and spread the word!

Theatre / Live Performance

Week of Small Actions Toward Hope
The Theatre Centre
May 12 – May 18, 2025

The Theatre Centre team have dedicated one week in May to political conversations and live art that raises big questions. This week’s program includes the much anticipated return of Wrecking Ball, the workshop presentation of This is Not What I Want to Tell You, and 24 hours of Palestinian Poetry reading.

Comfort Food
Crow’s Theatre
May 13 – Jun 8, 2025

From writer and performer Zorana Sadiq and directed by Mitchell Cushman, Comfort Food tells the story of Bette, a popular cooking show host whose young-mom persona is about to expire – both on tv and in real life. As Bette looks towards the next chapter of her life, she can’t shake the feeling that everything she defines herself by is about to go up in flames.

Paprika Festival

Forget Me Not
Native Earth Performing Art’s Aki Studio
May 13 & May 15, 2025

The show follows a person’s journey through years of generational trauma caused by residential schools, the history of racial violence against Indigenous communities and their people, addiction and loss. This story shows a complex ray of emotions throughout different life experiences and how we carry that with us. This is not a story of defeat but of resilience and the ability to put ourselves back together.

Content and Sensory Advisories: Themes of violence, addiction, and the loss of a loved one.

All Performances are Mask Mandatory.

homecoming
Native Earth Performing Art’s Aki Studio
May 15 & May 17, 2025

This performance is a collection of spoken word pieces, exploring themes of self-love and acceptance through the eyes of an indigenous woman. through reflections on identity, culture, and connection to the land, this performance celebrates the beauty and strength of coming home to oneself.

Content and Sensory Advisories: Mentions of death, intergenerational trauma, and substance use.

All Performances are Mask Mandatory.

Neptune’s With a Fish
Native Earth Performing Art’s Aki Studio
May 14 & May 17, 2025

Med school grad Chandra’s promising future implodes when she lays a really annoying, talking egg. Banished to a magical Toronto, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance with the egg—while shouldering the tangled inheritance of exceptionalism and a points-based immigration system. A semi-autobiographical musical comedy infused with clown energy.

Content and Sensory Advisories: Coarse/strong language, comedic violence, grief, mental illness.

All Performances are Mask Mandatory.

Pig’s Fly
Native Earth Performing Art’s Aki Studio
May 14 & May 16, 2025

In this satirical sci-fi musical comedy, four space travellers awaken on the H.M.S. Porcus, excited to start their new lives on a distant colony with the promise of a saving humanity—until the ship’s uncooperative AI, Jessica, informs the crew that they have gained a massive amount of weight while in suspended animation. The show is a hilarious and biting critique of diet culture, capitalism, and the impossible standards society places on our bodies.

Content and Sensory Advisories: Haze, simulated emergency with fog, lighting and sound, coarse language, body politics.

All Performances are Mask Mandatory.

Bealtaine Theatre Festival

Story of a Day
Presented by the Canada Ireland Foundation
Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse
May 17 – May 18, 2025

This magical, music-filled journey explores how the ordinary transforms into the extraordinary through one child’s day. A playful, poetic celebration of the little moments in life, Story of a Day invites young audiences to explore the world with new eyes. Featuring original music by Tom Lane and vibrant illustrations by Mary Murphy, this performance is perfect for children aged four and up (and their families).

The Libravian
Presented by the Canada Ireland Foundation
Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse
May 24 – 25, 2025

Meet Lynn, the lovable librarian, or “libravian” as she likes to call herself. In this whimsical adventure, audiences journey through literature, exploring stories about bravery. Through playful costumes, intricate sound design, and physical theatre, The Libravian is a joyous celebration of books, courage, and the magic of imagination. Designed for young audiences aged 8-11, this performance is perfect for families.

Other Performances Across The City

Genrefuck
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
May 21 – May 31, 2025

Genrefuck is a a double-bill of electric solo shows presenting Reina by Augusto Bitter and Never Walk Alone by Julie Phan.

Augusto Bitter’s Reina is a movement-centric hybrid between theatre, dance, and performance art that resists categorization, it invokes and celebrates personal femininity through a collection of poems, sculptures, and choreographies in conversation with music by Y Josephine.

Julie Phan’s Never Walk Alone uses pole dance to navigate alienation, projection, and inertia within different relational spheres. It’s a heartwarming Christmas tale in the only way Julie Phan knows how.

Euphrate by Nil Bosca
Alliance Française de Toronto
May 21, 2025 | 8:00pm ET

Born to a Turkish father and French mother, Euphrate is a student struggling in her final year of high school. Her lacklustre grades and the confusion she feels when faced with an imminent career choice lead her to question the impact of her dual culture on the construction of her identity.

In dialogue with her father, she sets off to discover her Turkish roots and childhood memories. Blending dance with words, Nil Bosca’s performance tells the journey towards the affirmation of a woman’s voice.

Identity: A Song Cycle – Against the Grain Theatre
Berkeley Street Theatre
May 23 – May 24, 2025

Identity: A Song Cycle began its life in 2022 as a film project, spearheaded by Against the Grain Theatre’s (AtG) former Artistic Director, Joel Ivany. It was streamed online by over 2,000 viewers from around the world.

The performance combines Western classical music with global influences and personal narratives, exploring how we choose to define ourselves. This world premiere expands upon AtG’s original 2022 Identity film project with new songs and staging.

Black Ballerina
Created and performed by Syreeta Hector
Native Earth Performing Arts’s Aki Studio
May 23 – 25, 2025

Based on Syreeta Hector’s relationship to race, and her experiences in classical ballet, Black Ballerina is a powerful exploration of the nuances within one’s identity, and the unconscious ways that we all try to fit in.

Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company
Meridian Arts Centre Studio
May 30 – May 31, 2025

An evening dedicated to the art of flamenco through both film and live dance performance, featuring three original films and performance of works by Ana Morales, Antonio Granjero, and José Maldonado.

Acclaimed flamenco singer Manuel Soto (Jerez, Spain) returns this year, joined by guitarists Benjamin Barrile, Manuel Vázquez, and percussionist Miguel Medina with dancers Makeda Benítez, Pamela Briz, Nancy Cardwell, Virginia Castro Durán, Alison MacDonald, Rocío Conde, and Kiyo Asaoka.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons)
Presented by Wren Theatre
The Annex Theatre
May 27 – June 7, 2025

In 18th-century France, two aristocrats engage in a dangerous game of manipulation and seduction. As they target unsuspecting victims, their twisted desires lead to devastating consequences, exposing the depths of their immorality and leaving them morally bankrupt.