OTTAWA, Canada, March 30, 2026– The National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre is pleased to unveil two highlights of its 2026–27 season, offering a sneak preview ahead of the announcement of the full season program. These two landmark productions—one rooted in the foundations of Western theatre, the other a contemporary classic—are emblematic of a season driven by profound human questions and distinctive artistic voices.

Coming this fall: L’Orestie (The Oresteia) by Aeschylus, directed by AliceRonfard

Having taken on Michel Tremblay’s body of work in the unforgettable Traversée du siècle, Alice Ronfard tackles the seminal text of Western theatre, if not of Western thought. Like an ambitious theatrical river, her adaptation flows from ancient Greece to the present day, carrying with it the timeless question of justice. Three tragedies, thirty-three performers (including a large chorus and three musicians): an epic journey through the centuries.

With its stellar cast, this sweeping theatrical fresco promises a bold reimagining of The Oresteia. An original production by Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and NAC French Theatre, co-produced by the NAC’s National Creation Fund.

Coming this winter: Bashir Lazhar by Evelyne de la Chenelière, directed by Marie Brassard

A sensation when it premiered in 2007, this polyphonic monologue by Evelyne de la Chenelière still resonates with audiences today, prompting us to question our value system and educational system. Directed by Marie Brassard, Mani Soleymanlou brings his own personal background to the iconic role of the teacher from abroad, offering us a compelling lesson in humanity. Produced by Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, co-produced by NAC French Theatre.

“I’m delighted and honoured to offer you a sneak preview of two productions from our 2026–2027 season, a season I believe will be truly spectacular. Through these productions, I hope to ensure that NAC French Theatre remains a place for meaningful encounters, essential dialogue, and artistic experiences that bring us together and move us. I can’t wait to welcome you back. » Mani Soleymanlou, Artistic Director, NAC French Theatre

As we await the unveiling of the full 2026–27 program, which will be announced shortly, these two offerings already suggest that the season will be ambitious and inclusive.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

The National Arts Centre Foundation thanks Les Suites Hotel, official hotel partner of NAC French Theatre.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Clara Bich 
Communications Strategist, French Theatre 
National Arts Centre 
343-961-7952 
clara.bich@nac-cna.ca

March 31st, 2026 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The stage is set! Experience fresh faces or playlist staples to share with friends.

Step into summer from July 4th to August 28th, 2026, for the NAC’s fifth summer programming season. Experience vibrant music on our Wood Terrace as the sun sets or treat yourself to a midday break at one of our lunchtime Atrium performances.  

Feel up to a challenge? Keep pace from shore as the canal boat travels down the Rideau Canal for its weekly high energy performance or set yourself up for a cozy picnic by the water as you watch it pass by.  

Everyone is welcome! No dress code, no pressure.  

“This summer, the NAC comes alive with rhythms from around the world and close to home that invite you to move, connect and celebrate. With unforgettable performances on our stages and under the city sky on the Wood Terrace, join us for a summer of amazing music, theatre, and dance in the heart of the city.” 
— Heather Gibson, Executive Producer, Summer Programming 

Download photos
 

Summer programming highlights 

Stage Series 

Affordably priced performances flood the NAC’s stages this summer. Break out your dancing shoes for La Pambele and Axé Worldfest,  embrace the groundbreaking music from Brighde Chaimbeul, and don’t miss your chance to experience Benin International Musical. 

Brighde Chaimbeul 
Fourth Stage 
July 21 – 7:30 p.m. 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40977  

Grace Petrie 
Fourth Stage 
August 11–12 – 7:30 p.m. 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40950  
 

The Feeling of Free 

Summer provides a variety of free events for every fan and every schedule. Check out performances on the Wood Terrace, in the O’Brien Atrium, along the bank of the Rideau Canal, and performance workshops that are sure to awaken your inner thespian.  
 

Wood Terrace 

Spend your night with us under the stars! Back by popular demand, the Wood Terrace performances now take place every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 7:00pm in July and August.  Access our terrace directly from Elgin Street, the Rideau Canal, or the Mackenzie King Bridge and take in the best free beats offered in Ottawa this summer.   

KILLABEATMAKER  
July 7–9 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40964  

Rum Ragged 
July 14–15 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40948  

Flávia Nascimento and Tio Chorinho 
July 21–23 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40946  

Sechile Sedare 
July 28–30 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40972  

Empanadas Ilegales 
August 4–6 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40944  

Turkwaz & Medusa 
August 11–13 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40970  

Aviva Chernick 
August 25–27 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40941  
 

Atrium Series 

Enjoy a free, music-filled midday break Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 12:00 pm in the O'Brien Atrium. Bring your meal, grab a spot, and experience incredible live performances by talented artists—it's the perfect way to recharge for the rest of your day!   

KILLABEATMAKER 
July 8  
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40965  

Rum Ragged 
July 15 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40947  

Brighde Chaimbeul 
July 21 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40949  

Flávia Nascimento and Tio Chorinho 
July 22 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40945  

Sechile Sedare 
July 29 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40973  

Miguel de Armas 
August 4 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40966  

Empanadas Ilegales 
August 5 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40943  

Turkwaz 
August 12 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40975  

Medusa 
August 13 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40974  

Aviva Chernick 
August 26 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40940  
 

Music on the Canal 

Every Saturday at 4:30 pm 

From July 4th to August 22nd, join us Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. for music radiating from the canal boat. The musician-filled boat launches near the Rideau Street Bridge on the Rideau Canal and travels towards Lansdowne Park. It takes about 45 minutes to get to that turnaround point.   We recommend you find a spot along the canal and picnic while the music approaches you or if you want more than a glimpse, you can cycle along with the boat. For the detailed schedule, please check our website. Weather permitting.   

Miguel de Armas 
July 4 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40976  

Primary Colours 
July 18 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40967  

Miguel de Armas 
July 25 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40976     

Primary Colours 
August 8 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40967 

Roxanne Goodman 
August 15 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40968

Miguel de Armas 
August 22 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40976
 

Workshops 

Chancz Perry Sutherland – Performance Workshop 
Peter A. Herrndorf Place
July 11 
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40951  
Free workshop 

ElderQueers Storytelling Workshop 
Fourth Stage 
August 24 – 28 
Paid workshop
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40987
 

Tickets and Information 

Tickets are on sale as of March 31st at 10 a.m. Find the full lineup and ticket info on our website.  

About the NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

Emma Schuster 
Communications Strategist, Summer Programming 
National Arts Centre 
Emma.schuster@nac-cna.ca 

Kate Eggins 
Communications Manager 
National Arts Centre
kate.eggins@nac-cna.ca 

OTTAWA, Canada, March 26, 2026– From April 8 to 19, the National Arts Centre French Theatre will present the world premiere of Camions (fantômes de la liberté), a new work by Mélanie Binette. Known for her site-specific works, Binette will transform the NAC into a space for exploration, inviting audiences to take part in an intimate, immersive, and deeply human small-group experience. 

Sitting somewhere between documentary theatre, poetic fiction, and a sound installation, Camions (fantômes de la liberté) takes us on a unique journey inspired by the events that unfolded in Ottawa in winter 2022. Wearing headphones, audience members will follow a child guide operating a remote-controlled vehicle through various spaces inside the NAC, creating an environment that favours contemplation over interaction. 

Through a polyphonic dialogue blending the voices of children and adults sharing personal accounts and reflections, the work explores the notions of freedom, fear, and coexistence. What does it mean to be free in a world fraught with political and social tensions? Can we still listen to each other when everything seems to be driving us apart? 

Featuring a cast of young amateur performers, the show subverts the usual dynamics by putting the children in control of the experience. Dressed in uniforms inspired by the NAC’s former ushers, they act as MCs for a journey in which their perspective—often refreshingly candid—sheds new light on contemporary issues. 

Whether experienced on your own or with family or friends, this multisensory performance provides an opportunity to reconnect with our deeply human need for community in a politically divided world. 

To create this piece, which explores the intertwining themes of social justice, democracy, and personal fulfilment, Mélanie Binette held over 30 workshops in public spaces and schools, in both French and English, engaging with citizens, protesters, and counter-protesters who witnessed the 2022 Freedom Convoy. 

“Freedom is an elusive and fluid concept that varies across eras and cultures. This project was born out of a desire to create a listening space where voices that rarely meet—and, more importantly, that are generally opposed—can coexist. Camions (fantômes de la liberté) treats the voices of children and adults equally. Working with the children, I was struck by the depth of their thinking and by how their imaginations are driven by a thirst for justice. Camions (fantômes de la liberté) is an invitation to be moved together.” 

—Mélanie Binette, show creator 

Designed as an experience on a human scale, this walking tour fosters a rare sense of closeness between the participants and the installation. It provides an opportunity to slow down, listen, and reconsider our relationships with others in a context where social divisions seem to be widening. 

MÉLANIE BINETTE 

Mélanie Binette is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, and researcher based in Montreal/Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang. In 2009, she co-founded (and has since directed) Milieu de Nulle Part (“middle of nowhere”), a company specializing in site-specific and community-based creative projects that explore places as spaces to be imagined, occupied, contested, conquered, and reconquered. Binette is particularly interested in how performance can transform places by creating virtual, alternative, and mythical spaces, thus blurring the boundaries of what we call reality. In 2019, she created and performed Errances, a one-on-one audio tour about grief, presented in the public spaces of Place des Arts in Montreal, Quebec, the city where her father died. She teaches site-specific theatre at UQAM’s École supérieure de théâtre. 

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

Indoor and outdoor audio walking tour 

Audio track in French, with sections in English 

Departures 
Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays: Every 15 minutes from 5 PM to 7:30 PM 
Saturdays and Sundays: Every 15 minutes from 11 AM to 3:45 PM 

Approximate running time: 50 minutes with no intermission 

Tickets: $15 

For general audiences. Suitable for children age 9 and older. 

Purchase tickets or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). 

To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit. To learn more about the 2025–26 NAC French Theatre season, visit the NAC website. 

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS 

The National Arts Centre Foundation thanks Les Suites Hotel, official hotel partner of NAC French Theatre. 

ABOUT THE NAC 

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEAE CONTACT: 

Clara Bich 
Communications Strategist, French Theatre 
National Arts Centre 
343-961-7952 
clara.bich@nac-cna.ca 

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March 18, 2026 – OTTAWA (Canada).  Excitement is in the air as rehearsals have begun for cicadas, a suspenseful and haunting new work from the minds of Governor General’s Award and Siminovitch Prize laureate David Yee and award-winning composer Chris Thornborrow. This world premiere co-production from NAC English Theatre and Tarragon Theatre in association with fu-GEN Asian Theatre Company begins thrilling audiences in April 2026. 

Originally created as a radio play with music for Irresistible Neighbourhoods – an NAC English Theatre development project centered on themes of climate and environmental sustainability – a 30-minute version of cicadas was first presented as a live radio production during the NAC SPHERE Festival in September 2024.

Throughout the creative process, NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino knew in her bones that cicadas had the potential to become a fully staged theatrical production. Encouraged by the development process of the radio story, she, along with Climate Dramaturg Vicki Stroich and Dramaturg Ric Knowles, began collaborating with Yee and Thornborrow to expand the story into a full length play with music for English Theatre’s 2025-26 season.

Through various workshops with members of the company over the past several months, the team has crafted an innovative journey of storytelling where music and script work side by side to set the stage for the audience’s immersive experience.

The world premiere of cicadas runs at National Arts Centre in Ottawa April 7 - 18 and then at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto May 5 - 24. To add to the excitement, the Grand Theatre in London recently announced a revival of cicadas will be part of its 2026-27 season, running in January 2027.

CICADAS

What if your house had a mind of its own?

In 2032, while on the hunt for a new home in Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods, Trim and Janie are drawn to a very peculiar house. A flood with no leak, an ominous voice, and hordes of cicadas are only three of the many strange things seeping up through the old floorboards. Could a strangely luminous painting unlock long-hidden secrets of what lies beneath the home?  

This world premiere with live music is a fully underscored eco-thriller that imagines alternative realities around climate change with a gripping, immersive story, that illuminates our profound connection to nature. 

APRIL 7 – 18, AZRIELI STUDIO 
 
An NAC English Theatre / Tarragon Theatre Co-Production in association with fu-GEN Asian Theatre Company
Co-commissioned by NAC English Theatre and NAC Orchestra

Created by David Yee and Chris Thornborrow; Directed by Nina Lee Aquino; Dramaturgy by Ric Knowles; Climate Dramaturgy by Vicki Stroich. Featuring Monica Dottor, Ryan Hollyman, Ellora Patnaik; Musicians Carson Becke, Daniel Parker, Nathan Petitpas, David Renaud; Set and Costume Design by Jawon Kang; Lighting Design by Michelle Ramsay; Sound Design by John Gzowski; Movement Designer Monica Dottor; fu-GEN Creation Mentee Jeff Ho; Associate Lighting Design Tushar Dalvi; Assistant Set and Costume Design MinGyeong Lee; Assistant Sound Design Julian Smith; Stage Manager Tamara Protić; Assistant Stage Manager Jackie McCormick

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38313 
 
AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE 
 
On April 17 at 8:00 pm, the performance will be an Audio Described Performance. For more information and to reserve tickets to the Audio Described Performance, please contact Aimee Bouchard, Learning Coordinator for English Theatre at aimee.bouchard@nac-cna.ca 

ASL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCE 
 
On April 18 at 2:00 pm, the performance will be ASL Interpreted, with a specific seating section made available for those accessing the interpretation. For more information and to reserve tickets to the ASL Interpreted Performance, please contact Aimee Bouchard, Learning Coordinator for English Theatre at aimee.bouchard@nac-cna.ca 

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS   
 
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the Official Hotel Partner Les Suites Hotel Ottawa.
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE    
 
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

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March 5, 2026 – OTTAWA (Canada) – NAC Indigenous Theatre brings the professional world premiere of Rose to the stage, the third installment in internationally acclaimed Cree playwright Tomson Highway's Rez Cycle.

Written in 1992, the production has remained professionally unstaged for over three decades due to its monumental scale and ambition. The musical returns audiences to the fictional Wasaychigan Hill Reserve and runs March 25 to April 4 at the National Arts Centre, marking the largest production NAC Indigenous Theatre has mounted to date.

Rose is part of the Rez Cycle canon that has transformed Indigenous theatre in Canada. Highway's The Rez Sisters won numerous awards and toured internationally, while Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing won multiple Dora Mavor Moore Awards and the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award, premiering at Theatre Passe Muraille in 1989 before being staged at the National Arts Centre in 1991. Both plays continue to be produced and studied across Canada and internationally.

Directed by NAC Indigenous Theatre Artistic Director Kevin Loring, Rose features 19 Indigenous actors and a six-piece band led by musical director John Alcorn. The cast includes longtime Highway collaborator Patricia Cano as Emily Dictionary, Trevor Duplessis as Big Joey, and Renae Morriseau as Chief Big Rose. The creative team and cast reflect the extraordinary depth of Indigenous artistic talent that has been developed across Turtle Island since Highway first wrote the play.

Rose is one of more than 100 new boundary-pushing Canadian productions supported by the NAC's National Creation Fund. The Fund $150,000 investment supported an enhanced development process that, in partnership with the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and TO Live, allowed the script and Highway's original music to be developed together and the production to be realised at full scale.

"What a gift to see Rose come to life for the first time since it was created, over 30 years ago! Tomson Highway is a theatre legend, and this piece is epic. We at the National Creation Fund were honoured to support this all-Indigenous team as they embarked on this ambitious creation process."

— Sarah Conn, Artistic Producer, National Creation Fund

"Support from the NAC’s National Creation Fund makes it possible to bring the dream to life — a dream that was conceived for a large canvas, a canvas that to date has been out of reach. The investment enables us to bring the dream to life without compromise."

— Kevin Loring (Artistic Director, NAC Indigenous Theatre)

"I am in the business of creating beauty. Humanity is at its most beautiful when they laugh, when they smile, and when they weep with joy. That is my true ambition in life."

— Tomson Highway (Playwright)

ABOUT TOMSON HIGHWAY

Tomson Highway was born in a snowbank on the Manitoba/Nunavut border to a family of nomadic caribou hunters and grew up speaking Cree and Dene. An Officer of the Order of Canada and recipient of eleven honorary doctorates, he enjoys an international career as a playwright, novelist, pianist, and songwriter.

ROSE MEDIA EVENT

Media are invited to attend a special media event scheduled for Tuesday, March 24 at 2:00 PM. The event will feature select scene performances for video and photo capture, followed by interview opportunities with select artists.

Please RSVP to ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca to confirm your attendance and receive the full event details.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38352

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Indigenous Theatre and the National Creation Fund at Canada’s National Arts Centre is made possible through the generous support of individuals and corporations from across the country. Thank you to Rose Performance Sponsors National Bank and Bell. The National Arts Centre Foundation wishes to acknowledge the support of Presenting Sponsor BMO Financial Group and Official Hotel Partner Les Suites Hotel. Thank you also to Meta, Presenting Partner of #ReconcileThis.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL CREATION FUND

The National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund makes transformative investments in the creation of bold new music, dance, theatre and interdisciplinary performances, and it is an incubator devoted to developing the conditions necessary to create incredible work. Fuelled by generous donors from across the country, the Fund aims to catalyze the creative dreams of Canadian artists, invite audiences to fall in love with artistic creation, and contribute to Canada’s cultural vibrancy.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Ian Hobson
Communications Strategist, NAC Indigenous Theatre
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0742
ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca

On March 13 and 14, NAC Dance proudly presents the world premiere of Tout ce qu’il reste by Vías, a duo composed of choreographers and dancers Paco Ziel and Diana León.

Within the spectacular sanctuary of the Carleton Dominion‑Chalmers Centre, the artists offer a vibrant, intimate, and deeply physical reimagining of Franz Schubert’s work — ten Lieder and one impromptu, shaped by a transdisciplinary approach where musicians dance, and dancers make music.

Joined by baritone Olivier Bergeron and pianist Chloé Dumoulin, the performers explore a symbiosis between movement, voice, and sound, offering audiences an immersive and sublime experience. Inspired by the emotional richness characteristic of Schubert’s Lieder, Ziel and León develop an exalted choreographic language and create a space that fosters a shared moment of deep listening and open feeling. The choreographers share concepts of body awareness and movement creation with the musicians, who in return share the principles of rhythm, composition, harmony, and dynamics used in Lieder.

“Schubert's Lieder are like arrows that pierce you directly into the soul, overflowing emotions and letting you contemplate that which is all delight. They tell you a story that you can't help but resonate with, as if it were your own. Even without understanding the words, the melodies and tonalities transcend rationality; it is through vibration that we receive the messages they want to communicate to us. 

In Tout ce qu'il reste we invite you to navigate between the spiritual and profound aspects of these compositions, while embracing the irreverence and playful context in which they were created. Ultimately, we invite you to experience, together, all that is left.”

– Paco Ziel and Diana León, Artistic Directors, Choreographers and Dancers, Vías

Originally from Mexico and now based in Montreal, Paco Ziel and Diana León founded Vías in 2022, a company dedicated to dance creations rooted in transdisciplinarity and collaboration. Eluding classifications and labels, the duo adopts a unique approach to each project, bringing together artists from diverse backgrounds to create works that are rich, sensitive, and singular.

Tout ce qu’il reste is an NAC Dance commission, in partnership with Bourgie Hall/Danse Danse and Domaine Forget. It will be presented by Danse Danse in Montreal on March 28 and 29, 2026, in the intimate setting of the Bourgie Hall.

DID YOU KNOW?
Vías was the recipient of the 2024 Prix de la danse de Montréal in the Revelation category, awarded to artists who stand out as a revelation in the dance milieu. The jury saluted their distinctive strength which lies in the ingenious interweaving of the present-day and the ancestral in their works.

POST-SHOW CHAT
Following the presentation of Tout ce qu’il reste on Friday, March 13, we invite the audience to stay in the room for a post-show chat with the artists.

ABOUT VÍAS
Vías in Spanish means a channel or path connecting two points. In the company’s view, artists are vías because they are bridges between the imperceptible and the tangible. To date, the company has produced the works “On this path, you are sure to get lost” (2018), “Sabor de mi corazón: cumbia” (2022), and “Flesh and Sound” (2023). Some of the venues and festivals where they have performed include Montréal Arts Interculturels, La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines, Festival des Arts de Saint Sauveur, Tangente, National Gallery of Canada and the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

SHOW AND TICKET INFORMATION

March 13-14 at 7 p.m.
70 minutes · no intermission
Carleton Dominion‑Chalmers Centre (355 rue Cooper, Ottawa)

To purchase tickets to this performance, visit nac-cna.ca/en/event/38372 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To learn more about the NAC’s building and facilities before you arrive, click: nac-cna.ca/en/visit.

THANK YOU TO THE NAC DANCE SPONSORS
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the generous support by an anonymous donor and Official Hotel Partner of NAC Dance, The Lord Elgin Hotel.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE
The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

OTTAWA, Canada, March 3, 2026 – NAC French Theatre is pleased to present the world premiere of Visages, written and directed by Alexia Bürger and co-produced by NAC French Theatre and ESPACE GO (Montréal). The show runs in the Azrieli Studio from March 19 to 28.

Part documentary, part dramatic fiction, Visages offers a deeply moving immersion into true stories where the concept of the human face becomes at once a surface, a material, and a window into the soul. By intertwining story fragments, the play raises a host of questions about what makes us unique and what connects us.

While ordering coffee one morning, a man begins to see the devil in other people’s faces. An actress tries to restore her fading beauty. A Vladimir Putin lookalike, having won numerous competitions, starts referring to himself as “we.” In a Florentine drawing class, a woman learns to use Renaissance techniques to fill a hole in the centre of her face.

Backed by impressive prosthetic makeup, the show features a magnetic cast—Isabelle Brouillette, Sophie Cadieux, Etienne Lou, Marie-Thé Morin and Anne-Marie Olivier—in a performance where self-multiplication, transformation, and self-effacement become rich theatrical devices.

Sculpted imaginary faces created by visual artists and a Japanese mask specialist will populate the stage and enrich the overall experience of the show.

“Visages was born out of French Theatre’s intense desire to produce new work. Then, a sudden impulse led me to invite the brilliant Alexia Bürger to bring this project to life with her steady and inspired hand. From there, everything fell into place: the world premiere of the show at the NAC, our creative partnership with the fantastic team at ESPACE GO, an outstanding cast, highly talented designers, and an extremely timely subject, imbued with poetry and mystery. There’s every indication that Visages will be as powerful as the creative desire and instinct that brought it into being.”

Mani Soleymanlou, Artistic Director, NAC French Theatre

“What is a face? What part of it, or of us, shapes our identity? Is it a wall or a doorway? A façade behind which multiple versions of ourselves reside? The flip side of an abysmal void, a hollow, uninhabited space? It was this small yet wide-open question—“What is a face?”—this tiny question with infinite ramifications, that sparked our creative journey.”

Alexia Bürger, Playwright and director

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Azrieli Studio
Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20 at 8 PM, and Saturday, March 21 at 4 PM
Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27 at 8 PM, and Saturday, March 28 at 4 PM
Approximate running time: 1 hour and 30 minutes, with no intermission
Tickets: $39

To purchase tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38349 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS).

To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit. Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2025–2026 NAC French Theatre season.

POST-SHOW TALK

Enhance your Visages experience by joining a discussion with the creative team. After the Friday, March 20 performance, Mani Soleymanlou will share his thoughts on the show and answer questions from the audience.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

The National Arts Centre Foundation thanks Les Suites Hotel, official hotel partner of NAC French Theatre.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Mireille Allaire
Director of Communications, Programming
National Arts Centre
343-998-4244
mireille.allaire@nac-cna.ca

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) is thrilled to announce its 100th tour since its founding in 1969. This spring, the Orchestra, led by Music Director Alexander Shelley, will visit Canada’s East Coast, with performances in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Joining NACO and Shelley as a special guest throughout the tour is acclaimed Wolastoqiyik composer and singer-songwriter Jeremy Dutcher—a two-time Polaris Music Prize winner and the 2025 recipient of the NAC Award at the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. NACO’s collaboration with Dutcher, a member of the Tobique First Nation in northern New Brunswick, will feature a powerful blend of Indigenous music and storytelling with orchestral performance.

Over the course of the tour, the Orchestra and Dutcher will perform three public concerts in Nova Scotia, in Eskasoni, Halifax, and Wolfville. The tour also includes a small ensemble performance in Fredericton, New Brunswick, for members of the local Wabanaki communities and other guests.

This tour is a milestone in Shelley’s final season as Music Director and includes a meaningful return to Eskasoni First Nation on Cape Breton Island. NACO and Shelley first visited the community during the 2017 Canada 150 Tour, performing I Lost My Talk, an NAC Orchestra commission based on the poem by the late Mi’kmaw writer and Elder Rita Joe, on her ancestral land. Inspired by Joe’s experience at the Shubenacadie Residential School, the poem was set to music by Canadian composer John Estacio as part of Life Reflected, a multimedia project honouring four remarkable Canadian women, including Joe.

“Our 2017 tour left indelible memories for me—the warm reception we received and the special musical moments we shared have stayed with me since. I’m grateful to be returning in this, my final season, and to have the opportunity to say a heartfelt thank-you to these wonderful communities and further deepen the NAC’s relationship with them. To do this alongside my friend Jeremy Dutcher—an icon for so many—is the icing on the cake.”

— Alexander Shelley, Music Director, NAC Orchestra

“It was at the encouragement of my mentor, Elder Dr. Maggie Paul (Peskotomuhkati Nation), who told me it was her dream to hear our old songs lifted up by symphonic voices. With this direction, I set out to lift our songs to these heights. It is so meaningful to bring an ensemble as fantastic as the NAC Orchestra to Wabanaki Territory (New Brunswick and Nova Scotia), and to have our songs and language underscored by Canada’s orchestra, in our language, in our homelands.”

— Jeremy Dutcher

Nova Scotia’s own Emma Stevens, from the Eskasoni First Nation, is also a featured artist on this tour. Stevens is an artist whose music and activism are deeply rooted in her Mi’kmaq heritage. Through language, storytelling, and song, she amplifies Indigenous voices, ensuring her community’s stories and wisdom are heard and honoured. As a teenager, Stevens first gained international attention for her Mi’kmaq-language rendition of The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” released in 2019 for the United Nations International Year of Indigenous Languages. Since then, she has released numerous original songs and music videos, toured internationally, and shared her voice on stages worldwide.

NACO will present a series of learning and engagement activities in collaboration with community partners across the region, including opportunities for meaningful connection through performances and Indigenous-centred knowledge sharing.

Tour concert dates:

• April 14, 2026: Dan K. Stevens Memorial Arena, Eskasoni, Nova Scotia
• April 16, 2026: Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax, Nova Scotia
• April 17, 2026: Festival Theatre at Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia

About Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, based in Ottawa, is one of the country’s most vibrant and acclaimed ensembles. Since its founding in 1969, the NAC Orchestra has earned recognition for its passionate performances, innovative learning and engagement programs, and unwavering support of Canadian creativity.

Led by Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and visionary partnerships. In fall 2025, the Orchestra announced a new chapter with the appointment of world-renowned Finnish conductor John Storgårds as its next Music Director, beginning in the 2026–2027 season.

The Orchestra regularly collaborates with internationally acclaimed artists, including James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Renée Fleming, Hilary Hahn, Jeremy Dutcher, Jan Lisiecki, Ray Chen, and Yeol Eum Son—affirming its reputation as a destination for world-class talent and a home for the next generation of composers, creators, and other artists.

Beyond the concert stage, the NAC Orchestra’s learning and engagement initiatives strengthen local arts ecosystems, deepen community connections, and foster cultural exchange. Its family and school programs include interactive performances, side-by-side mentorship with young musicians, and community concerts designed to spark curiosity and inspire a lifelong love of music.

The Orchestra is also deeply committed to professional development, offering emerging artists opportunities to refine their craft through its annual Mentorship Program and two-year Resident Conductor position.

Touring regularly across Canada and internationally, the NAC Orchestra has performed in every province and territory, as well as in North America, Europe, Asia, and the United Kingdom.

About Alexander Shelley

The 2025–2026 season marks Alexander Shelley’s 11th and final season as Music Director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. Since assuming the role in 2015, Shelley has shaped the NAC Orchestra’s artistic vision, building on the legacy of his predecessor, Pinchas Zukerman, who led the ensemble for 16 seasons.

Shelley has championed new works by Canadian composers and expanded the NAC Orchestra’s reach through national and international tours, livestreams, and critically acclaimed recordings. His visionary programming has been credited with turning the ensemble “almost overnight … into one of the more audacious orchestras in North America” (Maclean’s).

Under Shelley’s leadership, the NAC Orchestra has undertaken major tours of Canada, Europe, and to Carnegie Hall. In spring 2025, they embarked on a landmark tour to Asia, returning to Japan for the first time in 40 years and making their debut in the Republic of Korea.

Shelley also serves as the Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Music and Artistic Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. Beginning in the 2026–2027 season, he will assume two new roles: Artistic and Music Director of the Pacific Symphony in Orange County, California, and Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland. From 2009 to 2017, Shelley was Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany. 

Born in London to concert pianists, Shelley studied cello and conducting in Germany. He gained widespread attention when he was unanimously awarded first prize at the 2005 Leeds Conductors Competition, with the press describing him as “the most exciting and gifted young conductor to have taken this highly prestigious award.”

About Jeremy Dutcher

Jeremy Dutcher is a classically trained tenor, Two-Spirit song carrier, polymuse, activist, ethnomusicologist, and member of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) in Eastern Canada.

Dedicated to language revitalization, Jeremy’s debut album, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, unearthed century-old archival recordings of his ancestors and turned them into collaborative compositions for the grand piano. Sung entirely in Wolastoqey, his endangered mother tongue, the album won the 2018 Polaris Music Prize and led to collaborations with iconic artists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Leslie Feist.

His sophomore album, Motewolonuwok (ᒣᑌᐧᐁᓓᓄᐧᐁᒃ), won the 2024 Polaris Music Prize, making Jeremy the first two-time recipient of the award. Jeremy’s music transcends boundaries: unapologetically playful in its incorporation of classical and jazz influences, full of reverence for the traditional songs of his home and teeming with the urgency of modern-day resistance.

He is regularly sought out for his perspectives on queerness, Indigeneity, language revitalization, and fashion.

About the National Arts Centre

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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For more information, please contact:

Noah Richardson
Communications Strategist
Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca
(613) 415-5208

Throughout the season, the NAC pursued its vision of working with artists and arts organizations from across the land to revitalize the Canadian performing arts sector; and made progress on each of its five strategic goals: developing the performing arts through the work on the stage; elevating Indigenous voices and stories; engaging meaningfully with audiences and communities; supporting engagement in the arts for children, youth and families; and fostering best practices in management.

“Our 2024-2025 season demonstrated the power of the performing arts to bring people together,” said NAC President and CEO Annabelle Cloutier. “Through our collaborations with arts organizations in the Nation’s Capital, in communities across the country, and internationally, the NAC produces, co-produces, presents and invests in performances that express the diversity of who we are — as Canadians, as a country. We bring people together through the magic of the performing arts, and are grateful to all our partners, donors and audiences for their unwavering support.”

SPEAKERS

The NAC’s Annual Public Meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 25 from
4 to 5 p.m. ET in the NAC Fourth Stage and online at https://nac-cna.ca/public-meeting. Speakers will include:

Guy Pratte, C.M., Chair, Board of Trustees
Annabelle Cloutier, President and CEO

A question-and-answer period will follow the presentation. Please submit any questions to apm@nac-cna.ca. The webcast will be accessible in English and French and will include simultaneous sign-language interpretation. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NAC’s 2024–2025 SEASON

There were many highlights in the NAC’s 2024-2025 season:

The NAC Orchestra’s Korea & Japan Tour, led by Music Director Alexander Shelley and featuring guest artists Yeol Eum Son and Olga Scheps, dazzled audiences and showcased Canadian excellence in music on the world stage. With seven exceptional concerts in Busan, Gumi and Seoul (Korea), as well as in Tokyo, Tsu and Osaka (Japan), the Tour shone a spotlight on Canadian composers, with the international premieres of Dark Nights, Bright Stars, Vast Universe by Kelly-Marie Murphy and Listening Underwater by Keiko Devaux. In Japan, a concert at Expo 2025 Osaka celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Canadian jazz icon Oscar Peterson. The performance featured Canadian pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko and the Oscar Peterson Centennial Quartet led by Robi Botos, as well as participants from three organizations that empower children through music — Ottawa’s OrKidstra, Sistema New Brunswick, and El Sistema Japan’s Tokyo Children’s Ensemble. In Korea, the Orchestra’s sold-out orchestra performance at the Seoul Arts Center marked one of the closing activities of the Korea-Canada Year of Cultural Exchange and coincided with the Canadian Creative Industries Trade Mission to East Asia. The Tour also included 47 community engagement events that fostered cultural exchange and connected the Orchestra with students, artists, families and disability arts groups. 

Following its triumph at the Stratford Festival, Salesman in China arrived in the Babs Asper Theatre (January 16-25). Written by Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy and presented in English and Mandarin with subtitles, it was hailed by The Globe and Mail as “a brilliant new play, fully ready to take the world’s stages by storm.” English Theatre Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino served as co-dramaturg of the play. Developed with support from the National Creation Fund, the production virtually sold out the entire run and vastly exceeded box office goals.

NAC Dance, led by Executive Producer Caroline Ohrt, presented the NAC co-production Fables by Montreal’s Compagnie Virginie Brunelle, an ambitious work that also received an investment from the National Creation Fund (February 26-27). The company also presented Interlude, a beautiful and intimate new work commissioned by Dance to be performed in public spaces; it was presented five times at the National Gallery of Canada and four times at the NAC.

Led by Artistic Director Kevin Loring and Managing Director Lori Marchand, Indigenous Theatre celebrated its fifth anniversary on November 20. Special events included a ceremony honouring the host Anishinabe Algonquin Nation; a celebration attended by patrons, artists, Elders and community members; the installation of the canoe built by Pinock Smith during the 2019 Mòshkamo festival; and a feast created by NAC Sous-Chef Chris Commandant. The anniversary recognized Indigenous Theatre’s meaningful work in elevating Indigenous voices and stories, its engagement with Indigenous communities, and its profound influence on Indigenous performing arts throughout the land.

Classique(s) arrived at the NAC after playing to sold-out houses at Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (where it had an extended run) and before heading to Le Diamant in Quebec City. The new play by Fanny Britt and NAC French Theatre Artistic Director Mani Soleymanlou is a joyful exchange of ideas, both eloquent and irreverent, about the works that we call “classics.” Directed by Mani and produced by Orange Noyée in co-production with Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (Montreal) and NAC French Theatre, the show was wildly popular with audiences.

Popular Music and Variety, led by Executive Producer Heather Gibson, had another ver successful season, presenting more than 100 emerging and established artists from across the country and around the world. They included Begonia, Samba Touré, Les Hay Babies, Susan Aglukark, Elisapie and Mado Lamotte, among many more.

The NAC’s Public Spaces team works with a wide range of artists and community partners to offer dozens of free events to the public. In October, Public Spaces hosted 2024 ArohaFest Diwali Royale (October 14-19). Presented by ArohaFine Arts, the celebration included four pop-up performances in Peter Herrndorf Place showcasing a Malayalam choir, classical and folk dances of India, and a day of family activities and concerts.

In partnership with Global Affairs Canada, from April to October 2025, the NAC delivered an ambitious and far-reaching cultural program at Expo 2025 Osaka, positioning Canadian artists at the forefront of one of the world’s largest international cultural gatherings. Presented at the Canada Pavilion and in venues across Osaka and Tokyo, the Canada Live! series showcased the depth, diversity, and creative excellence of Canada’s artistic community. Over six months, more than 130 Canadian artists presented over 200 performances and cultural events that reached more than one million Japanese and international visitors. Featuring an eclectic mix of genres and disciplines, and representing different regions of the country, artists included DJ Kookum, Dominique Fils-Aimé, Erin Costelo, Pierre Lapointe, Jill Barber, Digging Roots, Kelly Bado, Fortunate Ones and many more.

The NAC’s Resident Chef Program, which showcases Canadian chefs who create menus in collaboration with NAC Executive Chef Kenton Leier, featured Chris Commandant (Kanien’keha:ka of the Wahta Mohawks First Nations), Resa Solomon-St Lewis (Ottawa), Ross Larkin (St. John’s) and Celeste Mah (Vancouver); and the Chef’s Table series of meals created by world-class chefs, paired with live music on the 1 Elgin Terrasse, included Chef Kris Kurus (Winnipeg) and Chef Amy Pelletier (Wolastoqiyik community of the Madawaska First Nation, Edmundston, New Brunswick).

For the fourth season in a row, the NAC’s Summer Programming, curated by Popular Music and Variety Executive Producer Heather Gibson, included more than 70 performances and events in music, dance and theatre, many of them free and accessibly priced, in the NAC’s performance halls, on the rooftop Wood Terrace, and along the Rideau Canal.
Arts Alive, the NAC’s hub for children, welcomed more than 11,500 youth and educators from across the National Capital Region to 38 performances of 20 student matinees and open rehearsals. Those matinees included concerts and dress rehearsals by the NAC Orchestra, performances by NAC Dance, and theatrical productions by NAC English, French and Indigenous Theatre.

The NAC continues to make progress on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism, Accessibility, and Environmental Sustainability. The NAC’s action plans and commitments in these areas are publicly available on the NAC’s website.

THE NAC IN 2025–2026

The 2025–2026 season features a broad range of exciting work by diverse artists and arts organizations. Upcoming highlights include world premieres of Rose by Tomson Highway (Indigenous Theatre), the English Theatre co-production cicadas, the NAC Dance commission Vías: Tout ce qu'il reste, and the French Theatre production Visages; and the NAC Orchestra’s upcoming tour to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The NAC continues to invest in the development of ambitious new work through the National Creation Fund, offers professional development to Canadian artists and arts professionals, and supports arts learning and engagement through Arts Alive. Please visit nac-cna.ca to learn more about the NAC’s programming on its four stages, and to learn about its role in leading and supporting the renewal of the Canadian performing arts sector.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Carl Martin
Senior Advisor, Strategic Initiatives
National Arts Centre
Carl.Martin@nac-cna.ca

OTTAWA, February 12, 2026 – At a moment when many are reflecting on Canadian identity, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation (GGPAAF) is delighted to celebrate the people who help tell our stories, in Canada and around the world. Today, we announce the 2026 recipients of Canada’s highest distinction in the performing arts.

These awards are a national celebration of artistic excellence and collective pride. Since their inception in 1992, the GGPAA have recognized and elevated the artists and volunteers who give voice to our shared experiences across generations, regions, languages, cultures and traditions.

The laureates of the 2026 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, which recognize artists who have made an indelible contribution to cultural life in Canada and beyond, are:

Susan Benson, C.M. – Set and costume designer and painter
Susan Benson is one of Canada’s leading set and costume designers, whose artistic vision has shaped stage productions across Canada and internationally. A creative trailblazer, she has designed for major theatre, opera, and ballet companies across Canada, notably the Stratford Festival, as well as for international productions. She is also an accomplished painter whose work has been shown in Canadian galleries and group exhibitions.

James Cameron, C.C. – Filmmaker, explorer, inventor and environmental entrepreneur
James Cameron is an acclaimed filmmaker, explorer, inventor and environmental entrepreneur. As director, writer and producer, he is responsible for The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, Titanic, Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Avatar: Fire and Ash, as well as 12 documentaries, including Ghosts of the Abyss, The Game Changers, and the Emmy-winning Secrets of the Whales. His 1997 film Titanic held the record for highest-grossing film in the world for 12 years, surpassed only by his own Avatar in 2009. His films have earned numerous nominations and awards, most notably Titanic’s record 11 Oscars, including Best Picture. He has written, produced and directed three of the four highest-grossing films in history.

Sylvain Émard – Dancer, choreographer and teacher
One of Canada’s foremost choreographers, Sylvain Émard has created more than 40 original works and has made an enduring contribution to contemporary dance in Canada and internationally. His practice is grounded in his keen interest in the body’s expressive power and in the dynamics of human physicality and interconnection. From meditative solos to large-scale communal pieces and an immersive installation, his work stands out for its precision, inventiveness, and inclusivity, bridging the gap between high art and popular dance, professional performers and amateurs, intimacy and spectacle.

Daniel Lavoie, O.C. – Singer–songwriter, performer and poet
Daniel Lavoie has had a profound impact on popular music in Canada and on our country’s cultural landscape. A Franco-Manitoban of great integrity and authenticity, he has won the hearts of audiences worldwide with his pop-rock songs, performed in both French and English. In particular, “Ils s’aiment” was a massive hit in Canada and Europe, and “Jours de plaine” has become an anthem of sorts for Francophones in Western Canada. Alongside his award-winning albums, he is acclaimed for his live performances of his original compositions and for his dynamic portrayal of Frollo in the blockbuster musical Notre-Dame de Paris.

Tonya Williams, O.C. – Screen actor and producer, arts executive and activist
Tonya Williams is an award-winning actor, producer, arts executive, and activist, widely recognized by television audiences for her work in numerous Canadian series and for her iconic, long-running role as Dr. Olivia Winters on The Young and the Restless. She is also known as the founder of Reelworld, a groundbreaking organization dedicated to advancing equity and inclusion in Canada’s screen industries. Throughout her career, she has blended artistic achievement with tireless activism, shaping a more inclusive future for storytellers in Canada. She currently serves on the Ontario Creates Industry Advisory Committee.

The Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts, which recognizes outstanding contribution by an individual or group in voluntary service to the performing arts in Canada:

Sae Hoon (Stan) Chung
Sae Hoon (Stan) Chung is a writer, educator, and consultant whose career is deeply intertwined with service to arts organizations, public institutions, and Indigenous communities. He has played a crucial role in enhancing accessibility and relevance in arts programs in his home province of British Columbia, notably during his tenure as chair of the BC Arts Council, and his dedication to promoting diversity, inclusivity, equity, and community-centred stewardship, particularly in non-urban and Indigenous communities, has had a tremendous influence on organizations nationwide. Recognized as a champion for change in Canada’s arts community, he continues to contribute his time and expertise to advancing cultural and educational equity.

The National Arts Centre Award, which recognizes work of an extraordinary nature by an individual artist or company in the past performance year:

Barbara Hannigan, C.M. – Soprano and conductor
Internationally acclaimed for her groundbreaking dual career as a soprano and conductor, Barbara Hannigan is one of the world’s foremost champions of contemporary classical music. Her vocal career is especially associated with new music: she has premiered more than 100 works written specifically for her. She has worked closely with renowned composers, directors, and choreographers, and appeared as a conductor with major orchestras worldwide, establishing a reputation for creating innovative concert programs that broaden listeners’ horizons by interweaving contemporary and classical repertoire in a highly dramatic and engaging way.

“Our stories, our artists, our voices: they matter,” said Douglas Knight, C.M., Chair and CEO of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation, and Anik Bissonnette, O.C., Co-Chair of the Foundation. “Our performing artists give voice to our shared experiences and create a common language that connects us, unites us, and inspires a deep sense of pride in being Canadian.”

“The performing arts help us see ourselves—and each other—more clearly,” said Michelle Chawla, Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts. “This year’s laureates remind us of the transformative power of creativity to connect communities, expand our understanding, and strengthen our shared sense of belonging. We are honoured to support the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, and to celebrate artists whose vision and dedication enrich the cultural life of our country in profound and enduring ways.”

“The National Arts Centre is proud to be a founding partner of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, and honoured to annually produce the awards show, which is always such a moving and memorable evening,” said Annabelle Cloutier, NAC President and CEO. “We look forward to celebrating this wonderful group of Canadian artists and the extraordinary contributions they have made to Canada’s cultural life.”

“We are proud to welcome back RBC as Presenting Sponsor of the 2026 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, celebrating the artists who shape Canada’s cultural landscape,” said Juniper Locilento, CEO of the National Arts Centre Foundation. “We sincerely thank RBC for their continued commitment to excellence in the performing arts.”

“The National Film Board of Canada is proud to be part of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards since 2008, honouring GGPAA laureates through film portraits that are cinematic gems in their own right. Especially now, when the country is looking for great homegrown stories and Canadians who lead and inspire—what a wonderful group of champions we have to celebrate. Jointly conceived by laureates, directors and NFB producers, the films capture the essence of these extraordinary people and their passion, vision and dedication. Seven new films join the NFB’s GGPAA collection this year, which will feature more than 133 works, available for free on nfb.ca. This precious audiovisual legacy is an ever-evolving homage to the remarkable artists, patrons and volunteers who have helped to shape our cultural landscape, and the NFB is committed to sharing this amazing body of work with all Canadians, now and in the years to come,” said Suzanne Guèvremont, Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Film Board of Canada.

“Congratulations to the recipients of this year’s Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards — visionaries who have contributed to, challenged and enriched our country’s cultural landscape,” said Marie-Philippe Bouchard, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada. “Shining a national spotlight on these artists and giving Canadians a front-row seat to discover, acknowledge and celebrate their achievements, in partnership with the Awards, is part of our commitment to anchor and sustain a thriving cultural sector.”

“Congratulations to the 2026 laureates, whose artistry and leadership continue to inspire audiences in Canada and around the world,” said Devinder Gill, RBC Regional President, Ontario North & East. “At RBC, we believe the performing arts play a vital role in building strong, inclusive communities and reflecting who we are as a country. Our longstanding partnership with the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards celebrates the extraordinary impact these artists have made, at home and on the world stage. We are proud to honour the 2026 laureates and their lasting contributions to Canada’s cultural legacy.”

Thank you to our partners

These awards would not be possible without the support of our partners: the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the National Arts Centre (NAC). Compass Rose is our Communications Partner. As well, each year the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) creates incomparable short films that capture the essence of the laureates. This year’s films will premiere at the GGPAA Show at the NAC on June 6 and online on NFB platforms. The films will also be available after June 6 on CBC Gem and ICI TOU.TV, thanks to our National Media Partner, CBC/Radio-Canada. The National Arts Centre is proud to produce the 2026 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Show in partnership with the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation.

Thanks to the many sponsors and donors who make the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Evening at the NAC possible, including Presenting Sponsor RBC, Lead Donor Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Crowe BGK, Keg Spirit Foundation, The Azrieli Foundation, Power Corporation of Canada and Meta.

Tickets

The 2026 laureates will be celebrated at two events in Ottawa, culminating in the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Show at the National Arts Centre on Saturday, June 6.

Tickets for the GGPAA Show at the NAC go on sale to the public on Thursday, February 12 at 10:00 am ET, at nac-cna.ca/ggawards and by phone at 1-844-985-2787.

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For more information or to arrange an interview with a 2026 laureate, please contact:

Jessica Eritou
Compass Rose
jeritou@compassrosegroup.org
613-558-0936

OTTAWA, Canada, February 10, 2026 – The National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre is proud to announce the return of its tradition of performance workshops with the 2026 edition of the French Theatre Lab, entitled Voix et ténèbres chez Maeterlinck (available in French only). This master class will take place from May 5 to 10, 2026, and will be led by renowned director Denis Marleau, assisted by dramaturg Stéphanie Jasmin. 

After striking productions of Intérieur (Interior) and the technological phantasmagoria Les aveugles (The Blind), Denis Marleau chose to deepen with the performers his exploration of the work of Maeterlinck, whose early plays marked the birth of modern theatre and influenced Vsevolod Meyerhold, Samuel Beckett and Antonin Artaud. 

Revived in 2025 by French Theatre artistic director Mani Soleymanlou, the Lab continues the series of intensive sessions in stagecraft launched by Marleau in 2002. 

For this Lab, Denis Marleau has chosen to work on La mort de Tintagiles (The Death of Tintagiles) (1894), a short play belonging to the trilogy “Little Dramas for Puppets” along with Intérieur (Interior) and Alladine et Palomides (Alladine and Palomides). Participants will delve into the "static drama," developing delicate yet haunting tragic poetics that balance the tension between the actor’s absence and presence.  

The workshop will focus on: 

Vocal technique: Vocal registers and projection, researching the character’s various voices, and choral and solo work. 

Stage presence: Creating a character as a “receiver” of states oscillating between lucidity and unconsciousness, nourished by minute sensations, and attuned to time, silence, and listening. 

Sound experimentation: The vocal work will be supported by wireless microphone amplification, and the Lab will culminate in a sound recording of the workshop results. 

This intensive week provides theatre artists with a rare opportunity to experiment with new approaches to presence, using sparse words and minimalist language in an attempt to convey the inexpressible. 

“Denis is an outstanding director of actors (I experienced this myself very recently!). A great lover of language, he is a master at reading a text and its musicality. His vast knowledge of theatre is deeply inspiring. Denis Marleau’s involvement in a performer’s career leaves a lasting impression.” 

Mani Soleymanlou 

Artistic director, NAC French Theatre 

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS 

Participants must have completed an acting training program and have at least three years’ practical experience. Interested individuals are invited to submit an application using the online registration form. Application deadline: Thursday, February 26 at 5 PM (ET). 

There are no fees for applying or participating. Transportation and accommodation expenses, as well as daily allowances, will be covered by the NAC. 

Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents and have a home address in a Canadian province or territory. 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NAC FRENCH THEATRE LABS 

2002: Sur l’énonciation en français de textes russes, directed by André Markowicz and Denis Marleau 

2003: Le Temps de Sénèque, on the actor’s physical and vocal work based on the works of Seneca, dir. Stuart Seide 

2004: Architecture et géométrie du récit, on the question of time and stories, dir. Wajdi Mouawad 

2005: L’acteur-verbe, on the dynamic between language and performance, dir. Alain Françon and Daniel Danis 

2006: Sur les fondements du travail d’écrivain, dir. Normand Chaurette 

2007: L’acteur vertical, on the nature and practice of performing tragedy today, dir. Brigitte Haentjens 

2008: Le texte en-jeux, on the relationship between actor, text, and character, dir. Galin Stoev 

2009: Entre fiction et réalité : réinventer la relation enfant-adulte pour le droit à la rencontre artistique, on writing plays for young audiences, dir. Suzanne Lebeau 

2009–2010: Je critique donc je suis, on theatre criticism as commitment, resistance, and art, dir. Robert Lévesque 

2011: Le devoir de création et la joie du péril, on the notion of creating theatre in the face of the unprecedented, the unpredictable, and the risky, dir. Claude Poissant 

2012: L’acteur-auteur, on acting, approaching a text, and the writer’s connection to writing, dir. Wajdi Mouawad 

2025: Regarder autrement : théâtres des possibles, on the creative processes that help transform an idea into a tangible, meaningful piece, dir. Jasmine Catudal 

ABOUT THE NAC 

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

Mireille Allaire 
Director of Communications, Programming 
National Arts Centre 
343-998-4244 
mireille.allaire@nac-cna.ca 

FEBRUARY 3, 2026 – OTTAWA – During the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, the National Arts Centre (NAC) and CBC/Radio-Canada, Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic Network, will once again join forces to bring residents of Ottawa-Gatineau together to cheer on Team Canada. CBC/Radio-Canada’s comprehensive Olympic coverage will be shown in the NAC’s public spaces throughout the Games.

For the occasion, the NAC’s iconic five-storey Kipnes Lantern will be illuminated in the colours of Milano Cortina 2026.

More information on the Paralympic schedule will follow.

VIEWING SCHEDULE

The NAC invites the public to gather, bring their coffee, tea or lunch, and enjoy Olympic Winter Games broadcasts in English and French. The excitement gets under way Friday, February 6 at 2 p.m. with the Opening Ceremony. Viewing continues weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. during the weeks of February 3 and 10, and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (with the exception of the February 14–15 Big Bang weekend). 

“We are delighted to partner once again with CBC/Radio-Canada to bring the Olympic spirit of the 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina into our public spaces, and cheer on our Team Canada athletes. These shared national moments celebrate athletic excellence and reflect our commitment to creating meaningful, collective experiences for our communities and Canadians.”
— Annabelle Cloutier, President and CEO, National Arts Centre

“These public viewings offer Canadians a front-row seat to experience all the emotion of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. We are delighted to partner with the National Arts Centre again this year to offer Canadians a unique opportunity to come together, share in the excitement of the Olympic Games, and proudly cheer on Team Canada.”
— Marie-Philippe Bouchard, President and CEO, CBC/Radio-Canada

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

ABOUT CBC/RADIO-CANADA

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages: Dëne Sųłıné, Dene Kǝdǝ́, Dene Zhatıé, Eastern Cree, Dinjii Zhuʼ Ginjik, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun and Tłı̨chǫ. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
 
Carl Martin 
Senior Advisor, Strategic Initiatives
National Arts Centre 
Carl.martin@nac-cna.ca
 
Emma Iannetta
Senior Specialist, Media Relations
CBC/Radio-Canada
emma.iannetta@cbc.ca
 

For the occasion, the NAC’s iconic five-storey Kipnes Lantern will be illuminated in the colours of MilanoCortina 2026.

More information on the Paralympic schedule will follow.

VIEWING SCHEDULE

The NAC invites the public to gather, bring their coffee, tea or lunch, and enjoy Olympic Winter Games broadcasts in English and French. The excitement gets under way Friday, February 6 at
2 p.m. with the Opening Ceremony. Viewing continues weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. during the weeks of February 3 and 10, and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (with the exception of the February 14–15 Big Bang weekend).

“We are delighted to partner once again with CBC/Radio-Canada to bring the Olympic spirit of the 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina into our public spaces, and cheer on our Team Canada athletes. These shared national moments celebrate athletic excellence and reflect our commitment to creating meaningful, collective experiences for our communities and Canadians.”

— Annabelle Cloutier, President and CEO, National Arts Centre

“These public viewings offer Canadians a front-row seat to experience all the emotion of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. We are delighted to partner with the National Arts Centre again this year to offer Canadians a unique opportunity to come together, share in the excitement of the Olympic Games, and proudly cheer on Team Canada.”
— Marie-Philippe Bouchard, President and CEO, CBC/Radio-Canada

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

ABOUT CBC/RADIO-CANADA

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages: Dëne Sųłıné, Dene Kǝdǝ́, Dene Zhatıé, Eastern Cree, Dinjii Zhuʼ Ginjik, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun and Tłı̨chǫ. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Carl Martin 
Senior Advisor, Strategic Initiatives
National Arts Centre
Carl.martin@nac-cna.ca

Emma Iannetta
Senior Specialist, Media Relations
CBC/Radio-Canada
emma.iannetta@cbc.ca

January 23, 2026 – OTTAWA (Canada). NAC English Theatre is thrilled to announce renowned Canadian musical theatre actor and singer Chilina Kennedy will headline the cast for its revival of the highly successful Tarragon Theatre / The Musical Stage Company production of Rose Napoli and Suzy Wilde’s acclaimed musical After the Rain, directed by Marie Farsi and Musical Direction by Rachel O'Brien.  

Best known for playing Carole King in the musical Beautiful on Broadway for over 1,200 performances, Chilina Kennedy, will take on duo roles in the upcoming production in 2026. The musical will also mark Kennedy’s debut with NAC English Theatre.    

She will be joined by a cast that includes Joe (Jojo) Bowden, Andrew Penner, Shaemus Swets and Annika Tupper from the original Toronto cast and Steve Maloney, coming aboard for the NAC production.  

After the Rain centres around struggling musician Suzie (Annika Tupper), who grapples with her relationship involving her successful musician parents (Chilina Kennedy, Andrew Penner), while learning about herself after she offers piano lessons to a mature student (Chilina Kennedy).   

Building on the triumphant success of this past spring’s world premiere in Toronto, excitement is high for the company’s arrival to the NAC this February.

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38312

To learn more about Chilina Kennedy, visit: https://www.chilinakennedy.com/home

AFTER THE RAIN – FEBRUARY 25 – MARCH 7, 2026 AZRIELI STUDIO 

“Thrilling! Electrifying! A must-see!” - Our Theatre Voice

What if music had the power to heal what hurts the most?

Suzie is struggling. Her parents are nagging her. And her personal life is flatlining. That is until a mature piano student fixated on mastering Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 1. seeks her musical guidance and changes everything. Join Suzie as she tries to forge her own path while her preoccupied parents hover over her, struggling with the uncertainty of their own future. Like all of us, Suzie discovers that life is full of contradictions – it’s happy yet sad, fast yet slow, hard yet soft, and achingly beautiful.  

Award-winning writers Rose Napoli and Suzy Wilde's fresh and folksy musical grapples with some of life’s most complex nuances, the anguish of family dynamics, and the vital importance of friendship. This deceptively affecting show proves that seemingly beautiful, simple things can be complicated and challenging— in all the best ways. 

Book and Lyrics by Rose Napoli; Music and Lyrics by Suzy Wilde; Directed by Marie Farsi; Musical Direction by Rachel O'Brien. Starring Joe (Jojo) Bowden, Chilina Kennedy, Steve Maloney, Andrew Penner, Shaemus Swets and Annika Tupper. Set Designer David Boechler; Costume Designer Ming Wong; Lighting Designer Logan Raju Cracknell; Sound Designer Brian Kenny; Stage Manager Kai-Yueh Chen. Apprentice Stage Manager Jenna Borsato.

World premiere commissioned and produced in Toronto ON by The Musical Stage Company, Ray Hogg, Artistic Director; Paul Beauchamp and Kate Supleve, Co-Executive Directors and Tarragon Theatre, Mike Payette, Artistic Director; Andrea Vagianos, Managing Director; and Lisa Li, Executive Director. Commissioned with funding from the Bulmash-Siegel Foundation and the Aubrey & Marla Dan Fund for New Musicals.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS   

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the Official Hotel Partner Les Suites Hotel Ottawa.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE  
    
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.  

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Audition Dates: 
Monday, February 16, 2026 – by appointment only
Thursday, February 19, 2026 – by appointment only

National Arts Centre English Theatre Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino will be conducting general auditions at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa with an eye to casting upcoming seasons of artistic activity.

Eligibility and Priority Considerations
Performers are eligible for a general audition with Ms Aquino only once every three years. Priority will be given to those local to the Ottawa-Gatineau region, and to CAEA members.

Inclusive Casting Statement
NAC English Theatre is committed to inclusive casting. We encourage submissions from professional artists who self-identify as members of under-represented communities, a concept we understand very broadly, and which includes persons with disabilities. If you require any accommodations prior to or during your audition, please inform us as soon as possible and we will make every effort to fulfill your accommodation request.

What to Prepare
Performers are asked to prepare two contemporary, contrasting monologues from the works of Canadian playwrights written in 2000 or later, of no more than two minutes each (see recommended monologue resources below). Alternatively, performers can opt for one two-minute monologue along with a song of no more than two minutes. No accompaniment will be provided but artists are welcome to accompany themselves acoustically or electronically. Out of respect for everyone’s time, please note that time limits will be strictly observed.

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BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
To request an appointment, please submit this form no later than Wednesday, February 4th, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

Those selected for an audition appointment will be notified by Tuesday, February 10, 2026.

AGENTS – please note we are not accepting e-pitches (e.g. Casting Workbook). We recommend forwarding this information to your clients so they may self-submit by completing the form themselves.

Please note that we are not able to accept self-tape video submissions for general auditions.

Monologue Resources:
Playwrights Canada Press
Pledge Project
The 49 List
Talonbooks
Scirocco Drama
Canadian Play Outlet (Playwrights Guild of Canada)

Questions may be directed to judi.pearl@nac-cna.ca.

The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Cana

OTTAWA, January 20, 2026 – The show Créatures is an absolute must-see for anyone interested in discovering the unique approach of L’eau du bain, the Outaouais-based children’s theatre company founded by Anne-Marie Ouellet, Thomas Sinou, and Nancy Bussières. 

In the wake of Impatiences, White out, La chambre des enfants, and De glace, L’eau du bain theatre company continues its quest for an immersive, spellbinding art form combining theatre, performance, and installation. In Créatures, the company ingeniously uses water as a scenic, acoustic, and sensory material to construct an abstract yet very real world. 

Eleven performers—girls and women whose ages range from 5 to 72—find themselves in a flooded theatre. Each seems to possess secret knowledge and a multitude of stories to be whispered. They are beginnings, desires, and powers all at once. Their clothing and luggage offer some clues as to their backgrounds, but they remain opaquely mysterious, much like the murky water in which they fish and contemplate their reflections. Through their sometimes playful, sometimes strange metamorphoses, they celebrate spontaneity, secrecy, and irreverence. 

The play is loosely based on the magical universe of Finnish artist Tove Jansson, known for her genre-defying novels and the Moomins, the beloved trolls of children’s literature. 

Based in Chelsea, in the Outaouais region, L’eau du bain specializes in creating immersive, imaginative worlds where sound and light are designed to resonate on an inner level with audiences of all ages. 

“We’re delighted to welcome Créatures to NAC French Theatre. With this new production, L’eau du bain once again pushes the boundaries of the theatrical experience. The company’s distinctive performance style, mastery of set design, and poetic vision make this a uniquely captivating and entertaining show for all ages.” 

 

Mani Soleymanlou 

Artistic Director, NAC French Theatre 

Adults and young people age 12 and over are welcome! 

NATIONAL CREATION FUND INVESTMENT 

Thanks to the National Creation Fund’s $130,000 investment, L’eau du bain was able to organize a six-week residency to experiment with water as a luminous, sonic and poetic element, and with its integration into the lighting, costume and sound design. The Fund’s investment also supported eco-friendly costume and set design, allowed for additional rehearsal time, and strengthened the production team behind this technically ambitious work.  

“L’eau du bain’s productions are unique sensorial adventures with stunning aesthetics. We were so excited to support Créatures, a new creation that pushes this innovative company even further, aesthetically, dramaturgically, and with their charismatic cast of multigenerational performers.”  

 

Sarah Conn 

Artistic Producer, National Creation Fund 

Download production photos of the show 

Read the reviews (in French only) 

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

Azrieli Studio 

Thursday, January 29 and Friday, January 30 at 7 PM, and Saturday, January 31 at 4 PM 

Running time: About 1 hour and 25 minutes with no intermission 

Tickets: $39 

To purchase tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38326 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). 

To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit. Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2025–2026 NAC French Theatre season. 

POST-SHOW TALKBACKS 

Enhance the immersive Créatures experience by joining a discussion led by Gilles Abel, our resident philosopher. After each performance, he will share his thoughts on the show and answer questions from the audience. The aim of the discussion is to spark your ideas and encourage you to think together … differently. 

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS 

The National Arts Centre Foundation thanks Les Suites Hotel, official hotel partner of NAC French Theatre. 

ABOUT THE NAC 

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

Mireille Allaire 
Director of Communications, Programming 
National Arts Centre 
343-998-4244 
mireille.allaire@nac-cna.ca 

Get ready for your children to giggle and cheer as the BIG BANG returns to the National Arts Centre February 14th and 15th, 2026. 

Mark your calendars and take part in our free and affordable programming that turns the NAC into a musical wonderland. Sounds abound over the course of two days of fun, musical adventuring and inventive play. Equally perfect for kids ages 5 to 12 as it is for their grown-ups. 

The festival’s complete programming is now announced! Discover what our new curator, Amélie Bergeron, has waiting for you with her first edition of the festival.  

“There’s no age when it comes to jumping into the fun! Our program brings together an incredibly talented group of artists — many of them from the Ottawa area. We’re proud to have them on board for this edition, and it promises to be well worth the trip!” 

Amélie Bergeron, Curator for BIG BANG Festival Ottawa  

Download photos 

FREE ACTIVITIES AND SHOWS  

NOMAD  

February 14 & 15 | Ticketed Free     

O’Borne Room  

Bilingual ● Ages 5+   

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40295     

A rich and vibrant mosaic of sound and drawing! 

NOMAD is a recuring artistic project at BIG BANG Festivals worldwide. The concept? A simple yet extraordinary encounter between professional artists and local children.  For this year’s festival, Benoit Fortier and Gabrielle Bouthillier of E27 musiques nouvelles invite a group of local grade 5 and 6 students from the Foul’Arts program at École élémentaire catholique Jean-Robert-Gauthier to discover how drawing can inspire a sound creation!   

BRASS TAXX (Fanfare)  

February 14 & 15 | Free     

Glass Thorsteinson Staircase   

Bilingual ● Ages 5+  

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40296 

It’s time for a BIG BANG brass party! 

BRASS TAXX will bring the funk and soul that will have the whole family grooving to the beat. The rhythms blowing in all directions will have everyone on their feet!    

Rope Launcher  

February 14 & 15 | Free     

Al Zaibak Lantern Room   

Bilingual ● Ages 5+    

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40297     

Kinetic Conversation 

Created by the inventive minds of Théâtre Rude Ingénierie, this mechanical device brings to life a long loop of rope, propelled into the air as if it had a breath of its own. Guided by music and ambient sounds, the rope unfolds and retracts, weaving unexpected movements in the air that seem to respond to the world around it.    

Space Palette 

February 14 & 15 | Free     

Salon  

Bilingual ● Ages 5+    

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40298    

A mesmerizing, multisensory experience 

Step inside a magical dome and enter the most enchanting chill-out space imaginable. Space Palette is an immersive experience that invites gentle play through sound, light and touch.    

Musical Hopscotch

February 14 & 15 | Free     

Rossy Pavilion  

Bilingual ● Ages 5+    

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40316     

Jump to the beat 

What if the hopscotch playground became a dance floor? Come jump, move, and play alongside urban dancer and architect Tangent and DJ Rise Ashen. Well known for hosting the Capital Sessions community dance workshops at the NAC, this local duo exudes joyfully contagious energy!  

Craft it up at the festival! 

At the BIG BANG, there are a few essential stops along your way between shows. 

1. The barber chair to get your shiny star tattoo. 

2. The craft station to colour weird creatures or decorate a cool crown to wear. 

3. And with your crown on your head and your tattoo on your arm, put on your best smile and snap a photo in front of the selfie wall or anywhere else at the NAC. It’ll be a great souvenir of your festival adventure. 

And other surprises await you! What could be better? 

TICKETED EVENTS  

Families will find accessible prices with ticketed events ranging from $7-$15.   

Polky 

February 14 & 15 | $15    

4th Stage 

50 minutes ● Multilingual ● Ages 5+  

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40152  

Fiddle-driven family fun 

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40152

There is nothing like high-energy folk rhythms to chase away the winter blues. With joyful harmonies, lively spirit and unusual instruments, Toronto’s Polky will have you tapping your toes.  

Platypus Theatre's Music Under a Midnight Moon 

February 15 | $15 

Southam Hall 

60 minutes ● Bilingual ● Ages 5+  

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38383  

NACO Family Adventures 

As twilight falls, two weary wanderers stumble upon a forgotten junkyard. But what seems like a pile of discarded odds and ends soon transforms into a world of possibility. With a pluck, a tap, and a shake, everyday objects awaken with music! We hope you will enjoy the giant images on the NACOtron screen as they capture and magnify the magic of these fabulous concerts! 

Thelonious 

February 14 & 15 | $15 

Azrieli Studio  

50 minutes ● Without words ● Ages 5+  

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38340  

A chaotically fun concert 

Jazz up your day with three extraordinarily talented musicians who will bring the legendary African-American pianist and composer Thelonious Monk back to life in a spectacular concert coupled with unbelievable video animations! 

Music Rooms  

February 14 & 15 | $7   

20 minutes ● Without words ● Ages 5+    

https://nac-cna.ca/en/series/big-bang-26-bb26-music-rooms  

Small format, big fun 

Looking for a new adventure? With just a small group of audience members and an accessible price, these micro-concerts are a festival favourite. Enjoy the casual atmosphere, as artists perform in tucked-away and mysterious NAC settings. There will be four Music Rooms to choose from in 2026, featuring keyboards and astonishing percussions, the whimsical world of a root-like string puppet, the discovery of music hidden in the most ordinary of places, and vibrant Afro-fusion sounds.  

Music Room 1: Drones & Tones – Jesse Stewart and Joël Dazé 

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40108    

Music Room 2: Roots and the Bassoon – Laurence Petitpas and Yana Ouellet 

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40109  

Music Room 3: The Sounds of Nothing – Martin Dawagne, Caroline Lefebvre, Lionel Lehouillier et Judith Poitras 

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40134  

Music Room 4: Good Vibrations - Mamadou Koita 

http://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40150

WHAT MAKES THE BIG BANG UNIQUE?    

The BIG BANG is a one-of-a-kind festival of musical adventures. It invites children and their families on a colourful journey featuring a rich array of sound concepts whose diversity and originality make the festival a hit wherever it goes.  

The BIG BANG loves to travel, and what’s more, it loves to take visitors of all ages on adventures. It builds on the legacy of the OORSMEER festival, founded by Wouter Van Looy in 1995, to offer children an artistic and musical program designed specifically for them, and which they even help deliver by participating in certain interactive installations.  

Since its inception, the festival has travelled to several European cities, from Tallinn to Lisbon, from Antwerp to Athens, from Seville to Dublin, from Lille to Enschede, via Ghent, Brussels, Rouen, Reykjavik and Copenhagen. In 2019, the event took a giant leap across the ocean to land in its first North American city: Ottawa! Since then, each edition has been a resounding success, bringing together thousands of curious people attracted by the many guest artists and invigorating performances and micro-concerts.   

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR BIG BANG FRIENDS    

The Ottawa presentation of the BIG BANG is the result of the NAC’s relationship with Belgium’s Zonzo Compagnie, which specializes in musical theatre for young audiences and is directed by Wouter Van Looy. In recent years the NAC has presented several Zonzo performances, including Listen to the Silence, set to the music of John Cage; Slumberland, an exploration of the world of dreams and the night; Mile(s)tones, a show about legendary jazzman Miles Davis; HUSH: Henry’s Dream Machine, an off-the-wall concert-performance about Henry Purcell, and roundABOUT # Tsubasa Hori at last year's BIG BANG Festival. The BIG BANG is an initiative of Zonzo Compagnie.  

The 2026 festival will be in full swing during Winterlude. 

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

Emma Schuster 
Communications Strategist, BIG BANG 

National Arts Centre

emma.schuster@nac-cna.ca 

Acclaimed choreographer and performer Amrita Hepi, from the Bundjalung (Australia) and Ngāpuhi (New Zealand) territories, brings her witty solo Rinse to the Azrieli Studio from January 22 to 24. This internationally celebrated piece, co-written with theatremaker Mish Grigor, has captivated audiences from the prestigious Festival d’Avignon to major stages across Australia and Europe.

What is it about the beginning that remains intoxicating?

In Rinse, Hepi dives into the romance of new beginnings: the first rush of love, the opening lines of a story, and asks what happens when that initial thrill fades and inertia takes over. Through movement, text, and playful satire, she recounts personal narratives in relation to dance, art, feminism, desire, love, popular culture, and colonial history. The result is an intimate yet epic performance that blurs fact and fiction, memoir and myth.

Rinse unfolds on a bright-lit stage, with set and costume elements in icy blue and white; a striking backdrop for her dynamic choreography and irreverent monologue that she delivers looking directly at the audience. The work is both philosophical and visceral, exploring dance as a living archive, a place of memory and resistance.

Note: Rinse is performed in English with French surtitles. The performance on January 24, 2026, will be interpreted in American Sign Language (ASL). 

Rinse is produced by Performing Lines. The piece will also be presented at Public Energy Performing Arts in Peterborough on January 28th. 

SHOW AND TICKET INFORMATION
January 22-24
8:00 p.m.
Azrieli Studio

To purchase tickets to this performance, visit nac-cna.ca/en/event/38366 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To learn more about the NAC’s building and facilities before you arrive, click: nac-cna.ca/en/visit.

ABOUT AMRITA HEPI

Amrita Hepi (Bundjalung/Ngāpuhi territories) is a multidisciplinary artist & choreographer based in Naarm and Bangkok. Her interest as an artist is in the idea of archive; particularly in relation to the body and how it is organized by ancestry/people/events and environment. By coalescing fact and fiction, memoir and ethnography, the local and the singular into the performance/art work she makes. Amrita trained at NAISDA & Alvin Ailey NYC. A critically acclaimed artist she has twice been the winner of the people choice award for the Keir Choreographic Award, was a Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 - The Arts, and has shown and been commissioned nationally and internationally. Amrita is a Triad member of performance company APHIDS, on the board of directors and artistic associate for RISING festival and part of the Artistic Associate group for STRUT dance. Her commitment to collaboration and kinship are key tenets to her practice.

THANK YOU TO THE NAC DANCE SPONSORS

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the generous support by an anonymous donor, and by Official Hotel Partner of NAC Dance, The Lord Elgin Hotel.

THANK YOU TO THE NAC INDIGENOUS THEATRE PARTNERS

Indigenous Theatre at Canada’s National Arts Centre is made possible through the generous support of individuals and corporations from across the country. The National Arts Centre Foundation wishes to acknowledge the support of Presenting Sponsor BMO Financial Group and Official Hotel Partner Les Suites Hotel. Thank you also to Meta, Presenting Partner of #ReconcileThis. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE  

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

January 5, 2026 – OTTAWA (Canada). The halls of the National Arts Centre have been abuzz with excitement since rehearsals for the world premiere of Copperbelt began in mid-December. This crackling drama centering on the headstrong daughter of a powerful African family has been a passion project for its creator Natasha Mumba for over five years, and will debut in a lavish co-production by NAC English Theatre and Soulpepper Theatre in January 2026. 

Natasha Mumba --widely known for her work on Canadian stages and screens, including a starring role opposite Stephan James in AMC’s Beacon 23—began developing her debut play in 2020. What started as a love story deepened into a sharper, more expansive portrait of a woman caught between self-determination in Toronto and the gravitational pull of her powerful family in Zambia. Reflecting her strong desire to see the lesser-told story of a wealthy African family on stage, Mumba draws from her own experience growing up in Zambia and from the responsibilities she’s felt as a child of the diaspora. At its heart, the work asks an urgent, intimate question: what does it truly mean to give back, and at what cost?.  

With early support from several theatre companies, the project continued to gather momentum when NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino joined Mumba as a lead collaborator in 2022. Since then, the two have developed the work through multiple workshops—shaping the piece and threading the Zambia–Canada connection into its very spine.

That shared artistic vision culminated in an extraordinary workshop in January 2025, when Mumba, Aquino, movement director Tawiah M’Carthy, and dramaturg Ric Knowles travelled to Lusaka, Zambia to work alongside Zambian artists and deepen the play’s roots in Mumba’s homeland. Over 10 days, the local artistic community welcomed them with remarkable generosity—strengthening the team’s confidence in the work’s resonance and opening the door to casting that could be truly international.

From that workshop, Zambian actors Kapembwa Wanjelani and Kondwani Elliott Zulu were selected to join the cast along with Canadians Eric Miracle, Rick Roberts, Warona Setshwaelo, Makambe K. Simamba —with Mumba also performing in a dual role as playwright and actor—bringing an international ensemble to the stage.

A searing drama about a fearless young woman caught between legacy, ambition, and the cost of success, the world premiere of Copperbelt runs at National Arts Centre in Ottawa January 13 – 24 and then at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto February 7 – March 1. 

COPPERBELT - JANUARY 13 - 24, BABS ASPER THEATRE 

What if putting family first was the last thing you wanted to do?

Meet Eden, a junior operations manager at a high-powered international mining firm in Toronto, her freshly divorced bigwig boss/boyfriend, and her estranged wealthy family. When her father falls ill, she’s forced to return to Zambia and face the very problems she’s spent years trying to escape. She can change her name, but can she truly break free from the grip her family has on her personal and professional future? 

Natasha Mumba’s debut play showcases a cast of Zambian and Canadian actors who take us from downtown Toronto to Zambia’s Copperbelt region to untangle the inner workings of the Kasuba family, their secrets, and their intriguing legacy. Deftly investigating geopolitical and familial power structures through insightful commentary and crackling dialogue, this world premiere explores the clash between personal aspirations, familial expectations, and the steep price some must pay for success. 

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38314

BON COPPERBELT 

On January 16, 2026, NAC English Theatre will host a Black Out Night (BON) that will coincide with the evening performance of Copperbelt.  

NAC Black Out Nights offer Black audiences and their guests an opportunity to enjoy performances with their community. As always, everyone is welcome to join the Black Out Night during the performance of Copperbelt, fostering a spirit of inclusivity and celebration.

For full details, visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40049

COPPERBELT
 
An NAC English Theatre/Soulpepper Theatre Co-Production.

Written by Natasha Mumba; Directed by Nina Lee Aquino; Movement Direction by Tawiah Ben M'Carthy; Dramaturgy by Ric Knowles; Featuring Eric Miracle, Natasha Mumba, Rick Roberts, Warona Setshwaelo, Makambe K. Simamba, Kapembwa Wanjelani, Kondwani Elliott Zulu; Set and Costume Design by Rachel Forbes; Lighting Design by Michelle Ramsay; Sound and Music Composition by Romeo Candido; Cultural Consultant, Dialect Coach and Bemba Translation by Chiluba Katongo Nsofu; Fight Direction by Richard Lee; Assistant Set and Costume Design by Nikki Mabias; Associate Lighting Design by Nathan Bruce; Associate Sound Design by Christine Lee; Stage Manager Tamara Protić; Assistant Stage Manager Neha Ross, Co-Bemba Translation by Austin Kaluba.
 
ASL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCE 
 
On January 23 at 7:30 pm, the performance will be ASL Interpreted, with a specific seating section made available for those accessing the interpretation. For more information and to reserve tickets to the ASL Interpreted Performance, please contact Aimee Bouchard, Learning Coordinator for English Theatre at aimee.bouchard@nac-cna.ca 

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS   
 
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the Official Hotel Partner Les Suites Hotel Ottawa and Presenting Partner, Black Out Night, TD Bank.
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE    
 
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

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ANNABELLE CLOUTIER NAMED PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CANADA’S NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE  

DECEMBER 9, 2025 – OTTAWA – The Board of Trustees of Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) today announced that Annabelle Cloutier becomes its next President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately for a five-year term. She succeeds Christopher Deacon, who retired on December 3 after a tremendous tenure and career at the NAC. 

The appointment follows a global executive search that began in the spring of 2025. The Board of Trustees of the NAC ultimately identified Annabelle Cloutier as an outstanding candidate who is uniquely qualified to steward the National Arts Centre and act as a champion of Canadian artists and the performing arts sector.   

“Annabelle is the kind of arts leader Canada needs for these times, bringing vision, energy and imagination to one of Canada’s most cherished cultural institutions,” said Guy Pratte, Chair of the Board of Trustees, who led the selection committee. “Her deep commitment to developing the performing arts across the country, her distinguished career in public service and the arts, her extraordinary gift of motivating those around her, and her exceptional ability to communicate the essential value of the arts to our society make her the ideal person to guide the National Arts Centre at this critical moment for our country. Our Board of Trustees enthusiastically looks forward to working with her in this new role.” 
 
As the first Francophone woman in the history of the National Arts Centre to serve as President and CEO, Annabelle Cloutier represents a new generation of leadership. She brings 25 years of national experience to the role, serving at the highest levels of the public and cultural sectors, at the intersection of the arts, public affairs, governance, diplomacy, strategic planning and communications. 

“It is with great humility and enthusiasm that I take on the role of President and CEO of the National Arts Centre, and I thank the Board of Trustees for entrusting me with this responsibility,” said Annabelle Cloutier. “I believe deeply in the fundamental role of the arts in our society, in the voices of creators and artists to awaken in us a sense of pride and belonging to our Canadian cultures and perspective. My immediate priorities will be to engage with artists and arts leaders from across the country, to connect actively with our national audiences, and to collaborate with and support our wonderful NAC team. Together, we will ensure that the performing arts remain a vibrant and relevant cornerstone of our Canadian identity, as they should be.”  

“The appointment of Annabelle Cloutier as President and CEO of the National Arts Centre is wonderful news for the performing arts in Canada,” said Christopher Deacon, former NAC President and CEO. “Annabelle lives and breathes the arts of the stage. She is highly respected for her leadership within the NAC and in the Canadian arts and culture sector. I am delighted that the NAC will be in such expert hands as she leads the institution forward into its next chapter.”  

ABOUT ANNABELLE CLOUTIER 
 
Annabelle Cloutier is a seasoned executive with 25 years serving at the highest levels of the public and cultural sectors, at the intersection of the arts, public affairs, governance, diplomacy, strategic planning and communications. 

Widely recognized for her track record in delivering results in complex, sensitive and rapidly evolving environments, Annabelle brings together leadership, clear strategic thinking, empathy, diplomacy, and a thorough understanding of institutional dynamics. She is a highly trusted presence who combines vision with political acumen and a strong sense of collective purpose.  

A Trusted Leader  
In 2018, Annabelle Cloutier was appointed by former NAC President and CEO Peter Herrndorf as Executive Director of Strategy and Communications, and Corporate Secretary to the Board of Trustees. Her dual role at the executive and governance levels has positioned her at the heart of decision-making within the institution. She has since become a trusted leader and key member of the senior management team, working closely with former President and CEO Christopher Deacon, and playing a central role in managing the NAC’s most complex institutional files. She is also widely known for her exceptional ability to motivate people, energize teams, and bring people together toward a common goal.  

Shaping the National Arts Centre’s Trajectory 
At the NAC, Annabelle has led and delivered high-impact, transformative strategies that have shaped the institution’s trajectory. These include communications strategies for the NAC’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the NAC Orchestra’s European Tour and the historic launch of the Indigenous Theatre, all in 2019. She was a central figure behind the NAC’s vision to lead and support the renewal of the Canadian performing arts, in response to the pandemic’s devastating effects on the sector and a changing cultural landscape. She was deeply involved in the NAC’s accelerated digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic with #CanadaPerforms and other initiatives. Under the leadership of the President and CEO, she spearheaded two strategic plans—The Next Act (2020–2023) and The Journey Ahead (2023–2026). 

Bringing People Together 
Annabelle’s ability to bring people and organizations together to maximize impact has strengthened the NAC’s long-term partnerships with key cultural institutions and federal government departments, including CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation, the Department of Canadian Heritage and Global Affairs Canada. She contributed to the NAC’s involvement in major cultural initiatives—including the launch of the Indigenous Theatre, the NAC Orchestra’s recent Korea & Japan Tour, and the NAC’s curation of cultural programming at Expo 2020 Dubai and Expo 2025 Osaka—that raised the national and international profile of Canadian artists from across the country. 

The Path to the NAC 
From 2009 to 2018, Annabelle Cloutier was Director of Communications and Public Affairs in the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, where she played a key role in State visits, Royal Tours, national honours ceremonies, and major events in Canada and abroad. She served as spokesperson to three Governors General during her nine-year tenure at Rideau Hall. Earlier in her career, Annabelle worked in arts and culture advocacy at the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (FCCF), advancing the interests of Francophone minority communities. She later became the founding Executive Director of the Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada (APFC), where she focused on advocacy for the film and television industry. In 2024, she joined the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Art Gallery and its Governance Committee, reflecting her continued commitment to volunteer leadership in the arts.  

A trained lawyer, Annabelle Cloutier holds an LL.B., completed graduate studies in communications, and earned an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from Harvard Kennedy School. Originally from Richmond, in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, Annabelle has been connected to the arts since childhood, having studied piano and violin at a young age. She remains an arts lover and learner, and a passionate photographer. Annabelle, 52, is married to Sébastien Carrière, a Canadian diplomat, and is the proud mother of two grown children.  

ABOUT THE NAC
 The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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December 4, 2025, Ottawa – The sounds of excitement and little feet skipping down the halls will once again fill The National Arts Centre as we welcome the return of a family favourite - the BIG BANG festival!  

Mark your calendars for February 14th and 15th, 2026, to take part in our free and affordable programming. Get ready for two days of fun, musical adventuring and inventive play that always leads to big smiles and lasting memories for parents and kids alike! 

The BIG BANG Festival transforms the NAC into a giant sonic playground, where families and artists come together to dive into inventive, curious, accessible and joy-filled musical adventures. A burst of sound explorations that transcend language, perfect for kids ages 5 to 12 and their grown-ups. So tune your ears and get ready to make some noise – BIG BANG 2026 is on its way! 

Discover what our new curator, Amélie Bergeron, has up her sleeves for her first edition of the festival.  

“The BIG BANG invites kids to take over the NAC and fill it with contagious joy. It’s a space for exploration, freedom, musical discoveries and surprises, a space where everyone is welcome, regardless of age or language. It’s a big party that brings us all together!”  
Amélie Bergeron, Curator for BIG BANG Festival Ottawa  

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In the music rooms, audiences can experience the vibrant energy of West African music with Montreal-based artist Mamadou Koïta, or explore the secret voices of everyday items through microphones, effects and playful imagination with The Sounds of Nothing. Bassoonist Yana Ouellet and puppetry artist Laurence Petitpas imagine a poetic conversation between a bassoon and a root-like string puppet in Roots and Bassoon. And Jesse Stewart and Joël Dazé meld keyboard melodies and inventive percussion to create a vivid sound experience in Drones and Tones. 

Families can also join the NAC Orchestra and the internationally acclaimed Platypus Theatre for Music Under a Midnight Moon, attend the North American Premiere of Thelonious, where wild musical play and an irresistible urge to move are all part of the experience, and rejoice in the high-energy sounds of rural Poland with folk band Polky.  

Information on free performances and interactive exhibits will be released January 14th, 2026.  

TICKETED EVENTS  

Families will find accessible prices with ticketed events ranging from $7-$15.   

Polky 

February 14 & 15 | $15    

4th Stage 

50 minutes ● Multilingual ● Ages 5+  

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40152  

Fiddle-driven family fun 

There is nothing like high-energy folk rhythms to chase away the winter blues. With joyful harmonies, lively spirit and unusual instruments, Toronto’s Polky will have you tapping your toes.  

Platypus Theatre's Music Under a Midnight Moon 

February 15 | $15 

Southam Hall 

60 minutes ● Bilingual ● Ages 5+  

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38383  

NACO Family Adventures 

As twilight falls, two weary wanderers stumble upon a forgotten junkyard. But what seems like a pile of discarded odds and ends soon transforms into a world of possibility. With a pluck, a tap, and a shake, everyday objects awaken with music! We hope you will enjoy the giant images on the NACOtron screen as they capture and magnify the magic of these fabulous concerts! 

Thelonious 

February 14 & 15 | $15 

Azrieli Studio  

50 minutes ● Without words ● Ages 5+  

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38340  

A chaotically fun concert 

Jazz up your day with three extraordinarily talented musicians who will bring the legendary African-American pianist and composer Thelonious Monk back to life in a spectacular concert coupled with unbelievable video animations! 

Music Rooms  

February 14 & 15 | $7   

20 minutes ● Without words ● Ages 5+    

https://nac-cna.ca/en/series/big-bang-26-bb26-music-rooms

Small format, big fun 

Looking for a new adventure? With just a small group of audience members and an accessible price, these micro-concerts are a festival favourite. Enjoy the casual atmosphere, as artists perform in tucked-away and mysterious NAC settings. There will be four Music Rooms to choose from in 2026, featuring keyboards and astonishing percussions, the whimsical world of a root-like string puppet, the discovery of music hidden in the most ordinary of places, and vibrant Afro-fusion sounds.  

Music Room 1: Drones & Tones – Jesse Stewart and Joël Dazé 

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40108    

Music Room 2: Roots and the Bassoon – Laurence Petitpas and Yana Ouellet 

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40109  

Music Room 3: The Sounds of Nothing – Martin Dawagne, Caroline Lefebvre, Lionel Lehouillier et Judith Poitras 

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40134  

Music Room 4: Good Vibrations - Mamadou Koita 

http://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40150  

WHAT MAKES THE BIG BANG UNIQUE?    

The BIG BANG is a one-of-a-kind festival of musical adventures. It invites children and their families on a colourful journey featuring a rich array of sound concepts whose diversity and originality make the festival a hit wherever it goes.  

The BIG BANG loves to travel, and what’s more, it loves to take visitors of all ages on adventures. It builds on the legacy of the OORSMEER festival, founded by Wouter Van Looy in 1995, to offer children an artistic and musical program designed specifically for them, and which they even help deliver by participating in certain interactive installations.  

Since its inception, the festival has travelled to several European cities, from Tallinn to Lisbon, from Antwerp to Athens, from Seville to Dublin, from Lille to Enschede, via Ghent, Brussels, Rouen, Reykjavik and Copenhagen. In 2019, the event took a giant leap across the ocean to land in its first North American city: Ottawa! Since then, each edition has been a resounding success, bringing together thousands of curious people attracted by the many guest artists and invigorating performances and micro-concerts.   

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR BIG BANG FRIENDS    

The Ottawa presentation of the BIG BANG is the result of the NAC’s relationship with Belgium’s Zonzo Compagnie, which specializes in musical theatre for young audiences and is directed by Wouter Van Looy. In recent years the NAC has presented several Zonzo performances, including Listen to the Silence, set to the music of John Cage; Slumberland, an exploration of the world of dreams and the night; Mile(s)tones, a show about legendary jazzman Miles Davis; HUSH: Henry’s Dream Machine, an off-the-wall concert-performance about Henry Purcell, and roundABOUT # Tsubasa Hori at last year's BIG BANG Festival. The BIG BANG is an initiative of Zonzo Compagnie.  

The 2026 Ottawa edition of the festival also received support from the Embassy of Belgium in Canada. The 2026 festival will be in full swing during Winterlude. 

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

Emma Schuster 
Communications Strategist, BIG BANG 

National Arts Centre 

emma.schuster@nac-cna.ca 

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra continues its visionary recording project devoted to the tone poems of Richard Strauss with the release of Poema 2: Terra Nova, the second volume of a four-part series.

This latest addition follows Poema 1: Ad Astra, released last January to critical acclaim. The NAC Orchestra is releasing each volume individually and later as a four-disc box set. The series pairs Strauss’s tone poems with new NAC Orchestra-commissioned works by Canadian composers, who were invited to craft contemporary responses from their unique artistic perspectives.

Conducted by NAC Orchestra Music Director Alexander Shelley and recorded in Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre, Poema 2: Terra Nova pairs Strauss’s iconic Also sprach Zarathustra with 1Q84: Sinfonietta Metamoderna, a bold new orchestral work by Ian Cusson. Cusson, a composer of Métis and French-Canadian heritage, is known for his operatic and orchestral works. He was the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s inaugural Carrefour composer from 2017 to 2019. 1Q84: Sinfonietta Metamoderna received its world premiere in Southam Hall in June 2024.

Strauss composed Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra) in 1896 as a direct response to Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical novel of the same name, published between 1883 and 1885. In his companion piece, 1Q84: Sinfonietta Metamoderna, Cusson also draws inspiration from the written word, loosely following the structure of Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s multi-layered novel 1Q84, which explores themes of alternate realities and metaphysical recurrence.

“Strauss was only in his early 30s when he composed Zarathustra, but he was already in complete command of narrative, mood and characterization in his tone poems,” Shelley, who concludes his 11-year tenure as NAC Orchestra Music Director at the end of the 2025–2026 season, said. “He put that to such extraordinary use in the operas he wrote in his middle and later years. Ian Cusson is an accomplished opera composer who’s now coming to the tone poem in his early 40s. It’s fascinating to hear how both composers use the orchestra alone, without the human voice or words, to express narrative ideas.”

When the NAC Orchestra and Shelley approached Cusson to write a companion piece for a Strauss tone poem as part of a multi-year recording project, he knew he wanted to respond to Also sprach Zarathustra. He approached the task by thinking about Strauss’s concept of “eternal recurrence”, which, as Cusson writes in the program note for his piece, “might look something like the multi-verse—a complex and overlapping vision of reality where multiple worlds become a metaphor for the strangeness of lived experience in our contemporary time.”

“I think there’s something about that that really sparks my curiosity and imagination: the idea that we live in a world that is normal, but then the most magical things can happen,” Cusson said.

That curiosity led him to Murakami’s novel, set in 1984, in which the two long-separated protagonists—one a personal trainer and female assassin, the other a math teacher and aspiring novelist—reunite in an alternate reality.

“The story and the characters are really what struck me about the novel and became a connecting point to the Strauss,” Cusson added.

The NAC Orchestra and Alexander Shelley will release two more volumes in their Strauss series, with additional commissioned companion pieces from Canadian composers. Subsequent recordings will focus on Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks and the Suite from Der Rosenkavalier (featuring Alexina Louie’s Mon seul désir: Hommage à Strauss and John Estacio’s Avé), and Ein Heldenleben (joined with Gabriel Dharmoo’s Wanmansho).

Poema 2: Terra Nova is now available for streaming and purchase on the Analekta label.

About Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, based in Ottawa, is one of the country’s most vibrant and acclaimed ensembles. Since its founding in 1969, the NAC Orchestra has earned recognition for its passionate performances, innovative learning and engagement programs, and unwavering support of Canadian creativity.

Led by Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and visionary partnerships. In fall 2025, the Orchestra announced a new chapter with the appointment of world-renowned Finnish conductor John Storgårds as its next Music Director, beginning in the 2026–2027 season.

The Orchestra regularly collaborates with internationally acclaimed artists, including James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Renée Fleming, Hilary Hahn, Jeremy Dutcher, Jan Lisiecki, Ray Chen, and Yeol Eum Son—affirming its reputation as a destination for world-class talent and a home for the next generation of composers, creators, and other artists.

Beyond the concert stage, the NAC Orchestra’s learning and engagement initiatives strengthen local arts ecosystems, deepen community connections, and foster cultural exchange. Its family and school programs include interactive performances, side-by-side mentorship with young musicians, and community concerts designed to spark curiosity and inspire a lifelong love of music.

The Orchestra is also deeply committed to professional development, offering emerging artists opportunities to refine their craft through its annual Mentorship Program and two-year Resident Conductor position.

Touring regularly across Canada and internationally, the NAC Orchestra has performed in every province and territory, as well as in North America, Europe, Asia, and the United Kingdom.

About Alexander Shelley

The 2025–2026 season marks Alexander Shelley’s 11th and final season as Music Director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. Since assuming the role in 2015, Shelley has shaped the NAC Orchestra’s artistic vision, building on the legacy of his predecessor, Pinchas Zukerman, who led the ensemble for 16 seasons.

Shelley has championed new works by Canadian composers and expanded the NAC Orchestra’s reach through national and international tours, livestreams, and critically acclaimed recordings. His visionary programming has been credited with turning the ensemble “almost overnight … into one of the more audacious orchestras in North America” (Maclean’s).

Under Shelley’s leadership, the NAC Orchestra has undertaken major tours of Canada, Europe, and to Carnegie Hall. In spring 2025, they embarked on a landmark tour to Asia, returning to Japan for the first time in 40 years and making their debut in the Republic of Korea.

Shelley also serves as the Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Music and Artistic Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. Beginning in the 2026–2027 season, he will assume two new roles: Artistic and Music Director of the Pacific Symphony in Orange County, California, and Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland. From 2009 to 2017, Shelley was Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany. 

Born in London to concert pianists, Shelley studied cello and conducting in Germany. He gained widespread attention when he was unanimously awarded first prize at the 2005 Leeds Conductors Competition, with the press describing him as “the most exciting and gifted young conductor to have taken this highly prestigious award.”

About Ian Cusson

Ian Cusson is a composer of art, song, opera, and orchestral work. Of Métis (Georgian Bay Métis community) and French-Canadian heritage, his work explores the Canadian Indigenous experience, including the history of the Métis people, the hybridity of mixed-racial identity, and the intersection of Western and Indigenous cultures. 

He studied composition with Jake Heggie and Samuel Dolin, and piano with James Anagnoson at the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He has received numerous awards and grants, including the Chalmers Professional Development Projects grant, the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation Award, and several grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council.

Ian was the inaugural Carrefour composer with the National Arts Centre Orchestra from 2017 to 2019, and Composer-in-Residence with the Canadian Opera Company from 2019 to 2021. He was a Co-Artistic Director of Opera in the 21st Century at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and the 2021 recipient of SOCAN’s Jan V. Matejcek Classical Music Award and the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize. Ian is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers.

About the National Arts Centre

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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For more information, please contact:

Noah Richardson
Communications Strategist
Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca
(613) 415-5208

November 13, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada). Bugs don’t usually say “holiday magic,” but this year one tiny insect is about to steal the festive spotlight.

NAC English Theatre is thrilled to present Montreal’s scratch DJ, graphic novelist and director, Kid Koala as he brings his acclaimed Chaplin-esque live cinematic theatre experience The Storyville Mosquito to National Arts Centre for a two-week run, following dates across the US, Europe, Asia and recently Mexico. Coinciding with the performance, a limited-edition, physical-only 10” picture disc vinyl will be released featuring its never-before-issued soundtrack.

THE STORYVILLE MOSQUITO – DECEMBER 3 - 13, BABS ASPER THEATRE 

What if a young mosquito left his small town to pursue his musical dreams in the big city? 

Kid Koala has created a live cinema multi-media experience that follows a humble mosquito with dreams of superstardom. Leaving his small-town home behind, Mosquito hopes to play clarinet in one of the greatest jazz bands of all time. Watch him flit, falter, and find his footing in the big city.  

This joyous live show features 15 performers, creating the film live before your eyes onstage using eight cameras, 20 miniature sets, and 75 puppets. The performance is accompanied by a string trio, and Kid Koala on piano and turntables. 

From hilarious action sequences to tender emotional moments, the company brings this magical tale to life with custom hand-made puppets, props and sets in a variety of scales.

From humorous action sequences to poignant emotional moments, the crew manipulates a collection of custom hand-made puppets, props and sets in a variety of scales to tell this magical tale.

Get ready to discover this charming and heartwarming musical story for every generation!

NAC NATIONAL CREATION FUND

The Storyville Mosquito is one of more than 100 new boundary-pushing Canadian productions supported by the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund.

As one of the Fund’s earliest investments, the project received $130,000, enabling Kid Koala to assemble an expanded creative team -- including award-winning mentors – and to devote the necessary development time to fully explore advanced technology and refine the intricate interplay of puppets, live film, lighting and staging.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38317

LIMITED EDITION PICTURE DISC VINYL HIGHLIGHTS 

To celebrate The Storyville Mosquito’s six years on tour and run at the NAC, a special 10” Picture disc vinyl will be released. Vinyl goes on general sale December 5, and will be available at NAC performances beginning December 3.
Limited edition of 1000 and physical release only - To learn more, visit: here

To learn more about Kid Koala, visit: https://kidkoala.com/about/

KID KOALA’S THE STORYVILLE MOSQUITO

NAC English Theatre presentation

Created, Directed and Musical Score by Kid Koala / Eric San; Produced by Ryhna Thompson; Production Management by Brian Neuman; Art Direction by Corinne Merrell; Assistant Set Design by Nancy Belzile; Puppet Design by Patrick Martel; Director of Photography AJ Korkidakis; Musical Director and String Arrangements by Vid Cousins; Co-composers Vid Cousins and Dave Campbell; Music Prep / Copyist Marcus Takizawa; Lighting Design by Olivier Gaudet-Savard; Technical Directors Brian Neuman, Guillaume Briand; Additional Set Builders Nancy Belzile, Faustine Berthet, Joseph Gagne, Bruno-Pierre Houle, Alizée Millot; Additional Puppet Builders Isabelle Chrétien, Sophie Deslauriers, Véronique Poirier, Marie-Pierre Simard, Sandra Turgeon, Colin St-Cyr Duhamel; Musicians Eric San (Kid Koala), Marcus Takizawa (violin), David Campbell (cello), Lana Tomlin (viola); Puppeteers Patrick Martel, Anne Lalancette, Colin St-Cyr Duhamel, Sandra Turgeon; Cinematographer AJ Korkidakis; Sound Mix Engineer Rena Kozak; Live Video Editor and SFX Phil Creamer; Assistant Puppeteers Alizée Millot & Maggie Winston.

Produced by Nufonia Live Inc. and Envision Management & Production.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS   

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the Official Hotel Partner Les Suites Hotel Ottawa.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE  
    
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.  

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT  
 
Sean Fitzpatrick 
Communications Specialist 
NAC English Theatre 
613 899-9737 
sean.fitzpatrick@nac-cna.ca 

November 6, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The National Arts Centre (NAC) Indigenous Theatre presents the world premiere of Tupqan | Nos territoires intérieurs. The production marks the 40th anniversary of Ondinnok, Canada's first Francophone Indigenous theatre company.

Founded in 1985 by Yves Sioui Durand, Catherine Joncas, and the late John Blondin, Ondinnok takes its name from a Wendat word for a healing ritual. For four decades, the company has created work rooted in ancestral values while mentoring emerging Indigenous artists. Under the artistic direction of Dave Jenniss (Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk Nation), Ondinnok continues its mission of healing and reconciliation through theatre.

Tupqan | Nos territoires intérieurs is a collaboration between Ondinnok, Menuentakuan, and Production AUEN, co-produced with Duceppe, NAC Indigenous Theatre, and the NAC's National Creation Fund, with support from the Cole Foundation. The work combines elements of political thriller and spiritual quest, examining themes of identity, reconciliation, and cultural heritage.

Set in the fictional Eastern Quebec community of Whitefish (Wapeyit-Nameha), the play follows the community grappling with political division following the theft of a sacred wampum belt—the symbol of unity for this small Indigenous community. With the wampum missing, two clans engage in a power struggle as outside developers attempt to exploit the divisions. Polam Nicolas, persuaded to run for chief of the band council, seeks to find the stolen wampum and restore peace to his community. The narrative addresses questions of collective memory, self-determination, and territorial integrity in the face of internal conflict and external threats.

The production draws on physical theatre, contemporary dance, traditional and contemporary singing, and audiovisual elements to bring together distinct Indigenous voices and perspectives. Presented in French with English surtitles, Tupqan serves as both a reflection of contemporary Indigenous experiences and a bridge between cultures.

Tupqan is one of more than 100 new boundary-pushing Canadian productions supported by the NAC's National Creation Fund. As a catalyst for bold artistic creation in Canada, the Fund has invested over $15 million in Canadian artists since 2018. The Fund's investment of $155,000 supported the company in developing a research, development and creation process that involves both emerging and established artists, in a highly collaborative format.

“Crafted with care and held by an unparalleled collaboration, Tupqan’s creation process offers a vision of the community-building capacities of artistic creation,” said Sarah Conn, Artistic Producer, National Creation Fund. “We were honoured to support this rich research and development process, which piloted new Indigenous-driven approaches to creation and performance.”

The premiere runs November 20–22, 2025, at the NAC in Ottawa, followed by performances at Duceppe in Montreal from March 4 to April 4, 2026.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38351

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Indigenous Theatre at Canada’s National Arts Centre is made possible through the generous support of individuals and corporations from across the country. The National Arts Centre Foundation wishes to acknowledge the support of Presenting Sponsor BMO Financial Group and Official Hotel Partner Les Suites Hotel. Thank you also to Meta, Presenting Partner of #ReconcileThis.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL CREATION FUND

The National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund makes transformative investments in the creation of bold new music, dance, theatre and interdisciplinary performances, and it is an incubator devoted to developing the conditions necessary to create incredible work. Fuelled by generous donors from across the country, the Fund aims to catalyze the creative dreams of Canadian artists, invite audiences to fall in love with artistic creation, and contribute to Canada’s cultural vibrancy. 

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Ian Hobson
Communications Strategist, NAC Indigenous Theatre
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0742
ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca

Ottawa, Ontario: The National Arts Centre (NAC) is proud to announce the return of its acclaimed Resident Chef program in 2026, now entering its seventh season. This celebrated initiative continues to spotlight Canada’s rich culinary landscape, welcoming a dynamic roster of chefs who will bring their diverse backgrounds, techniques, and inspirations to the NAC’s signature restaurant, 1 Elgin.

Each chef will craft seasonal menus that showcase Canada’s finest ingredients, offering guests unforgettable dining experiences rooted in culture, creativity, and personal storytelling.

In a groundbreaking addition to this year’s lineup, the program will feature a distinguished restaurant critic as a guest chef. Drawing from his cultural heritage and personal journey, he will present a deeply personal menu that translates narrative into flavour—inviting diners into an intimate and original culinary experience.

The 2026 season will also include a series of special culinary events hosted at the NAC to celebrate each residency.
 

Resident Chefs calendar

January 2026 – Peter Hum, an award-winning journalist with the Ottawa Citizen since 1990, is the paper’s restaurant critic and a respected voice in global dining. A graduate of Queen’s, McGill, and Western, his family’s legacy runs deep—his grandfather and father operated the Ontario Café, one of Ottawa’s first Chinese-run restaurants. Culinary event: January 29, 2026. Tickets on sale now

March 2026 – Chef Steph Baryluk, a proud Teetl’it Gwich’in from Teetl’it Zheh (Fort McPherson) in Treaty 11 Territory, is a chef and advocate dedicated to preserving Indigenous culinary traditions. With over a decade in the industry, she blends her Arctic roots with a passion for education and sustainability. Named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2024, chef Steph is co-founded Nihkhah, an initiative that celebrates Indigenous food systems while fostering collaboration, cultural pride, and global impact. Culinary event: Ladies Who Lunch, March 6, 2026

July 2026 – Chef Chris Irving, born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, has built a global culinary career rooted in adventure and excellence. Trained at Dubrulle Culinary Arts in Vancouver, he honed his craft under chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing, helping earn a second Michelin star at Pétrus and even cooking for the Queen. At 26, he returned to Canada to open Pourhouse in Vancouver, earning national acclaim before taking on roles across Europe, Asia, and Australia. A Top 4 finalist on Top Chef Canada Season 10, Chris has worked with leading brands like Marriott and Four Seasons, all while championing sustainability and culinary innovation. Culinary event: Chef’s Table, July 2026

September 2026 – Ginger Auger, a proud Métis/Cree iskwew, is the CEO and founder of Ginger’s Bannock House, an Indigenous catering company in Fort McMurray specializing in Indigenous fusion cuisine and storytelling. Her business was born from her own healing journey—overcoming homelessness and addiction to create a space that uplifts others on similar paths. Ginger employs mainly Indigenous people working toward recovery and independence, and her company has earned numerous awards, including multiple Indigenous Business of the Year honors. Committed to food security, culture, and reconciliation, she continues to give back through community service and advocacy. Culinary event: Chef’s Table, September 2026
 

Tickets: Peter Hum culinary event

Tickets for the first Resident Chef culinary event, featuring Peter Hum, are already available for sale: Peter Hum culinary event.
 

About the NAC Resident Chefs Program

The NAC’s mandate has always been to nurture and support a diverse assemblage of performing artists from across Canada. 

We’re proud to present the Resident Chef program, with the intention of creating a “stage” for Canada’s most promising culinary artists. 

Chefs from every region of Canada will be invited to demonstrate their artistry and vision of what Canadian cuisine can be, and to share their knowledge and culinary innovation through educational outreach here in Ottawa as well as online, providing access to all Canadians. This will be accomplished with every Resident Chef through a ticketed culinary event featuring a menu designed in collaboration with NAC Head Chef, Kenton Leier, reflected in an ongoing menu in 1 Elgin, as well as a series of appearances, demonstrations and classes held in the Ottawa area and shared with the rest of Canada.

To learn more about our previous chefs, please visit: Resident Chefs
 

Biographies

Peter Hum

Peter Hum is a veteran, award-winning journalist with the Ottawa Citizen, the major daily newspaper in Canada’s capital, which he joined in 1990. A graduate of Queen’s University, McGill University and then Western University, He has been the Ottawa Citizen’s restaurant critic since 2012 for restaurants across the globe. Peter’s grandfather, uncles and father ran the Ontario Cafe, which was one of the city’s first Chinese-run restaurants, operated by one of Ottawa’s first Chinese families. Peter’s ancestry story related with so many others that he received a book deal. Now that we’ve immersed ourselves in his stories and savored his food recommendations, it’s time to be transported by the flavors that bring those tales to life. Facebook | Instagram
 

Stephanie Baryluk

Steph Baryluk, a proud Teetl’it Gwich’in from Teetl’it Zheh (Fort McPherson) in Treaty 11 Territory, draws deep inspiration from her Arctic upbringing, where hunting, fishing, and land stewardship shaped her connection to food and culture. With over 10 years of experience in the culinary industry, Chef Steph is passionate about preserving and sharing Indigenous culinary traditions through her creations and educational initiatives. 

Named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2024, Stephanie is a leader in advancing Indigenous food systems. As a co-founder of Nihkhah, she combines her culinary expertise with advocacy, inspiring future generations and promoting sustainability and cultural heritage on a global stage. Nihkhah embraces the spirit of unity and collaboration to honour and elevate Indigenous culinary traditions while addressing critical global challenges. Website: Nihkhah | Facebook
 

Chris Irving

Chris Irving was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, and has built a global culinary career defined by adventure, excellence, and authenticity. He began at The Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino, trained at Dubrulle Culinary Arts in Vancouver, and worked under acclaimed chefs like David Hawksworth, Marcus Wareing, and Gordon Ramsay in London, helping earn a second Michelin star at Petrus and cooking for the Queen. At 26, Chris returned to Canada to open Pourhouse in Vancouver, earning praise from major outlets like The New York Times. He later moved to Europe, serving as Executive Chef on a private superyacht and culinary consultant to the Spanish Royal Family. His work has taken him across the Mediterranean, Asia, and Australia, including roles with the Gordon Ramsay Group, Marriott, and JW Marriott Hong Kong—where he earned a Chef’s Hat and promoted sustainable seafood.

A Top 4 finalist on Top Chef Canada Season 10, Chris has also consulted for Four Seasons Nevis and launched a culinary campaign with Three Finger Jack wines.
Website: Chef Chris Irving | Instagram
 

Ginger Auger

Ginger Auger is a Métis/Cree iskwew and CEO Founder of Ginger’s Bannock House, an Indigenous catering company located in Fort McMurray specializing in Indigenous fusion food and story. Ginger has been cooking with her mother since she was six years old, making food from scratch and growing up in poverty. Her story of healing and the red road are integral elements of the company. She was homeless and in addictions when she started Ginger’s Bannock House and the company gave her the vision to start a healing journey. Ginger employs mostly Indigenous people on the road to recovery, healing or independence, or people who are overcoming trauma.

Her business has won many awards including Chamber of Commerce Indigenous Business of the Year (2022), Top 50 People under Fifty (2022), YMM Indigenous Business (2023), the Best Donut of Fort McMurray (2022 and 2023), Alberta Chamber of Commerce Indigenous Business of the Year (2023), and Indigenous Business of the Year, Fort McMurray (2022-2024). Ginger’s future is focused on food security, culture, reconciliation and story. She believe it takes a community to make a difference and continually gives back to the community through volunteering and food donations. Facebook

About the NAC

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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Amélie Beaulieu
Marketing – Food & Beverage  
National Arts Centre 
amelie.beaulieu@nac-cna.ca
613 799-5672

Website: 1 Elgin | Facebook | Instagram

Following celebrated performances across Europe and recently in New York, NAC Dance is thrilled to present the exclusive Canadian engagement of SKATEPARK, a genre-defying performance by acclaimed Danish choreographer Mette Ingvartsen, from November 6-8, in the Babs Asper Theatre.

In SKATEPARK, the stage transforms into a vibrant urban playground where dancers, skaters and musicians collide in a high-energy celebration of movement and freedom. Mette Ingvartsen’s idea emerged from a fascination with everyday movement in public spaces — gestures that already carry the rhythm and expression of dance. By bringing them into the theatre, she invites us to see these actions differently and delves into the unique counterculture of skateboarding.

Inspired by the nostalgia of her youth, and her time spent with her children at the Ursulines Skatepark in Brussels, Belgium, where she is based, the performance merges the raw, physical energy of skateboarding with the fluidity of choreography to express a sense of community and collective spirit. She worked for the first time with performers across generations, many without formal training in the performing arts — a shift that has reshaped her choreographic process and sparked new collaborative methods.

“I often start from observations of phenomena or social practices that exist in the world and try to understand those through choreography. Finding all the performers was a long process that took more than 6 months. In my work I often search for different ways of being together, and for this piece I was searching for people I thought could get along in a group, like a cross-generational group of friends who enjoy spending time together.”

-       Mette Ingvartsen, Choreographer, SKATEPARK

The SKATEPARK soundtrack was shaped through a highly collaborative process as well. Performers were invited to contribute tracks that they felt belonged in their skatepark. The final score reflects skateboarding’s punk roots as well as avant-garde, electronic soundscapes from underground and experimental artists. With this work, Mette Ingvartsen truly captures the creativity and daring spirit of the skateboarding community.

Engaging with the local skating community

In each city where the performance is presented, local skaters are invited to a free Skateboard Workshop led by members of the SKATEPARK company, offering a unique opportunity to engage with the production’s creative process and hone skills in a collaborative setting. Some of the young skaters are then invited to join the pre-show performance. The NAC is hosting this workshop on November 2 in partnership with Le 99 – Centre communautaire Saint-Raymond in Gatineau.

SHOW AND TICKET INFORMATION

November 6-7 at 7:30 p.m.
November 8 at 1:30 p.m.
75 minutes · no intermission
Babs Asper Theatre
Recommended age: 13+

Q&A WITH THE ARTISTS

A post-show chat with the artists will take place after the performance on November 6 in the Babs Asper Theatre.

THANK YOU TO THE NAC DANCE SPONSORS

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the generous support by an anonymous donor and Official Hotel Partner of NAC Dance, The Lord Elgin Hotel.

ABOUT METTE INGVARTSEN

Mette Ingvartsen is a Danish choreographer and dancer. From 1999 she studied in Amsterdam and Brussels where she in 2004 graduated from the performing arts school P.A.R.T.S. Her first performance “Manual Focus” (2003) was made while she was still studying. Her early pieces comprise among others of 50/50 (2004), to come (2005), It’s in The Air (2008) and GIANT CITY (2009), — performances questioning affect, perception and sensation in relation to bodily representation. Her work is characterized by hybridity and engages in extending choreographic practices by combining dance and movement with other domains such as visual art, technology, language and theory. Read more.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE  

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

OTTAWA (Canada) / OSAKA (Japan) – The National Arts Centre (NAC) proudly concludes six months of cultural programming at the Canada Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, marking the close of a vibrant chapter in Canada’s contribution to this global gathering. From April to October, more than 130 Canadian artists performed in Japan, as part of the Canada Live! series, captivating audiences with more than 200 concerts, shows, and cultural events that drew over a million Japanese and international visitors to the Pavillon and various stages across the Expo site, as well as in Tokyo.

“Expo 2025 Osaka was an extraordinary platform to share Canada’s artistic excellence internationally,” said Heather Gibson, Executive Producer of Popular Music and Variety at the NAC and curator of NAC cultural programming for Expo 2025. “Our artists connected with global audiences in meaningful ways — from high-energy street dance, Indigenous storytelling, and unforgettable Francophone performances to breathtaking orchestral concerts and jazz tributes. Canada’s creative spirit truly shone on this world stage.”

“The Canada Pavilion cultural program has been a celebration of creativity, collaboration, and connection,” said Laurie Peters, Commissioner General for Canada at Expo 2025 Osaka. “Through the partnership with the National Arts Centre, Canadian artists have not only showcased our country’s rich diversity, they also embodied the Pavilion theme of regeneration, reminding us that creativity can renew perspectives, strengthen bonds, and inspire new possibilities for the future.”

HIGHLIGHTS

Canada’s National Day at Expo
Canada’s National Day on May 17 was a cornerstone moment, with audiences flocking to the Canada Pavilion and Expo National Day Hall for a joyful celebration of Canadian culture. The day featured DJ Kookum, Begonia, Diable à Cinq, Morgan Toney, The East Pointers, and more, filling Expo 2025 with music, energy, and pride.

Classical, Jazz, and Francophone Brilliance
June was anchored by two marquee moments: the Oscar Peterson Centennial Quartet and the NAC Orchestra performing alongside youth Sistema ensembles — stirring performances that celebrated Canada’s classical and jazz legacies. Francophone programming soared, with acclaimed artists Lisa LeBlanc, Pierre Lapointe, and Dominique Fils-Aimé captivating Expo audiences with their artistry and poetic voices.

Electrifying Dance
July lit up with Creative Boost, a thrilling break/street dance series led by Montreal’s 100Lux, bringing international and Japanese dancers together in exhilarating battles that drew massive crowds and sparked cross-cultural exchange.

Unprecedented Indigenous Artist Gathering
The Te Aratini Indigenous Showcase was among the most moving and inspiring events of Expo 2025. Dozens of Indigenous artists from Canada, including Jeremy Dutcher, Elisapie, Amanda Rheaume, Sechile Sedare and Digging Roots, shared the stage with other Indigenous performers from around the world — including a rare performance by Ainu artists from Japan. This gathering fostered global solidarity and celebrated Indigenous resilience and creativity.

A Kaleidoscope of Canadian Talent
Throughout Expo 2025 Osaka, Canadian programming blended world-class artistry with diversity of voices and styles. Standout performers included Jill Barber, Sarah Hagen, Diable à Cinq, Ndidi O, Fortunate Ones, PIQSIQ, Irish Mythen, and Kelly Bado, among many others, who enchanted audiences with music, stories, and artistry that reflected Canada’s cultural richness.

CANADA ON THE WORLD STAGE

Expo 2025 Osaka welcomed more than 25 million visitors, and Canada’s artists were embraced as cultural ambassadors. The NAC programming at the Canada Pavilion was delivered in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, ensuring a strong and memorable cultural presence throughout the Expo.

“Canada’s artists are not only among the best in the world — they are storytellers of who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Heather Gibson. “This Expo has been a testament to the power of the arts to build bridges across cultures and continents.”

MORE INFORMATION

The NAC's involvement in Expo 2025 Osaka was made possible through a partnership with Global Affairs Canada, ensuring a comprehensive representation of Canadian arts and culture. For more information on Canada's participation and past performances at Expo 2025 Osaka, please visit  canadaexpo2025.ca/en-ca/programming or nac-cna.ca/expo-2025-osaka

ABOUT THE NAC 

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.  

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Carl Martin 
Senior Advisor, Strategy and Communications
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0739
Carl.martin@nac-cna.ca

OTTAWA, October 21, 2025 – NAC French Theatre is proud to present the final performances of La dernière cassette, a one-woman show written by Olivier Choinière and performed by Violette Chauveau. 

This will be the last opportunity to see this hit show from 2023. In this powerful play, the female actor transforms into an elderly man, calcified and trapped in his own body, who uses a clown-like costume and recordings to tell his story. 

From the smoky gloom emerges the silhouette of “AB,” a man imprisoned in a body that no longer obeys him. He was once the renowned director, teacher, and artistic director of NAC French Theatre, André Brassard. This poignant portrait, based on interviews with Brassard, explores themes of loneliness, old age, and passion through the character of “AB”, a reclusive director. In the play, “AB” is a lonely, disabled old man, confined to his apartment, surrounded by memorabilia and listening to recordings from days gone by. 

La dernière cassette is loosely based on Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, a classic about an old man replaying tapes from his past. “AB”’s words can be seen as a dialogue with the character of Krapp. 

Download production photos of the show. 

Read the reviews. 

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS 

In 2023–24, the Association québécoise des critiques de théâtre (AQCT – Montréal) awarded Violette Chauveau its Best Actress prize for her performance in La dernière cassette. The production also earned two nominations: Olivier Choinière for Best Original Text, and Justine Denoncourt-Bélanger for Best Design for her makeup design. As well, in 2024, Olivier Choinière, writer and director of La dernière cassette, won the Prix littéraire MarcelDubé from the Académie des lettres du Québec. That same year, he was also shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, and nominated for the Prix MichelTremblay, which recognizes the author of the best play presented during the previous theatre season. 

ABOUT ANDRÉ BRASSARD 

André Brassard, one of Quebec’s most influential stage directors, was born on August 28, 1946. During his four-decade career, he directed nearly 160 plays, premiering numerous works from the international classical and contemporary repertoires, and working for many years with his close friend, playwright Michel Tremblay. In addition to working in all the major theatres in Quebec, he served as artistic director of the National Arts Centre French Theatre and director of the French section of the National Theatre School of Canada. His creative fire was extinguished only by his death on October 11, 2022, at the age of 76. 

SCREENING OF FILMS DIRECTED BY ANDRÉ BRASSARD 

French Theatre is proud to partner with Ciné-Jonction to present two films directed by André Brassard: Françoise Durocher, waitress (1972, 29 min.) and Il était une fois dans l’Est (1973, 100 min.). The screening will take place on Monday, November 3 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Gabrielle Roy Hall, Cégep de l’Outaouais, in Gatineau (Hull sector). The creators of La dernière cassette—writer and director Olivier Choinière and performer Violette Chauveau—will be in attendance. Admission is free. Click here to reserve your seats. 

Q&A WITH THE ARTISTS 

A post-show talkback with the artists will be held immediately following the performance on Friday, November 7. 

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

Azrieli Studio 

Thursday, November 6 and Friday, November 7 at 8:00 PM, and Saturday, November 8 at 4:00 PM 

Running time: About 2 hours with no intermission 

Tickets: $39 

To purchase tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38329 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). 

To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit. 

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2025–2026 NAC French Theatre season. 

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS 

The National Arts Centre Foundation thanks Les Suites Hotel, official hotel partner of NAC French Theatre. 

ABOUT THE NAC 

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

Mireille Allaire 
Director of Communications, Programming 
National Arts Centre 
343-998-4244 
mireille.allaire@nac-cna.ca 

From October 23 to 25, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) brings to the NAC a dazzling twist on the Brothers Grimm’s beloved tale of Hansel & Gretel.

This visually spectacular production inspired by the silent film era and vaudeville music halls is filled with playful characters, magical sets, and candy-coloured surprises. It remains a timeless story that speaks to every generation!

Created for the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) in 2019, this imaginative take on the fairy tale is choreographed by Loughlan Prior, an award-winning choreographer and creative director known for blending dance, film, and theatrical storytelling. He joined the RNZB in 2010 as a dancer and was appointed Choreographer in Residence in 2018, where he began creating full-length ballets and multimedia works.

He draws heavy inspiration from classic cinema — especially silent films and old Hollywood — with visual and choreographic elements reminiscent of classic storytelling. The production begins with a monochrome black-and-white aesthetic and bursts into a kaleidoscope of colour, where a dreamscape of eccentric characters, glittering fairies, dancing gingerbread men, and a delightfully wicked witch come to life.

The piece is set to an original jazz-infused score by celebrated New Zealand composer and orchestrator Claire Cowan. Performed live by the NAC Orchestra under the direction of Jean-Claude Picard, the score is written for an orchestra of 50, including saxophone, keyboards and a percussion section filled with pots and pans, musical bones, and a bicycle horn.

The visual world is brought to life through stunning set and costume designs by acclaimed Hollywood designer Kate Hawley. Hawley’s visionary work has graced blockbuster films from Crimson Peak by Guillermo del Toro to The Hobbit trilogy by Peter Jackson. Most recently, she designed the costumes for del Toro’s Frankenstein, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival to a 13-minute standing ovation.

“Hansel & Gretel is one of those rare productions that sweeps you away the moment the curtain rises. Inspired by vintage vaudeville, Hansel & Gretel is alive with theatrical invention, including a Wizard of Oz-style burst from black and white into dazzling colour. For families, friends, and anyone who loves live performance, this is a joyful, high-energy spectacle that pairs world-class artistry with sheer fun at the theatre!”
– Christopher Stowell, RWB Artistic Director

Hansel & Gretel is the perfect seasonal outing, featuring autumnal themes and spooky playful moments — just in time for Halloween celebrations.

SHOW AND TICKET INFORMATION
October 23-25 at 8 p.m.
October 25 at 1:30 p.m.
2 hours · With intermission
Southam Hall

A pre-show chat with RWB’s new Artistic Director Christopher Stowell will take place on October 23 at 7 p.m. in the Peter A. Herrndorf Place.

THANK YOU TO THE NAC DANCE SPONSORS

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the generous support by an anonymous donor and Official Hotel Partner of NAC Dance, The Lord Elgin Hotel.

ABOUT LOUGHLAN PRIOR

Described by Dance Aotearoa New Zealand as ‘a creative tour de force’, Loughlan Prior is an award-winning choreographer and creative director whose diverse portfolio of work spans stage, film, and television. Prior joined the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) in 2010 and rose to become a company Soloist, enjoying a decade-long career performing in New Zealand and internationally. Appointed RNZB Choreographer in Residence in 2018, he is also the co-founder and artistic director of Lo|Co Arts. Prior has received Creative New Zealand’s Tup Lang Award for choreography, a Warren Douglas Scholarship, the Ballet Foundation of New Zealand’s Harry Haythorne Choreographic Award, and was recognized as a ‘Distinguished Graduate’ of the New Zealand School of Dance in 2019. Read more.

ABOUT THE ROYAL WINNIPEG BALLET OF CANADA

Founded in 1939, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet holds the double distinction of being Canada’s premier ballet company and one of the oldest ballet companies in North America. Under the artistic direction of Christopher Stowell, versatility, technical excellence and a captivating style are the trademarks of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, qualities that have garnered both critical and audience acclaim. RWB’s superlative standards keep the Company in demand across North America. In addition to the Company, the RWB is home to the RWB School, consisting of both a professional division which trains young artists for a professional career in dance, and a recreational division which provides classes to over 1000 students each week.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

OTTAWA, October 7, 2025 – French Theatre is proud to invite families to join us in launching the first season designed by Amélie Bergeron, Associate Artistic Director, Youth Programming. 

Sous la feuille is an intimate show for children 18 months old and older and their adults. It’s a gentle introduction to live performance, dance and song. 

Two campers are moving around in the woods, unbeknownst to each other. On one side is Josué Beaucage, with his backpack full of poetry, miniature worlds ripe for discovery, and songs on the guitalele. On the other is Ariane Voineau, who uses her moving body to explore nature in all its forms: wildlife, rhythms, seasons, ripples. 

The audience is seated on furs, on the floor, in cozy illuminated tents. They follow the two characters as they search for what’s hidden under the leaf. In this immersive experience, the performers take the time to observe the world around them from a multitude of viewpoints. Are we tiny? Are we gigantic? It’s all about scale. 

“Theatre is a space of joy, creativity and comfort. It’s a place that invites us to have simple, funny and extraordinary experiences, and to express our feelings and concerns. I’m truly delighted to launch my first season of NAC French Theatre youth programming with you—a season offering moments that are both personal and shared, with play at its heart.” 

—Amélie Bergeron, Associate Artistic Director, NAC French Theatre 

PRE-SHOW ACTIVITIES 

Families are welcome to arrive 45 minutes before each performance to participate in a collective artwork. Help build a miniature campground by crafting little tents for snuggling up in and indulging our imagination! 

Download production photos of the show. 

Space permitting, members of the media may attend one of the school matinee performances: 

Wednesday, October 15 at 9:30 AM and 11 AM 

Thursday, October 16 at 9:30 AM 

Friday, October 17 at 9:30 AM 

TICKETS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS 

Azrieli Studio 

Saturday, October 18 and Sunday, October 19 at 11 AM and 3 PM 

Running time: Approximately 40 minutes without intermission 

Recommended for children age 18 months to 5 years. All tickets $15. 

To purchase tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38339 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). 

To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit. 

Visit the NAC website to learn more about NAC French Theatre’s 2025-26 season. 

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS 

The National Arts Centre Foundation thanks Les Suites Hotel, official hotel partner of the Théâtre français. 

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:  

Emma Schuster 
Communications Strategist 

National Arts Centre 
emma.schuster@nac-cna.ca 

Mani Soleymanlou began his mandate in September 2021. Since then, season after season, he has brought audiences powerful, daring, and resolutely contemporary productions showcasing theatre artists and companies from across the country who are making an impact on the Francophone theatre scene. His work at the NAC also demonstrates his commitment to supporting artistic diversity, taking risks, and reaching out to audiences in Ottawa–Gatineau and across Canada. 

The 2022–23 season, the first season programmed by Mr. Soleymanlou, opened with the cycle of identity Un. Deux. Trois., a large-scale project which he directed. Featuring 36 Francophone artists from across the country, the show toured nationally to great acclaim. 

Subsequent seasons were marked by a series of memorable productions, including Robert Lepage’s Le Projet Riopelle, which played to sold-out houses, and La traversée du siècle, a 13-hour theatre marathon based on the works of Michel Tremblay. French Theatre also welcomed such compelling voices as Mélanie Demers with Cabaret Noir and Michel Tremblay with his latest play, Cher Tchekhov. 

Besides being extremely popular with audiences, French Theatre co-productions such as Là où la poussière se depose, by Outaouais duo Julien Morissette and Karina Pawlikowski; De glace, by Chelsea-based theatre company L’eau du bain; Classique(s), by Fanny Britt and Mani Soleymanlou; and Au cœur de la rose (Généalogie d’une tristesse), directed by Jérémie Niel, got rave reviews, confirming the significant impact of the NAC’s investment in creation. 

During his first term, Mr. Soleymanlou launched Le Collectif, an annual program offering recent theatre graduates the opportunity to perform in a new professional production. In partnership with Montréal’s Théâtre du Rideau Vert, French Theatre produced L’ombre, a new play by Marie Brassard, with a cast of nine young actor-creators; and Faire le bien, a new play by François Archambault and Gabrielle Chapdelaine. Directed by Claude Poissant and featuring eight young performers alongside actress Eve Landry, the production will tour in the fall of 2025. This commitment to the next generation of creators and actors helps to ensure the vitality of French-language theatre. 

At Mr. Soleymanlou’s initiative, French Theatre hosted two artists in residence. Over two seasons, Catherine Vidal worked with a team of performers and designers on a new production of Chekhov’s La mouette (The Seagull), and Marie-Ève Fontaine spent a year exploring the creative stages of her project, Giant Mine. 

Mani Soleymanlou also revived the Laboratoires du Théâtre français (French Theatre Labs), the master classes initiated in 2002 by then artistic director Denis Marleau. In May 2025, Jasmine Catudal directed the week-long creative laboratory Regarder autrement : théâtres des possibles (Looking at things differently: Theatres of possibilities), which brought together nine young artists to explore and challenge the fundamentals of artistic expression through a discussion of the practical realities of creation. 

Innovative outreach initiatives such as the Mani reçoit... (Mani In Converstion With …) sessions have helped to bring French Theatre and its audiences closer, and encouraged collective reflection. 

Building on this renewal, the 2025–26 season promises to be just as rewarding. It has been curated in collaboration with Amélie Bergeron, recently appointed Associate Artistic Director in charge of theatre for young audiences. 

Among the 15 productions on the season’s program, Visages marks a return to creation for NAC French Theatre: this choral work by Alexia Bürger will have its world premiere at the NAC. French Theatre’s production of Nuits claires is a collective creation by 12 playwrights ranging from Vancouver to Caraquet, who participated in a writing relay game with the intriguing constraint of writing only at night. French Theatre is also the driving force behind the Canadian tour of La vie est une fête, by the French company Les Chiens de Navarre. 

“Since his appointment in 2021, artistic director Mani Soleymanlou has breathed remarkable new vigour into NAC French Theatre. His programming reflects a national vision for French-language theatre, involving writers and performers from across Canada and from a wide range of backgrounds. We’re delighted to see audiences responding so enthusiastically to this committed vision, and we’re proud to support Mani and his team in this forward-looking artistic adventure.” 

—Christopher Deacon, NAC President and CEO 

“In my four years at the helm of NAC French Theatre, I’ve come to understand that theatre is the hand that holds the two edges of the social fabric together before it tears any farther. I plan to devote the next few years to continuing to hold it together, and even expanding it, so that everyone can find their place there. Because today more than ever, that fabric needs love, and we need this space where we can meet each other, talk to each other, and dream. More than ever, we need to reach out, open our arms, open our hearts. More than ever, we need to embrace doubt, conquer fear, reject silence, act freely, speak out fiercely, stand proudly together. And so the next five years will see a renewed commitment to the collective.” 

—Mani Soleymanlou, Artistic Director, NAC French Theatre 

ABOUT THE NAC 

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

Mireille Allaire 
Director of Communications, Programming 
National Arts Centre 
343-998-4244 
mireille.allaire@nac-cna.ca 

NAC FRENCH THEATRE KICKS OFF ITS NEW SEASON WITH LES CHIENS DE NAVARRE’S LA VIE EST UNE FÊTE

Is one person’s neurosis not just one tiny symptom of the overwhelming hysteria of our world today?

OTTAWA, September 17, 2025 – The National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre is proud to bring Les Chiens de Navarre to Canada, and to support the tour of La vie est une fête to Montréal, Quebec City and Ottawa. The show will be presented in the NAC’s Babs Asper Theatre from October 2 to 4.

Local audiences will recall the caustic humour of Les Chiens de Navarre, whose Les armoires normandes was presented at the NAC in 2016. This time, the French company tosses us into a psychiatric emergency room for a political rally, like a hallucinatory and delusional laboratory for observing humanity’s downward spiral. No one escapes the mirthful rage of this whirlwind of a show, a sweeping, off-the-wall tragicomedy whose triumphant European tour left audiences reeling.

Before our wondering eyes, renowned director Jean-Christophe Meurisse and seven performers unwrap a series of scenic tableaux, half rehearsed and half improvised, that are simultaneously gritty, cruel and hilarious. Our personal and collective foibles pile up in layers against an ingenious backdrop of bay windows that reveal the inside and outside of an apocalyptic party—to which nobody was really invited. At least laughter is still the best medicine.

“Sure, we suffer because of Mom and Dad (Tout le monde ne peut pas être orphelin), but we also suffer because of the state of the world. We are inevitably permeable to violence, crises, political and social inconsistencies, and the brutal transformations of our civilization. The micro-follies of our time can trigger our individual macro-follies, and the need for consolation can quickly become impossible to satisfy, as good old Dagerman would say. Might we all go mad? What’s stopping us from taking action? There’s nothing more human than madness. A psychiatric emergency ward is one of the few places where anyone can be seen at any time, regardless of age, sex or country. It’s a place where you can reconnect with life when you’ve veered off the rails. It’s an airlock of humanity.”

—Jean-Christophe Meurisse, Director

Local extras, who were chosen in a casting call issued by NAC French Theatre in late August, will enjoy a unique stage experience. They will appear throughout the show (which runs 1 hour and 40 minutes), sometimes as frenzied dancers, sometimes as police officers or demonstrators. The casting call was open to everyone—no acting experience required.

Download production photos of the show.

Read the reviews.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION
Babs Asper Theatre

Thursday, October 2 and Friday, October 3 at 7:30 PM, and Saturday, October 4 at 3 PM.
The Friday-evening performance will be followed by a talkback with the artists.

Running time: 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission

Tickets from $31
To purchase tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38332 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit.

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2025-2026 NAC French Theatre season.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Supported by Institut français, French Embassy in Canada, Official Hotel Partner Les Suites Hotel Ottawa.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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The picturesque ruins, the autumn colours and trails of the historic Mackenzie King Estate will serve as the backdrop for this site-specific work. The dancers invite audience members to wander through natural and architectural topographies, to pause, observe the landscape and connect with their surroundings.

Inspired by the beauty of unique outdoor spaces, Danièle Desnoyers has conceived Les Scénographies-Paysages as a choreographic cycle in which each piece is designed in harmony with a specific environment and responds to its cultural and historical context.

“Our summer kicked off in style with the opening performance of the boreal edition of Les Scénographies-Paysages at Domaine Forget in Charlevoix. By invitation from the National Arts Centre, we are continuing to present this work, now at the Mackenzie King Estate in the Gatineau Park. The two iterations share many similarities, including the forest setting, but there are also numerous differences between them. Les Scénographies-Paysages is deeply rooted in the places where it unfolds.”

– Danièle Desnoyers, Artistic Director and Choreographer, Le Carré des Lombes

The audience will be invited to discover movements infused with purity and poetry, performed by dancers who blend harmoniously into the magnificent setting of the Gatineau Park. The performances will take place on Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28 at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

“Danièle has a unique sensitivity for creating site-specific works that are invariably moving. My first encounter with Les Scénographies-Paysages was on Île d’Orléans in 2021, and I was swept away. With Ciel et Terre, audience members will be part of an extraordinary encounter that can only be experienced in this exceptional setting.”

– Caroline Ohrt, Executive Producer, NAC Dance

The choreographic cycle Les Scénographies-Paysages has been performed at the Jardins de Métis (Grand-Métis, QC), the Parc Maritime de Saint-Laurent (Île d’Orléans, QC) and in three historic parks in Sardinia, Italy. The boreal edition of Les Scénographies-Paysages is a production of Le Carré des Lombes, co-produced with the National Arts Centre.

SHOW AND TICKET INFORMATION

September 27 & 28 at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
50 minutes · No intermission
Mackenzie-King Estate, Gatineau Park, MacKenzie King Rd., Chelsea (Quebec)

To purchase tickets to this performance, visit nac-cna.ca/en/event/38362 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To learn more about the NAC’s building and facilities before you arrive, click: nac-cna.ca/en/visit.

Learn more about the 2025-2026 NAC Dance season.

THANK YOU TO THE NAC DANCE SPONSORS

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the generous support by an anonymous donor and Official Hotel Partner of NAC Dance, The Lord Elgin Hotel.

ABOUT LE CARRÉ DES LOMBES

Founded in 1989 by Montréal choreographer Danièle Desnoyers, Le Carré des Lombes supports the research, creation and production of original dance works, and helps them find a showcase on the national and international stage. Sharing the repertoire and creative processes of Le Carré des Lombes and teaching the public how to appreciate dance are also integral to the company’s mission. Its wide variety of efforts to that end, particularly through mentorship of young professional artists, is growing thanks in part to the Compagnonnage initiative in support of developing artists. A member of Circuit-Est centre chorégraphique since 1990, Le Carré des Lombes also makes major contributions to strengthening and sharing dance-specific resources. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE  

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

ABOUT THE MACKENZIE KING ESTATE

Nestled in the heart of Gatineau Park, the Mackenzie King Estate is a special place where you can spend the entire day enjoying nature. This 231-hectare country estate belonged to Canada’s tenth and longest-serving prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. After spending almost 50 years (1903–1950) beautifying and expanding his property, King bequeathed his beloved estate to all Canadians. This priceless treasure is now managed and protected by the National Capital Commission.

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) will open its 2025–2026 season dramatically with a semi-staged presentation of Tosca, Giacomo Puccini’s beloved opera, in Southam Hall.

Proudly produced with Edmonton Opera’s Emerging Artist Program, the opera in concert features an all-star cast of soloists, including soprano Ailyn Pérez in the title role, tenor Matthew Cairns as Mario Cavaradossi, and bass-baritone Nathan Berg as Baron Scarpia. They will be joined by the Ewashko Singers, an Ottawa-based chamber choir, led by Chorus Master Laurence Ewashko.

Helming Tosca is acclaimed opera director Joel Ivany, who returns to Southam Hall following his highly successful collaboration with NAC Orchestra Director Alexander Shelley on Mozart’s Don Giovanni in 2023. The creative team also includes Stage Designer Michael Gianfrancesco and Lighting Designer Kimberly Purtell, both of whom also worked on that production.

Tosca marks the opening of Shelley’s final season as NAC Orchestra Music Director, a role he has held since 2015.

“It is an honour to be once again part of bringing opera to Ottawa and the National Capital Region,” says Alexander Shelley. “My first collaboration with the NAC Orchestra on an opera—an art form that is so close to my heart—was Puccini’s La Bohème in 2012. To open my final season as NACO’s Music Director with another of Puccini’s masterpieces is an absolute joy. I’m looking forward to working alongside the talented young artists from Edmonton Opera’s Emerging Artist Program as we bring this iconic work to life on stage.”

A cornerstone of Shelley’s tenure as Music Director has been his commitment to mentoring the next generation of artists. As part of its partnership with Edmonton Opera’s Emerging Artist Program, the NAC Orchestra will host a cover cast of young singers who will study under the guidance of the principal cast, conductor, and director. The NAC Orchestra’s Resident Conductor, Henry Kennedy, will serve as the production’s Assistant Conductor, leading workshops and rehearsals with both the primary and cover casts.

The program also includes participants who will work behind the scenes to gain practical experience in key areas of opera production, including direction, design, and stage management.

This latest collaboration builds on the NAC’s successful partnership with the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity’s Opera in the 21st Century program, which brought Don Giovanni to sold-out audiences in 2023 and helped set a new standard for future initiatives supporting the professional growth of emerging opera performers and production artists.

“I’m thrilled to be joining forces once again with the National Arts Centre, an organization that remains invested in nurturing the next generation of performing artists in this country,” says Joel Ivany. “I can’t wait to begin working with our superb all-Canadian cast and crew as we bring Puccini’s Tosca to the National Capital Region.”

Tosca opens on September 10 at 8 p.m. in Southam Hall and runs until September 12. Tickets for Tosca and the entire 2025–2026 NAC Orchestra season are available by phone, online, or in person at the NAC Box Office.

About Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships.

About Alexander Shelley

Alexander Shelley succeeded Pinchas Zukerman as Music Director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in September 2015. The ensemble has since been praised as “transformed, hungry, bold, and unleashed” (Ottawa Citizen) and Shelley’s programming is credited for turning the Orchestra into “one of the more audacious in North America” (Maclean’s). 

Shelley is a champion of Canadian creation. Recent hallmarks include multimedia projects UAQUE, Life Reflected, and UNDISRUPTED, as well as three major new ballets in partnership with NAC Dance for ENCOUNTERS. He is passionate about arts education and nurturing the next generation of musicians. He is an Ambassador for Ottawa’s OrKidstra, a charitable social development program that teaches children life skills through music making.

In the spring of 2025, Shelley led the ensemble for its first performances in Japan in 40 years and its debut in the Republic of Korea. In April 2022, Shelley debuted at Carnegie Hall with the NAC Orchestra in its long-awaited return. In the spring of 2019, he led the Orchestra on its critically acclaimed 50th-anniversary European tour, with stops in London, Paris, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. Shelley is also the Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Music and Artistic Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. Shelley has also been named the next Artistic and Music Director of the Pacific Symphony in California’s Orange County. The initial five-year term begins in the 2026–2027 season, with Shelley serving as Music Director-Designate from September 2025. From 2009 to 2017, Shelley was Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany. 

About Joel Ivany

Joel Ivany is the Artistic Director at Edmonton Opera. His directing credits include productions of Verdi’s Macbeth (Minnesota Opera), Carmen (Vancouver Opera), Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Edmonton Opera), Gavin Bryars’s Marilyn Forever (Adelaide Festival), and Le nozze di Figaro (revival at Norwegian National Opera).

Joel founded Against the Grain Theatre (AtG) and recently completed his 12-season tenure as Artistic Director of Opera at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. He is the author of seven (and counting) original librettos for companies such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company. He is a multiple Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee for Outstanding Direction as well as for Outstanding New Opera/Musical, winning one for Figaro’s Wedding.

Recent mainstage directing credits include Wagner’s Die Walküre and Die Fledermaus (Edmonton Opera) as well as Dead Man Walking with Minnesota Opera and the multiple award-winning production of Gluck’s Orphée+. He has directed productions for the Canadian Opera Company (Hänsel und Gretel, Carmen), the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Mozart’s Requiem, Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins), the Canadian Children’s Opera Company (Brundibár), Vancouver Opera (Carmen, Dead Man Walking), and Claude Vivier’s Kopernikus for AtG and the Banff Centre. Recent highlights include Messiah/Complex (AtG), which earned him a Globe and Mail Arts Hero recognition, and directing the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards.

He is a proud graduate of the Opera School at the University of Toronto and is a member of the Alumni Wall of Fame at his alma mater, Western University.

About Edmonton Opera’s Emerging Artist Program

The Edmonton Opera’s Emerging Artist Program is an initiative designed to bridge the gap between academic training and a professional operatic career. Focused on nurturing early-career singers, the program offers invaluable opportunities to young professionals to gain real-world experience through participation in mainstage productions. By working alongside seasoned artists, directors, and conductors, participants are given the chance to perform roles in fully & semi-staged operas—adding meaningful credits to their resumes while refining their craft in a professional setting.

This hands-on approach is at the heart of the program’s philosophy. While formal education lays the groundwork, there is no substitute for learning by doing. The stage offers lessons in stamina, timing, presence, and adaptability—skills that can only be truly honed through performance. Whether covering a lead role or performing in the ensemble, emerging artists gain the kind of experiential knowledge that simply cannot be replicated in the studio.

The program not only cultivates individual talent but also strengthens the operatic ecosystem by ensuring the next generation of performers is well-equipped, confident, and stage-ready. In short, the Edmonton Opera’s Emerging Artist Program is both a launchpad and a proving ground for Canada’s future opera stars.

This hands-on approach is at the heart of the program’s philosophy. While formal education lays the groundwork, there is no substitute for learning by doing. The stage offers lessons in stamina, timing, presence, and adaptability—skills that can only be truly honed through performance. Whether covering a lead role or performing in the ensemble, emerging artists gain the kind of experiential knowledge that simply cannot be replicated in the studio.

The program not only cultivates individual talent but also strengthens the operatic ecosystem by ensuring the next generation of performers is well-equipped, confident, and stage-ready. In short, the Edmonton Opera’s Emerging Artist Program is both a launchpad and a proving ground for Canada’s future opera stars.

About the National Arts Centre

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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For more information, please contact:

Noah Richardson
Communications Strategist
Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca
(613) 415-5208

Since 2005, Zones Théâtrales has been a flag bearer for French-language theatre: it’s a space for artists, presenters and audiences to come together and discover never-before-seen works and one-of-a-kind stage experiences.

For this year’s edition, Gilles Poulin-Denis, Artistic Director since 2017, has put together a bold program of contemporary creation rooted in today’s realities — realities that require us to build and bridge communities to resist against societal decay.

“This year’s programming has a throughline: a quietly powerful call to get back to basics, to what matters most in our hearts,” says Gilles Poulin-Denis. “Family, in all its forms, is an ever-present theme: blood relations like parents and children, but also chosen family, the kind you build with love. And, on a larger scale, nature – this grand, silent, generous family we are all a part of. After all, isn’t that what sets theatre apart, its ability to create fleeting families for the length of a performance, a show, a tour?” 

Zones Théâtrales is continuing to welcome Francophone professionals the world over with open arms, thanks in large part to Les Transfrontaliers, offering them a space to share their experiences, exchange with local artists and build bridges between communities.

Programming rooted in reality, as diverse as Canadians themselves

Ornithoryques is a work of speculative fiction that mixes theatrical fantasy with unconventional views of family ties, reminiscent of a modern fable. Johanne Parent’s realistic, rough-talking script reflects the multi-cultural world we live in. This production from Théâtre l’Escaouette and Théâtre à Tour de Rôle will be presented in the Azrieli Studio on September 8 at 7 p.m. and September 9 at 9 p.m.  

Marc-André Charron takes us on a trip with his daughter in Hippocampe, set to spellbinding live music by Maggie Savoie and Sylvie Boulianne. Alternating between self-deprecation and intimate reflections, the performance is part meek confession, part road-trip movie, part end-of-summer bash, and will be onstage September 10 at 7 p.m. and September 11 at 9 p.m. at the Arts Court Theatre.

Zones Théâtrales is once again collaborating with the NAC’s Indigenous Theatre, this time to put on Nigamon/Tunai. Émilie Monnet and Waira Nina transport audiences to an imaginary world inspired by ancestral forests through vibrant music, traditional songs and documentary extracts. Audiences have four chances to see the show, produced by Onishka Productions, at the Babs Asper Theatre: September 10 through 12 at 7 p.m. and September 13 at 4 p.m.

Nos mères meurent (et nous n’y pouvons rien), onstage at the University of Ottawa’s LabO September 11 at 7 p.m. and September 12 at 9 p.m., is an unsettling look into the author’s life that crackles with energy. Co-written by Isabelle Rivest and her mother Francine Turbide, the piece recounts the cognitive decline and eventual passing of Francine with a deep sensitivity, compassion and humour that attempts to describe the indescribable.

Le Taureau’s crude yet funny, emotional and luminous language takes a close look at a teen boy’s unwavering loyalty to his mother. Produced by Théâtre Catapulte, the show is suitable for ages 14 and up and will be presented at La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins’ Studio A on September 12 at 10 a.m. and September 13 at 7 p.m.

Innovative form, reinvented staging

asses.masses is a video game designed to be played onstage by a single player with the support of the theatre audience. It follows a herd of recently unemployed donkeys who leave behind their life on the farm to try to reclaim their jobs from humans. This collaborative journey will be presented on September 13 at 1 p.m. at the Arts Court Theatre.

Sur Appel is a high-tension theatre-going experience that locks the audience in an ambulance to witness a medical drama in which every second counts. This performance highlights the fragility of life through medical poetry that mixes prop work and shadow play. The in-ambulance performance will be staged five times each night, from September 9 to 13.

Arbres is presented as a small dystopian museum that pays homage to lost trees. Audiences can experience this in-situ performance aboard a parked car in an underground parking lot, where dramatized poetry and new media join forces as modes of expression. Collectif Arbres is staging this timeless environmental tale six times each night, from September 9 to 13.

Making way for Francophone collaborations

Les Sentinelles depicts the rise and fall of a forum, a virtual refuge that feels more like life than the real world. The show’s international cast is made up of artists from across the French-speaking world and the performance sheds light on the havoc wrought by virtual worlds on the fringes of reality. This production from French Guiana-based Compagnie OTEP will be staged September 8 at 9 p.m. and September 9 at 7 p.m. at La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins’ Studio A.

The Nuits claires project mixes play, night-time exploration and transnational collaboration and is sure to uncover new voices and visions from Canadian Francophonie through their joint various writings on the night. Playwrights from Caraquet to Vancouver celebrate the dreamer in all of us. This creation from the NAC’s French Theatre will be performed September 12 at 9 p.m. and September 13 at 8 p.m. in the NAC’s Azrieli Studio, in collaboration with the French Theatre.

Zones Théâtrales, an opportunity to discover works in progress

Marie-Ève Fontaine’s Giant Mine opens an urgent dialogue on the memory of place, contamination and intergenerational responsibility for abandoned gold mines.

In a society where tensions go up like tinderboxes, Culture de l’explosion, from Émilie Camiré-Pecek and Théâtre du Trillium, explores what our world would be like with no boundaries imposed.

De l’importance de gosser du bois from Traces et souvenances takes on a performative, darkly funny and fiercely tender tone to foreground a powerful, raw and restorative message.

Théâtre Tangente’s Comme la pluie sur un toit de tôle gives voice to those who have lived through, undergone and perpetrated horrors, depicting war not as history or politics, but as human experience.

Co-produced by Théâtre l’Escaouette and Théâtre Catapulte, Les ensevelies skilfully addresses the timely issue of violence against women.

Héritages is a theatrical adaptation of the documentary film Root Up and explores the scope of environmental colonialism in the French West Indies.

L’eau du bain is staging Faire la marguerite, a performance lab in which a strange ceremony is led under an eerie sky. Between absurd songs, caring acts and poetic surprises, the audience is invited to slow down and appreciate the small things.

Julie Burelle and Pierrot Ross-Tremblay residency

Zones Théâtrales is pleased to be welcoming Julie Burelle and Pierrot Ross-Tremblay for a writing residency. The pair will spend the week of Zones Théâtrales developing their text UTSHASHUMEKu. Based on stories gathered by Pierrot Ross-Tremblay in 2008–2009, this new text covers a little-known period, the Salmon War, as experienced by the Innu in Nitassinan, also called North Shore (Quebec).

Every two years, Zones Théâtrales brings together the French-language professional theatre community for professional events like round tables, speed dating-style project presentations, brunches and get-togethers meant to grow and support the theatre community from French Canada and across Québec.

Zones Théâtrales is offering more than just theatre, livening things up with happy hours and festive evenings. Audiences and artists alike can celebrate together at these events. Will you be there?

Visit our website for the full programming: nac-cna.ca/en/zonestheatrales

TICKETS

Show tickets are $25 and workshop productions $10. Save 15% with a pass for three shows or more, or check out our various affordable price options. See our website for information about our pricing and box office:

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

The Zones Théâtrales biennial event is produced by the National Arts Centre with support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

The Zones Théâtrales team would also like to thank its partners and venues: La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins, Club SAW, University of Ottawa, Ville de Gatineau - Théâtre de l’Île, le Centre d’art contemporain de l’Outaouais, Les Transfrontaliers, Les Voyagements, our hotel partner Les Suites and our graphic designer Simon Guibord.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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Don’t miss out on #ZT2025
zonestheatrales.ca / Facebook / Instagram / #ZT2025

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

Amélie Trottier
amelie.trottier@nac-cna.ca
Cell: 613-314-2126

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) announced today that the internationally acclaimed Finnish conductor John Storgårds will become the NAC Orchestra’s seventh music director, beginning in the 2026–2027 season. Widely celebrated for his artistry, versatility, and deep connection with musicians and audiences alike, Storgårds succeeds Alexander Shelley, who will conclude his tenure as the Orchestra’s current Music Director in July 2026.

Storgårds debuted with the NAC Orchestra in 2013 and has served as its Principal Guest Conductor since 2015. Over the past decade, NAC Orchestra audiences have responded with enthusiasm to the extraordinary artistic partnership and connection between Storgårds and the musicians, whose concerts together have been marked by a purity of musical communication and passion. 

Renowned for his imaginative programming, compelling interpretations, and performances that balance rousing energy with refinement, Storgårds currently serves as Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as Artistic Director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra. Storgårds is also an accomplished violinist and chamber musician—an artistic duality that enriches his interpretive depth and versatility. As a conductor, he appears with many of the world’s foremost orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as all major Nordic orchestras, including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, where he was Chief Conductor from 2008 to 2015. In Canada, he also appears with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.

Under Storgårds’s baton, the NAC Orchestra has expanded its flexibility and repertoire, with exhilarating first-ever performances of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3, Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No. 5, Nielsen’s Symphony No. 2, and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 3. Storgårds is also a staunch advocate for 20th and 21st-century voices. His programming with the NAC Orchestra has included music by Kaija Saariaho, Sunleif Rasmussen, Sebastian Fagerlund, Betsy Jolas, Outi Tarkiainen, and Victoria Poleva, among others.

Storgårds believes strongly in the NAC’s role as an advocate for Canada’s artists, and he looks forward to building on the NAC Orchestra’s legacy of commissioning, performing, touring, and recording new Canadian works. In 2019, he conducted the world premiere of Canadian Métis composer Ian Cusson’s Le loup de Lafontaine, commissioned through the NAC Orchestra’s Carrefour Composers Residency, contributing to Cusson’s future as one of Canada’s most significant emerging voices.

John Storgårds is also passionate about developing the next generation of musicians, and his vision for the NAC Orchestra will build on its commitment to professional development for young artists. He will bring new energy to programs and partnerships for emerging composers, conductors, and artists from across Canada, which currently includes collaborations with Women in Musical Leadership, Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier Lyrique, and the Canadian Opera Company.

“I couldn’t be more honoured, happy, and thrilled to become Music Director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, an orchestra I already love so deeply. When I look back at the highlights of each season, my concerts with the NAC Orchestra always stand out among the very best moments. Not only is it a fantastic orchestra, it is also a family of wonderful musicians and people, with whom I have felt a special bond from the very first time we worked together. I also look forward to strengthening my relationship with the Orchestra’s devoted, enthusiastic, and justifiably proud audience, as well as with all Canadians.”

— John Storgårds

“John Storgårds is an exceptional conductor and artist, who has developed a tremendous rapport with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, one felt by both the musicians and audiences. He is passionate about working with Canadian guest artists and composers and will build on the NAC Orchestra’s long-standing commitment to furthering Canadian music nationally and internationally. We greatly look forward to welcoming him as our Music Director in September 2026.” 

— Christopher Deacon, President and CEO of the National Arts Centre

“I am delighted that John Storgårds will be our next Music Director. While John and the Orchestra have already established a strong relationship, there is so much excitement about the potential for further discovery and artistic growth. John is a steadfast supporter in areas where we are firmly committed, including professional development for young and emerging artists and nurturing new creation. We couldn’t be happier!

— Nelson McDougall, Managing Director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra

“On behalf of the musicians of the NAC Orchestra, I am so pleased to welcome John Storgårds as our next Music Director. Our weeks with John are always filled with challenging, profound, and exhilarating music-making. As an orchestra, we are completely in sync with John, with a depth of musical connection and trust that is truly special. His appointment marks a rare opportunity to expand an already superb relationship, adding a new layer of leadership and vision.”

— Joanna G’froerer, Principal Flute, NAC Orchestra

“Congratulations to both parties on a truly inspiring collaboration! John has been a cherished colleague of mine for almost two decades, and it is such a privilege to witness the mastery and sincerity of his music-making.”

— Barbara Hannigan, award-winning Canadian soprano and conductor

About John Storgårds

Principal Guest Conductor of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, and the longstanding Artistic Director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, John Storgårds has forged a dual career as a conductor and violin virtuoso, collaborating with the world’s most eminent ensembles and distinguished soloists. Widely recognized for his creative flair for programming, as well as his rousing yet refined interpretations, Storgårds’s adventurous performances and award-winning recordings have earned him global critical acclaim.

Storgårds appears with many of the world’s leading orchestras, from the Berlin, Munich and New York Philharmonics to the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, as well as all major Northern European ensembles, including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, where he was Chief Conductor from 2008 to 2015. He also regularly returns to the Munich Chamber Orchestra, where he was Artistic Partner from 2016 to 2019. He collaborates with leading soloists, including Hilary Hahn, Barbara Hannigan, Yefim Bronfman, Augustin Hadelich, and Sol Gabetta and remains active as a violinist, frequently combining solo and conducting engagements. He also appears at major international festivals and gives recitals with regular partners such as Kirill Gerstein.​

Storgårds’s acclaimed discography features complete symphony cycles from Sibelius (2014) and Nielsen (2015) with the BBC Philharmonic on Chandos, as well as a trilogy devoted to works by George Antheil. Their ongoing Shostakovich series was launched in 2020 with Symphony No. 11. In 2023, John and the BBC Philharmonic received a nomination from Gramophone magazine for Orchestra of the Year. Acclaimed releases with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra have featured works by renowned Nordic composers, including Sebastian Fagerlund and Kalevi Aho. Storgårds studied violin with Chaim Taub and conducting with Jorma Panula and Eri Klas and has been honoured with the Finnish State Prize for Music (2002) and the Pro Finlandia Medal (2012).

About Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships. 

Since taking the helm in 2015, Shelley has shaped the Orchestra’s artistic vision, building on the legacy of his predecessor, Pinchas Zukerman, who led the ensemble for 16 seasons. Shelley’s influence extends beyond the NAC. He serves as Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the United Kingdom and Artistic and Music Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in the United States. In addition to his other conducting roles, the Pacific Symphony in California’s Orange County announced Shelley’s appointment as its next Artistic and Music Director, beginning in the 2026-2027 season. Shelley’s leadership is complemented by Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds and Principal Youth Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, known for creating innovative and engaging community programming. In 2024, the Orchestra marked a new chapter with the appointment of Henry Kennedy as its first-ever Resident Conductor. 

The Orchestra has a rich history of partnerships with renowned artists, including James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Renée Fleming, Hilary Hahn, Jeremy Dutcher, Jan Lisiecki, Ray Chen, and Yeol Eum Son, underscoring its reputation as a destination for world-class talent. As one of the most accessible, inclusive, and collaborative orchestras in the world, the NAC Orchestra utilizes music as a universal language to convey the deepest human emotions and connect people through shared experiences. 

A hallmark of the NAC Orchestra is its national and international tours. The Orchestra has performed concerts in every Canadian province and territory and has earned frequent invitations to perform abroad. These tours spotlight Canadian composers and artists, bringing their voices to stages across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia.

About the National Arts Centre

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.

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For more information, please contact:

Annabelle Cloutier
Executive Director, Strategy and Communications
Canada’s National Arts Centre
annabelle.cloutier@nac-cna.ca
(613) 301-2764)

Noah Richardson
Communications Strategist
Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca
(613) 415-5208

Two Indigenous voices deliver an urgent message in this immersive experience from September 10–13

September 2, 2025 – Ottawa (Canada) – NAC Indigenous Theatre launches its 2025–26 season with Nigamon/Tunai, a poetic manifesto by Émilie Monnet (Anishinaabe/French) and Waira Nina (Inga Nation, Colombian Amazon). From September 10–13, the production transforms the theatre into a living forest and invites audiences on stage into an ecosystem of trees, water, and sound, where they sit alongside the artists.

“Nigamon” (Anishinaabemowin) and “Tunai” (Inga) both mean “song.” Through voice, movement, bird calls, and copper instruments, Monnet and Nina create an immersive ceremony in Spanish, French, English, Anishinaabemowin, and Inga. At its heart is a sharp political irony: Canadian mining companies extract copper from the Colombian Amazon—sacred to Anishinaabe culture—while devastating lands Nina’s people have protected for generations.

Émilie Monnet is a director, writer, and actor whose work blends theatre, performance, and media arts. She founded Onishka in 2011 to foster creative exchanges among Indigenous artists and explore how artistic creation can challenge perceptions of Indigenous realities and struggles. Her award-winning work Okinum was nominated for the Governor General’s Award for drama.

Waira Nina is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and cultural policy advisor for the Inga Nation in the Colombian Amazon. Heir to traditional Ambiwaska ceremonies, she has advanced recognition of Inga territories and created a pan-Amazonian radio network. She also coordinates culture and communications for Tandachiridu Inganokuna and advises on education at the Yachaikury School.

This production is presented as part of NAC Indigenous Theatre’s Days of Truth and Reconciliation programming. This includes in-person and virtual activities honouring the resilience of Indigenous cultures leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The production is also featured in the NAC’s Zones Théâtrales, a biennial festival celebrating francophone theatre from across Canada.

Nigamon/Tunai is one of the 100 new boundary-pushing Canadian productions supported by the NAC's National Creation Fund. As a catalyst for bold artistic creation in Canada, the Fund has invested over $15 million in Canadian artists since 2018. The Fund's investment of $175,000 supported the engagement of two additional performers, participation in, and documentation of, a yakomama (turtle) ceremony in Columbia, and a sound creation residency. 

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38350

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Indigenous Theatre at Canada’s National Arts Centre is made possible through the generous support of individuals and corporations from across the country. The National Arts Centre Foundation wishes to acknowledge the support of Presenting Sponsor BMO Financial Group and Official Hotel Partner Les Suites Hotel. Thank you also to Meta, Presenting Partner of #ReconcileThis.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Ian Hobson
Communications Strategist, NAC Indigenous Theatre
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0742
ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca

August 28, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada). What if two Greek gods settled a bet by giving fifteen dogs human consciousness?

Greek gods, Hermes and Apollo, throw back a few beers in an Ottawa tavern and debate whether it’s possible to die happy. To test their wager, they grant fifteen dogs human consciousness—and watch as the pups discover both the beauty and the pitfalls of complex thought and emotion.

As they develop their own language and society, the different breeds must adapt to this strange new reality and grapple with emotions and uncertainties no dog has ever known.  The result is a modern-day fable that offers genuine catharsis while probing timeless questions of fate, mortality and what truly makes life meaningful.

After performing to sold-out houses and earning rave reviews from critics and audiences at Crow’s Theatre, Segal Centre and Mirvish Productions, writer/director Marie Farsi has now unleashed the pups, adapting the setting to local neighbourhoods so NAC audiences can see their own city reflected within the story.

Based on Andre Alexis’ acclaimed Giller Prize-winning novel, Fifteen Dogs explores life’s biggest questions with the most adorable pack of unwitting philosophers you’ll ever meet.

“Two years later, Fifteen Dogs is still paw-some. (Sorry.). Farsi’s production feels more poignant, more efficient and more raw.” — Aisling Murphy, The Globe and Mail

Performance and ticket information 

FIFTEEN DOGS – SEPTEMBER 17 - 27, AZRIELI STUDIO 
A Crow’s Theatre / Segal Centre for Performing Arts Production

Adapted and directed for the stage by Marie Farsi. Based on the novel by André Alexis; featuring Noah Beemer, Bren Eastcott, Jakob Ehman, Tyrone Savage, David Storch, Sarah Wilson; based on Original Set & Costume Design by Julie Fox; Lighting Design by Imogen Wilson; Sound Design and Composition by David Mesiha; Fight Direction by Jeff Hanson; Associate Costume Designer Laura Delchiaro; Associate Set Designer Bruno-Pierre Houle; Stage Manager Tara Mohan; Assistant Stage Manager Maya Bowers.

For more information and showtimes, please visit:
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38315

Special pre-show talk – Fifteen Dogs Unleashed 
From Page to Stage: A Creative Discussion with author André Alexis and playwright and director Marie Farsi.
Friday, September 19, Peter A. Herrndorf Place at 6:00 PM

Thank you to our partners
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the Official Hotel Partner Les Suites Hotel Ottawa.

About the National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra is delighted to host a free Canada Day concert featuring an all-star line-up of Canadian talent. Led by NAC Orchestra Music Director Alexander Shelley and supported by the Orchestra’s Resident Conductor Henry Kennedy and guest conductor Benoit Gauthier, the program includes music from celebrated Canadian composers Ian Cusson, John Estacio, Kati Agócs, and Jordan Nobles.

Bilingual slam poet, musician, and composer Yao returns to the NAC’s main stage to host this year’s event, which features several local and visiting artists, including NAC Orchestra Principal Trumpet Karen Donnelly, the Hamilton Children’s Choir, double bassist John Geggie, and Ottawa-based jazz pianist James Greer. The NAC Orchestra will close the concert with a special rendition of Hymn to Freedom, an iconic work by the late Canadian jazz great Oscar Peterson, featuring the voices of the Hamilton Children’s Choir. In a special first, the NAC Orchestra is honoured to share the stage this Canada Day with participants of the 2025 edition of the NAC Orchestra Mentorship Program. This year, 47 exceptional emerging and early-career artists from around the world had the opportunity to refine their skills through two weeks of side-by-side rehearsals and performances with the NAC Orchestra.

“The NAC Orchestra is proud to continue its tradition of presenting free and bilingual programming on Canada Day,” says Alexander Shelley. “Canada is home to some extraordinary artists, and now more than ever, it’s important to showcase Canadian talent on our stages. We invite our audiences to join us for an unforgettable celebration.”

This highly anticipated concert in Southam Hall is free, with in-advance reserved seating. Tickets can be booked by phone, online or in person at the NAC Box Office beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 27. On July 1, doors to Southam Hall will open at 2:00 p.m., 30 minutes before the concert. The 75-minute performance will be presented without intermission and broadcast live on television screens in the NAC’s public spaces for all to enjoy.

About Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships. 

About Alexander Shelley

Alexander Shelley succeeded Pinchas Zukerman as Music Director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in September 2015. The ensemble has since been praised as “transformed, hungry, bold, and unleashed” (Ottawa Citizen) and Shelley’s programming is credited for turning the Orchestra into “one of the more audacious in North America” (Maclean’s).

Shelley is a champion of Canadian creation. Recent hallmarks include multimedia projects UAQUE, Life Reflected, UNDISRUPTED, and three major new ballets in partnership with NAC Dance for ENCOUNT3RS. He is passionate about arts education and nurturing the next generation of musicians. He is an Ambassador for Ottawa’s OrKidstra, a charitable social development program that teaches children life skills through music making.

In April 2022, Shelley debuted at Carnegie Hall with the NAC Orchestra in its long-awaited return. In the spring of 2019, he led the Orchestra on its critically acclaimed 50th-anniversary European tour, with stops in London, Paris, Copenhagen, and Stockholm.

Shelley is also the Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Music and Artistic Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. Shelley has also been named the next Artistic and Music Director of the Pacific Symphony in California’s Orange County. The initial five-year term begins in the 2026–2027 season, with Shelley serving as Music Director-Designate from September 2025. From 2009 to 2017, Shelley was Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany.

Shelley’s recordings with the NAC Orchestra include the Juno-nominated New Worlds, Life Reflected, ENCOUNT3RS, The Bounds of Our Dreams, the acclaimed multi-volume Clara - Robert - Johannes series, and Two Orchestras, One Symphony, all with Canadian label Analekta, and Truth in Our Time with Orange Mountain Music.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Noah Richardson
Communications Strategist
Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca
(613) 415-5208

The NAC welcomes locals and visitors alike to gather “together under the sun” for our fourth summer programming season.

Our 2025 summer programming offers audiences the opportunity to experience over 70 shows and events, featuring free and accessibly priced programs. Join us for an unforgettable journey as we transform our public spaces, wooden terrace, and even the Rideau Canal into Canada’s stage. Linger in the setting sun as music makes the vibe, or join one of the running groups that will follow the musicians along the canal. From toddlers to grandparents, our family-friendly programming is packed with fun, energy, and great memories for all ages. Come as you are, stay for the fun!

“I hope you’ll join us and make the NAC a part of your summer. We have a full schedule of family-friendly programming in dance, theatre, and music to make your summer days and nights memorable. Discover the hidden gem on our rooftop – the wood terrace stage – and take in the music and soak up the sunsets. Our summer programming has a wealth of fresh new acts and returning favourites from across Canada and around the world.”

Heather Gibson, Executive Producer, Summer Programming

Summer programming: Stage series

Experience a trip around the world with unique shows right here in downtown Ottawa at affordable prices. 

July 4: The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra – Project TITAN
Canada’s oldest provincial youth orchestra is celebrating its 60th anniversary with the aim of sharing this remarkable milestone far beyond provincial borders. 

July 10: Daoirí Farrell
Dubliner, singer and bouzouki player Daoirí (pronounced ‘Derry’) Farrell holds two prestigious BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and three nominations in the RTÉ Folk Awards.

July 10 & 11: Murdoch Mysteries in Concert with the NAC Orchestra
Join us for an electrifying evening that pulls back the curtain on CBC’s hit series Murdoch Mysteries—live in concert with the NAC Orchestra. Hosted by series star Yannick Bisson, this exclusive event explores how music for the series is brought to life with award-winning composer Rob Carli.

July 10: SARĀB
With its unique blend of Arabic music, jazz and rock, SARĀB is one of the leading groups of the Paris music scene.

July 11: De Mar y Río
Winners of the Petronio Álvarez 2024 Festival and global ambassadors of traditional marimba music, De Mar y Río is a group of 10 talented percussionists and singers who relay stories between generations.

July 12: Les Mamans du Congo and Rrobin
Les Mamans du Congo & Rrobin embody and sing to the African woman of the future. The self-described educators transmit Congolese cultural heritage and traditions to international stages, by reviving centuries-old Bantu lullabies for music never before heard beyond Africa.

July 17: Le Sacre de Lila
Ismaël Mouaraki explores trance with a group of male dancers in his new creation, drawing inspiration from Lila ceremonies, mystical and musical traditional celebrations from his native Morocco, through them, he also retraces his own journey in front of the audience.

July 17: Symphonic Waves (Beethoven for Everyone), NAC Orchestra directed by Marie Jacquot
Step into a special summer concert that feels like a breath of fresh air. The NAC Orchestra, led by the brilliant French conductor Marie Jacquot, invites you to experience the magic of bold live music.

July 23–26: Requiem for Radio: Full Quiet Flutter (RFR: FQF)
Architecture, technology, history, and the human body come together in this near-supernatural conjuring of the spirits of the demolished Radio Canada International (RCI) shortwave towers.

July 24: Ríoghnach Connolly & Honeyfeet
Named the BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year, Ríoghnach (pronounced ree-ogh-nah) Connolly leads Honeyfeet with her eclectic taste for musical adventure.

August 5–9: Léon le nul (La Pire Espèce)
Léon le nul follows Leon, who is bullied by the other children in the neighborhood. He decides to remedy the situation by taking drastic measures: he eats nails to become a train. A show about discovering one’s inner strength, Léon le nul is driven by a high-flying physical performance. (Please note this performance is in French only.)

August 13–16: Love You Wrong Time (Bad Muse Collective)
Love You Wrong Time is a hilarious, no-holds-barred song cycle featuring two friends looking for love while contending with the fetishization of Asian women.

August 18–22: ElderQueers Storytelling Workshop (5 sessions)
This storytelling workshop for elders in the 2SLGBTQI+ community is back for another season. The event offers an opportunity to gather, deepen community connections, and create stories with the support of each other and experienced stage performer and director Mary Ellen MacLean.
 

Summer programming: The Feeling of Free

Bring your lunch and join us in the O’Brien Atrium (just inside the Elgin Street entrance) to enjoy a variety of live musical performances every Tuesday and Wednesday from July 8 to August 20 at 12:15 pm, with evening shows on the Wooden Terrace starting at 7:30 pm, weather permitting. For the detailed schedule, please check our website. 

Hear home-grown Canadian artists (including Northern Ontario’s Les Rats d’Swompe), powerful global voices (such as the Arabic Al Qahwa), and energizing rhythms (like the Celtic Beòlach or Tamar Ilana & Ventanas) echo through the NAC’s halls or out into the night air while enjoying the iconic view of Elgin Street and the Mackenzie King Bridge. With 14 different artists in this series, everyone is sure to find a new favourite to add to their playlist.

Make sure to bring the whole family to experience free weekend workshops with Chancz Perry (July 26) and Sherry Lee Hunter (August 16) to explore your inner performer and develop skills through play.
 

Free self-guided visual art tour

Though the NAC is best known for its outstanding productions on its stages, not to be missed is its strong collection of visual art that is presented throughout its building. Take yourself through the tour!
 

Summer programming: Music on the Canal

All through July, join us Thursdays at 6:30 pm and Saturdays at 4:30 pm! Musicians will take to the water to share their music for everyone within hearing distance along the Rideau Canal. The musicians set off from the NAC at Paul’s Boat Line docks on the Rideau Canal under the Rideau Street Bridge. The boat traverses the canal, arriving at Lansdowne Park approximately 45 minutes later and then returns back. Find a comfy spot along the canal, perhaps pack a picnic, and take in the music as it passes you along the water.

If you want more than a glimpse, the NAC is challenging runners and cyclists to keep up with the canal boat. Open up Strava (or your app of choice!) to track your time against both your friends and the showboat. This is a chance to meet up with other runners and cyclists and add some variety to your workout playlist by trying out ours.

For the detailed schedule, please check our website. Weather permitting.
 

Tickets and information

Tickets are on sale now! Find the full lineup and ticket info on our website.
 

About the NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Emma Schuster
Communications Strategist, Summer Programming
National Arts Centre
emma.schuster@nac-cna.ca

June 4 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – From September 8 to 13, 2025, the Zones Théâtrales biennial returns to Ottawa with the best in Franco-Canadian theatre. The only event that celebrates the richness of Francophone theatre in Canada, including the Quebec Regions! 

Programmed by Gilles Poulin-Denis, who has directed Zones Théâtrales since 2017, this 11th edition invites the public to a profound exploration of humanity, through works that question family connections, community dynamics, and environmental challenges. 

“The golden thread running through the program is a gentle but compelling call to get back to basics, to what beats within us. Family, in all its forms, is omnipresent: biological families, parents and children ... but also the families we choose, the ones we build from the heart. More broadly still, there is nature, that great, silent, generous family to which we all belong.” — Gilles Poulin-Denis 
The event will showcase new works from Moncton to Vancouver, highlighting the richness, diversity, and resurgence of French-language theatre across the country. 
Zones Théâtrales 2025: a full week of effervescence, discussion and celebration of Francophone theatre across Canada! 

Here are the various aspects of the programming : 

Zone Spectacles: Ten shows from across the country and one international collaboration: we'll be welcoming productions from Vancouver to Moncton by way of Edmonton, Toronto, Sudbury, Ottawa, Tadoussac and the Saguenay, with a side trip to French Guiana. 
Zone Labo: Seven works in progress to be previewed: an incredible playground for artists! 
Zone Pro: Professional meetings to exchange ideas and collaborate across the country, as well as the visit of dozen guests from the French-speaking world as part of the Transfrontaliers network, a joint initiative of the National Arts Centre and the Canada Council for the Arts. 
Zone Pop: Aperitifs and festive evenings open to all. 
Zone Web: Digital content to extend the theatrical experience. 

 
Some performances pay tribute to nature in a unique way:: 
Arbres || Ottawa (Le Collectif Projet Arbres) 
Climb aboard the poem-car to view the changing landscape. A site-specific performance installation created by André Perrier and presented in a car, Arbres is an ecological statement that celebrates the nobility of trees. This short work underlines the importance of the relationship between these quiet giants and the life that humans, past and present, continue to nurture. Arbres is a meditation, a completely unique experience that will stay with you for a long time. 

Nigamon/Tunai || Montréal (Productions Onishka) 
In collaboration with NAC Indigenous Theatre 
Nigamon/Tunai is a captivating work and poetic manifesto by Émilie Monnet (of Anishinaabe and French heritage) and Waira Nina (originally from the Colombian Amazon), celebrating their bonds of friendship and solidarity. The two women are also united by their desire to defend water and land in the face of overexploitation by Canadian mining companies in Amazonian territory. They invite us to share an enriching experience based on their own life stories and the challenges facing their communities. 
 
From the tender gaze of a father to that of a rebellious teenager, to the outbursts of a completely crazy household, the family takes to the stage in all its forms: 
Hippocampe || Moncton (Satellite Théâtre) 
Summer 2020. It’s the pandemic, theatres are closed, and the future of the world as we know it is uncertain. An artist father and his daughter set out on a road trip from New Brunswick to Quebec. The journey becomes an exploration of the territory we carry within us, an incursion into the terrain of the most difficult mourning. The Acadian company returns this time with an intimate, minimalist show that’s quite different from their usual physical, offbeat style. 

Le Taureau || Ottawa (Théâtre Catapulte) 
A teenager accused of what are described as serious acts is forced to meet with a social worker to explain his actions. But what really happened? The young man evades, avoids and eludes every question with disturbing skill. How could this calm, diligent boy change so suddenly? He’s holding something back. He is loyal, deeply attached to an essential figure: his mother. He protects; he keeps quiet. But how far can you go in the name of family loyalty before you lose yourself? At what point does sacrifice become self-betrayal? 

Ornithorynques || Moncton and Carleton-sur-Mer  (Théâtre l’Escaouette and Théâtre À tour de rôle) 
Summer 1990. Three marginal characters have settled in Campbellton, a small town on the border between New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula. They're ugly, not like the others, and maybe even venomous ... like platypuses. Years later, the trio reunite and try to free themselves from the past by recalling that transformative summer. Together, they revive their memories, re-enacting their own roles in the story. Ornithorynques is a tale of resilience, survival and courage, set against a backdrop of neon colors and Much Music-style pop hits. 
 
And in other productions, it's someone else’s well-being that takes centre stage: 
Nos mères meurent (et nous n’y pouvons rien) || Rouyn-Noranda and Tadoussac (Théâtre du Tandem and Théâtre des Béloufilles) 
What happens when your mother, whom you’ve known all your life, disappears? Not a sudden disappearance, but a slow fade, a little here, a little there. In this personal and powerful text, Isabelle  Rivest recounts her last moments with her mother, Francine, as the older woman slips into dementia. Alternating between journal entries, correspondence, archival material and dialogue, Isabelle traces their life between the Magdalen Islands and Abitibi, bringing us back to the living, its fragility and what remains. 

Sur Appel || Saguenay (Théâtre à Bout Portant) 
Set in the rear cab of a moving ambulance, Sur Appel (”on call”) is an immersive, dense and intense experience. The audience is invited to witness the fragility of human life in a race against time. When the medical world meets theatre, shadows, objects and gestures combine to create a sensory journey on the edge of reality and imagination. 
 
Two artistic views of the digital world, where human relationships, whether chosen or imposed, take on new forms: 
asses.masses || Vancouver (Patrick Blenkarn + Milton Lim) 
asses.masses is an original theatrical experience based on the world of video games. The performance, with no performers and no instructions, challenges the very notion of what theatre is. It’s up to the audience to take control of the story of this herd of donkeys by taking control of the joystick. Both political and impertinent, this new creation by Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim—who presented FARCE at the 2023 edition of Zones Théâtrales—questions the boundary between the work that defines us and the play that liberates us. 
asses.masses was developed with the support of the NAC’s National Creation Fund (Ottawa) 

Les Sentinelles || French Guiana, Toronto, Edmonton (OTEP, Théâtre français de Toronto and L’UniThéâtre) 
Two young women create an online forum, like a small, isolated digital island. A refuge from the world and its violence, a protective barrier for both of them. This feminine haven of peace quickly attracts attention and envy. Many want to take over a piece of this island, seeking to invade this digital space over which its creators are gradually losing control. 
 
Another performance brings out the night owls : 
Nuits claires || Caraquet, Moncton, Québec, Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Sudbury, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Whitehorse, and Vancouver (Théâtre populaire d’Acadie, Théâtre l’Escaouette, Théâtre La  Bordée, Théâtre de Quat’Sous, La  Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins, Théâtre français de Toronto, Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario, Théâtre Cercle Molière, La Troupe du Jour, L’UniThéâtre, Open Pit Theatre, Théâtre la  Seizième) 

A production by the NAC's French Theatre, presented in collaboration with the same. 

From Vancouver to Caraquet, over the course of a year, twelve authors took part in a writing relay game with mysterious constraints, the most engaging of which was to write at night. Here is a collage of all these nocturnal works, assembled in an exhilarating theatrical happening. From west to east, night is the same: it's a space of apparition, at once peaceful, terrible and fabulous, often populated by floating thoughts, always creative. Perhaps, in the end, night really belongs only to those who write about it? 
 

 Here are the 7 works in progress that the public and professionals will have the opportunity to discover in the Zone Labo: 
Culture de l’explosion || Ottawa (Théâtre du Trillium and Émilie Camiré-Pecek) 
Émilie Camiré-Pecek’s debut play draws on taboos and proscriptions to explore subjects that polarize our everyday lives. Through a gallery of often cartoonish characters, the playwright challenges, upsets and oversteps the limits imposed by social and moral norms. In a series of occasionally jarring scenes, the words and actions of these characters—who are both engaging and despicable—question whether the decorum of our times may go too far. This sometimes uncomfortable experience raises profoundly topical questions to which all this polarizing discourse is no stranger. 

Comme la pluie sur un toit de tôle || Toronto (Théâtre la Tangente) 
Based on the accounts of soldiers, nurses and veterans, Comme la pluie sur un toit de tôle (“like rain on a tin roof”) offers a deeply human perspective on the experiences of people who have lived through or participated in the horrors of war. Playwright Claude Guilmain takes a close look at these ordinary people, who could easily be our loved ones and who found themselves at the heart of major armed conflicts. An essential and timely reflection on a human scale, far removed from media reports and political decisions. 

De l’importance de gosser du bois || Sherbrooke (Traces et Souvenances) 
De l’importance de gosser du bois (“On the importance of sculpting wood”) is a stage performance that delves into the memories of Corinne, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Through fragments of memory, vivid childhood images, and an absurd bestiary, Corinne conjures up the past. Staged in a disturbing yet occasionally humorous way, the play explores the role of allies, particularly men, in preventing and addressing sexual violence. A cathartic piece of theatre that transcends the boundaries of the stage, De l’importance de gosser du bois opens up a space for dialogue and healing. 

Faire la Marguerite || Chelsea (L’eau du bain) 
Faire la marguerite—what does that mean?  To answer this question, the L'Eau du bain family, dressed in colourful raincoats, leads a strange ceremony under an eerie sky. Is it about paying tribute to a deceased great-great -aunt? Is it about watering pots for seedlings to thrive in? The audience is invited to take part in the discussion and finds itself at the heart of an event that, although planned, doesn't go quite as expected. 

Giant Mine || Sudbury and Winnipeg (Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario and Marie-Ève Fontaine) 
In 2020, while she was in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, Franco-Manitoban theatre artist Marie-Ève Fontaine learned of the existence of the Giant Mine, an abandoned gold mine whose operation led to a potential ecological disaster. Driven by her eco-anxiety, she launched a vast investigation that would take her from Yellowknife to Rouyn-Noranda by way of Fort McMurray and Sudbury, as she sought better to understand the history of these contaminated sites and to question our collective, individual and industrial relationship with the land. 

Héritages || Toronto (Ka-Fé Productions) 
Based on her short documentary Root Up (2017), Katia Café-Fébrissy delves into the behind-the-scenes world of filmmaking and the dynamic between a director and her subject. Through human encounters and the intimate experience of a film shoot, Héritages reveals the systemic repercussions of colonialism in Guadeloupe and the French West Indies and questions our relationship with territory and the past.  

Les Ensevelies || Ottawa and Moncton (Théâtre l’Escaouette and Théâtre Catapulte) 
One summer morning, Pernille left home without her shoes. Maybe she stopped to pick some flowers. She did that all the time, but this time she didn’t come back. Ever since that day, her sisters have been searching for her, trying to understand what could have happened. As time goes by, speculation lingers and the mystery remains unsolved. Who could have harmed Pernille? And most important, will she ever be found? 

Explore the complete program by visiting our website: 
https://nac-cna.ca/fr/zonestheatrales ;

We look forward to seeing you at this vibrant celebration of Francophone theatre! 

Don’t miss out on #ZT2025 
zonestheatrales.ca / Facebook / Instagram / #ZT2025 

June 2, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Following a short sold-out run at the 2022 BIG BANG Festival, Le Potager (“the kitchen garden”), produced by Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke, returns to the National Arts Centre for all to enjoy! An additional performance has been scheduled to meet the enthusiastic demand for the last production in our 2024–2025 season.

This immersive rock concert takes place in a greenhouse at centre stage, where live music, video and painting intermingle to deliver a unique sensory experience. Created by Karine Sauvé and Érika Tremblay-Roy, and featuring a singer, a guitarist and a drummer, the show explores the themes of gardening, growth, the beauty of nature. The project was conceived during the pandemic, based on the idea that, even when the world comes to a standstill, gardens keep on growing.

“I watched summer going by

Summer passing over things

I see autumn coming

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring

But I can’t wait, I can’t wait”

—Excerpt of a song from Le Potager

Founded in 1973, Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke is a creative company specializing in hybrid and innovative forms. It offers young audiences works that are open to interpretation and that stimulate their imagination and intelligence. Directed by Érika Tremblay-Roy—whose dance–theatre production Va falloir toujours toujours will be included in NAC French Theatre’s 2025–2026 season—, the company showcases local talent while developing international relationships, having presented more than 90 productions in Canada and abroad.

This presentation of Le Potager marks the culmination of Mélanie Dumont’s considerable achievements since her appointment in 2011 as Associate Artistic Director of NAC French Theatre’s Youth Programming section. It’s worth mentioning that, besides programming more than 70 shows and special events, as well as bringing the BIG BANG Festival to the NAC—and to Canada—, Mélanie was involved in numerous other projects in various capacities.

“Together, surrounded by wonderful collaborators, we explored, stirred, and reignited the imagination of children in a thousand different ways. We hung their dreams, wishes, and demands from the walls and ceilings of the NAC. We led children and teens to dance, write, draw, craft, read, invent, play, express themselves, and reflect. […]

All these projects, all these ideas were imagined, dreamed up, and carried by Mélanie. The NAC was quite lucky that her vision could unfold within its walls for some years. But most of all, it’s the thousands of children and teens who crossed her path who were incredibly fortunate to dive into the worlds she created for them.”

—Véronique Lavoie-Marcus, Programming assistant for Children and Youth

A few days ago, adults (and many youngsters) were treated to a festive season finale with the diptych The Rise of the BlingBling. With Le Potager, the little ones won’t be left out, thanks to this other multidisciplinary space blending theatre, music, and dance—bringing their programming to a beautiful close. In this way, the NAC French Theatre continues to reaffirm its role as a meeting place across generations, genres, and artistic approaches, offering an experience that is deeply human and vibrantly alive.

PRE-SHOW ACTIVITIES

As always with shows for young audiences, families are invited to arrive at the NAC 45 minutes before each performance to participate in a group activity. This time, we’ll create a micro-garden together, using hand-crafted insects and vegetables. A reading nook will also be available.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Azrieli Studio

Saturday June 7 (11 am and 3 pm) and Sunday June 8 (11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm)

Duration: 35 minutes without intermission; tickets $15

Ages 2 to 8 

It may be possible for members of the media to attend one of the four matinees (June 4, 5, or 6).

To purchases tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35976 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS).

To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit.

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2024-2025 NAC French Theatre season.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

Featuring Marguerite: le feu by Émilie Monnet and Programming Led by Indigenous Artists

May 28, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – This National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day, the NAC celebrates the strength and resilience of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation, their people, cultures, and perspectives.

Throughout June, we spotlight Indigenous artists through a curated lineup of events, including the return of the previously sold-out comedy show Got Land? on June 5, facilitator-led beading workshops, free powwow-themed programming, and the always lively Summer Indigenous Art Market on June 6.

naedè; migrating
Artwork by Casey Koyczan

In celebration of National Indigenous History Month, a 3D animated short film by Dene artist Casey Koyczan is featured on the Kipnes Lantern. The piece depicts Denendeh in the not-too-distant future, where mining has disrupted migration patterns extensively. The animals in the Arctic are safely transported to their grazing and mating grounds through a portal.

Marguerite: le feu
by Émilie Monnet

Presented June 12–13 in the Babs Asper Theatre, Marguerite: le feu is a new performance by interdisciplinary artist Émilie Monnet. The piece brings to light the story of Marguerite Duplessis—an Innu woman who, in 1740, became the first enslaved Indigenous person to seek her freedom through the colonial court system.

Built around Duplessis’s own testimony, the production blends movement, verbatim text, and original music to reclaim a story nearly lost to history. Monnet connects her experience to broader narratives of Indigenous and African resistance, exposing the systems that dehumanized them—and the legacies still with us today.

“We created this piece to honour the memory of Marguerite, because she truly is one of our heroines—we don’t know her, or we don’t know her well enough,” says Monnet. “Her story—like so many others—is tragic. But it’s also deeply inspiring. She showed immense courage and an unwavering strength. If we want to imagine a better future, we have to address the wounds of the past. That’s what I’m trying to do with this piece.”

Marguerite: le feu is one of the 100 new boundary-pushing Canadian productions supported by the National Creation Fund. As a catalyst for bold artistic creation in Canada, the Fund has invested over $15 million in Canadian artists since 2018. The Fund's investment of $140,000 supported several creative residencies, additional dramaturgical research, and ensured the representation and creative contribution of members of the two communities involved in the project.

Read more about the Fund's work here.

For more information on our June programming, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/series/national-indigenous-history-month

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Indigenous Theatre at Canada’s National Arts Centre is made possible through the generous support of individuals and corporations from across the country. The National Arts Centre Foundation wishes to acknowledge the support of The Slaight Family Foundation, Presenting Sponsor BMO Financial Group, and Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites. Thank you also to Meta, Presenting Partner of #ReconcileThis.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Ian Hobson
Communications Strategist, NAC Indigenous Theatre
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0742
ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca

“Canada’s artists are among the best in the world, and the start of our programming at the Canada Pavilion is a powerful moment to celebrate and share that talent internationally,” said Heather Gibson, Executive Producer of Popular Music and Variety at the NAC and curator of cultural programming for the Expo. “This series is a vibrant reflection of the creativity, diversity, and innovation that define Canada’s cultural identity.”

FULL PROGRAMMING 

Expo 2025 Osaka, which opened on April 13, anticipates over 28 million visitors during its six-month run, offering Canadian artists unparalleled exposure to international audiences. The NAC's Canadian artistic programming at Expo 2025 Osaka is a vibrant celebration of the country’s creative spirit, featuring an eclectic mix of genres and disciplines — from classical, jazz, rock, folk, and Indigenous music to street dance, theatre, storytelling, and spoken word. This dynamic lineup showcases the depth and diversity of Canada’s cultural voices across generations and regions.

Here is the full schedule of Canadian artists performing at Expo 2025 from April to October:

APRIL – Opening Month

Shakura S’Aida (April 22–28) — R&B, Soul
A commanding stage presence and a powerhouse voice rooted in blues and soul.
Tanya Davis (April 23–28) — Poetry
Prince Edward Island’s Poet Laureate, blending words and performance with heart.
Diyet & The Love Soldiers (April 24–28) — Indigenous/Northern Folk
Yukon-born singer blending Indigenous roots with contemporary folk.

MAY – Canada Day at Expo on May 17

DJ Kookum (May 16–18) — DJ / Electronic
A trailblazing Indigenous DJ known for high-energy mixes and cultural pride.
Begonia (May 13–18) — Pop
Fearless vocals and bold pop from Winnipeg’s powerhouse performer.
Diable à Cinq (May 17–23) — Québec Trad
High-octane traditional Québécois music infused with youthful flair.
AHI (May 13–18) — Gospel/Soul/Folk
Award-winning singer-songwriter known for his raspy voice and lyrical depth.
Morgan Toney (May 17–23) — Indigenous Traditional/Fiddle
Mi’kmaq fiddler fusing traditional tunes with East Coast energy.
The East Pointers (May 14–19) — Folk/Pop
Globally loved trio bringing a modern twist to folk roots.
Ndidi O (May 22–26) — Motown/Soul/Jazz
Genre-bending artist with a smoky voice and magnetic presence.

JUNE
 

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko (June 6) — Classical Piano
A rising star on the classical stage with poetic touch.
Oscar Peterson Centennial Quartet (June 5–7) — Jazz
Celebrating a Canadian legend with new takes on jazz classics.
NAC Orchestra and youth Sistema ensembles (June 6) - Classical and Jazz (On the occasion of the international tour to Korea and Japan)

Erin Costelo (June 9–14) — Jazz/Soul
Retro-inspired soul from Nova Scotia’s critically acclaimed vocalist.
Zachary Lucky (June 9–14) — Country/Singer-Songwriter
Prairie troubadour known for his warm baritone and storytelling.
Joel Wood (June 17–21) — Indigenous/Traditional
Cree singer preserving ancestral song through contemporary performance.
PIQSIQ (June 17–22) — Throat Singing
Sisters reviving ancient Inuit throat singing with a modern pulse.
PIQSIQ Cirque and Stories (June 17–22) — Circus & Storytelling
Blending Inuit circus games with storytelling for all ages.
Lisa LeBlanc (June 24 – July 1) — Francophone/Folk Rock
Acadian queen of ‘trash-folk’ with irresistible stage energy.
Dominique Fils-Aimé (June 23–30) — Francophone/Jazz
JUNO-winning artist exploring the roots of soul through jazz.
Mani Soleymanlou – Zamân (June 23–28) — Francophone/Theatre
A powerful solo performance with live music exploring identity.
Jill Barber (June 25 – July 1) — Jazz/Pop
Velvety vocals and bilingual charm in vintage-style performances.
Pierre Lapointe (June 23–29) — Francophone
Charismatic, genre-defying Québécois singer with poetic flair.

JULY

Mary Ancheta Quartet (July 9–13) — Jazz/Funk
Electric grooves and cinematic soul led by Vancouver’s own.
Sarah Hagen (July, dates TBC) — Classical Piano
Award-winning pianist known for expressive interpretations and storytelling.
Creative Boost Dance (July 21–26) — Break/Street Dance
Montreal’s 100Lux brings high-octane, cross-cultural dance fusion.

AUGUST – Indigenous Te Aratini Festival

Jeremy Dutcher (August 4–9) — Classical/Indigenous
Polaris-winning Wolastoqiyik artist reimagining ancestral songs.
Kevin Loring (August 4–9) — Storytelling /Indigenous
Governor General’s Award-winning playwright and cultural leader.
Elisapie (August 4–9) — Inuit Pop
Heartfelt songs that bridge tradition and pop from Nunavik.
Amanda Rheaume (August 4–9) — Americana/Folk Rock
Métis singer-songwriter with deep emotional storytelling.
Shoshona Kish / Digging Roots (August 4–9) — Indigenous/Rock
Activist duo blending roots, rock, and revolution.
Sechile Sedare (August 4–9) — Indigenous/Folk
Sibling duo from the North West Territories weaving stories through music.
Open Pit Theatre – Radio Silence (August 18–23) — Theatre
Immersive storytelling from the Yukon with a bold voice.
Fortunate Ones (August 18–23) — Folk-Pop
Newfoundland duo harmonizing hope and heart in every song.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER

Jeffery Straker (Sept 1–7) — Chanson/Pop
Piano-driven storyteller bringing prairie charm to the world.
The Fugitives (Sept 1–7) — Americana/Folk
Literary folk collective mixing poetry and politics with harmony.
Kellie Loder (Sept 16–21) — Singer-Songwriter
Soulful Newfoundlander with heartfelt ballads and soaring vocals.
Irish Mythen (Sept 16–21) — Folk
Bold, funny, and deeply moving Prince Edward Island-based performer.
Old Man Luedecke (Sept 16–21) — Folk
Banjo-picking balladeer delivering stories with wit and warmth.
Kacy & Clayton (Sept 29 – Oct 5) — Folk/Country
Roots duo blending vintage country and prairie psychedelia.
Kelly Bado (Sept 29 – Oct 5) — Jazz/Pop
Francophone soul-pop artist inspired by her African heritage.

MORE INFORMATION

The NAC's involvement in Expo 2025 Osaka is made possible through a partnership with Global Affairs Canada at its Canada Pavilion, ensuring a comprehensive representation of Canadian arts and culture.

For more information on Canada's participation and upcoming performances at Expo 2025 Osaka, please visit nac-cna.ca/expo-2025-osaka or http://www.canadaexpo2025.ca

ABOUT THE NAC 

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

Carl Martin 
Senior Advisor, Strategy and Communications
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0739
Carl.martin@nac-cna.ca

April 29, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada). Following critically acclaimed runs at the Shaw Festival, London’s prestigious Barbican Theatre, Australia’s Perth Festival, and the recent Toronto premiere at Canadian Stage, NAC English Theatre is proud to conclude its 2024-2025 season with Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata – a monumental two-part theatrical event

Mahabharata is a contemporary adaptation of the four-thousand-year-old Sanskrit epic, a foundational text of South Asian culture. Written and adapted by Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes, with poetic contributions from Carole Satyamurti’s Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling, this sweeping saga traces the fierce rivalry between the Pandava and Kaurava clans -- culminating in a cataclysmic war that resonates with the timeless themes of duty, justice, and fate.  

Spanning two parts, Mahabharata features a stellar ensemble of artists from the South Asian diaspora. The production offers a rich tapestry of storytelling, seamlessly merging East and West, the traditional and the contemporary to create a breathtaking theatrical experience that transports audiences from the distant past into a daring vision of the future.

Mahabharata was recently announced to perform at New York’s Lincoln Center as part of the Summer for the City Festival, giving Ottawa audiences a unique chance to see the production before it heads to the U.S. in June.

PART ONE: KARMA
THE LIFE WE INHERIT 

Through a ritual sacrifice, King Janamejaya pledges to avenge his father’s death by snake bite by eradicating all snakes from the world. In an attempt to end this cycle of vengeance, a storyteller is summoned to narrate The Mahabharata, recounting the saga of rival Pandava and Kaurava clans, and the pivotal choices leading to their infamous Game of Dice. Through playful narration, classical Indian dance, and a live band, the ensemble vividly portrays the struggle for justice in the face of jealousy, greed and ambition. 

PART TWO: DHARMA 
THE LIFE WE CHOOSE 

Mahabharata: Dharma (Part 2) introduces us to a dizzying array of storytelling techniques including immersive projections, dynamic digital soundscapes,and sweeping scenic design, as King Janamejaya learns of the epic war fought by his ancestors. Alongside the King, we experience the legendary battle of Kurukshetra, its catastrophic impact on the planet, and the resilient survivors entrusted with the task of rebuilding. The retelling is crowned with a soaring adaptation of the Bhagavad Gita, the most renowned chapter of the Mahabharata saga, as a Sanskrit opera. 

COMMUNITY MEAL AND STORYTELLING SESSION 
KHANA & KAHANI

Mahabharata is a tale that unfolds over a lifetime, one that requires prolonged contemplation. To explore the profound philosophical questions arising from the Pandava family’s thirteen years of exile, audience members who see Part 1 and Part 2 on Saturday, May 17 or 24 have the opportunity to gather between performances to enjoy an authentic Indian meal accompanied by a story and deeper exploration of the themes of The Mahabharata. Hosted by two charismatic storytellers, the illuminating conversation offers the audience an intimate experience much like that of families who have shared The Mahabharata around the dinner table for generations. 

NAC NATIONAL CREATION FUND         
   
Mahabharata is one of the 100 new boundary-pushing Canadian productions supported by the National Creation Fund. As a catalyst for bold artistic creation in Canada, the Fund has invested over $15 million in Canadian artists since 2018. The Fund’s investment of $225,000 in Mahabharata allowed Why Not Theatre to bring together the international cast, musicians and creative team for several extended workshops to collectively develop this large-scale project.   
 
Read more about the Fund's work here: https://nac-cna.ca/en/stories/story/the-creation-funds-100th-investment  

MAHABHARATA – MAY 13 - 24, BABS ASPER THEATRE 
PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

For more information and showtimes for Part 1, 2 and Khana & Kahani, please visit:

PART ONE: KARMA https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35936
PART TWO: DHARMA https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35937
KHANA & KAHANI  https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35933

AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE - SATURDAY, MAY 24

NAC English Theatre is pleased to offer audio described performances in connection with this production. Audio describers will provide live verbal commentary of important visual elements during the performance, delivered through headsets, to enhance the experience for audience members who are blind or partially sighted. The audio described performances will take place on Saturday, May 24th, when we will be presenting two parts in one epic and unmissable day.

For more information and to reserve tickets to the Audio Described Performances, please contact Aimee Bouchard, Learning Coordinator for English Theatre at aimee.bouchard@nac-cna.ca

NAC English Theatre presents
Mahabharata
A Why Not Theatre Production 
Originally commissioned and presented by the Shaw Festival Theatre 
In association with Barbican, London

Created and written by Miriam Fernandes & Ravi Jain; Using poetry from Carole Satyamurti’s "Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling"; Original concept developed with Jenny Koons; Directed by Ravi Jain; Associate Director Miriam Fernandes; Set Designer Lorenzo Savoini; Costume Designer Gillian Gallow; Lighting Designer Kevin Lamotte; Associate Lighting Designer Mikael Kangas; Projections Designer Hana S. Kim; Associate Projections Designer Ann Slote; Sound Designers John Gzowski and Suba Sankaran; Original Music John Gzowski and Suba Sankaran (with contributions from Dylan Bell, Gurtej Singh Hunjan, Zaheer-Abbas Janmohamed and Hasheel Lodhia); Traditional Music Consultant Hasheel Lodhia; Choreographer Brandy Leary (with contributions from Jay Emmanuel and Ellora Patnaik); Khana & Kahani Storyteller and Creative Associate Sharada K Eswar; Stage Manager Neha Ross; Assistant Stage Managers Victoria Wang and Wei Qing Tan; Lead Production Manager Crystal Lee; Lead Producer Kevin Matthew Wong; Producer Naomi Campbell; Technical Director Daniel Bennett; Head of Video & Video Operations Matthew Mellinger; Head of Sound Brandon Wells; Head of Wardrobe Chanti Laliberte; Consulting Producer Rebecca Desmarais; Assistant Producer and Company Manager Nika Jalali.

Featuring Shawn Ahmed, Neil D’Souza, Jay Emmanuel, Miriam Fernandes, Ravin J. Ganatra, Darren Kuppan, Anaka Maharaj-Sandhu, Goldy Notay, Ellora Patnaik, Meher Pavri, Sakuntala Ramanee, Ronica Sajnani, Ishan Sandhu, Navtej Sandhu, Munish Sharma, Arun Varma, and Sukania Venugopal.
Musicians include Suba Sankaran, Dylan Bell, Gurtej Singh Hunjan, Zaheer-Abbas Janmohamed, Hasheel Lodhia, Mike Murray.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS   
   
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the Dr. Kanta Marwah Endowment for English Theatre.
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE    
    
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.  

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May 20, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – After the refreshing investigation by Mani Soleymanlou’s merry band of the composition of the dramatic repertoire and its multiple declensions, the National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre turns to the classic of classics with the diptych The Rise of the BlingBling, the high mass created by the iconoclastic Philippe Boutin and his company Empire Panique. This sublime mystical pop fresco presents a hallucinatory version of the influence of the philosophical teachings of Jesus, as they might be told by a rambunctious, rebellious child prodigy. The result is a show that’s both exuberant and surprising.

How often do you get to see a cast of about 20 performers from all backgrounds gather on stage to portray a shark, Waldo, Santa Claus, cacti, laser fights, and a semblance of Snow White? This postmodern cabaret blurs the boundaries between genres, bringing together more art forms than you can shake a stick at in a show where humour meets social commentary, all set to a soundtrack as catchy as the most solemn melodies.

From Tarantino-esque tableaux to a depiction of the most (sur)realistic of holiday dinners, the dazzling visual effects serve as a backdrop for an incisive reflection on the contradictions of our time. In a fresco as gleefully chaotic as a slightly altered Toy Story dream, the two parts of The Rise of the BlingBling—La Genèse (Genesis) and La plus belle histoire jamais contée (The Greatest Story Ever Told)—examine superficiality, ostentation, and the desperate quest for visibility. But underneath all the glitz lies a genuine search for humanity.

“Obviously, our title, The Rise of the BlingBling, has a very pop and satirical connotation, which certainly guides our artistic choices and aims to question that rise. That said, our approach seeks to avoid any cynicism by focusing on love .... We feel an urgent need to restore a sense of community. And it is with humility that I’ve surrounded myself with a team of artists in order to view this iconic figure through artists’ eyes.”

—Philippe Boutin

In this satirical yet sympathetic rereading of Christian mythology, Jesus becomes a pop figure, almost superheroic, a mirror held up to our society in search of meaning, in a display of theatrical pyrotechnics that both celebrates and challenges the structure of the multitude of superheroes who inhabit our mythologies.

A unique, must-see event

This blast of freedom makes a more than fitting conclusion to NAC French Theatre’s 2024–2025 mainstage season. Presented on the afternoon of Saturday, May 31, the two-part performance will be followed by a party to which the audience is invited, as if to continue the quest for social connection that underlies the show, and to celebrate a successful year. In true BlingBling spirit, grilled cheese sandwiches will be served!

SCREENING OF TWO FILMS

The NAC French Theatre is pleased to partner once again with Ciné Jonction to present two cult films which, whether satirical or esoteric, explore the mythical figure of Christ in contemporary interpretations that are both rich and fascinating:

Jésus de Montréal, by Denys Arcand, at Salle Jean-Desprèz, on Tuesday, May 27 at 7 pm.

La Montagne sacrée (The Holy Mountain), by Alejandro Jodorowsky, at Le Minotaure, on Wednesday, May 28 at 8 pm.

Philippe Boutin will be present at both screenings. Full details available on the Ciné Jonction website: https://cinejonction.com/

NAC NATIONAL CREATION FUND

The Rise of the BlingBling – Le diptyque is one of the 100 new boundary-pushing Canadian productions supported by the National Creation Fund. As a catalyst for bold artistic creation in Canada, the Fund has invested over $15 million in Canadian artists since 2018. The Fund’s investment of $150,000 supported the development of this epic work through a series of residencies and rehearsals at six different venues with the full cast. With hundreds of hours of additional time together, the creative team revisited elements of La Genèse while creating and shaping new scenes for La plus belle histoire jamais contée.  

Read more about the Fund’s work here: https://nac-cna.ca/en/stories/story/the-creation-funds-100th-investment

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Babs Asper Theatre, on Saturday May 31 at 3 pm

Duration: 3 hours and 30 minutes including one intermission

Tickets from $31

To purchases tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35993 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2024-2025 NAC French Theatre season.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

On the evening before it publicly unveils its 2025–2026 programming, Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) announced that Alexander Shelley will end his tenure as Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra after 11 highly successful seasons. He will continue to serve as Music Director for the 2025–2026 season and step down after his final performance in Southam Hall in July 2026.

Born in London, Alexander Shelley became the youngest Music Director in the NAC Orchestra’s history when he assumed the role in September 2015 at age 35. Under his leadership, the Orchestra strengthened its reputation as one of the country’s finest classical music ensembles, deepened its engagement with diverse audiences, and earned international recognition as an innovative partner for Canadian composers, artists, and creators. Shelley also fulfilled the Orchestra’s national mandate by commissioning and performing new works by Canadian composers, extending the Orchestra’s national and international reach through tours, livestreams, and critically acclaimed recordings, and creating invaluable professional development programs for emerging artists.

“Alexander Shelley is an exceptional conductor and generous collaborator who propelled the NAC Orchestra to new heights while making Canadian artists and composers central to his vision,” said NAC President and CEO Christopher Deacon. “He instinctively understood the importance of the Orchestra’s national role and fully embraced it, giving Canadian creativity a platform to shine. He has left an indelible mark on the NAC Orchestra and the many artists he has inspired during his time as Music Director. We will miss him dearly.”  

“To have served the National Arts Centre and Canadian music has been the privilege of a lifetime,” said Alexander Shelley. “Working with innumerable Canadian artists through extraordinarily challenging times has enriched me more than I can express. My two sons were born in Ottawa. They are Canadians. My wife Zoe and I could not be prouder of this fact or more grateful to this country for the lifelong friendships we have forged, for the memories it has gifted us, for the unshakeable generosity of spirit shown to us, and for over a decade of unforgettable cultural and musical adventures. A part of our spirit will always remain here. And as for the remarkable NAC Orchestra: I began my tenure as their greatest fan and leave them with my love and admiration only deepened, profoundly so.”

“Whether he’s conducting the NAC Orchestra or coaching community-based ensembles like OrKidstra, Alexander demonstrates the most remarkable ability to connect with artists and audiences that I have ever witnessed,” said NAC Orchestra Managing Director Nelson McDougall. “He inherited an orchestra with an incredible legacy of sound production from his predecessor, Pinchas Zukerman, and continued to shape its artistic growth and elevate its reputation to new heights as a world-class ensemble. On behalf of our musicians and the entire organization, I thank him for his extraordinary contributions to the NAC Orchestra. Alexander leaves this orchestra in the best shape it has ever been, cementing a legacy that will live on in the musicians he mentored, the groundbreaking recordings and projects he championed, and the countless audiences he inspired throughout his tenure.”

"I have collaborated and shared the stage with Alexander Shelley for 15 years,” said pianist and NAC Orchestra Creative Partner Gabriela Montero. “Many cherished moments together have been on the NAC stage with our dear friends, the National Arts Centre Orchestra. I deeply admire and respect Alexander. So do his many friends and colleagues. As a musician, he is a dream to work with—always sensitive, brilliant, supportive and an absolute master of his craft. As a friend and human being, he is a class act in every sense of the word! In his new artistic ventures, Alexander will continue to inspire and delight us, maintaining his legacy as one of the great artistic figures of our time.”

Artistic excellence, creation, collaboration and innovation

Alexander Shelley’s pursuit of individual and collective excellence fostered an environment where exceptional musicianship thrived, enabling the Orchestra to achieve new levels of artistic excellence. His energetic conducting style, coupled with NACO’s polished and passionate performances, won widespread audience and critical claim and drew internationally renowned soloists, such as James Ehnes, Hilary Hahn, Joshua Bell, and Lang Lang, to the NAC for repeat engagements.

As Music Director, Shelley shaped the NAC Orchestra’s identity through bold programming and a commitment to collaboration, creation, and innovation, with Maclean’s magazine calling NACO “one of the more audacious orchestras in North America.” A champion of Canadian creation, Shelley forged partnerships to pursue several boundary-pushing projects, including Life Reflected, an immersive multimedia concert experience that commissioned four Canadian composers to create portraits of four remarkable Canadian women (2016); ENCOUNT3RS, which commissioned three Canadian choreographers and three Canadian composers to create new one-act ballets and original scores (2017); UNDISRUPTED, a multimedia series in partnership with the CBC, in which four Canadian artists shared their stories through music and video (2019); and UAQUE, a multidisciplinary performance about humanity’s relationship with the Earth, created with Montreal-based Colombian dance artist Andrea Peña and internationally renowned Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky (2024).

Shelley and the NAC Orchestra have commissioned more than 50 new works from Canadian composers, including John Estacio, Nicole Lizée, the late Jocelyn Morlock, Kevin Lau, Kelly-Marie Murphy, and Keiko Devaux, among many others. Under Shelley, the Orchestra became known for its collaborations with artists from several disciplines, including actor Martha Henry, novelist Margaret Atwood, soprano Renée Fleming, Indigenous tenor and composer Jeremy Dutcher, Indigenous actor/playwright Monique Mojica, Indigenous multidisciplinary artist Santee Smith, choreographer Andrea Peña, and spoken word artist Yao.

Connecting with national and international audiences

A gifted artist and communicator, Shelley connected with national and international audiences on tour through performances, learning and engagement events, and by showcasing Canadian guest artists and composers. Major tours included the national Canada 150 Tour (2017), the 50th Anniversary European Tour (2019), and the Truth in Our Time Tour, which saw the Orchestra return to New York City’s Carnegie Hall after 30 years (2022). Shelley and the Orchestra’s Carnegie date garnered critical and audience acclaim and included the world premiere performance of an NAC Orchestra-commissioned symphony from legendary composer Philip Glass. During the Two Orchestras, One Symphony Tour (2024), the Orchestra partnered with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir for performances of Quebec composer Jacques Hétu’s Symphony No. 5 in Toronto, Quebec City, and Ottawa. In May and June 2025, Shelley will lead the Orchestra’s Korea and Japan Tour, marking its debut in Korea and its return to Japan for the first time in four decades.

Shelley and the Orchestra also reached broad audiences by releasing 12 critically acclaimed recordings, including the ambitious four-album Clara - Robert - Johannes series that explored the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. Shelley and the NAC Orchestra received three nominations from the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for the Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble). Two NAC commissions, Jocelyn Morlock’s My Name Is Amanda Todd (from the Orchestra’s 2017 album Life Reflected) and Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes… by Ana Sokolović (from the Orchestra’s 2018 album New Worlds), won the Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year. And under Shelley’s direction, NACO embraced new ways of sharing symphonic music, including via NACO Live, the Orchestra’s first-ever live-streamed concerts, leading to increased local, national, and international recognition.

Nurturing the next generation

Alexander Shelley has nurtured the next generation of artists through his unwavering commitment to professional development. The annual NACO Mentorship Program, launched in 2021, gives up to 50 emerging and early-career artists the opportunity to sharpen their orchestral skills under the guidance of Shelley and NAC Orchestra musicians. In 2024, Shelley established the Orchestra’s first-ever Resident Conductor Program, which provides two years of immersive, apprenticeship-style training to promising Canadian conductors. Through other valuable initiatives, he has mentored countless Canadian composers, musicians, conductors, and other artists. Shelley has also empowered children and youth through collaborations with the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy and as a long-standing Ambassador for OrKidstra, an Ottawa-based social development program giving children from underserved communities the opportunity to learn life skills through music.  

About Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships.

About Alexander Shelley

Alexander Shelley succeeded Pinchas Zukerman as Music Director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in September 2015. The ensemble has since been praised as “transformed, hungry, bold, and unleashed” (Ottawa Citizen) and Shelley’s programming is credited for turning the Orchestra into “one of the more audacious in North America” (Maclean’s). Shelley is a champion of Canadian creation. Recent hallmarks include multimedia projects UAQUE, Life Reflected, UNDISRUPTED and three major new ballets in partnership with NAC Dance for ENCOUNT3RS. He is passionate about arts education and nurturing the next generation of musicians. He is an Ambassador for Ottawa’s OrKidstra, a charitable social development program that teaches children life skills through music making. In April 2022, Shelley debuted at Carnegie Hall with the NAC Orchestra in its long-awaited return. In the spring of 2019, he led the Orchestra on its critically acclaimed 50th-anniversary European tour, with stops in London, Paris, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. Shelley is also the Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Music and Artistic Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. Shelley has also been named the next Artistic and Music Director of the Pacific Symphony in California’s Orange County. The initial five-year term begins in the 2026–2027 season, with Shelley serving as Music Director-Designate from September 2025. From 2009 to 2017, Shelley was Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany.

About the National Arts Centre

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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For more information, please contact:

Annabelle Cloutier
Executive Director, Strategy and Communications
Canada’s National Arts Centre
annabelle.cloutier@nac-cna.ca
(613) 301-2764)

Noah Richardson
Communications Strategist
Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca
(613) 415-5208

Eight talented music students aged 18 to 26 with ties to the National Capital Region competed this week for a chance to win prizes worth more than $28,000 at the 44th annual National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition.

This year’s winners are:

The 2025 NAC Orchestra Bursary ($9,000) – Audrey Morris, harp
The Crabtree Foundation Award ($5,000) – Bennett Van Barr, violin
The Friends of the NAC Orchestra Award ($3,500) – Inès Doulet, violin 
The NAC Orchestra Vic Pomer Award ($3,000) – Alicia Ingalls, violin
The Dorothy M. Horwood Award ($2,500) – Aidan Fleet, cello 
The Friends of the NAC Orchestra Evelyn Greenberg Award ($2,000) –Iñigo Rafael Gauthier-Mamaril, cello
The Piccolo Prix ($1,500) – Maria Krstic, violin
Honourable mention ($500) – Sarah Als, viola
The Sturdevant Prize for Orchestra Excerpts ($1,500) – Bennett Van Barr, violin

Visit nac-cna.ca/orchestra/bursary/awards to learn more about each award.

This year’s competition was open to players of stringed instruments (violin, viola, cello, double bass, and harp) studying music in preparation for a career as a professional orchestral musician. The jurors evaluated the semi-finalists and finalists on their performances of short orchestral excerpts and movements from a concerto, sonata, or unaccompanied work written for their instrument.

Audrey Morris is the first harpist in 15 years to win the competition’s top award. She says she wanted her performance to shine a spotlight on her instrument.

“I wanted to showcase that there’s a lot more you can do with the instrument than just play pretty music. I wanted to show that it can be virtuosic and everything that any other instrument can be.”

Morris is finishing her second year of music studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and says she aspires to play harp professionally in an orchestra.

“It can be really hard as a student. It can be really easy to get discouraged, but this is something that I think will definitely help me in the future and make me feel excited to get back into the practice room.”

Born and raised in Ottawa, Morris studied with local harpists Michelle Gott and Natalie Hoffmann and is currently a student of Judy Loman at the Glenn Gould School.

Aidan Fleet (cello) received the first-ever Dorothy M. Horwood Award. Created in 2022 by her estate, the $2,500 award honours Horwood, whose love of the arts brought her to the NAC well into her nineties. Bennett Van Barr (violin) earned the $1,500 Sturdevant Prize for Orchestral Excerpts, presented since 2016 in honour of Douglas (Pace) Sturdevant. This year marked the first award presentation since Sturdevant, the NAC Orchestra’s Principal Trumpet for 23 years, passed away in January.

The jurors for this year’s competition were Bursary Committee Chair Christina Cameron (non-voting); four NAC Orchestra musicians (Emily Kruspe, upper strings; Marc-André Riberdy, lower strings; Stephanie Morin, winds; Steven van Gulik, brass and percussion); and two external judges (Geneviève Petit, violinist and instructor at the Conservatoire de musique de Gatineau, and Angela Schwarzkopf, Juno Award-winning harpist).

Past recipients of the NAC Orchestra Bursary Award include Luca Ortolani (oboe, 2024); Bryan Cheng (cello, 2016); Kerson Leong (violin, 2013), and current NAC Orchestra members Leah Roseman (violin, 1990); Steven van Gulik (trumpet, 1993); and Darren Hicks (bassoon, 2012).

ABOUT THE NAC ORCHESTRA BURSARY COMPETITION

The first National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition was held in 1981. The prime objective of the competition is to encourage the pursuit of excellence on the part of young instrumentalists aspiring to orchestral careers. Each year, a jury identifies deserving recipients through audition and competition.

The Bursary was created in 1979 by members of the NAC Orchestra as a gesture of appreciation to the audiences who had been so supportive of it during its first decade. It is meant to provide recognition and financial support to help further develop young musicians with connections to the National Capital Region (NCR). Funding for the award came initially came from two sources: the NAC Orchestra Bursary Fund created in 1979 by the members of the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the NAC Orchestra Trust (originally the Capital Trust founded in 1932 to benefit the Ottawa Philharmonic Society which on its demise in 1970 transferred the income to the NAC). It is now known as the NAC Orchestra Trust Fund.

In 1981, one prize of $1,000—the NAC Orchestra Bursary—was awarded. Thanks to the Fund’s growth and the generosity of private organizations and individuals in subsequent years, prizes total more than $28,000.

The 2026 competition will be open to wind, brass, and percussion students. 

ABOUT CANADA’S NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships.

The NAC Orchestra has also established a rich discography, including many of the over 80 orchestral works it has commissioned over the years. These include:

• Poema: Ad Astra, the first album in a four-part series exploring tone poems by Richard Strauss
• Two Orchestras, One Symphony, a grand-scale interpretation of the late Quebec composer Jacques Hétu’s monumental Symphony No. 5, produced in collaboration with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
• Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the NAC Orchestra
• Gabriel Dharmou’s the fog in our poise, a 2025 Juno nominee for Classical Composition of the Year (from Vestiges d’une fable)
• Clara - Robert - Johannes: a multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero
• Ana Sokolović’s Golden slumbers kiss your eyes, winner of the 2019 Juno for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 Juno-nominated New Worlds)
• The Bounds of Our Dreams, a 2020 Juno nominee for Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble) featuring Alain Lefèvre
• Life Reflected, which includes My Name is Amanda Todd by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 Juno for Classical Composition of the Year)
• A recording of Mozart piano concertos with Angela Hewitt, winner of the 2015 Juno for Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Noah Richardson
Communications Strategist
National Arts Centre Orchestra
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca
(613) 415-5208

April 8, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The countdown is on for the arrival at the National Arts Centre (NAC) of Mani Soleymanlou and his company Orange Noyée with the dramaturgical brainstorm Classique(s). Between a successful engagement—including several additional performances—at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (TNM) in Montreal and a sold-out run at Le Diamant in Quebec City, the merry band will light up the Babs Asper Theatre with a series of three performances for the general public, plus a matinee for local high school students.

“I’ve been picturing us on stage at the NAC for weeks. We’re sure having a great time at the TNM, it’s true, but performing at French Theatre is something else entirely. It feels like coming home with my gang to reconnect with an audience that can do it all—laugh, think, be shaken, be moved. I especially love that audience for its high standards, and that’s why I can’t wait to be back.”

—Mani Soleymanlou

What is a classic? Why are some plays still performed while others slumber under the thick blanket of time? Both eloquent and irreverent, Classique(s) is a joyful jumble of ideas about the works that make up what is known as “the repertoire.” Phaedra, Shylock, Antigone and other ghosts all appear to comment live (as it were) on our world in turmoil. Examining the unchanging Yesterday to understand the turbulent Today: the outstanding cast carries this off brilliantly, making this NAC French Theatre coproduction a hit with audiences and critics alike.

Ottawa-Gatineau audiences will have the pleasure of reuniting with some familiar faces, including Julie Le Breton, who moved us to tears last year in Rose et la machine, and Madeleine Sarr, the dazzling Cleopatra in Haentjens/Dalpé’s ROME and, more recently, the touching Nina in La mouette, a French Theatre production in 2024. The cast also includes Louise Cardinal, Martin Drainville, Kathleen Fortin, Jean-Moïse Martin, Benoit McGinnis, and, of course, Mani Soleymanlou. Alongside these eight exceptional actors, a pianist, a violinist and a cellist create an atmosphere that is ideal for the declamation of some of the most beautiful passages in the dramatic repertoire. Mani Soleymanlou co-wrote this spirited work with playwright and novelist Fanny Britt.

“Through the classics we explore in the show, but also through the very contemporary issues our alter egos tackle on stage, we gradually tamed our fears, cultivated our desire to get closer to each other, and began to take stock of our times, in order (in all humility!) genuinely to engage with them.”

—Fanny Britt and Mani Soleymanlou

That engagement, thanks to this “old yet new” look at our age in disarray, is real. And the result is as thought-provoking as it is enjoyable.

AÏDA REÇOIT FANNY BRITT

On Thursday, April 24, before the opening night performance of the show, since Mani Soleymanlou will be busy getting ready backstage, journalist Aïda Semlali (CBC Radio-Canada) will step in as host of the Grandes rencontres du Théâtre français discussion series with author Fanny Britt. The pre-show talk will start at 6:15 pm in the Al Zaibak Lantern Room.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Babs Asper Theatre

Thursday April 24 and Friday April 25 at 7:30 pm, and Saturday April 26 at 3 pm; the performance on Friday will be followed by a talkback.

It may be possible for members of the media to attend the matinee on April 25.

Duration: 2 hours without intermission

Tickets from $31

To purchases tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35959 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2024-2025 NAC French Theatre season.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

NAC Indigenous Theatre’s Artistic Director, Kevin Loring, will conduct general auditions at Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia in May, 2025.

ABOUT

The Indigenous Theatre department within the National Arts Centre was created to develop, nurture, and showcase Indigenous stories at community, national and international levels. Our mission is to honour our storytellers and thereby aid in the retention, resurgence and resilience of the multiple and diverse Indigenous cultures of this land.

NAC Indigenous Theatre’s Artistic Director, Kevin Loring, will be conducting general auditions, as an invitation to meet the Indigenous performer community.

Those selected to audition will be asked to prepare two contrasting monologues from plays written by Indigenous playwrights; each must be two minutes or less in length. For performers with a musical and/or dance background, you are welcome to (optional) prepare a song and/or movement piece no longer than one minute in length.

Please come prepared to showcase your unique talents and perspectives.

We also welcome playwrights, designers, and theatre creatives to sign up for a meeting with Kevin. We’d love to meet you and learn about the projects you are working on!

ROLES AVAILABLE

All roles for the 2025-26 season have been cast. General auditions are primarily a way to introduce yourself and your work. Participants in general auditions may be considered for:

• Roles in future productions
• Work in play development processes (readings, workshops, etc.)
• Participation in artistic development or training programs

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Auditions are by appointment only. Please note, we are currently not accepting video submissions or virtual auditions.

NAC Indigenous Theatre is eager to meet Indigenous performers from across Turtle Island and welcomes both CAEA members and non-members. NAC is committed to diversity and inclusion in a safe, supportive, welcoming work environment. Artists of all ages, genders, and abilities will be considered for roles where identity characteristics are not specific. Indigenous artists will be cast in Indigenous roles.

DATES AND LOCATIONS

Sunday, May 25, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM

Neptune Theatre, Pratt & Whitney Rehearsal Hall (1593 Argyle St.).

HOW TO APPLY

Audition applicants may either:

Submit their request through our online form: Audition Request

OR

Send an email to indigenoustheatre@nac-cna.ca; in the subject line, please write “Indigenous Theatre Audition.” If you are sending an email submission, please include your headshot, performance résumé, and a 150-word paragraph introducing yourself, the kind of work you enjoy, and your experience with creating and/or performing in Indigenous work in a traditional and/or contemporary context.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, May 16th at 11:59 PM

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage applicants to self-identify as members of the following designated groups: women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities.

Questions may be directed to Associate Producer, Brit Johnston, at indigenoustheatre@nac-cna.ca.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES

Ian Hobson
Communications Strategist, NAC Indigenous Theatre
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0742
ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra is thrilled to release its latest album, created in partnership with the multi-Juno and Grammy Award-winning violinist James Ehnes. On J.S. Bach: The Complete Violin Concertos, recorded in Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre, Ehnes reunites with the musicians of the NAC Orchestra to bring the legendary German composer’s violin concertos to life.

The landmark album includes Bach’s Violin Concerto in A minor, Violin Concerto in E major, Concerto for Two Violins, and Concerto for Flute, Violin, and Harpsichord alongside Ehnes’s own reconstructions of Bach’s Violin Concerto in D minor, Violin Concerto in G minor, Concerto for Oboe and Violin, and Concerto for Three Violins.

This ambitious project is not only a fulfillment of Ehnes’s longtime desire to present Bach’s violin concertos in their entirety but also an embodiment of an artistic partnership with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra that stretches back over three decades.

“I wanted to record them with the type of ensemble that could make a real impact,” Ehnes notes. “These players are some of my closest friends, even away from music. It was so special to dive into a project like this together with musicians with whom there’s no barrier of formality or unfamiliarity.”

“It’s pure joy!” adds NAC Orchestra Managing Director Nelson McDougall. “This latest release, with our good friend and frequent collaborator James Ehnes, showcases his unique and electric connection with the remarkable NAC Orchestra musicians.”

Ehnes debuted with the NAC Orchestra in 1993 when he was 17 and has since shared the stage with the ensemble countless times. He was the Orchestra’s first-ever Artist in Residence from 2021 to 2024 and a featured artist on several national and international tours, including its acclaimed performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2022.

The ensemble’s Concertmaster, Yosuke Kawasaki, joins Ehnes on Bach’s Double Violin Concerto, with Associate Concertmaster Jessica Linnebach completing the trio for the Concerto for Three Violins. The album also features Principal Oboe Charles Hamann, Principal Flute Joanna G’froerer, and guest harpsichordist Luc Beauséjour as soloists.

“It was an absolute delight for me as Concertmaster and a soloist to collaborate with our good friend James Ehnes on this album,” Kawasaki says. “Our Orchestra’s early roots developed in this kind of repertoire. Even though we have grown and evolved to play a much broader range of music, this partnership is a happy reminder of how wonderfully this Orchestra performs as such a responsive and flexible ensemble in works from Baroque.”

J.S. Bach: The Complete Violin Concertos is a powerful addition to the Orchestra’s discography, which has grown steadily in recent years under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley.

“I have so much respect for Canada’s NAC Orchestra and the National Arts Centre,” Ehnes says. “They’ve made a concerted effort for many years to be daring in their programming while not shying away from the core repertoire, which they do so well.”

The album is now available through leading music retailers and streaming platforms via the Analekta music label.

ABOUT CANADA’S NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships.

The NAC Orchestra has also established a rich discography, including many of the over 80 orchestral works it has commissioned over the years. These include:

• Poema: Ad Astra, the first album in a four-part series exploring tone poems by Richard Strauss
• Two Orchestras, One Symphony, a grand-scale interpretation of the late Quebec composer Jacques Hétu’s monumental Symphony No. 5, produced in collaboration with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
• Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the NAC Orchestra
• Gabriel Dharmou’s the fog in our poise, a 2025 Juno nominee for Classical Composition of the Year (from Vestiges d’une fable)
• Clara - Robert - Johannes: a multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero
• Ana Sokolović’s Golden slumbers kiss your eyes, winner of the 2019 Juno for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 Juno-nominated New Worlds)
• The Bounds of Our Dreams, a 2020 Juno nominee for Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble) featuring Alain Lefèvre
• Life Reflected, which includes My Name is Amanda Todd by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 Juno for Classical Composition of the Year)
• A recording of Mozart piano concertos with Angela Hewitt, winner of the 2015 Juno for Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment

ABOUT JAMES EHNES

James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after musicians on the international stage. Gifted with a rare combination of stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism, and unfaltering musicality, Ehnes is a favourite guest at the world’s most celebrated concert halls.

Recent orchestral highlights include engagements with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Throughout the 2024–2025 season, Ehnes will be Artist in Residence with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and will tour in Asia, where he will perform the complete Beethoven sonatas at Kioi Hall in Tokyo, as well as performances with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Alongside his concerto work, Ehnes maintains a busy recital schedule. He performs regularly at London’s Wigmore Hall (including the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas in 2019 and the complete violin/viola works of Brahms and Schumann in 2021 and 2022), New York’s Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Symphony Center, and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw, alongside appearances at Ravinia Festival, the Montreux-Vevey Classical Music Festival, the Verbier Festival, the Dresden Music Festival, and the Festival de Pâques d’Aix-en-Provence. A devoted chamber musician, he is the leader of the Ehnes Quartet and the Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

Ehnes has an extensive discography and has won many awards for his recordings, including two Grammy Awards, three Gramophone Awards, and 12 Juno Awards. Ehnes was named Artist of the Year at the 2021 Gramophone Classical Music Awards in celebration of his recent contributions to the recording industry, including the launch of a new online recital series entitled “Recitals from Home,” released in June 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of concert halls. Ehnes recorded Bach’s six sonatas and partitas and Ysaÿe’s six sonatas from his home with state-of-the-art recording equipment and released six episodes over two months. These recordings were met with great critical acclaim by audiences worldwide, and Le Devoir described Ehnes as “at the absolute forefront of the streaming evolution.”

Ehnes began violin studies at age five, became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin at age nine, and made his orchestra debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal at age 13. He continued his studies with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and The Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for outstanding achievement and leadership in music upon graduating in 1997. Ehnes is a Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, where he is a Visiting Professor of Violin. As of summer 2024, he is a Professor of Violin at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.

Ehnes plays the “Marsick” Stradivarius of 1715.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Noah Richardson
Communications Strategist, Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca
(613) 415-5208

March 18, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada). Critic’s Pick “This is a truthful, fearless piece of theatre from one of this country’s most uncompromising playwrights” – Aisling Murphy, Globe and Mail
 
After making its triumphant Canadian premiere at Crow’s Theatre in Toronto, Anusree Roy’s Trident Moon arrives at the NAC for a limited run in April. Directed by NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino, the production features an outstanding cast that includes Sahiba Arora, Afroza Banu, Sehar Bhojani, Michelle Mohammed, Muhaddisah, Imali Perera, Zorana Sadiq, Mirza Sahran, Prerna Nehta and playwright Roy herself. 

In August 1947, amid the chaos of a newly divided Hindustan, two Muslim women are abducted by two Hindu women, each pair travelling with a child, all crammed into the back of a speeding coal truck. The conflict inside mirrors the chaos in the streets, but when the truck unexpectedly halts and a stranger breaks open the door, the women must suddenly unite to survive. 

Trident Moon is a searing tale of families torn apart by religious violence, and women and children forced to summon unknown strengths in their quest for survival. Multi-award-winning playwright Anusree Roy paints a stark picture of India’s partition, thrusting us into its raw and ruthless aftermath. The result is an achingly beautiful story which unflinchingly confronts sectarian brutality with unexpected hope and resilience.

A remarkable masterwork and a finalist for the 2016 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Roy’s story vividly portrays the lives of women and children caught in the crossfire during a pivotal moment in world history. Though set in a different era, its impact resonates powerfully—its significance and urgency feel even greater in today’s political landscape.

“A tightly executed play with a heart-racing pulse, Trident Moon is more relevant than ever during the current political conflict.” – Lori Bosworth, Torontonicity.com

“A play that shows Anusree Roy at the top of her writing powers. It is astonishing. Beautifully directed by Nina Lee Aquino.” – Lynn Slotkin, The Slotkin Letter
 
TRIDENT MOON – APRIL 2 – 12, AZRIELI STUDIO 
 
An NAC English Theatre/Crow’s Theatre Co-production
 
Written by Anusree Roy; Directed by Nina Lee Aquino; featuring Sahiba Arora (Arun), Afroza Banu (Sumaiya), Sehar Bhojani (Bani), Michelle Mohammed (Munni), Muhaddisah (Pari), Prerna Nehta (Heera), Imali Perera (Rabia), Anusree Roy (Alo), Zorana Sadiq (Sonali), Mirza Sahran (Lovely); Set and Props Design by Jawon King; Costume Design by Ming Wong; Lighting Design by Michelle Ramsay; Sound Design and Composition by Romeo Candido; Fight and Intimacy Director Cara Rebecca; Stage Manager Tamara Protic; Assistant Stage Manager Alysse Szatkowski. 
 
PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 
For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35945 
 
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS   
   
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites. Special thank you to the Dr. Kanta Marwah Endowment for English Theatre.   
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE    
    
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

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March 19, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The National Arts Centre (NAC)’s National Creation Fund, which supports the development of new performing arts productions by Canadian artists and arts organizations, is proud to reach the 100th investment milestone with Empire of Wild, by the Toronto-based Canadian Opera Company (COC).

As a catalyst for bold artistic creation in Canada, the Fund invests between $80,000 and $240,000 in new performing arts productions. Its support contributes to the vibrancy of Canadian culture, rallying artists and audiences around bold creations that inspire and engage audiences with their quality and artistic innovation. These productions represent the thousands of companies, artists, and communities who continue to create despite innumerable challenges, and who are dedicated to offering their wildest dreams.

“Our work at the Fund is driven by a conviction in the power of creation as a means of evolving culture, of sparking innovation, and shaping our world. We believe that Canada lives through the stories we tell – and new stories, new ideas, and new dreams are required to meet this moment. We need stories that tell the world who we are,” said Sarah Conn, Artistic Producer, National Creation Fund. “The Fund is a chance for Canadians from coast to coast to coast to invest in our own culture, and in the new ambitious stories that will become beacons on national and international stages.”

By providing financial support, the Fund empowers artists to embark on ambitious and visionary projects, explore new artistic forms, embrace creative risks, and foster diverse collaborations to create long-lasting impact.

“The most impactful and resonant works are created through exploration, experimentation, and meaningful connections,” said Christopher Deacon, National Arts Centre President and CEO. The NAC is proud to empower Canadian artists to take risks. The National Creation Fund’s investments provide the additional time and resources that bold, ambitious projects need to be successful on the national and international stage.”

Highlights:

The National Creation Fund in numbers:

• The National Creation Fund has invested over $15 million in 100 Canadian performing arts projects since its first investment, back in 2018.
• Over 3,100 artists have worked on projects backed by the Fund.
• 89 of those 100 projects premiered on stages in 69 Canadian cities and towns, from Victoria to Happy Valley-Goose Bay to Iqaluit, and 11 are in development.
• The productions have been brought to many stages in other countries and festivals of international renown, with tours in 107 cities in 36 countries.
• These include the acclaimed Mahabharata by Why Not Theatre, the epic Un. Deux. Trois. by Mani Soleymanlou, Assembly Hall by Kidd Pivot, and The Storyville Mosquito by Kid Koala.
• This season, the Fund will help bring 10 inspiring, unforgettable productions to NAC stages—a record-breaking season.

HOW PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT DRIVES CREATION, AND THE ROLE OF THE FUND

Since its inception, the National Creation Fund has been supported by visionary donors across the country through the NAC Foundation. The generous support of donors provides creators with the time and space they need to bring their compelling stories to life on national and international stages. Donors make it possible for our artists to enrich the Canadian repertoire with creations that touch the hearts of generations of audience members.

“The incredible generosity of donors from across the country empowers Canadian artists to dream, create, and connect,” said Juniper Locilento, CEO of the NAC Foundation. “Thank you to the early investors who believed in the National Creation Fund’s vision – today we are seeing the remarkable impact you’ve made. And to everyone who has generously supported, thank you for fueling Canadian creativity. We look forward to seeing the fruit of the Fund’s next 100 investments!”

Many of the productions supported by the National Creation Fund are being presented on stages across Canada and abroad. You can find the full list of upcoming performances here.

ABOUT THE 100th INVESTMENT: EMPIRE OF WILD BY THE COC

The National Creation Fund announced a $200,000 investment in the Canadian Opera Company (COC)’s Empire of Wild. The NAC Orchestra and the NAC Indigenous Theatre are co-producing this new two-act opera, adapted from Métis author Cherie Dimaline’s novel of the same name. The opera’s music is by Métis composer Ian Cusson, and Algonquin author and playwright Yvette Nolan will be directing it.

“We are thrilled for the National Creation Fund’s generous support of Empire of Wild,” says COC General Director David C. Ferguson. “Our organizations have a rich history of bringing new stories to the stage and this most recent collaboration will enable our creators to focus entirely on the process of creating community-rooted storytelling that connects opera with more audiences than ever.”

“We’re so proud to support Ian, Cherie, Yvette and the whole team, and to offer an investment towards a collaborative, community-driven Indigenized creation process that honours and centers the perspectives of the Métis and broader Indigenous communities,” said Sarah Conn. This includes development workshops within the Georgian Bay Métis community, piano-vocal workshops with key community members, and an orchestral workshop for music and dramaturgical work.”

“It is so rare for opera to be conceived in and for community. This investment allows us to make large-scale opera in a new and different way—one that positions the community at the heart of the work throughout its creation process,” said Métis composer Ian Cusson. “The Georgian Bay Métis community has been telling our stories for nearly 200 years. To get to share one of these stories with a whole new audience and in a whole new way is a dream come true.”

More information about the COC’s Empire of Wild can be found here.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL CREATION FUND

The National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund makes transformative investments in the creation of bold new music, dance, theatre and interdisciplinary performances, and it is an incubator devoted to developing the conditions necessary to create incredible work. Fuelled by generous donors from across the country, the Fund aims to catalyze the creative dreams of Canadian artists, invite audiences to fall in love with artistic creation, and contribute to Canada’s cultural vibrancy. 

THANK YOU TO OUR NAC FOUNDATION DONORS

The generosity of NAC Foundation donors across the country fuels the National Creation Fund. A resounding thanks to all donors whose gifts—past and present—work to elevate creativity and innovation across Canada.

ABOUT THE NAC

The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Anicée Lejeune
Communications Strategist, Programs and Public Spaces
National Arts Centre
514 237-9553
anicee.lejeune@nac-cna.ca

March 10, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Although their artistic approaches and styles differ, the two productions presented by the National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre in March share a common thread: an exploration of human struggles that invariably offer insight into the complexity of social interactions and the realities of living together.

A tale of an ordinary resurrection

For two decades, Bienvenue aux dames! has been dedicated to collecting true stories to create humanistic and uplifting performances that address fundamental issues, such as Maurice.

Maurice Dancause is a brilliant economist whose life was upended at the age of 33 by a sudden stroke that altered his brain, personality, and relationship with language—forcing him into a daily battle with aphasia. In an unparalleled immersive performance based on interviews she conducted with him, Anne-Marie Olivier brings his journey of resilience to life, under the stripped-down yet powerful direction of Olivier Arteau. 

In this multiple award-winning undertaking, the Quebec-based author and actor presents a luminous production where theatre, improvisation, and documentary storytelling intertwine. Each performance is entirely unique, as each time a spectator is randomly selected from the audience to engage with the protagonist. 

Sold out since its premiere in 2022, Maurice is, above all, the story of an everyday hero who now feels freer and happier, discovering new ways to communicate and connect with the world. 

“Damn, we really need others! Maurice’s greatest thirst is for encounters with others—the ardent and sincere sharing of ideas that makes us less stupid and more enlightened. Let’s warm ourselves by that fire.” 

– Anne-Marie Olivier, author and actor (Maurice)

The sofa in all its forms

For over forty years, DynamO Théâtre has pursued a singular approach aimed at questioning, reflecting on, and defining the art of movement and clowning in theatre.

With Batailles (Battles), the Montreal-based company presents a playful, poetic, and acrobatic metaphor for our society. On a single couch, a few individuals struggle to find their place—and we can hardly blame them, given how comfortable, welcoming, and reassuring it is. The only problem? There isn’t enough room for everyone. A show where both young audiences (ages eight and up) and adults will recognize themselves… as long as they can embrace a little self-mockery! 

Some may still remember the true artistic and human quest that was Vipérine. Now, Pascal Brullemans returns to the NAC French Theatre with another philosophically tinged work for young audiences. Blending humor with sharp insights, the almost circus-like production—directed by Andréanne Joubert—proves, through sheer demonstration, that living together isn’t so simple… while also offering unexpected paths toward reconciliation: 

“Love will be our language 

this is what we will say 

when the dogs howl in anger and hunger 

to say and say again 

that our only wealth 

is being together. 

And as for the rest, 

we shall see.”

PERFORMANCES AND TICKET INFORMATION

Maurice

Azrieli Studio

Thursday March 20 and Friday March 21 at 8 pm, and Saturday March 22 at 4 pm

The performance on Friday will be followed by a talkback.

Duration: 1 hour and 15 minutes without intermission

Tickets $37

Anyone under the age of 30 is eligible for the Under30 program

To purchases tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35982 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS).

Batailles

Azrieli Studio

Saturday March 29 and Sunday March 30 at 3 pm

Duration: 50 minutes without intermission; tickets $15

Ages 8 and up

It may be possible for members of the media to attend one of the four matinees (March 26, 27 or 28).

To purchases tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35955 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS).

To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit.

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2024-2025 NAC French Theatre season.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

March 6, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The Secret to Good Tea, a poignant and transformative production focused on reconciliation through truth-telling, takes the stage at the National Arts Centre's Babs Asper Theatre from March 20-29. The play follows journalist Gwynn as she helps her mother, Maggie, share painful residential school experiences over cups of tea, turning decades of silence into understanding and healing.

Written by Rosanna Deerchild, host of CBC Radio's Unreserved and poet from O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, The Secret to Good Tea draws directly from her own conversations with her mother. This deeply personal work confronts intergenerational trauma, family ties, and the profound impact of revealing long-hidden truths.

Veteran actor and theatre instructor Marsha Knight brings Maggie to life, alongside actor, singer, and writer Michelle Bardach as Gwynn. Directed by Renae Morriseau, the production follows a successful run in London, Ontario, as a co-production between NAC Indigenous Theatre and London’s Grand Theatre.

A special "Secret Tea" blend, created by Algonquin herbologist and tea sommelier Kayoki Post-Whiteduck, complements the production. The blend, featuring traditional healing ingredients such as raspberry leaves, sweet fern, and pineapple sage, will be available for purchase at Equator Coffee (NAC) and Beandigen Café (Lansdowne) starting March 1.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/36003

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Indigenous Theatre at Canada’s National Arts Centre is made possible through the generous support of individuals and corporations from across the country. The National Arts Centre Foundation wishes to acknowledge the support of The Slaight Family Foundation, Presenting Sponsor BMO Financial Group, and Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites. Thank you also to Meta, Presenting Partner of #ReconcileThis.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Ian Hobson
Communications Strategist, NAC Indigenous Theatre
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0742
ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca

February 18, 2025 – OTTAWA – The National Arts Centre’s Annual Public Meeting, which takes place Wednesday, February 26 from 4 to 5 p.m. ET, will review the results of the NAC’s extraordinary 2023–2024 season, which featured partnerships with Canadian artists and arts organizations from across the country to help revitalize the performing arts sector.

“Since 2020, the National Arts Centre’s work has focused on leading and supporting the renewal of the Canadian performing arts,” said NAC President and CEO Christopher Deaon. “Central to that commitment is that we do this in partnership with others — with artists and arts organizations from across the country who are devoted to making the performing arts more engaging and welcoming to everyone. We are deeply grateful to all of our extraordinary partners, donors and audiences for their unwavering support.”

SPEAKERS

The NAC’s Annual Public Meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 26 from 4 to 5 p.m. ET in the NAC Fourth Stage and online at nac-cna.ca/publicmeeting. Speakers will include:

Guy Pratte, C.M., Chair, Board of Trustees
Christopher Deacon, President and CEO 
Annabelle Cloutier, Executive Director of Strategy and Communications

A question-and-answer period will follow the presentation. Please submit any questions to apm@nac-cna.ca. The webcast will be accessible in English and French and will include simultaneous sign-language interpretation. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NAC’s 2023–2024 SEASON

There were many highlights in the NAC’s 2023-2024 season:

The NAC Orchestra, led by Music Director Alexander Shelley, teamed up with l’Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, with Alberta pianist Kevin Chen, on a tour to Quebec City, Toronto and Ottawa. The program, recorded for future release to reach an even broader audience, included Symphony No. 5 by Quebec composer Jacques Hétu and the NAC commission Dark Nights, Bright Stars, Vast Universe by Canadian composer Kelly-Marie Murphy.

Prison Dancer, Canada’s first all-Filipino musical, enthralled NAC audiences. Created by Romeo Candido and Carmen de Jesus, the revival of Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre production was directed by Nina Lee Aquino, Artistic Director of English Theatre. Prison Dancer was developed with support from the National Creation Fund.

NAC Dance, led by Executive Producer Caroline Ohrt, worked with partners to help facilitate a six-city Canadian tour of Vástádus eana: The answer is land by the Sámi choreographer Elle Sofe Sara, a work that conveys the Sámi people’s efforts to battle injustice and retain and celebrate their culture. Indigenous Theatre and Dance, which co-presented the NAC performance, organized many events, including a joik workshop, a feast, and exchanges with Indigenous artists.

Native Earth Performing Arts (Toronto), the Great Canadian Theatre Company (Ottawa), and NAC Indigenous Theatre, led by Artistic Director Kevin Loring and Managing Director Lori Marchand, came together to co-produce Women of the Fur Trade by Frances Koncan. This funny, contemporary look at the fur trade and the forming of the Métis Nation from the perspective of women enjoyed a sold-out run at the NAC in January 2024, and was revived in Toronto in April.

In March, NAC French Theatre, led by Artistic Director Mani Soleymanlou, co-produced the world premiere of De glace, the latest new work by the Quebec children’s theatre company L’eau du bain. Anne-Marie Ouellet and her team orchestrated a spellbinding immersive theatre experience in which smoke and light reigned supreme, bringing to life a jewel of Nordic literature.

The NAC’s Popular Music and Variety series led by Executive Producer Heather Gibson, had another very successful season, presenting more than 100 emerging and established artists from across the country and around the world, including Anoushka Shankar, Bruce Cockburn, William Prince, Jeremy Dutcher, Anachnid, Ayrad, and Lisa LeBlanc, among many others. The department also presented touring musicals from Broadway Across Canada, provided professional development to emerging and mid-career artists, and created opportunities for Canadian artists to perform internationally.

The NAC’s first-ever Hip Hop Theatre Festival wholeheartedly welcomed new audiences from diverse communities (January 31-February 10). Curated by Rose-Ingrid Benjamin, Senior Strategist of Community and Partnerships, with Nina Lee Aquino, and presented in collaboration with Popular Music and Variety, the festival featured 57 artists across 10 events in 11 days.

The Global Network for Women Music Producers supports women and non-binary producers. In August 2024, participants from Australia, Argentina, Estonia, Sweden, Wales and Canada gathered in various locations around Wales, U.K., to share knowledge and showcase their music. The network is a NAC-led partnership with National Eisteddfod of Wales, Creative Wales, Sounds Australia, Music Estonia in collaboration with international music industry leaders.

The Resident Chef Program, which showcases chefs from across the country, is a catalyst for the ideas that spring forth when artists work together. Resident Chef Paul Toussaint of Montreal’s Kamúy restaurant created a five-course meal in collaboration with NAC Executive Chef Kenton Leier that delighted diners. Chef Toussaint spoke of being inspired by his NAC colleagues, and how, in the kitchen, “you’re always learning something new.”

The NAC’s Summer Programming included more than 200 performances and events in music, dance and theatre, many of them free and accessibly priced, in the NAC’s performance halls, on its rooftop Wood Terrace, and along the picturesque Rideau Canal. The lineup included a diverse array of Canadian, Indigenous, Latin and international artists, many of whom had never performed at the NAC, or were performing in Canada for the first time.

Reggae star Jah’Mila and her band performed for elementary school students from seven area schools at Woodlawn High School in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, joyfully connecting with them and sharing new sounds, experiences and cultures. The concert was a partnership between Arts Alive, the Halifax Regional Centre for Education, and the board’s Belle Vocci HRCE Honour Choir, who got to rehearse and perform with Jah’Mila.

The NAC continues to make progress on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism, Accessibility, and Environmental Sustainability. The NAC’s action plans and commitments in these areas are publicly available on the NAC’s website.

THE NAC IN 2024–2025

The 2024–2025 season features a broad range of exciting work by diverse artists and arts organizations on the NAC’s four stages. Across Canada, the NAC continues to play an active role by fostering new creation through the National Creation Fund and the NAC’s programming departments, offering professional development for artists and arts professionals, and supporting learning and engagement in communities across the country through Arts Alive. The NAC also helps Canadian artists shine on the world stage: the NAC is curating the Canadian performing arts programming at Expo 2025 Osaka (April-October 2025), and the NAC Orchestra is touring South Korea and Japan (May-June 2025).  Please visit nac-cna.ca to learn more about the NAC’s programming on its four stages, and to learn about its role in leading and supporting the renewal of the Canadian performing arts sector.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Mary Gordon
Senior Manager
Strategic Planning and Corporate Communications
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0747
Mary.Gordon@nac-cna.ca

February 10, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The National Arts Centre French Theatre has a very long list of events for the shortest month of the year! From Gatineau’s Palais des Congrès and Salle Jean-Despréz to the NAC’s Azrieli Studio, Mani Soleymanlou’s team has put together a program of readings, interviews, screening and performances, multiplying interconnections through several rich partnerships.

SALON DU LIVRE DE L’OUTAOUAIS

Again this year, the NAC will be represented by all its artistic disciplines at the Salon du livre de l’Outaouais (SLO). This is the public’s chance to speak with representatives from French, English and Indigenous Theatres, Orchestra, Dance, Popular Music and Variety, as well as Arts Alive about our different programming. Visit booth #1111 from Thursday, February 20, to Sunday, February 23, where there will even be some free performance tickets being given away!

Mani Soleymanlou will be in the spotlight at the literary gathering, providing an opportunity to showcase his own work as an author—he is among the SLO’s guests of honour. In addition to signing books and participating in the panel “Pas la langue dans sa poche: célébration multilingue,” the NAC French Theatre Artistic Director will exclusively unveil, as part of the event “Dynamiter les classiques” (Friday, February 21, at 7:30 p.m.), excerpts from his upcoming theatrical brainstorm Classiques(s) which will be presented at the NAC in April. This reading will be followed by a conversation with the show’s co-author, Fanny Britt, moderated by Aïda Semlali from CBC Radio-Canada. 

The full list of NAC activities at the SLO is available here.

PIERRE PERRAULT’S TURN

The month will culminate with the performance of Au cœur de la rose (Généalogie d’une tristesse) by the Montreal-based theatre company Pétrus, in co-production with the Festival TransAmériques and NAC French Theatre, from February 27 to March 1. Jérémie Niel’s spellbinding reinterpretation, which premiered to sold-out houses in spring 2024, is brought to life by a strong cast (Evelyne de la Chenelière, Marine Johnson, Marco Poulin, Sébastien Ricard, Nahéma Ricci, and Émile Schneider) who, to our great delight, performs this masterpiece by Pierre Perrault in which every line is a poem in itself:

“Don’t be afraid, Boiteux. I won’t hurl myself headlong from the bird cliff. Have no fear. I’ll keep my secret safe. And the thousands of children I will have will know nothing ... nothing ... not a thing ... and I will tell them stories of ghost ships so that they, too, will be wary of the open sea ...”

—The Girl

This bewitching maritime tale takes place on an island with a lighthouse, where a pair of taciturn parents live with their daughter, portrayed by the dazzling Nahéma Ricci, breakout star of the film Antigone by Sophie Deraspe. One day during a storm, the sea spits out a schooner, along with its captain and sailor. The young woman is immediately struck by a passion and zeal for exile as she strikes out for freedom. When a heart aflame stands up to the establishment, a storm is due, and no one can say which way the wind will blow…

“Whereas the filmmaker succeeded in giving an almost fictional dimension to the real people in his documentaries, in Au cœur de la rose he seems to have wanted to invest his fictional characters with an equally disturbing degree of verisimilitude.”

—Denis Marleau, who directed the original play in 2002

As a prelude to the presentation of the show, which is being revived at the NAC for the first time since its creation, there will be a screening of Pierre Perrault and Michel Brault’s film Pour la suite du monde on Monday, February 24, at 7:00 p.m. in the Salle Jean-Despréz (Maison du Citoyen, Gatineau), in the presence of director Jérémie Niel. This screening is a free event presented by Ciné Jonction in collaboration with the NAC French Theatre, the Alliance Française of Ottawa, and the Salon du livre de l’Outaouais. Reservation required.

All these activities are in addition to those already underway. Since the beginning of the month, Ottawa–Gatineau writer Louis-Philippe Roy has been putting pen to paper as part of the eighth leg of the Canada-wide Nuits claires project. As well, the entire Elgin Street building is abuzz with preparations for the BIG BANG Festival, whose centrepiece will be the show Maputo-Mozambique, also presented by NAC French Theatre, thus confirming the discipline’s leading role in the region’s artistic community.

MANI REÇOIT JÉRÉMIE NIEL

On Thursday, February 27, the opening night of Au cœur de la rose, Mani Soleymanlou will be joined by director Jérémie Niel as part of the Grandes rencontres du Théâtre français discussion series. The conversation will begin at 6:45 p.m. in the NAC Salon.

AU CŒUR DE LA ROSE PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Azrieli Studio

Thursday February 27 and Friday February 28 at 8 pm, and Saturday March 1 at 4 pm

The performance on Friday will be followed by a talkback.

Duration: 1 hour and 50 minutes without intermission

Tickets from $37

Anyone under the age of 30 is eligible for the Under30 program

To purchases tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35953 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS).To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2024-2025 NAC French Theatre season.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

January 30, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada). Do you know the story behind the face of Canada’s ten-dollar bill? 

On November 8, 1946, Viola Desmond entered the whites-only section of the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Unaware that the theatre was segregated, Viola took a seat on the main floor instead of the balcony where Black patrons were expected to sit.

Although she offered to pay the one cent tax difference, Viola was dragged from the theatre, jailed, and charged with tax evasion. As a result, her life underwent a dramatic shift, marked by the legal battles she faced, the challenges to her personal life and business, and her rise as an enduring source of inspiration.

Award-winning playwright Andrea Scott examines the life of this trailblazing Canadian civil rights figure and how her act of bravery in a small town cinema set off a powerful wave of change. A seemingly ordinary woman thrust reluctantly into greatness by an unyielding, prejudiced world, Viola never wavered — even when the personal toll weighed heavily on her and those who loved her. 

Directed by Cherissa Richards, this new production arrives after a much-anticipated run at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax. Controlled Damage honours Viola and her tenacity as a Black woman entrepreneur as well as her inspirational role for future generations.

This portrayal of a renowned icon offers a poignant reminder of the ongoing struggle for social justice in Canada.  

BLACK OUT NIGHT 

On February 15, 2025, NAC English Theatre will host a Black Out Night that will coincide with the evening performance of Controlled Damage. NAC Black Out Nights showcase the vibrant spectrum of the Black experience and offer Black audiences, and their guests, an opportunity to enjoy performances with their community. As always, everyone is welcome to join the Black Out Night during the performance of Controlled Damage, fostering a spirit of inclusivity and celebration.  

The evening will feature a pre-show chat, an engaging conversation with Controlled Damage Director Cherissa Richards and professor and award-winning journalist Nana aba Duncan, as they chat about Andrea Scott’s play, giving insight into the story and Canadian icon Viola Desmond.

Following the performance, Renaissance: Official Black Out Night After Party, curated by Hors Pair Social, will begin. Show attendees are invited to step back in time and revel in an evening inspired by the glamour of the Harlem Renaissance and the Roaring Twenties. Embracing the spirit of the era—guests are encouraged to dress to impress in period-inspired attire!

For tickets - https://arts.nac-cna.ca/en/syos/performance/9462

CONTROLLED DAMAGE – FEBRUARY 13 - 22, BABS ASPER THEATRE 
 
An NAC English Theatre/Neptune Theatre Production.

Written by Andrea Scott; Directed by Cherissa Richards; featuring Matthew G. Brown, Deborah Castrilli, Sarah Frank, Cameron Grant, JD Leslie, Julie Martell, Lisa Nasson, Riel Reddick-Stevens, Andrew Shaver, Jeremiah Sparks. Musical Director Jeremiah Sparks; Set and Costume Designer Rachel Forbes; Lighting Designer Leigh Ann Vardy; Projection Designer Aaron Collier; Sound Designer Troy Slocum;  Fight Director Karen Bassett; Stage Manager Christine Oakey; Assistant Stage Manager Kevin Olson; Chrysalis Director Daniel Nwobi.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35938
 
ASL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCE 
 
On February 22 at 2 pm, the performance will be ASL Interpreted, with a specific seating section made available for those accessing the interpretation. For more information and to reserve tickets to the ASL Interpreted Performance, please contact Aimee Bouchard, Learning Coordinator for English Theatre at aimee.bouchard@nac-cna.ca 

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS   
 
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites. Special thank you to the Dr. Kanta Marwah Endowment for English Theatre. Thank you to Winterlude, the annual winter festival in Ottawa-Gatineau.
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE    
 
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

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Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) is celebrating an important milestone in its visionary recording project devoted to the tone poems of Richard Strauss. Poema: Ad Astra, the first of four albums fusing Strauss’s creative brilliance with contemporary works by leading Canadian composers, is now available for purchase and streaming worldwide via the Analekta music label.

This latest addition to NACO’s award-winning discography pairs Strauss’s Don Juan with Kelly-Marie Murphy’s Dark Nights, Bright Stars, Vast Universe and Death and Transfiguration with Kevin Lau’s The Infinite Reaches. The NAC Orchestra commissioned both pieces and premiered them in Southam Hall in 2023.

Strauss has long been a favourite composer of the National Arts Centre Orchestra’s Music Director, Alexander Shelley. He debuted with NACO in 2009 as a guest conductor for a concert program that included Don Juan and is now in his tenth season leading the ensemble. Shelley and NACO first announced their ambitious Strauss recording cycle in the fall of 2023.

The multi-season project expands upon the success of Clara – Robert – Johannes, the Orchestra’s critically acclaimed eight-disk box set exploring the music of Johannes Brahms and Robert and Clara Schumann. The two compositions included in this first volume complement Strauss’s work while showcasing Canadian artistic excellence.

“I gave the composers free rein in how they responded to a particular tone poem. It’s been fascinating to see how they have approached the task and the wonderful individual perspectives they’ve brought to it,” Shelley says. The new pieces on this first album are contrasting and speak to the fact that we live in an age where composers can go in whatever direction they choose.”

In Dark Nights, Bright Stars, Vast Universe, Ottawa-based composer Kelly-Marie Murphy responds to Strauss by examining other notable events that occurred while he was writing Don Juan.

“One significant event for me was Vincent van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night in 1889,” Murphy recalls. “Another was the discovery of the Horsehead Nebula by Williamina Fleming in 1888. Fleming was one of a group of women who were taught to analyze stellar spectra and catalogue stars for astronomers at the Harvard College Observatory. Her extraordinary life became the subject of my tone poem.” Murphy adds that her piece engages with several themes: “questioning, searching and curiosity, perseverance and determination, and the beauty of the starry sky.”

The Infinite Reaches, meanwhile, is the result of composer and pianist Kevin Lau’s desire to create a genuine modern-day interpretation of Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration.

“I gravitated immediately toward it,” Lau says. Its gripping, transcendent musical narrative resonated powerfully with my own creative sensibilities. At the same time, its central, existential question–what lies beyond death–had begun to occupy my own thoughts with increasing regularity.”

Alexander Shelley and the NAC Orchestra will grow their Strauss series over the next two seasons with additional commissioned companion pieces from Canadian or Canada-based composers. Subsequent recordings will focus on Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra (paired with Ian Cusson’s IQ84), Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks and the Suite from Der Rosenkavalier (featuring new works by Alexina Louie and John Estacio), and Ein Heldenleben (joined with a work yet to be commissioned). NACO will release them individually and then as a four-disc box set.

ABOUT CANADA’S NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships. 

The NAC Orchestra has also established a rich discography, including many of the over 80 orchestral works it has commissioned over the years. These include: 

• The 2024 album Two Orchestras, One Symphony, a grand-scale interpretation of the late Quebec composer Jacques Hétu’s monumental Symphony No. 5., produced in collaboration with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
• The 2024 album Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the NAC Orchestra.
• Clara - Robert - Johannes: a multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero. 
• The groundbreaking Life Reflected, which includes “My Name is Amanda Todd” by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 Juno for Classical Composition of the Year). 
• Ana Sokolović’s “Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes,” 2019 Juno winner for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 Juno-nominated New Worlds).
• The 2020 Juno-nominated The Bounds of Our Dreams featuring pianist Alain Lefèvre. 
• Angela Hewitt’s 2015 Juno Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos. 

ABOUT ALEXANDER SHELLEY

Alexander Shelley succeeded Pinchas Zukerman as Music Director of Canada’s NAC Orchestra in September 2015. The ensemble has since been praised as being “transformed, hungry, bold, and unleashed” (Ottawa Citizen) and Shelley’s programming is credited for turning the Orchestra into “one of the more audacious in North America” (Maclean’s). 

Shelley is a champion of Canadian creation. Recent hallmarks include multimedia projects Life Reflected and UNDISRUPTED and three major new ballets in partnership with NAC Dance for Encount3rs. He is passionate about arts education and nurturing the next generation of musicians. He is an Ambassador for Ottawa’s OrKidstra, a charitable social development program that teaches children life skills through making music together. 

In April 2022, Shelley debuted at Carnegie Hall with the NAC Orchestra in its long-awaited return. In the spring of 2019, he led the Orchestra on its critically acclaimed 50th-anniversary European tour, with stops in London, Paris, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. 

Shelley is also the Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Music Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. Shelley will also be the next Artistic and Music Director of the Pacific Symphony in Los Angeles’s Orange County. The initial five-year term begins in the 2026–2027 season, with Shelley serving as Music Director-Designate from September 2025.

Previous releases with the NAC Orchestra include the Juno-nominated New Worlds, Life Reflected, ENCOUNT3RS, The Bounds of Our Dreams, the acclaimed multi-volume Clara - Robert - Johannes series, all with Canadian label Analekta, Truth in Our Time with Orange Mountain Music, and Two Orchestras, One Symphony with Analekta. 

ABOUT KELLY MARIE-MURPHY

With music described as “breathtaking” (Kitchener-Waterloo Record), “imaginative and expressive” (The National Post), “a pulse-pounding barrage on the senses” (The Globe and Mail), and “Bartok on steroids” (Birmingham News), Kelly-Marie Murphy’s voice is well known on the Canadian music scene. She has received many prizes, nationally and internationally, including the Azrieli Music Prize and the Leger Prize.

Murphy was born on a NATO base in Sardegna, Italy, and grew up on Canadian Armed Forces bases all across Canada. She began her studies in composition at the University of Calgary with William Jordan and Allan Bell and later received a PhD in composition from the University of Leeds, England, where she studied with Philip Wilby. After living and working for many years in the Washington, D.C., area, where she was designated “an alien of extraordinary ability” by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, she is now based in Ottawa, quietly pursuing a career as a freelance composer.

ABOUT KEVIN LAU

One of Canada’s most versatile and sought-after young composers, Kevin Lau (born in 1982), has been commissioned by some of Canada’s most prominent artists and ensembles, and his work has been performed internationally in the United States, France, Denmark, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. A prolific composer of orchestral, chamber, ballet, opera, and film music, he served as Affiliate Composer of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 2012 to 2015. To date, he has produced seven works for the TSO. Shortly after, he was commissioned to write two ballets with choreographer Guillaume Côté: a full-length ballet (Le Petit Prince) for the National Ballet of Canada and a half-hour ballet (Dark Angels) for the National Arts Centre Orchestra. He served as Composer in Residence for the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra from 2021 to 2023.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.  

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Noah Richardson
Communications Strategist, NAC Orchestra 
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca
(613) 415-5208

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) is proud to announce the launch of its latest international tour. This major tour will see the Orchestra, led by Music Director Alexander Shelley, return to Japan for the first time in 40 years and debut in the Republic of Korea. NACO and Shelley, along with star pianists Yeol Eum Son (in Korea) and Olga Scheps (in Japan), will visit and perform in six cities at some of the world’s most renowned concert halls, including Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and the Seoul Arts Center.

The Orchestra’s concert in Seoul on May 31 will be a signature event at the closing of the Korea-Canada Year of Cultural Exchanges. NACO will also perform at Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan to help mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Canadian jazz legend Oscar Peterson by collaborating with the Oscar Peterson Centennial Quartet, led by Canadian pianist Robi Botos. Together, they will present the world premiere of a newly commissioned arrangement of Peterson’s Trail of Dreams.

This tour will also provide cultural exchange opportunities for youth and support the professional development of emerging talent, including past participants of the NAC Orchestra Mentorship and Conductor Development programs.

“This journey is not only a series of concerts in iconic halls. It’s about cultural exchange, community engagement with youth and families, and supporting the next generation of professional artists,” says Alexander Shelley. “The NAC Orchestra is committed to creating these important opportunities when it tours.”

Ottawa’s OrKidstra, Sistema New Brunswick, Friends of El Sistema Japan, and Orchestra of Dream (El Sistema Korea) are a few of the organizations that will collaborate with NACO and its artistic guests to share community engagement and cultural exchange activities. From performances to workshops to masterclasses, these opportunities will foster meaningful and lasting connections, highlighting the importance of sharing arts and culture across borders.

This tour is the NAC Orchestra’s 99th since its founding in 1969 and a signature part of its 2024–2025 season, which marks Shelley’s tenth anniversary as Music Director. Under Shelley’s leadership, NACO has proudly embraced its national mandate to share music-making with as many people as possible, including supporting the next generation of Canadian composers by commissioning new works and bringing them to the global stage. During the tour, the Orchestra will present the international premieres of works by Canadian composers Kelly-Marie Murphy and Keiko Devaux.

“Our tour to Korea and Japan is an opportunity for the members of this Orchestra to play a vital role for Canada as cultural ambassadors, something they excel at, says NAC Orchestra Managing Director Nelson McDougall. “Our concert repertoire will shine an international spotlight on our exceptional Canadian musicians and composers and the emerging artistic talent from our Mentorship Program. We also look forward to cultural exchange opportunities in partnership with leading academic and social development organizations in Canada, Japan, and Korea. Music is a truly universal language. We have the responsibility to use it to bring us closer together.”

As it prepares for this exciting journey, NACO will hold a free tour send-off concert at its home base, Southam Hall, on May 20, featuring Alexander Shelley and Olga Scheps. Full details on the program will be shared later. The Orchestra departs Ottawa for Korea on May 25, returning to Canada on June 8.

Tour highlights (Republic of Korea):

• Performance at Busan Citizen’s Hall in Busan (May 29)
• Performance at the Gumi City Culture and Arts Center in Gumi (May 30)
• Performance at the Seoul Arts Centre in Seoul (May 31)

Tour highlights (Japan):

• Performance at Suntory Hall in Tokyo (June 3)
• Performance at the Mie Center for the Arts in Tsu (June 5)
• Performance at World Expo 2025 in Osaka (June 6)
• Performance at the Symphony Hall in Osaka (June 7)

ABOUT CANADA’S NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships. 

The NAC Orchestra has also established a rich discography, including many of the over 80 orchestral works it has commissioned over the years. These include: 

• Two Orchestras, One Symphony, a grand-scale interpretation of the late Quebec composer Jacques Hétu’s monumental Symphony No. 5., produced in collaboration with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
• Truth in Our Time, which features the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the NAC Orchestra
• Clara - Robert - Johannes: a multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero
• The groundbreaking Life Reflected, which includes “My Name is Amanda Todd” by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 Juno for Classical Composition of the Year)
• Ana Sokolović’s “Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes (the 2019 Juno winner for Classical Composition of the Year from the 2019 Juno-nominated New Worlds)
• The 2020 Juno-nominated The Bounds of Our Dreams featuring pianist Alain Lefèvre

ABOUT ALEXANDER SHELLEY

Alexander Shelley succeeded Pinchas Zukerman as Music Director of Canada’s NAC Orchestra in September 2015. The ensemble has since been praised as being “transformed, hungry, bold, and unleashed” (Ottawa Citizen) and Shelley’s programming is credited for turning the Orchestra into “one of the more audacious in North America” (Maclean’s).

Shelley is a champion of Canadian creation. Recent hallmarks include multimedia projects Life Reflected and UNDISRUPTED and three major new ballets in partnership with NAC Dance for Encount3rs. He is passionate about arts education and nurturing the next generation of musicians. He is an Ambassador for Ottawa’s OrKidstra, a charitable social development program that teaches children life skills through making music together. 

In April 2022, Shelley debuted at Carnegie Hall with the NAC Orchestra in its long-awaited return. In the spring of 2019, he led the Orchestra on its critically acclaimed 50th-anniversary European tour, with stops in London, Paris, Copenhagen, and Stockholm.

Shelley is also the Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Music Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. Shelley will also be the next Artistic and Music Director of the Pacific Symphony in Los Angeles’s Orange County. The initial five-year term begins in the 2026–2027 season, with Shelley serving as Music Director-Designate from September 2025.

Shelley’s previous releases with the NAC Orchestra include the Juno-nominated New Worlds, Life Reflected, ENCOUNT3RS, The Bounds of Our Dreams, the acclaimed multi-volume Clara - Robert - Johannes series, all with Canadian label Analekta, the Truth in Our Time with Orange Mountain Music, and Two Orchestras, One Symphony also with Analekta. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.  

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Noah Richardson 
Communications Strategist, NAC Orchestra 
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca 
(613) 415-5208

From musical juggling and percussive dance with Maputo-Mozambique, to the buzzing rhythms of Moskitto Bar and hip-hop fanfare from Montreal’s Basement Brass- there are lots of activities to enjoy both for free and at family-friendly prices. Get your Latin music fix with El Balcón or try out one of the festival’s mini-concerts with the Music Rooms series for some tap dancing, drum dancing, or even a little musical carpentry.

For this 7th edition, attendees can join a wild costume ball with a DJ, and even visit an interactive sound installation that features a toilet. Since 2019, the BIG BANG Festival has attracted thousands of young visitors and their families to the NAC.

“The BIG BANG is a joyful surprise. While some of our staples return year after year, that doesn't stop us from wanting to surprise you! What we love most of all is seeing the amazement in your eyes.”

Mélanie Dumont, Curator of BIG BANG Festival Ottawa

Kids are at the heart of the BIG BANG Festival. The 2025 edition will feature a performance project, NOMAD, in which a group of intermediate students from Alta Vista Public School will work with international artist Ceren Oran to prepare a Soundpainting performance. Also, it would not be a BIG BANG Festival without a superstar crew of young Ambassadors. This lively bunch of ten local kids will act as hosts and are ready to welcome families and artists. 

Explore the full program at www.bigbangfestival.ca  

TICKETED EVENTS

Families will find accessible prices with ticketed events ranging from $7-$15.

Maputo-Mozambique
February 15 & 16 | $15 
60 minutes ● No dialogue ● Ages 6-12 

Body Beatbox

Time to shake it all off! In this lively show featuring juggling, rhythmic songs and percussive dance, four stunning performers dazzle us with sight and sound. The incredible memories from this show will sustain you for the rest of the year.

Produced by Compagnie TG

El Balcón
February 15 | $15 
45 minutes ● Multilingual ● Ages 5+ 

New wave Latin music fun!   

Explosive energy and a lot of fun! El Balcón captivates audiences with fiery stage presence and dynamic sound. Leading the new wave of original Latin music in Quebec, this close-knit group stands out for its palpable camaraderie. With a unique blend of musical styles, Montreal’s El Balcón is sure to fill your heart and have you moving your feet!

Moskitto Bar
February 16 | $15 
45 minutes ● Multilingual ● Ages 5+ 

Rhythms that will have you buzzing

Named after the ravenous Northern Ontario mosquitoes that joyfully feasted on the three founding bandmates during their original rehearsals, this group will have you itching to dance! Hailing from the vibrant melting pot of Toronto, Moskitto Bar weaves together a beautiful and original mix of Ukrainian, Balkan, Iraqi Middle-Eastern, and French Celtic music.

Music Rooms
February 15 & 16 | $7
20 minutes ● Multilingual ● Ages 5+  

À la carte micro-concerts

With just a small group of audience members and an accessible price, these micro-concerts are a festival favourite. Enjoy the casual atmosphere, as artists perform in tucked-away and mysterious NAC settings. There will be three Music Rooms to choose from in 2025, featuring tap dancing with a twist, a little musical carpentry, and some drum dancing that will require you to wear your jacket and boots.

Music Rooms 1: Pierre-Luc Clément & David Lafleur
Music Rooms 2: Chantale Boulianne & Sara Létourneau
Music Rooms 3: Sylvia Cloutier

FREE ACTIVITIES AND SHOWS

Basement Brass
February 15 & 16 | Free | 3 Showtimes each day
Bilingual ● For all ages

Hip-hop fanfare

Fusing hip-hop and traditional New Orleans brass tactics, this young Montreal group knows how to crank up the energy and get everybody on their feet! With a lineup of brass instruments, percussion, bass and vocals, Basement Brass is known for high-energy performances. There ain't no party like a Basement Brass party!

NOMAD
February 15 & 16 | Free | 2 Showtimes each day
Multilingual ● For all ages

A Soundpainting project

NOMAD is a recurring artistic project at BIG BANG Festivals across Europe and here at the NAC. This year we welcome Ceren Oran, a multi-disciplinary artist, born in Istanbul and currently based in Germany. She is teamed up with a group of intermediate students from Alta Vista Public School.

PARTY ANIMALS
February 15 & 16 | Free
Multilingual ● For all ages

A wild costume ball 

It's time to put on a zany outfit and give it your all on the dance floor! PARTY ANIMALS starts with a visit to the costume shop, stocked with animal prints, fluorescent ponchos and lots of sequins. Select some fabulous accessories and then join DJ Rise Ashen on the dance floor. Let your inner animal emerge as you shimmy and shake to the electrifying beat.

The Water Fountain
February 15 & 16 | Free
Without words ● For all ages

Playful acoustics 

Inspired by the "string telephone" and "playground telephone tubes", The Water Fountain is an interactive sculpture designed specifically for the BIG BANG Festival and its young audience. The sound transmitters/receivers in this case are not your average tin cans… Are you game to stick your head in a toilet?

Klank de Kleuren - Tone the Colours
February 15 & 16 | Free
Bilingual ● Ages 5+

Interactive audio trip

Choose your favourite track and dive into a world where sounds, movement and words blend together to create a colourful journey. Headphones on, get set for an exciting audio adventure! Here, words and sounds propel you into space. They make you move-sometimes on your own, sometimes in harmony with others around you.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Photos of featured productions and festival creative are available here.

WHAT MAKES THE BIG BANG UNIQUE? 
The BIG BANG is a one-of-a-kind festival of musical adventures. It invites children and their families on a colourful journey featuring a rich array of sound concepts whose diversity and originality make the festival a hit wherever it goes.

The BIG BANG loves to travel, and what’s more, it loves to take visitors of all ages on adventures. It builds on the legacy of the OORSMEER festival, founded by Wouter Van Looy in 1995, to offer children an artistic and musical program designed specifically for them, and which they even help deliver by participating in certain interactive installations.

Since its inception, the festival has travelled to several European cities, from Tallinn to Lisbon, from Antwerp to Athens, from Seville to Dublin, from Lille to Enschede, via Ghent, Brussels, Rouen, Reykjavik and Copenhagen. In 2019, the event took a giant leap across the ocean to land in its first North American city: Ottawa! Since then, each edition has been a resounding success, bringing together thousands of curious people attracted by the many guest artists and invigorating performances and micro-concerts.

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR BIG BANG FRIENDS 
The Ottawa presentation of the BIG BANG is the result of the NAC’s relationship with Belgium’s Zonzo Compagnie, which specializes in musical theatre for young audiences and is directed by Wouter Van Looy. In recent years the NAC has presented several Zonzo performances, including Listen to the Silence, set to the music of John Cage; Slumberland, an exploration of the world of dreams and the night; Mile(s)tones, a show about legendary jazzman Miles Davis; HUSH: Henry’s Dream Machine, an off-the-wall concert-performance about Henry Purcell, and roundABOUT # Tsubasa Hori at last year's BIG BANG Festival. The BIG BANG is an initiative of Zonzo Compagnie.

The French Embassy in Canada provided support for the Maputo-Mozambique presentation. The 2025 Ottawa edition of the festival also received support from the Goethe-Institut for NOMAD, and from the Embassy of Belgium in Canada. The 2025 festival will be in full swing during Winterlude.

ABOUT THE NAC
The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

January 9, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada). Following an unprecedented World Premiere at the Stratford Festival, Salesman in China swiftly rose to prominence as one of 2024 standout hits. Now, this highly praised production is set to launch 2025 with a limited run at the NAC.

Forty Years ago, a bold collaboration came together and revolutionized the theatre world.In 1983, legendary playwright Arthur Miller embarked on an audacious journey to China, joining forces with theatre luminary Ying Ruocheng and the Beijing People's Art Theatre. Their ambitious project? Staging a Mandarin-language production of Death of a Salesman, with Ying portraying the iconic Willy Loman and Miller – despite not speaking a word of Mandarin – directing. 

Facing the monumental challenge of presenting a play deeply rooted in the American Dream to a Communist Chinese audience, Ying and Miller grapple with logistical and personal obstacles, while operating under the scrutiny of a global audience. Skillfully navigating clashing worldviews and external pressures, their experience serves as a litmus test for the power of art to bring these two polarized worlds together.

Drawing inspiration from the memoirs of Miller and Ying, playwrights Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy take audiences from the rehearsal hall to opening night and unveil the unlikely East-West collaboration that forged a daring international alliance on the stage.

The acclaim for Salesman in China continues, as playwrights Brodie and Sy were recently awarded the 2024 Quebec Writers Federation Prize for Playwriting. Due to overwhelming demand for the run in Ottawa, an additional matinee performance has been scheduled for Saturday, January 18.

“Salesman in China is a brilliant new play, fully ready to take the world’s stages by storm.” – J. Kelly Nestruck, The Globe and Mail 

“A First-Class Production.” – Charles Isherwood, The Wall Street Journal

“Simply Breathtaking.” – Joshua Chong, Toronto Star

 
SALESMAN IN CHINA – JANUARY 16 – 25, BABS ASPER THEATRE 
 
An NAC English Theatre revival of the Stratford Festival Production.
 
Written by Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy; Suggested by the Memoirs of  Arthur Miller and Ying Ruocheng; Chinese translations by Fang Zhang; Directed by Jovanni Sy; featuring George Chiang 江重仁, Jo Chim 詹翠珊, Harriet Chung 鍾浩賢, Howard Dai 戴中豪, Tai Wei Foo 符岱微, Steven Hao 郝邦宇, Sterling Henry, Victoria Henry, Kim Horsman, Phoebe Hu  胡馨勻, Ziye Hu, Derek Kwan 關顯揚, Nestor Lozano Jr., Jordan Mah, Tom McCamus, Gordon S. Miller, Sarah Orenstein, Adrian Pang 彭耀順, Agnes Tong 唐若馨, Nick Fangzheng Wang 王方正, Angus Yam 任孝聰, Harmony Yen. Set Design by Joanna Yu; Costume Design by Ming Wong; Lighting Design by Sophie Tang; Associate Lightjng Design by Michael Walton; Composer and Sound Design by Alessandro Juliani; Co-Projection Designers & Surtitle System Designers Chimerik 似不像 (Caroline MacCaull & Sammy Chien); Co-Dramaturgs Nina Lee Aquino and Bob White; Assistant Director Nick Fangzheng Wang 王方正; Fight Director Anita Nittoly; Movement Director Harriet Chung 鍾浩賢; Stage Manager Bona Duncan; Assistant Stage Managers Erika Morey, Ken James Stewart, Yvonne Yip 葉澔暉.

Literary Acknowledgements :
Salesman in Beijing
by Arthur Miller with photographs by Inge Morath
Voices Carry: Behind Bars and Backstage during China's Revolution and Reform
by Ying Ruocheng and Claire Conceison
Death of a Salesman
a play by Arthur Miller, Chinese translation by Ying Ruocheng

Presented in English and Mandarin, with surtitles. 

Salesman in China is produced by permission of the Playwrights and Marquis Literary (Colin Rivers) http://www.MQlit.ca,
 
PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35938
 
NAC NATIONAL CREATION FUND 
   
The National Creation Fund’s investment of $150,000 supported the development of new surtitling technology as well as an expanded development and rehearsal process for the English and Mandarin-speaking cast.

“Salesman in China is a triumphant creation of towering ambition. We were honoured to invest in the creative infrastructure that made this groundbreaking multilingual work possible.” - Sarah Conn, Artistic Producer, National Creation Fund.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS   
   
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites. Special thank you to the Dr. Kanta Marwah Endowment for English Theatre.   
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE    
    
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

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January 7, 2025 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre’s new lab follows in the footsteps of a long tradition of intensive sessions in the stage professions. These labs—first launched by Denis Marleau (2002-2008), taken up by Wajdi Mouawad (2009-2012) and now revived by Mani Soleymanlou—are master classes that have led to new projects, friendships, collaborations and even life callings. 

The Regarder autrement: théâtres des possibles (Looking at things differently: Theatres of possibilities) creation lab, directed by Jasmine Catudal, invites you to open your eyes to the unseen, to crack rigid frameworks and let art emerge from the most unexpected of places. Seeing is a radical, political act of making a statement to the whole world and diving into the urgency of the present. It’s not about repeating the things we already know, but about daring to take a step, faltering, and then creating out of that mix of chaos and clarity. And understanding that our view of the world is built on difference: what we see is shaped by others, a never-ending dialogue between what lies within us and what lies beyond. 

This lab also extends the artistic act with reflections on the practical realities of creation. Design, creative, organizational and structural tools are used to support a vision. These elements are so much more than technical; they shape intention and fuel the creative process, transforming an idea into a tangible, meaningful piece. 

Explore, deconstruct, question: these are the fundamentals of this space. What does it mean to have a vision? How do you transform and give life to an idea? How do you name the intangible without holding it captive? Participants will work on organizing their ideas, refining their words and clarifying their intentions with exacting authenticity, all to draw out the powerful, essential message within. 

This space of exploration and reflection is about opening up to the risky and unexpected, seeking out the possible in the unknown. Regarder autrement is a land of investigation, of friction and revelation, an invitation to go through the world with renewed energy and allow art to bloom in the fragile instant of imbalance where anything can happen.

The full description of the lab, which will be held entirely in French, is available here:

https://nac-cna.ca/en/theatrefrancais/les-laboratoires

ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATIONS

Anyone who meets these three conditions can apply:

1) Have seven years or fewer of professional creative experience.

2) Have Canadian citizenship or permanent residency.

3) Have a home address in a Canadian province or territory.

To apply, one must complete, before Sunday, February 9, 2025, the following online registration form (in French only) where all necessary information and documents are listed:

https://nac-cna.ca/en/opportunities/les-laboratoires-du-theatre-francais-edition-2025

There is no cost to apply or participate in the lab. The NAC will cover expenses related to transportation and lodging and provide a per diem stipend.

LAB DIRECTOR

Jasmine Catudal studied scenic design at the National Theatre School of Canada and has worked as a set designer in theatre, dance, opera and the circus. In 2007, she cofounded the Live Art Festival, and in 2015 she expanded its mandate to create LA SERRE – arts vivants, a project incubator for emerging artists.

Jasmine was the artistic co-director of Usine C from 2012 to 2015 and artistic director of Longueuil’s Théâtre de la Ville from 2019 to 2021. In the past decade or so, she has been a curator at a number of international events. In 2018, she returned to the National Theatre School of Canada, this time to teach in the Directing Program. 

In 2019, she cofounded the organization Ecoscéno, where she developed an eco-design training program. She is currently head of the D’Arts et de Rêves creative centre in Sutton, a space where artists can create while reflecting on the natural world.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

QUESTIONS?

Any questions about the lab should be emailed to Guy Warin, Assistant to the Artistic Director and Project Manager at the French Theatre: guy.warin@nac-cna.ca

Questions about the application process and accessibility measures should be emailed to Jean‑Paul Courtemanche, Program Manager of Professional Development, at jean‑paul.courtemanche@nac-cna.ca

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

In Cispersonnages en quête d’auteurice (“Cischaracters in search of an author”), five neurodivergent performers meet in the rehearsal studio to launch a new creative process. Unable to do the unicorn show they had originally planned—because they aren’t unicorns—, each of them comes up with ideas to break the creative deadlock. Caught between their artistic vision and their many ethical principles, the performers gradually realize that their playing field seems mined and their freedom rather restricted.

“Discussions around these subjects, at the intersection of identity claims and debates about coexistence, are sometimes clouded by fear, resentment or incomprehension. Our play aims to present these issues and their many ramifications in an uncomplicated and sometimes even comical way.”

– Catherine Bourgeois, director of the show, and general and artistic director of Joe Jack and John

Reviving the relevance of the questions raised a century ago in the iconic Luigi Pirandello play from which the show also borrows its title, Cispersonnages en quête d’auteurice takes the bold step of fearlessly encouraging debate.

Founded in 2003, Joe Jack and John creates and presents socially engaged, innovative theatre based on collaborative writing and inclusive teams, including professional artists with functional diversity, in particular neurodivergent and intellectually disabled artists. The company explores the connection between theatre and life, as if the former were an extension of the latter, a way of questioning it, probing it, and, above all, living it.

MANI REÇOIT CATHERINE BOURGEOIS

On Thursday, December 5, the opening night of Cispersonnages, Mani Soleymanlou will be joined by director Catherine Bourgeois as part of the Grandes rencontres du Théâtre français discussion series. The conversation will begin at 6:45 pm in the NAC Salon.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Azrieli Studio

Thursday December 5 and Friday December 6 at 8 pm, and Saturday December 7 at 4 pm

The performance on Friday will be presented with English surtitles, and will be followed by a talkback.

It may be possible for members of the media to attend the matinee on December 6.

Duration: 1 hour and 20 minutes without intermission

Tickets from $37

Anyone under the age of 30 is eligible for the Under30 program

To purchases tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35957 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2024-2025 NAC French Theatre season.

ACCESSIBILITY MEASURES

In the interest of openness, several accessibility measures have been put in place for this show, which opens in the same week as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

For the performance on Friday, December 6, audio description will be available to audience members who are blind or visually impaired.

Audio description in theatre

Audio description in theatre is a live commentary of the main visual elements of a performance (sets, characters, action, movement) that helps people who are blind or visually impaired experience the show. The narration is delivered live, between the dialogue and the sound effects of the performance. In French only.

Tactile tour

Reserved for persons who are blind or visually impaired and their companions, the tactile tour allows them to explore the stage space where the actors perform. By touching the sets, props and costumes used in the show, blind and visually impaired audience members can get a better sense of the show’s volumes and spaces.

The performance on Saturday, December 7 will be a relaxed performance.

To ensure an enjoyable experience for all audience members, the last performance will be slightly adapted, with a quieter, more inclusive environment.

Inclusive and accessible prices are available for spectators with disabilities who wish to take advantage of these initiatives.

For more information or to reserve your seats, please contact Véronique Lavoie-Marcus, Programming Assistant, Children and Youth, at veronique.marcus@nac-cna.ca or 613-806-4471.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

November 19, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada). In June of this year, NAC English Theatre and NAC Digital Experience and Design invited audiences 20 years into a possible future for three distinct neighbourhoods in the National Capital Region, marking the arrival of the inaugural Irresistible Neighbourhoods radio play series, with Ottawa 2044. Today, the journey continues as we embark on two new paths in the second volume of radio plays with Walking on Water. 
 
For the second volume of Irresistible Neighbourhoods, the NAC Orchestra team collaborated in the creative process in the lead-up to the NAC SPHERE Festival this past September, where the radio plays were recorded in front of a live audience at the NAC Fourth Stage. Featuring actors, musicians and live foley sound effects, this captivating double feature of dramas presented imagined futures for two Canadian neighbourhoods, and their evolving relationship with water. 

Playwrights David Yee from Toronto and Berni Stapleton from Newfoundland and Labrador, 2023 Siminovitch Prize laureate and nominee, respectively, collaborated with composers Chris Thornborrow and Duane Andrews to craft compelling stories about their selected Canadian locales. As climate challenges prompt us to shift our thinking from ‘what is’ to ‘what if,’ these talented artists offer inspiring visions for their communities, encouraging audiences to reflect on what could make their own neighborhoods… irresistible. 

Building on the energy off those live recordings, we're excited to welcome a wider audience to join us for this audio journey in which the first step in bringing about regenerative futures is having the courage to imagine them.   
 
Introducing the two radio plays for Irresistible Neighbourhoods Volume 2: Walking on Water…

cicadas 
by David Yee, with music composed by Chris Thornborrow, directed by Nina Lee Aquino. Featuring Erica Anderson, Zach Counsil and Paul Thomas. Clarinet/Bass Clarinet: Shauna Barker, Cello: Daniel Parker, Piano: Frédéric Lacroix, Percussion: Nathan Petitpas. 
 
In 2035, a podcaster investigating the mysterious disappearances that befell a young family a decade earlier near Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods Park sets the scene for a suspenseful narrative about a very peculiar house. Could a strangely luminous painting unlock long-buried secrets of what flowed beneath their home?  
 
The Woman of One Thousand Years   
by Berni Stapleton, with music composed by Duane Andrews, directed by Sarah Kitz. Featuring Deidre Gillard-Rowlings, Anne Hamels and John Koensgen. Viola: Magali Gavazzi-April, Trumpet/Flugelhorn: Amy Horvey, Double Bass: Paul Mach, Cello: Daniel Parker.

A lonely radio host, broadcasting from a far shore in Newfoundland, inadvertently opens a transmission portal between times. The story that unfolds offers an unforgettable journey from the past to a life beyond the present, suggesting that everything we need to know is already in the air. Remembering the future is possible for all. 

For both episodes, Sound Design and Live Foley: John Gzowski, Dramaturg: Ric Knowles, Climate Dramaturg: Vicki Stroich, Stage Manager: Jackie McCormick 
 
An NAC English Theatre/NAC Orchestra/NAC Digital Design and Experience co-production. 
 
EVEN MORE IRRESISTIBLE NEIGHBOURHOODS  

Irresistible Neighbourhoods is a multi-year project from English Theatre, which includes Volume One: Ottawa 2044. And stay tuned for exciting ideas currently in development for Volume Three, when the series will expand to include other disciplines and other regions. Details coming soon! 

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS   
 
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank The Slaight Family Foundation and Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites. Special thank you to the Dr. Kanta Marwah Endowment for English Theatre.   
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE    
 
The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.    

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Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is thrilled to announce the release of Two Orchestras, One Symphony. This groundbreaking album, produced in collaboration with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec (OSQ) and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, is a grand-scale interpretation of the late Quebec composer Jacques Hétu’s monumental Symphony No. 5. Led by NAC Orchestra Music Director Alexander Shelley, the project captures a remarkable fusion of Canadian orchestral and choral excellence. 

Symphony No. 5 was Hétu’s final and most profoundly personal composition. Inspired by Paul Éluard’s Second World War poem Liberté, Hétu weaves themes of freedom and hope into one of his most significant achievements. Comprised of four movements, it begins with a joyful prologue set in Paris before the devastation and destruction brought on the city by the Second World War, followed by movements depicting the invasion and ultimate occupation by the Nazis. First commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and premiered posthumously in 2010, the symphony is an emotional exploration of Éluard’s poem, which Hétu set to music in the final movement. 

After guest conducting the Quebec City-based ensemble three times, Alexander Shelley suggested the NAC Orchestra join forces with the OSQ, Canada’s oldest orchestra, to bring Hétu’s masterwork to life. Featuring over 100 musicians from the NAC Orchestra and the OSQ and 114 singers from the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, this recording, captured in Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre in March 2024, is a celebration of Canadian artistic talent and a legendary Canadian composer. 

“It’s not often that you get to hear two superb orchestras plus a full choir combining their unique sounds and styles to create something new,” says Alexander Shelley. “Learning Hétu’s music was a delight — his refined craftsmanship has profound beauty in and of itself. Performing and recording his Symphony No. 5 with the combined forces of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir gave all of us enormous pleasure and fulfillment.” 

The album follows a critically acclaimed 2024 tour which saw the mega ensemble perform Hétu’s Fifth live at three of Canada’s most iconic concert halls: Le Grand Théâtre de Québec in Quebec City, Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, and Southam Hall in Ottawa. 

“We are immensely proud to bring Canada’s oldest and largest choir to this project, sharing Hétu’s final work with audiences across the country and, through this album, with listeners worldwide,” says Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Artistic Director Jean-Sébastien Vallée. “The opportunity for the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir to collaborate with two great orchestras not only strengthened our connections within the Canadian arts community but honoured Jacques Hétu’s immense contributions to Quebec and Canadian orchestral and choral music.” 

“I would like to acknowledge the warm and remarkable collaboration between the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, gathered under the visionary direction of Alexander Shelley to perform the poignant Symphony No. 5 by the late Quebec composer Jacques Hétu,” adds OSQ President and CEO Astrid Chouinard. “My thoughts are with the composer’s widow in particular, but also with all those who, from near and far, have made this adventure possible. In these troubled times for humanity, may Jacques Hétu’s work be a source of inspiration and comfort.” 

The NAC Orchestra’s collaboration with Jacques Hétu began in 1977 when it commissioned Antinomie, which it performed under its former music director, Mario Bernardi. This enduring relationship continued under former NAC Orchestra music director Pinchas Zukerman, who chose works by Hétu to showcase as part of the Orchestra’s European tour in 1990 and its Quebec tour in 2006. The National Arts Centre previously commissioned another major new work from Hétu, which he never completed due to his sudden death in 2010. Hétu’s Symphony No. 5 marks a powerful conclusion to this artistic journey, solidifying his legacy as one of the great composers in Canadian music history. 

Two Orchestras, One Symphony is available for streaming and purchase worldwide on the Analekta music label as of November 15, 2024.

ABOUT CANADA’S NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA 

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra is praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary learning and engagement programs, and its unwavering support of Canadian creativity. The NAC Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and has grown into one of the country’s most acclaimed and dynamic ensembles since its founding in 1969. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, engaging communities from coast to coast to coast through inclusive programming, compelling storytelling, and innovative partnerships.  

The NAC Orchestra has also established a rich discography, including many of the over 80 orchestral works it has commissioned over the years. These include:  

• The 2024 album Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the NAC Orchestra. 
• Clara - Robert - Johannes: a multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero.  
• The groundbreaking Life Reflected, which includes “My Name is Amanda Todd” by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year).  
• Ana Sokolović’s “Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes,” 2019 JUNO winner for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 JUNO-nominated New Worlds). 
• The 2020 JUNO-nominated The Bounds of Our Dreams, featuring pianist Alain Lefèvre.  
• Angela Hewitt’s 2015 JUNO Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos.

ABOUT THE ORCHESTRE SYMPHONIQUE DE QUÉBEC 

Founded in 1902, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec (OSQ) is Canada’s oldest symphony orchestra. A key player in the provincial capital’s music scene, it has always been closely linked to the city’s history. Among other events, it participated in the celebrations of Quebec City’s tercentenary in 1908, the Sommet de la francophonie in 1987, and the 400th anniversary of Quebec City in 2008, when the Orchestra performed Mahler’s monumental Symphony of a Thousand. It also shared the stage with Plácido Domingo before an audience of 100,000, a highlight in its history. 

In addition to the major works of the symphonic repertoire, the OSQ performs many works by composers from Quebec, Canada, and abroad.

A leader in arts education and outreach, it contributes to the popularization of symphonic music through innovative projects such as the Zoo musical and the digital educational platform La galerie symphonique. Music education has been a key component of the Orchestra’s mission since 1936, and its Matinées symphoniques and Concerts famille enable young people to discover classical music, both in schools and at public performances. The OSQ also supports the next generation of musicians through its association with the Conservatoire de musique de Québec and the Laval University Faculty of Music.

Under the direction of renowned conductors, the OSQ has won numerous awards and produced 26 albums, several of which have won awards. The Orchestra continues to enrich Quebec’s cultural life with a broad and diverse program. Clemens Schuldt is the OSQ’s 12th music director. 

ABOUT THE TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR 

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir (TMChoir) is proud to be one of Canada’s oldest, largest, and best-known choral organizations. The choir presented its first concert on January 15, 1895, as part of Massey Hall’s inaugural season and has been a leader in choral music in Canada ever since, commissioning works by Canadian composers and presenting world and Canadian premieres. The choir also regularly performs and records with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In May 2021, Jean-Sébastien Vallée was named Artistic Director, only the eighth conductor in TMChoir’s 130-year history.

Through its performances, educational programs, and community engagement, TMChoir aspires to introduce its audiences to choral masterworks from the past and present—and make both renowned and lesser-known pieces available, accessible, and inspirational to all.

The TMChoir includes a core of professional singers and more than 130 auditioned and experienced volunteer choristers. The smaller professional ensemble, the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, was created to deliver a more intimate repertoire in a variety of non-traditional venues. This 130th anniversary season includes a commercial recording, Remember: 130 Years of Canadian Choral Music, released on October 4, 2024, by ATMA Classique, and a recording with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec celebrating the late composer Jacques Hétu.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE 

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Noah Richardson 
Communications Strategist, NAC Orchestra 
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca 
(613) 415-5208

November 14, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund is proud to announce the launch of its very first Creative Producer Fellowship, intended for producers who are at a turning point in their career.

Developed by the NAC’s National Creation Fund and Professional Development teams, the Creative Producer Fellowship will support three producers from January 2025 to January 2027. Recipients will take part in a range of activities designed to give them the skills, connections and resources they need to create essential, high-impact work and build a lasting career.

“Incredible performances also require incredible producers, and it’s time to gift meaningful resources to producers too. And so I’m proud to share that we are launching our very first Creative Producer Fellowship,” said Sarah Conn, Artistic Producer, National Creation Fund. “We believe producers are critical catalysts for cultural change and deep community impact. We are seeking three ambitious people who share our belief in producing’s changemaking capacities and who are interested in co-creating high-impact opportunities to participate in our Creative Producer Fellowship.”

Each Fellow will receive direct funding of up to $30,000 per year to cover their participation in mentorship opportunities, masterclasses, professional development sessions, and strategic industry networking.

“The National Arts Centre is a house of dreams where creativity takes flight on stages. We are committed to accompanying creators in their dreams through professional development experiences. The new Creative Producer Fellowship will support Canadian producers who are passionate about the arts and who contribute to the vitality of our communities,” said Christopher Deacon, President and CEO of the NAC. “We hope this Fellowship will allow them to enhance their artistic process and achieve their full potential.”

Each fellowship is bespoke in order to provide optimal support to and meet the professional needs of each participant. Applications are due on December 4.

More professional development opportunities

In addition to this new Fellowship, the NAC is inviting Canadian performing arts organizations who share its commitment to creating transformational experiences for artists and arts professionals to collaborate with the NAC on its new Apprenticeship Program for Technical Production, Producing and Design. Applications for this program are also due on December 4.

And since the NAC aims to be a centre of professional development for Canadian artists, this week the Centre welcomes the first cohort of the Résidence en gestion culturelle (cultural management residency), offered in partnership with the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (FCCF). This professional development opportunity is designed for emerging and mid-career professionals working in the administration and management of Canada’s French-language performing arts who wish to diversify, deepen or refine their practice and expand their professional network to interact with other visiting artists and share knowledge and skills with various NAC departments.

“We are delighted to join with the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française to support the professional development of cultural managers in the Canadian and Acadian Francophonie,” said Christopher Deacon. “This new Résidence en gestion culturelle will allow Francophone performing arts professionals to enhance their expertise so that they, in turn, can support and promote French-language performing arts in Canada. We look forward to welcoming them to the NAC for their week-long residency this week.”

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Scotiabank and Fred & Elizabeth Fountain.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL CREATION FUND

The National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund makes transformative investments in the creation of bold new music, dance, theatre and interdisciplinary performances, and it is an incubator devoted to developing the conditions necessary to create incredible work. Fuelled by generous donors from across the country, the Fund aims to catalyze the creative dreams of Canadian artists, invite audiences to fall in love with artistic creation, and contribute to Canada’s cultural vibrancy.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Anicée Lejeune
Communications Strategist,
NAC Programs and Public Spaces
National Arts Centre
514 237-9553
anicee.lejeune@nac-cna.ca

November 6, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The National Arts Centre (NAC) is proud to present a powerful line-up of performing artists at World Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai in Japan, through a partnership with Global Affairs Canada and its Canada Pavilion experience. The official announcement and program preview took place today during an event hosted by the Embassy of Canada, in the Oscar Peterson Theatre, in Tokyo. 

With an anticipated 28 million visitors over six months (opening April 13 and closing October 13, 2025), Expo 2025 Osaka will be a unique opportunity for Canadian performing artists to showcase our country’s breadth of talent and creativity to Japanese and international audiences.  

Expo 2025 Osaka will explore the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” intended to drive co-creation by the international community in designing a sustainable society.  

Canada’s cultural programme in music, dance and theatre at Expo 2025 Osaka is curated by the NAC’s Executive Producer for Popular Music and Variety, Heather Gibson, as an integral part of Canada’s overall participation.  

“The arts play a unifying role between cultures and people, and what better place to present the breadth and diversity of our performing arts than this global gathering of nations. On behalf of the National Arts Centre, I’m happy to present on the world stage exciting new artists and seasoned award-winners representing Canada and its dynamic performing arts scene.”   

Heather Gibson 

Executive Producer, Popular Music and Variety 

National Arts Centre 

“I am delighted to share the stage today with the National Arts Centre, to showcase our creative programing, which weaves an exciting tapestry of talent, highlighting our creative spirit from coast to coast to coast. We celebrate the contributions of our exceptional artists, who embody the essence of Canadian originality, diversity, and vibrancy.” 

Laurie Peters 

Commissioner General for Canada’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka 

 
CANADIAN ARTISTS PERFORMING AT EXPO 2025  

Some of the artists to be featured during Expo include (with more to be announced): 

Performers Tanya Davis, Diyet and the Love Soldiers, and Shakura S’Aida will kick off Canada’s lineup in Osaka the week of April 22. 

In June, the Oscar Peterson Centennial Quartet (OPCQ) and Oscar Peterson’s youngest daughter, Céline Peterson, join forces to celebrate the life and music of one of the most important musical figures in Canadian history. 

Canadian West Coast artists Mary Ancheta Quartet and Jill Barber, as well as Francophone artists Pierre Lapointe, Dominique Fils-Aimé and Lisa Leblanc will be part of the late June programming leading up to Canada Day on July 1. 

East Coast performers Irish Mythen, Old Man Luedecke, The East Pointers and Kellie Loder will take the stage throughout Expo. 

Creative Boost Canada, a street dance performance created by Montreal’s 100Lux organization, will showcase the incredible talent of Canadian and Japanese street dancers who will come together for an unforgettable show. 

Indigenous artists Jeremy Dutcher, Elisapie, Amanda Rheaume, Shoshona Kish and Digging Roots, Sechile Sedare, and the NAC Indigenous Theatre Artistic Director Kevin Loring will participate in an international Indigenous symposium in August. 

Also in August, Open Pit Theatre will share northern Canadian culture with the world with Radio Silence, a funny, heartwarming story for all ages. 

NAC French Theatre Artistic Director Mani Soleymanlou will present the French-language play Zamân with multi-disciplinary artist Valaire. 

In addition, the NAC Orchestra and its musicians, under the baton of Music Director Alexander Shelley, will perform at Expo 2025 Osaka during their upcoming international tour next May-June that will bring them to famous concert halls in the Republic of Korea and Japan, with details to be announced in January. 

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

ABOUT CANADA’S PARTICIPATION AT EXPO 2025 OSAKA 

Building on our nation’s strong showing at past World Expos–particularly those hosted by Japan, Canada will develop and deliver an outstanding pavilion and program in Osaka that is distinctly Canadian and aligns with Japan’s themes and concept for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:  

Mireille Allaire  
Director of Communications, Programming  

National Arts Centre  

343-998-4244  

mireille.allaire@nac-cna.ca   

Media Relations Office 

Global Affairs Canada 

343-203-7700 

media@international.gc.ca     

February 16, 2024 – OTTAWA – The National Arts Centre’s Annual Public Meeting, which takes place Wednesday, February 21 from 4 to 5 p.m. ET, will review the results of the NAC’s 2022–2023 season, which featured extraordinary collaborations with Canadian artists and arts organizations on the NAC’s stages and on stages across the country.

“Our 2022–2023 season was truly memorable because it was our first season fully back with the pandemic in the rearview mirror,” said NAC President and CEO Christopher Deacon. “Artists returned to our stages, and to stages across Canada, performing extraordinary work. Audiences came back to experience it. And the magic that took place between those two groups reminded us why we do what we do. The arts inspire and delight us, they bring us together, and they have the power to spark change in each of us as individuals and as communities.”

SPEAKERS

The NAC’s Annual Public Meeting will take place Wednesday, February 21 from 4 to 5 p.m. in the NAC’s Alan & Roula Rossy Pavilion, and online at nac-cna.ca/publicmeeting.

Speakers will include:

• Guy Pratte, C.M., Chair, Board of Trustees
• Christopher Deacon, President and CEO
• Annabelle Cloutier, Executive Director of Strategy and Communications

A question-and-answer period will follow the presentation. Please submit any questions in advance to apm@nac-cna.ca. The webcast will be accessible in English and French and will include simultaneous sign-language interpretation.

CONNECT: THE NAC’S 2022–2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Connect, the NAC’s 2022-2023 Annual Report, was tabled in the House of Commons on January 29. The report demonstrates the NAC’s progress towards its vision of leading and supporting the renewal of the Canadian performing arts sector.

The report, publicly available on the NAC’s website, includes many highlights:

• Un. Deux. Trois., French Theatre Artistic Director Mani Soleymanlou’s ambitious cycle about identity, opened at the NAC in September 2022, featuring a diverse cast of 36 Francophone actors from across the country. The show’s national tour was unprecedented, with stops in Moncton, Caraquet, Quebec City, Montreal, Sudbury, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, drawing audience and critical acclaim, even attracting the attention of The New York Times.
• The Breathing Hole, written by Colleen Murphy with Siobhan Arnatsiaq-Murphy, with Nattilingmiutut language direction by Nilaulaaq Miriam Aglukkaq, and Nattilingmiutut translation by Janet Tamalik McGrath, was a landmark Indigenous Theatre/English Theatre co-production in English and Inuktut and part of Nordic Bridges. Directed by Reneltta Arluk, the production featured Inuit cast members from Canada, Greenland, and Denmark who performed in the Nattilingmiutut dialect. Commissioned by Indigenous Theatre and English Theatre, the Nattilingmiutut translation was the culmination of years of consultation with elders and community members, primarily from the community of Gjoa Haven. The script is now the largest piece of written text in the dialect. The Breathing Hole was captured on film and is available to the three Nattilingmiutut-speaking communities free of charge in perpetuity as reciprocation for sharing their stories, knowledge, and language with the NAC.
• Fall on Your Knees, the world premiere stage adaptation of Ann-Marie MacDonald’s novel by Alisa Palmer and Hannah Moscovitch, received widespread critical and audience acclaim. Co-created and written by Hannah Moscovitch and co-created and directed by Alisa Palmer, the production was a partnership between NAC English Theatre, Vita Brevis Arts, Canadian Stage, Neptune Theatre, and Grand Theatre, and played to more than 35,000 people in Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, and London. Fall on Your Knees was made possible with support from lead donors Margaret Fountain, C.M., D.F.A. (hc), D.H.L. (hc), and David Fountain, C.M., as well as the National Creation Fund, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Toronto Arts Council.
• From September 22 to 25, the NAC Orchestra presented SPHERE, a festival about listening to the Earth in a time of climate change that featured Canadian, Indigenous, and Nordic composers, musicians, visual artists, writers, and scientists. SPHERE was co-curated by Music Director Alexander Shelley and the Canadian-Icelandic interdisciplinary artist Dr. Angela Rawlings.
• A high point of the NAC Dance season was the return of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch with the Canadian premiere of Palermo Palermo, one of the acclaimed German company’s most exquisite productions. The performances featured six local extras.
• Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer, written and directed by Indigenous Theatre Artistic Director Kevin Loring, was presented at Theatre Calgary in partnership with MT7. A revival of the Belfry Theatre/Savage Society/NAC Indigenous Theatre premiere production, this incarnation, augmented for the larger stage, officially opened on February 3, 2023. In partnership with Savage Society (Vancouver), Belfry Theatre (Victoria), and Theatre Calgary (Calgary), Indigenous Theatre premiered and toured this raucous comedy across the country, arriving in the NAC’s Babs Asper Theatre in May. In every city, Kevin’s wit and artistry left audiences with understanding, insight, and a lot of laughter.
• NAC Popular Music and Variety (PMV) supports brilliant and diverse popular music artists, both emerging and established, by presenting about 120 performances a year on the NAC’s four stages. On April 28, PMV was proud to host revered Quebec singer-songwriter Daniel Bélanger in Southam Hall to a sold-out crowd. The show marked the artist’s first major release in nearly 10 years.
• The National Creation Fund invested $2 million in 11 ambitious new Canadian works in music, theatre, dance, and interdisciplinary performing arts. A particular standout was Mahabharata by Toronto’s Why Not Theatre. Written and adapted by Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes using poetry from Carole Satyamurti’s Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling, this extraordinary production featured a cast comprised entirely of performers from the South Asian diaspora. Mahabharata opened at the Shaw Festival in March and played to sold-out houses at the Barbican in London, U.K. in October 2023.
• Professional development continued to be a strategic priority. ThisGen Fellowship, produced by Why Not Theatre in partnership with the NAC, is a national initiative that supports IBPoC (Indigenous, Black, People of Colour) women and non-binary performing arts practitioners getting to the next stage in their careers through training, mentorship, hands-on work placements, and peer-to-peer connection. This year’s cohort gathered at the NAC in October for workshops, meetings, and mentorship with NAC leadership.
• The NAC continued to build relationships with diverse communities. English Theatre organized Black Out Nights for the productions Is God Is (written by Aleshea Harris and directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu) and Heaven (written by Cheryl Foggo and directed by Patricia Darbasie), inviting Black audiences the unique opportunity to experience performances with their community and take part in a joyful event designed to cultivate a shared sense of belonging.
• The NAC’s Summer Programming series featured an exciting and diverse lineup of Canadian and international artists in more than 200 free and accessible shows. Audiences experienced spectacular dance ensembles, lunchtime performances in the NAC Atrium, outdoor concerts on the Wooden Terrace, musicians performing as they cruised down the Rideau Canal, and powerful musical and theatrical shows in the NAC’s performance halls.
• The NAC made meaningful progress in the area of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism (EDIA) with the development of a three-year EDIA Action Plan, alongside the Accessibility Action Plan. In addition, the NAC released its three-year Environmental Sustainability Action Plan. All the NAC’s action plans and commitments are publicly available on the NAC’s website.

THE NAC IN 2023–2024

In September 2023, the NAC released its new Strategic Plan, The Journey Ahead. Its vision is to continue working with artists and arts organizations from across the land to revitalize the Canadian performing arts. The NAC also committed to ensuring that equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, accessibility, and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples guide its actions.

The 2023–2024 season features a broad range of exciting work by diverse artists and arts organizations on the NAC’s four stages. Across Canada, the NAC continues to play an active role by fostering new creation through the National Creation Fund and the NAC’s programming departments, offering professional development for artists and arts professionals, and supporting learning and engagement in communities across the country through Arts Alive. Please visit nac-cna.ca for ticket information, and to learn more about the NAC’s role in leading and supporting the renewal of the Canadian performing arts sector.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Mary Gordon
Senior Advisor, Corporate Communications
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0747
Mary.Gordon@nac-cna.ca

October 15, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada). “This tense, emotional and at times eerie production shows how well a good ghost story can grip an audience.” – John Law, Niagara Falls Review 
 
After making its triumphant Canadian premiere this summer at the Shaw Festival, Snow in Midsummer arrives at the NAC, perfectly timed for the Halloween season. 

Dou Yi, a young widow wrongfully executed for murder, has cast a chilling curse on her town: a summer snowfall and a devastating drought will befall the townspeople. Three years later, a wealthy businesswoman arrives in the parched and locust-plagued town to revive its failing factory. When her daughter encounters a haunting apparition, the townspeople are compelled to confront their buried, harrowing past. 

Blending elements of ghost story, murder mystery, and family drama, this adaptation of a 13th-century Yuan Dynasty drama by acclaimed playwright Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig brings an ancient Chinese classic boldly into the present. Snow in Midsummer is a gripping folktale which juxtaposes redemption against revenge and delves into the depths of injustice and trauma to explore the lengths people will go to for love. 

Experience the suspense as the Azrieli Studio is transformed into the round, immersing the audience in the story's unexpected twists and turns. This contemporary thriller, which explores both corporate and personal greed, promises to be an utterly spellbinding encounter. 

Directed by NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino and powered by a dynamic ensemble and brilliant creative team, Snow in Midsummer will lead audiences on a gripping and spine-chilling journey.

“Critic’s Pick. Snow in Midsummer will tug at your heartstrings.” – J. Kelly Nestruck, The Globe and Mail
 
SNOW IN MIDSUMMER – OCTOBER 30 – NOVEMBER 9 AZRIELI STUDIO 
 
An NAC English Theatre presentation of the Shaw Festival Production.
 
Written by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig; Based on the classical Chinese drama The Injustice to Dou E That Moved Heaven and Earth by Guan Hanqing; Directed by Nina Lee Aquino; featuring Cosette Derome, Manami Hara, Eponine Lee, Richard Lee, Michael Man, John Ng, Travis Seetoo, Donna Soares, Jonathan Tan, Kelly Wong, Lindsay Wu; Set Design by Camellia Koo; Costume Design by Joanna Yu; Lighting Design by Michelle Ramsay; Original Music and Sound Design by John Gzowski; Fight Designer Richard Lee; Stage Manager Jane Vanstone Osborn; Assistant Stage Manager Sang-Sang Lee. 
 
PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35941
 
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS   
 
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites. Special thank you to the Dr. Kanta Marwah Endowment for English Theatre.   
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE    
 
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

October 17, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre continues to “break free of our constraints,” to use its seasonal slogan, with a rereading of the famous narrative by Charles Perrault. This chilling tale, originally of a bygone era, however dealing with burning current issues, has been revamped by Félix-Antoine Boutin and Sophie Cadieux, writers and directors of the text. Produced by Théâtre Denise-Pelletier and Création Dans la Chambre – which presented the tabletop work Au jardin des Potiniers at the NAC in June 2023 – and in co-production with the NAC French Theatre, Peau d’âne is a bewitching show that has accumulated enthusiastic comments since September 25, the date on which it saw the light of day in the theatre directed by Claude Poissant (Faire le bien).

“In fairy tales, heroines are often made to wear dresses, shoes, and rings, which they lose or regain over the course of the story. In Peau d’âne, she must put the skin of a dead animal on her back… and we had to dig into that! We also found that there was, in this tale, the material of a real coming of age. Everyone encounters this stage one day, the one where we must free ourselves from our family and what they expect of us.”

– Sophie Cadieux, co-author, co-director and performer

It’s a familiar story: When her mother dies, a young princess wears a magic female donkey’s skin to escape the lecherous gaze of her own father, the king, who has already begun hunting for someone to replace the queen at his side on the throne. Éric Bernier and Sophie Cadieux brilliantly embody all the characters revolving around the young woman in search of her authentic skin, and therefore her freedom, a breathtaking game of mirrors and metamorphoses which summons a multiplicity of stage languages.

“It’s a show where design really plays a big role. The text is quite present, but we worked very closely with all the designers to develop an overall stage writing. […] We are trying to ensure that languages can really come into contact, that there is a certain horizontality in the collaboration with all these artisans. And the public is also always at the heart of our thoughts in creation.”

– Félix-Antoine Boutin, co-author and co-director

Inspired by Jacques Demy’s film of the same name, Peau d’âne sets the stage for a dreamlike experience that combines poetry, scenic magic and comical anachronisms. There’s no moral to this show, just an opening into a world of possibilities…

ALL THOSE SKINS

In conjunction with the performances, an exhibition of dresses and costumes echoes the theme of the stage version of the story imagined by Cadieux and Boutin, whose two dozen costumes in the play were designed by artist Elen Ewing. In addition to three dresses designed by Ewing for other productions, the exhibition includes seven costumes for female characters created over the years in the NAC's costume shop under the direction of Normand Thériault. Born out of a desire to highlight some of the facets of this often overlooked art form, the exhibition invites visitors to admire the full texture of a craft that reveals a large part of identity in all its complexity. In the Babs Asper Theatre lobby, from October 31 to November 2.

HALLOWEEN

As the show premieres on October 31, we invite everyone attending this performance to come in costume – we will be!

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Babs Asper Theatre

Thursday October 31 and Friday November 1 at 7:30 pm, and Saturday November 2 at 3 pm

It may be possible for members of the media to attend the matinee on November 1.

Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes without intermission

Tickets from $31

To purchases tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35985 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2024-2025 NAC French Theatre season.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

National Arts Centre English Theatre Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino will be conducting general auditions at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa with an eye to casting upcoming seasons of artistic activity.

Eligibility and Priority Considerations
Performers are eligible for a general audition with Ms Aquino only once every three years. Priority will be given to those local to the Ottawa-Gatineau region, and to CAEA members.

Inclusive Casting Statement
NAC English Theatre is committed to inclusive casting. We encourage submissions from professional artists who self-identify as members of under-represented communities, a concept we understand very broadly, and which includes persons with disabilities. If you require any accommodations prior to or during your audition, please inform us as soon as possible and we will make every effort to fulfill your accommodation request.

What to Prepare
Performers are asked to prepare two contemporary, contrasting monologues from the works of Canadian playwrights written in 2000 or later, of no more than two minutes each (see recommended monologue resources below). Alternatively, performers can opt for one two-minute monologue along with a song of no more than two minutes. No accompaniment will be provided but artists are welcome to accompany themselves acoustically or electronically. Out of respect for everyone’s time, please note that time limits will be strictly observed.

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DECEMBER 10 and 12: BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Submissions are now closed. Those artists who had been offered an appointment for the original audition dates will be contacted individually with a new appointment time.

DECEMBER 13: OPEN CALL

All performers attending the open call must submit this form no later than Wednesday, December 11 at 5pm Eastern. On Friday, December 13, the open call will have two start times: 12pm and 4pm. Location: Shenkman Atelier. Enter via the Elgin Street entrance at 1 Elgin St, go past Equator Coffee and take the stairs or elevator to go down to the Canal Level. The Shenkman Atelier is across from the box office.

Performers will be seen first-come, first-serve, with priority given to CAEA members. Those arriving for the first call time who do not receive a slot will be given priority for the second call time.

Monologue Resources:
Playwrights Canada Press
Pledge Project
The 49 List
Talonbooks
Scirocco Drama
Canadian Play Outlet (Playwrights Guild of Canada)

Questions may be directed to judi.pearl@nac-cna.ca.

The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada.

NAC Dance proudly opens its 2024-2025 Ballet Series with an impressive triple bill by the prominent Canadian company Ballet BC. The evening begins with two works by Ballet BC’s artistic director Medhi Walerski, Chamber and Silent Tides, and finishes on a grandiose note with BOLERO X by choreographer Shahar Binyamini.

BOLERO X showcases the group's collective strength in a hypnotizing crescendo as 50 dancers grace the stage to Maurice Ravel’s iconic Boléro score, performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Joining the core dancers of Ballet BC are 30 dancers from four professional training institutions across Canada: The School of Dance (Ottawa), l’École de danse contemporaine de Montréal (Montreal), l’École supérieure de ballet du Québec (Montreal), and Arts Umbrella Dance (Vancouver). These young dancers have been invited to perform on two of the most important national stages, at Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts (presented by Danse Danse), and on Southam Hall stage here at the National Arts Centre—giving them an invaluable professional development opportunity.

This is a chance for them to live their dream to the power of 10 and to gain unique experience. For us to watch them perform is an absolute joy, and the NAC is proud to be a part of this special mentorship initiative which is a collaboration between NAC Dance, Danse Danse and Ballet BC.”  ̶  Caroline Ohrt, Executive Producer, NAC Dance

BOLERO X was created by Shahar Binyamini for Ballet BC in 2023. He wanted to explore the power of repetition, the great natural forces which we are made of—infusing classic with a modern touch. The piece reveals Ballet BC’s exceptional dancers, impressively pushing the boundaries of movement.

The first piece of the evening, Chamber, is one of Medhi Walerski’s most acclaimed and elegant ballets. It is a visually rich echo of what Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring provokes in the choreographer’s imagination. The original music by British composer Joby Talbot will be performed by the NAC Orchestra, marking its revival with orchestra since its premiere in 2013. Walerski’s second piece, Silent Tides, is an intimate work between two dancers that reflects our relationship to one another and to ourselves—the infinite gates where our bodies receive nourishment and otherness, vibration and energy.

Pre-show chat

A pre-show chat with Ballet BC artistic director Medhi Walerski will be held on Thursday, October 17 at 7 p.m. in the NAC Salon. This discussion is hosted by NAC Dance Executive Producer Caroline Ohrt, in both English and French, and precedes the evening's presentation.

Dance for All

A free Contemporary/Fusion class led by Xander Sen, one of the 5 Ottawa dancers joining Ballet BC on stage in BOLERO X, will be offered on October 12 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Peter A. Herrndorf Place. Info here.
 

SHOW AND TICKET INFORMATION

October 17-18 at 8 p.m. – Southam Hall

Chamber by Medhi Walerski (32 minutes)
Intermission (20 minutes)
Silent Tides by Medhi Walerski (18 minutes)​
Intermission (20 minutes)
BOLERO X by Shahar Binyamini (15 minutes)

To purchase tickets to this performance, visit nac-cna.ca/en/event/36014 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To learn more about the NAC’s building and facilities before you arrive, click: nac-cna.ca/en/visit.  
 
Visit the NAC Dance page to learn more about the 2024-2025 season.

ABOUT BALLET BC

Founded in 1986 by David Y.H. Lui, Jean Orr, and Sheila Begg, Ballet BC is one of Canada's leading contemporary dance companies. Based in Vancouver and led by Artistic Director Medhi Walerski, the company performs at venues throughout British Columbia and on the world's best stages. Ballet BC dancers are a group of open-minded and curious artists, each unique for their exceptional artistry while sharing an intuitive passion for movement. Deeply committed to new creation in addition to presenting masterworks from today's most sought-after voices in dance, Ballet BC's diverse repertoire includes works by choreographers such as Crystal Pite, Johan Inger, Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, Medhi Walerski, Out Innerspace, Imre and Marne van Opstal, Roy Assaf, and Micaela Taylor. The company offers a variety of professional development and educational opportunities in the community, aiming to bring the power of dance to the widest audience possible. More info: balletbc.com.

THANK YOU TO THE NAC DANCE SPONSORS

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the generous support by an anonymous donor and Official Hotel Partner of NAC Dance, The Lord Elgin Hotel.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE  

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

October 1, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre’s new season of Youth programming opens with a sensory and poetic reverie by La Minoterie and Petits bonheurs, intended for children aged 18 months and older. Racines (Roots) is an invitation in a shimmering space, a forest of emotions where one can hear, as if by magic, a child’s inner voice, their desire for both closeness and separation. 

Step by step, a child learns to exist on their own. This magnificent piece by Elie Marchand gives voice to the maelstrom of sensations experienced during these key moments. On stage, the dazzling Léa Noblet Di Ziranaldi takes the voice-over and gleefully turns it into riveting physical play. The work billows with sounds and shimmers, and plunges us into a state of reverie.

Racines is, above all, an early childhood theatrical proposition that isn’t afraid to use its words. The speech is in constant dialogue with the body, substance, stunning soundtrack–all transmuted through an alchemy possible thanks to the performer’s multiple talents.

Alongside this production is taking place the free installation of light and sound Les eaux (The Waters), in the NAC Salon. Under a comfortable translucent canopy showing projections of the seaside and children playing, you’ll hear words bubbling up, a tingling joy and the tender voice of a parent telling their soon-to-be-born child that they’re waiting for them, that they already love them. This calming cocoon of sights and sounds will allow families let their dreams ebb and flow with the tides, while reconnecting to the magical substance that connects all living things: water.

PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY

Because the experience of going to the theatre begins long before you step into the performance hall, families are welcome to arrive 45 minutes before the start of the performance to warm up their imaginations. Around the Fountain by the Studio, families are welcome to enjoy a cozy reading corner, engage in a drawing activity, set in a seaside, and meet Marie-Ève Fontaine, one of NAC French Theatre’s artists in residence.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Racines

Azrieli Studio, October 12 (Saturday) and 13 (Sunday), at 11am and 3pm; duration: 30 minutes.

It may be possible for members of the media to attend the matinees (October 9-11), upon availability.

Intimate show in French for children from 18 months to 5 years old; tickets at $15 only.

Les eaux

NAC Salon, October 12 (Saturday) and 13 (Sunday), on-going from 11:30am to 4:30pm.

Free installation for children from 0 to 7 years old, as well as their families.

To purchase tickets for Racines, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35988 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS); to obtain more information about Les eaux, click here: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/37060. To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit  

Visit the https://nac-cna.ca/en/%20%20theatrefrancais to learn more about the NAC French Theatre.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

September 17, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Next week, the 2024 Collective’s Faire le bien will be showing at the National Arts Centre’s French Theatre. 

Showered with praise following its creation in Montreal, the show is the result of a collaboration between director Claude Poissant and authors François Archambault and Gabrielle Chapdelaine. Together, they have prepared some twenty sketches in which, with twisted morality and awkward dialogue, poke fun at our mechanisms of toxic positivity and other seemingly benevolent gestures.

“This project takes seizes on our reflections to punctuate our exchanges, to find dissimilarities and resemblances between our clear certainties and these sudden doubts which grip us, attempting to illuminate a little of what remains elusive in humans.”

– Claude Poissant, Director of Faire le bien

The Collective is an initiative of Mani Soleymanlou, who, following a troubling discussion with theatre graduates, wanted to “dream of the future”:

“‘No horizon’, they made me understand. This ‘impossibility of dreaming’, ‘of projecting oneself’, moved me. So, I thought: let’s go ahead, let’s offer them a horizon, a base. Let’s take a risk and offer this generation a breath of fresh air, a possibility, a first rendez-vous, hoping that their path will be full of possibilities.”

– Mani Soleymanlou, Artistic Director, NAC French Theatre and initiator of the Collective

This rendez-vous is driven by the talent and enthusiasm of eight young performers from six different theatre schools: Xavier Bergeron and Léa Roy (Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal); Anaelle Boily Talbot (École de théâtre professionnel du Collège Lionel-Groulx); Mehdi Boumalki (École supérieure de théâtre de l’UQAM); Simon Champagne (École de théâtre du Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe), Christophe Levac and Elizabeth Mageren (École nationale de théâtre du Canada); Charlotte Richer (Conservatoire du Département de théâtre de l’Université d’Ottawa). Together, they work alongside renowned actress, Eve Landry.

In Faire le bien, “empathy, kindness and benevolence can sometimes be disguised as a mission, slowly allowing the formula, the discomforts to emerge,” Director Claude Poissant insists.

As entertaining as it is hilarious, the show is, first and foremost, a great and essential cry for love addressed to the world of today and tomorrow.

MANI REÇOIT CLAUDE POISSANT

On Thursday, September 26, the opening night of Faire le bien, Mani Soleymanlou will be joined by director Claude Poissant as part of the Grandes rencontres du Théâtre français discussion series. The conversation will begin at 6:15 pm in the NAC Salon.

PODCAST “PLUS QUE DU THÉÂTRE”

Julien Morissette spoke with Claude Poissant about Faire le bien; the director's words are interspersed with those of the nine performers. Available in French, the podcast can be accessed here: https://nac-cna.ca/en/podcasts/episode/claude-poissant-et-le-collectif-2024

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Babs Asper Theatre

Thursday September 26 and Friday September 27 at 7:30 pm, and Saturday September 28 at 3 pm

Duration: 1 hour and 50 minutes without intermission

Tickets from $31

To purchases tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35974 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2024-2025 NAC French Theatre season.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

September 6, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – Braiding earthy and cinematic media, sound design, and performance, Homelands places Yethi’nihstenha / many womxn within the homelands and waters of Kahnyen’kehàka territory of upper state New York and around Ohswé:ken / Six Nations of the Grand River.

Presented alongside NAC Indigenous Theatre’s Days of Truth and Reconciliation programming and as part of the NAC’s SPHERE festival, Homelands celebrates the timeless kinship between Indigenous women, their lands, and waterways. Audiences will be immersed in a striking fusion of earthy visuals, cinematic media, and powerful performances on A'nowarà:ke (Turtle Island).

Santee Smith / Tekaronhiáhkhwa is a multidisciplinary artist from the Kahnyen’kehàka Nation, Turtle Clan, Ohswé:ken/Six Nations of the Grand River. Santee trained at Canada’s National Ballet School; holds Physical Education and Psychology degrees from McMaster University and an M.A. in Dance from York University. Kaha:wi Dance Theatre is a Rotinonhsyón:ni led company renowned for exquisitely produced and viscerally impactful performances, embodying stories that cultivate space for transformation, dialogue, and connection to Indigenous knowledge and experience. Founded in 2005 by Santee Smith, Kaha:wi (Ga-HA-Wee) means “to carry” in Kanyen’kéha.

Inviting the Land to Shape Us | SPHERE Festival Talk: On September 17, Santee speaks about her creative process which takes inspiration from her Rotinohnsyónni family legacy, and a vision to alignment with Onkwehónwe’néha – our way of life and Ka’satsténhsera’kówa Sa’oyé:ra, the immensity of the natural world. For more information, click here.

Tionnhehkwen, an Indigenous Dinner featuring Resident Chef Chris Commandant: We’re pleased to offer a delicious three-course dinner of Indigenous cuisine before the show on September 19, expertly crafted by NAC sous-chef, and Resident Chef (Fall 2024), Chris Commandant. To see the menu and purchase tickets, please visit the event page.

In observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day, we proudly present a collection of virtual and in-person offerings, highlighting the strength and resilience of Indigenous cultures. These all-ages activities aim to educate and share the truths of Indigenous peoples, our stories, and the beauty of our communities. Additional activities are available here.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/36000

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Indigenous Theatre at Canada’s National Arts Centre is made possible through the generous support of individuals and corporations from across the country. The National Arts Centre Foundation wishes to acknowledge the support of The Slaight Family Foundation, Presenting Sponsor BMO Financial Group, and Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites. Thank you also to Meta, Presenting Partner of #ReconcileThis.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Ian Hobson
Communications Strategist, NAC Indigenous Theatre
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0742
ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca

“First Métis Man of Odesa is a timely, intimate love story. The whole thing is beautifully, unabashedly theatrical.”  - Julia Peterson, Saskatoon Star Phoenix 

September 10, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada). NAC English Theatre is proud to present the critically acclaimed First Métis Man of Odesa. After touring and captivating audiences in several cities nationwide, this deeply moving love story steps onto the Azrieli Studio from September 18 – 28. 

Following a serendipitous encounter in Kyiv, an unexpected flirtation blossoms between a Métis playwright and a Ukrainian actress. Undeterred by the challenges of long distance, their love soon flourishes in a fervent romance spanning oceans and continents, from the scenic beaches of the Black Sea to the tranquil banks of the North Saskatchewan River. As they navigate the onset of a global pandemic and the eruption of war, their journey encompasses profound changes with marriage, the birth of their son, and the adventures of new parenthood. 

First Métis Man of Odesa tells the real-life love story of award-winning Métis playwright Matthew MacKenzie and acclaimed Ukrainian actress Mariya Khomutova. Together, they weave the story of their Covid courtship with the personal impact of the war in Ukraine. Their enchanting narrative captures the unbreakable bonds formed in crisis and the transcendent resilience of love.  

Winner of three Dora Mavor Moore Awards including Outstanding Production, Outstanding New Work, and Outstanding Direction, this hugely popular production is a must-see for Ottawa audiences.  
 
FIRST METIS MAN OF ODESA – SEPTEMBER 18 – 28 AZRIELI STUDIO  
 
An NAC English Theatre presentation of the Punctuate! Theatre Production  
 
Written and Performed by Matthew MacKenzie and Mariya Khomutova; Directed by Lianna Makuch; Production Designer Daniela Masellis; Projection Designer Amelia Scott; Composer Daraba; Sound Designer Aaron Macri; Design Consultant & Scenic Artist Dawn Marie Marchand; Choreographer Krista Lin; Dramaturg Matt McGeachy; Beadwork Maria Nelson & Krista Leddy; Stage Manager Amy Height; Production Manager & Technical Director Trent Crosby; Associate Designer Cameron Fraser; Producer Andy Cohen; Producer Sheiny Satanove; Associate Producer Alyson Dicey.  
 
PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION  

For more information and showtimes, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35931 ;   
 
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS    
 
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank the Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites. Special thank you to the Dr. Kanta Marwah Endowment for English Theatre.    
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE     
 
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.    

A graduate (2012) of the Stage Direction and Artistic Creation program at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec, Amélie Bergeron has worked with a wide range of Canadian organizations—particularly in Quebec City, Montreal, Sherbrooke, Winnipeg, and Ottawa—as a writer, director, and artistic director. In 2024, she completed a scriptwriting course at the École nationale de l’humour, further broadening her skills.

Active in the field of performing arts for young audiences since 2006, Amélie has worked in several capacities, including actor, host/mediator, and project coordinator. She worked for a decade with Les Gros Becs children’s theatre company, where she served as director of programming from 2018 to 2022. As a result of these various experiences, she has built relationships with many artists and partners across the country, a momentum she hopes to maintain as she takes on her new mandate at the NAC.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am at the prospect of joining the wonderful NAC French Theatre team and reconnecting with young audiences. I’m diving into this adventure with confidence and joy. To those I’ve already met: I can’t wait to see you again soon; to the rest of you (audiences, artists, colleagues and partners): I look forward to the great pleasure of meeting you at last!”

—Amélie Bergeron, Associate Artistic Director, Youth Programming

At the NAC, the feeling is mutual:

“We’re thrilled to welcome Amélie Bergeron to French Theatre. Her extensive expertise in theatre for young audiences, combined with her dynamic energy, make her an outstanding asset to our team, to the NAC, and to the theatre community as a whole. I can’t wait to dream with her about what’s next.”

–Mani Soleymanlou, Artistic Director, French Theatre

The 2024–2025 season of NAC French Theatre’s Children and Youth series will be the last to be directed by Mélanie Dumont, who has managed the program for 13 seasons—totalling more than 70 shows and special events—in addition to coordinating the presentation of the BIG BANG festival and forging lasting links between a number of cultural and artistic communities. She is currently developing a new international event for young audiences, La mèche courte, which will premiere in Montreal in fall 2025.

“Thanks to Mélanie Dumont, the arts for children and youth have enjoyed considerable growth, both locally and across Canada, and even abroad. We’re confident that with Amélie Bergeron’s impressive background, this unique work will continue to flourish, making the NAC a key player in supporting and developing the audiences of today and tomorrow.”

–Christopher Deacon, President and CEO

Amélie will officially take up her new position on Tuesday, September 3, when she will start working on designing the 2025–2026 season, her first as the National Arts Centre French Theatre’s new Associate Artistic Director, Youth Programming, with this idea of theatre in mind:

“I love the fact that theatre can be a place of joy, creativity and comfort. A place that can be simple, crazy, funny and outrageous, but where we can also express what moves us or worries us. A place where we can experience moments that are both intimate and collective, where play is at the heart of it all!”

–Amélie Bergeron

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) is proud to open its 2024-2025 season with SPHERE, a multi-disciplinary festival highlighting connections between art and the natural world. Presented by the NAC Orchestra and curated by its Music Director Alexander Shelley, SPHERE will engage all the NAC’s artistic disciplines, with participation from the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, French Theatre, Popular Music and Variety, and 1 Elgin Culinary Arts. This year’s program builds upon SPHERE’s inaugural edition in 2022 to explore rivers, waterways, and watersheds through performances, talks, and visual art.

Attendees will be captivated by the diverse lineup of artists and events at SPHERE, including Polaris Prize and JUNO Award winner Jeremy Dutcher in concert with the NAC Orchestra, Québécoise actor and playwright Christine Beaulieu, GRAMMY Award-winning soprano Renée Fleming, and celebrated Indigenous choreographer Tekaronhiáhkhwa Santee Smith. The festival will also premiere a double bill of radio dramas by Canadian playwrights David Yee and Berni Stapleton and feature a specially curated dinner by 1 Elgin’s Resident Chef for fall 2024, Chris Commandant. Throughout the festival, the NAC’s Kipnes Lantern will showcase an installation by renowned visual artist and microbiologist Chloé Savard, also known as @Tardibabe, to her more than one million Instagram followers. 

SPHERE begins on September 10 with the world premiere of UAQUE in Southam Hall, a NAC Dance and NAC Orchestra co-commission that uniquely fuses dance, music and visual art, choreographed by Andrea Peña. UAQUE, meaning “kin, relative, neighbour, friend” in the Indigenous Muisca language from Peña’s native Colombia, will take audiences on a contemplative and immersive journey through dance. The piece sets ten performers against a backdrop of stirring photographs by renowned Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky and orchestral selections by the NAC Orchestra led by Alexander Shelley, alternating with works by electronic music producer and composer Eƨƨe Ran. 

“I am thrilled to begin my tenth season at the NAC with the second instalment of such a timely and ambitious festival. At the heart of SPHERE is an invitation to celebrate the intellectual and artistic inspiration that Mother Earth gives us and to explore our fragile relationship with her,” says Alexander Shelley. “As a hub for performing arts in Canada's National Capital, we will honour the region's three major rivers and its numerous waterways through adventurous, vibrant, and thoughtful programming presented by some of the country's most celebrated and emerging artists. We invite our audiences to journey with us as we consider the future of the natural world and its most abundant resource through song, dance, theatre, and visual art.” 

The season-opening festival welcomes another significant milestone as Caroline Ohrt introduces her first season as the Executive Producer of NAC Dance.  

“I can't think of a better way to begin my inaugural season at the NAC than with the world premiere of UAQUE, a commission for the multi-disciplinary choreographer Andrea Peña,” says Caroline Ohrt. “The NAC is honoured to partner with Andrea Peña & Artists to premiere such a meaningful and important work, bringing together dance and music with Edward Burtynsky's striking photographs that speak volumes about our planet's vulnerable state. We invite audiences to pause and reflect on our connection to the earth.” 

In addition to programming across the NAC’s stages, SPHERE includes free events such as panel discussions, live demonstrations, and a day of music and family activities at the Canadian Museum of History. 

For more information and a complete festival schedule, visit nac-cna.ca/en/sphere.  

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS  

Thank you to our Lead Donors, Earle O'Born & Janice O'Born, C.M., O.Ont. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE 

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA 

Since its debut in 1969, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships. 

Since its inception, the NAC Orchestra has recorded over 40 commercial recordings, including many of the 80+ new works it has commissioned, primarily from Canadian composers.  

These include: 

• The 2024 album Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra 
• Clara - Robert - Johannes: A multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero 
• The groundbreaking Life Reflected, which includes “My Name is Amanda Todd” by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year) 
• Ana Sokolović’s "Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes," 2019 JUNO Winner for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 JUNO-nominated New Worlds) 
• Angela Hewitt’s 2015 JUNO Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos 
• The 2020 JUNO-nominated The Bounds of Our Dreams, featuring pianist Alain Lefèvre 

ABOUT ALEXANDER SHELLEY 

Alexander Shelley succeeded Pinchas Zukerman as Music Director of Canada’s NAC Orchestra in September 2015. The ensemble has since been praised as being “transformed, hungry, bold, and unleashed” (Ottawa Citizen) and Shelley’s programming credited for turning the Orchestra into “one of the more audacious in North America” (Maclean’s).  

Shelley is a champion of Canadian creation. Recent hallmarks include multimedia projects Life Reflected and UNDISRUPTED and three major new ballets in partnership with NAC Dance for Encount3rs. He is passionate about arts education and nurturing the next generation of musicians. He is an Ambassador for Ottawa’s OrKidstra, a charitable social development program that teaches children life skills through making music together.  

In April 2022, Alexander Shelley made his debut at Carnegie Hall with the NAC Orchestra in its long-awaited return, and in the spring of 2019, he led the Orchestra on its critically acclaimed 50th-anniversary European tour, with stops in London, Paris, Copenhagen, and Stockholm.  

Shelley is also the Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and, starting with the 2024/25 season, the Music Director of Artis-Naples and the Naples Philharmonic in Florida, USA. Previous releases with the NAC Orchestra include the JUNO-nominated New Worlds, Life Reflected, ENCOUNT3RS, The Bounds of Our Dreams, the acclaimed multi-volume Clara - Robert - Johannes series, all with Canadian label Analekta, as well as Truth in Our Time with Orange Mountain Music.   

The Music Director role is supported by Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, C.M., ONL, LL.D. (hc) 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Noah Richardson 
Communications Strategist, NAC Orchestra 
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca 
(613) 415-5208

During the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the National Arts Centre (NAC) and CBC/Radio-Canada, Canada’s Olympic Network, will be teaming up to bring Ottawa-Gatineau residents all the thrilling moments and celebrate the performances of Canadian athletes. From July 26 to August 10, CBC/Radio-Canada’s comprehensive coverage of Paris 2024 will be shown in the NAC’s public spaces. For the event, the NAC’s Kipnes Lantern will sport the colours of Paris 2024.

The festivities will kick off on July 25 at 10:30 a.m. with the women’s soccer game between Canada and New Zealand, followed by the Opening Ceremony on July 26, starting at 1 p.m. Afterwards, Olympic Games events will be broadcast in the NAC public spaces every day between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., in French, English and Indigenous languages, ​​when available.

“We are thrilled to partner with CBC/Radio-Canada to bring the excitement of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 to our public spaces at the National Arts Centre. This collaboration not only celebrates the spirit of global athleticism but also strengthens our commitment to fostering community engagement and cultural enrichment. Together, we look forward to providing a vibrant and inclusive viewing experience for all visitors.”
– Christopher Deacon, President and CEO, National Arts Centre

“This collaboration is a testament to the strong ties between our two institutions, which each play a unique role in shaping our shared identity. Thanks to this partnership, visitors to the National Arts Centre can closely follow the Canadian athletes they admire, and together celebrate their Olympic exploits.”

– Catherine Tait, President and CEO, CBC/Radio-Canada

This collaboration between two national cultural institutions will allow residents and visitors in the National Capital Region to come together and cheer on our athletes, while sharing in the excitement of the first Olympic Games held before an international audience since 2018. 

The NAC and CBC/Radio-Canada will also be working together for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. More information will follow in the coming weeks.

About the National Arts Centre

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multidisciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

About CBC/Radio-Canada

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.

Media contacts:

National Arts Centre
Carl Martin
Senior Advisor, Strategy and Communications
carl.martin@nac-cna.ca

CBC/Radio-Canada
Emma Iannetta
Senior Specialist, Media Relations
emma.iannetta@cbc.ca

MUSE  noun   /mjuːz/  

MYÜZ is a unique experience that dares visitors to go deep into the mind of an artist and influence the creative process. The experience offers visitors of all abilities the opportunity to enter four interconnected rooms, each featuring tactile elements and visual stimulations designed to accommodate diverse sensory needs. 

The catalyst for the project is Sarah MacKinnon, the NAC’s Chief Information Officer. Sarah is the mother of three children with disabilities: Téa, 17, has cerebral palsy, while her sons Rowan, 14, and Graeme, 11, are on the autism spectrum. 

“When our family goes on vacation, it’s always hard to find attractions that are appropriate and enjoyable for everyone. Venues are rarely universally accessible, or they’ve been adapted after-the-fact, for example through the addition of a wheelchair ramp. When it’s a retrofit, it always shows,” said Sarah MacKinnon, Chief Information Officer at the NAC. 

The project raised awareness among the NAC creative team as to what constitutes good inclusive design. Heather Gibson assembled a creative team, including Echo Zhou, Martin Conboy and Katharine Fountain who acted as set, lighting and sound designers, respectively. Visual artists Brad Hindson and Max Striecher, as well as the Canada Council Art Bank, also contributed. Consultants from the disability community were involved from the beginning in the conception of MYÜZ. They include Dominique Chabot of Autism Canada, Liz Winkelaar and Geoffrey Dollar of Propeller Dance, Pina D’Intino and David Wysocki of Aequum Global Access Inc, as well as Anna-Karina Tabuñar of Talent Untapped Group. 

“It’s important that we push boundaries to not only find ways for all audiences to attend but also participate fully at the NAC. Projects like MYÜZ bring us closer to understanding what is needed for true accessibility both on and off the stage,” said Heather Gibson, Executive Producer Popular Music and Variety. 

Advocates in the Disability Community are also taking notice. 

“MYÜZ offers a truly neuro-inclusive environment,” says Dominique Chabot, Family Support Manager for Autism Canada and a parent to two children on the autism spectrum. “This work doesn’t just meet the standards set forth by the Accessibility Act, it’s actually a pioneering leap towards true inclusivity, redefining how cultural institutions engage with diverse audiences. Through initiatives like MYÜZ, the NAC continues to lead the way in promoting neurodiversity and breaking down barriers, contributing to a more inclusive and vibrant artistic landscape in Canada.” 

While MYÜZ was designed to be universally accessible, it is suitable for all audiences and recommended. Group bookings are encouraged, as the experience is amplified when participating as a group of up to 8 people. 

Dare to delve into the unknown, where reality and fantasy converge. Will you seize your destiny? Or succumb to the eternal embrace of the dream...   

MEDIA CALL 

Date: Tuesday, July 30th  

Time: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM  

Location: Studio Azrieli, 1 Elgin Street, National Arts Centre  

Sarah MacKinnon will be on-site for interviews and discussions. Photos and videos are available below. For alternate times or to book pre-interviews, please contact Mathieu Roy at mathieu.roy@nac-cna.ca or 613-793-3998 

PHOTOS AND VIDEOS 

Link to images and videos. 

TICKETS AND INFORMATION 

MYÜZ takes place from July 31 to August 17, 2024, offering multiple entry times. Given the immersive nature of the experience, groups of up to 8 people are recommended. Tickets for group entries should be purchased together. Visit the ticket page for further information.  

As part of our commitment to accessibility and diversity, we welcome individuals of all abilities and their service animals to join us on this adventure. 

Read more: How to design a show for everyone: Universal accessibility through MYÜZ 

ABOUT THE NAC    

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 
Mathieu Roy 

Communications Strategist, Summer Programming 

National Arts Centre 

613-793-3998 

mathieu.roy@nac-cna.ca 

Henry Kennedy hails from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, and has spent his educational and professional life mostly based in the United Kingdom. His comprehensive experience and passion for music make him an invaluable addition to the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

27-year-old Kennedy is already a distinguished young conductor with a background in both opera and orchestral music, having recently completed his tenure as Conductor of Wroclaw Opera, in Poland, where he led numerous productions during the 2022-2023 season. Last summer, he was the Assistant Conductor to Sir John Eliot Gardiner for Berlioz’s monumental opera Les Troyens, touring prestigious venues such as the Berlioz Festival, Salzburg Festival, The Royal Opera of Versailles, Berliner Philharmonie, and BBC Proms. His forthcoming engagements include performances of Tosca in Italy with Orchestra Cherubini, marking the 100th anniversary of Puccini’s death.

As the founder of the London, UK-based Resonate Symphony Orchestra and its music director since 2017, Kennedy has curated and conducted diverse programs across London’s prominent concert halls. His training includes studying under Riccardo Muti and assisting several esteemed conductors with leading symphony and opera orchestras worldwide.

Kennedy will visit Ottawa this summer to attend the NAC Orchestra’s summer concert series and officially starts his tenure in September 2024.

Reflecting on this new role, Henry Kennedy said, “I feel greatly honoured to be joining the National Arts Centre Orchestra as their Resident Conductor. I will never forget the lightning bolt response I received from the Orchestra in the audition when I gave the downbeat for the first movement of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. From the beginning to the end of the audition, I felt a musical electricity that I have never experienced before. This position offers a unique opportunity to work alongside some of the world’s finest musicians and contribute to the vibrant cultural landscape of Canada. I look forward to a period of immense growth and artistic collaboration in the beautiful city of Ottawa.”

Alexander Shelley, NACO Music Director, expressed his enthusiasm for Kennedy’s appointment: “I am delighted to be welcoming Henry to our artistic team. During his audition he demonstrated wonderful technique and poise in front of the orchestra and spoke eloquently about the role of the conductor in the community and about the importance of music to us all. He joins us at an exciting moment in his career as his work across the pond in the UK and Europe continues to blossom. I am confident that our audiences in Ottawa and across Canada will benefit greatly from his artistry. Welcome, Henry!”

The selection process, open to Canadians and Permanent Residents, involved reviewing over 50 applications, auditioning five finalists, and obtaining feedback from orchestra members and the Artistic Advisory Committee. The final decision was made by Alexander Shelley.

“This appointment marks an exciting new chapter for the National Arts Centre, as we expand our suite of professional development opportunities for Canadian artists,” says Nelson McDougall, NACO Managing Director. “The number of applicants for this position shows the need for increased collaboration from orchestras across Canada to support the next generation of Canadian conductors, and we are already moving on plans to achieve this for the many talented young conductors we discovered through this process. By adding this new role to existing programs, like our NACO Mentorship Program, and programs we support such as Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership Program, the international Maestra and Malko competitions, and OAcademy, we are maximizing efforts towards the development of young conductors. There is nothing more important than top-flight, hands-on work for a conductor in the early stages of their career.”

The new two-year Resident Conductor position, starting in September 2024, offers an immersive professional development opportunity under the mentorship of Music Director Alexander Shelley. Responsibilities include serving as assistant conductor for the Orchestra’s guest conductors, working closely with Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds and Principal Youth Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, and collaborating with NACO’s administrative team. The role includes a competitive salary and participation in a conductor exchange program with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

ABOUT HENRY KENNEDY

British-Canadian conductor Henry Kennedy recently completed a one-year tenure as Conductor of Wroclaw Opera. He is the founder and Music Director of the Resonate Symphony Orchestra, leading diverse programs in London’s prominent concert halls. Kennedy has assisted renowned conductors such as Marin Alsop, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Sir Simon Rattle. Upcoming engagements include debuts with the Warsaw Radio Orchestra and performances of Tosca with Orchestra Cherubini at various Italian opera houses. He holds a Master of Arts in conducting and a Bachelor of Music in clarinet from the Royal Academy of Music, London, and has been mentored by distinguished conductors including Richard Bonynge, Christopher Seaman, Christian Thielemann, Colin Metters, Riccardo Muti and David Zinman.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA

Since its debut in 1969, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships.

Since its inception, the NAC Orchestra has recorded for radio and more than 40 commercial recordings many of the 80+ new works it has commissioned, primarily from Canadian composers. These include:

• The 2024 album Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra. 
• Clara - Robert - Johannes: A multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero. 
• The ground-breaking Life Reflected, which includes My Name is Amanda Todd by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year). 
• Ana Sokolović’s Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes, 2019 JUNO Winner for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 JUNO-nominated New Worlds). 
• Angela Hewitt’s 2015 JUNO Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos.    
• The 2020 JUNO-nominated The Bounds of Our Dreams, featuring pianist Alain Lefèvre.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Noah Richardson
Communications Strategist
National Arts Centre Orchestra
noah.richardson@nac-cna.ca

&

Greggory Clark
Communications Strategist
National Arts Centre Orchestra
343-588-0513
greggory.clark@nac-cna.ca

On July 4th at 8:00pm, Music Director Alexander Shelley will lead the NACO in 2024 : A Summer Odyssey alongside Ottawa-born violinist Kerson Leong, and featuring works by Métis composer Ian Cusson, and German Romantic composers Max Bruch and Richard Strauss. 

The evening begins with the world premiere of 1Q84: Sinfonietta Metamoderna, written for NACO by Métis composer Ian Cusson. This provocative new work, inspired by Haruki Murakami’s Orwellian novel 1Q84, blends Japanese sci-fi with magical realism, philosophy, and mythology. 

Next, Ottawa’s own international violin sensation, Kerson Leong, will ignite the stage with Max Bruch’s romantic Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, one of the most beloved violin concertos of all time. Max Bruch is best known today for his first Violin Concerto which he began working on in 1857, but only completed it in 1866. Once finished, Bruch revised the concerto based on suggestions from the famous violinist Joseph Joachim and the final version premiered in Bremen on January 5, 1868. Nearly 40 years later, Joachim still considered Bruch’s violin concerto one of the four greatest of the nineteenth century, alongside those of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Brahms, calling it "the richest, the most seductive ". Additional program notes can be found here. 

Finally, if the sunrise could be depicted by a song, it would be Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spake Zarathustra) by Richard Strauss. You’ve likely heard it before, as it symbolizes the dawn of time in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey and, more recently, the dawn of film Barbie in 2023! While the opening theme, known as "Sunrise" in the composer’s program notes, is widely recognized, Also sprach Zarathustra offers a profound musical journey beyond this famous snippet. As a tone poem, the full composition is rich with depth and variety, promising a captivating experience that extends far beyond its renowned introduction. This work is an epic journey—powerful, unforgettable, and best experienced live. 

This concert is the perfect opportunity to introduce someone to the world of live symphonic music as the program bridges the familiar and the extraordinary. Plus, enjoy accessible ticket prices ranging from $15 to $45! 

Alexander Shelley, Ian Cusson, and Kerson Leong have limited availability, and may be available for virtual or in-person interviews. For scheduling and availability, please contact Mathieu Roy directly: mathieu.roy@nac-cna.ca.   

TICKETS AND INFORMATION 

Tickets range from $15-$45 and are currently on sale, and can be purchased here - https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/36330 ;

See the full NAC Summer Programming lineup and additional ticket info on our website.  

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA  

Since its debut in 1969, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships. 

Since its inception, the NAC Orchestra has recorded for radio and more than 40 commercial recordings many of the 80+ new works it has commissioned, primarily from Canadian composers. These include: 

• The 2024 album Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra.   
• Clara - Robert - Johannes: A multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero.   
• The ground-breaking Life Reflected, which includes My Name is Amanda Todd by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year).   
• Ana Sokolović’s Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes, 2019 JUNO Winner for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 JUNO-nominated New Worlds).   
• Angela Hewitt’s 2015 JUNO Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos.      
• The 2020 JUNO-nominated The Bounds of Our Dreams, featuring pianist Alain Lefèvre. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE 

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.  

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS  

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Mark Motors Group, Official Car of the NAC Orchestra, and Earle O'Born & Janice O'Born, C.M., O.Ont. The NAC Orchestra Music Director role is supported by Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, C.M., O.N.L., LLD (hc). 

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WRITING THE NIGHT

Writing the night: about and during the night, to see what this space may open up by moving away from conventional issues of identity and language. This ambitious venture, a journey from west to east spanning five time zones, will unite the participants in a creative exploration of the night and its mysteries, as if to reflect Paul Lefebvre’s recent statement on receiving the Sentinelle Prize from the Conseil québécois du théâtre: “Theatre is to the community what nocturnal dreams are to the individual: a way of finding symbolic representations of and even solutions to vital questions that neither logic nor will can grasp or resolve.”

The writers will be chosen to reflect the diversity of today’s world, and will be closely supported by the two dramaturges in writing and editing the material produced. Combining performance, nocturnal exploration and transnational teamwork, the project promises to reveal new voices and visions from the Francophonie on the critical issues of our time.

PROPOSED SCHEDULE AND PARTICIPATING COMPANIES

July 2024         Théâtre la Seizième (Vancouver, BC)

August             Open Pit Theatre (Whitehorse, YT)

September       L’UniThéâtre (Edmonton, AB)

October            La Troupe du Jour (Saskatoon, SK)

November        Théâtre Cercle Molière (Winnipeg, MB)

December        Théâtre français de Toronto (Toronto, ON)

January 2025   Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario (Sudbury, ON)

February          La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins (Ottawa, ON)

March              Théâtre de Quat’Sous (Montréal, QC)

April                 La Bordée (Québec, QC)

May                 Théâtre l’Escaouette (Moncton, NB)

June                Théâtre populaire d’Acadie (Caraquet, NB)

The order of the stops may change along the way. The writers’ names will be announced at the beginning of each month. Project details will be meticulously documented and posted on a dedicated website: https://nac-cna.ca/en/theatrefrancais/nuits-claires

The NAC French Theatre will be the producer of this national project, in addition to being the co-creator with the Théâtre la Seizième. Each participating theatre will act as a collaborator.

DRAMATURGICAL SUPPORT

Danielle Le Saux-Farmer is an actor, director, playwright and translator. A graduate of the University of Ottawa (theatre) and the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec (acting), she was the artistic and general director of Théâtre Catapulte (Ottawa) from 2017 to 2023. She has performed at the Théâtre du Trident, La Bordée, Premier Acte, Le Périscope, Théâtre La Licorne, Théâtre Denise-Pelletier, and on tour across the country, notably in Mani Soleymanlou’s Un. Deux. Trois. In April 2025, she will direct the stage adaptation of Marie-Ève Thuot’s novel La trajectoire des confettis at the Théâtre du Trident.

Gabriel Plante completed his playwriting training at the National Theatre School of Canada in 2015. Since 2012, he has written and produced over ten shows, including Histoire populaire et sensationnelle, Sur l’apparition des os dans le corps and Cette colline n’est jamais vraiment silencieuse; in 2016, he received the Gratien-Gélinas Prize for the text of the former. Gabriel is a past president of the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD) and is currently co-artistic director of Création Dans la Chambre (Montréal). His artistic practice focuses on removing stories from their original context and presenting them from unexpected angles, and discovering dramatic possibilities in social practices that would seem to contain little in the way of drama.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Supporting Partner Québecor, and Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites.

ABOUT THE NAC  

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

June 6, 2024 – OTTAWA – Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra is thrilled to announce the program of Canadian musical talent and composers for its annual Canada Day Concert. Admission is free.

On July 1st, Music Director Alexander Shelley will lead the NAC Orchestra alongside JUNO Award-winning vocalist Kellylee Evans, Ottawa-born violinist Kerson Leong, and the bilingual slam poet and songwriter YAO, showcasing an extraordinary repertoire by Canadian composers. 

The NAC Orchestra will be joined by hundreds of singers from the Unisong Choral Festival; a special ensemble made up of choirs from all ages and from all parts of Canada.

The 75-minute performance, presented without intermission, will captivate audiences with a diverse selection of music from renowned Canadian composers François Dompierre, Andrew Balfour, Keiko Devaux, and the legendary Oscar Peterson. Additional repertoire will be announced from the stage.

The NAC Orchestra has a proud tradition of presenting free concerts on Canada Day, and this year’s event continues that legacy with a stellar lineup of artists. The immensely talented jazz and soul vocalist Kellylee Evans first performed with the NAC Orchestra at the Canada Day Concert in 2014; bilingual songwriter and slam poet YAO also hosted the Canada Day Concert in 2022 and 2023; and the Ottawa-born international violin sensation Kerson Leong will perform in upcoming concerts with the NAC Orchestra on both July 1st (Canada Day Concert 2024) and July 4th (A Summer Odyssey) at Southam Hall. These collaborations bring an extraordinary dimension to the performance, showcasing Canadian music across diverse styles and languages.

To conclude the concert, the NAC Orchestra will deliver a moving rendition of “Hymn to Freedom”, a soul-stirring masterpiece by the late Canadian jazz pianist and composer, Oscar Peterson.

This free event provides a wonderful opportunity for fans of all ages to hear live music in the National Arts Centre’s Southam Hall. “It’s a wonderful occasion where families, friends, and communities can come together,” says Alexander Shelley, Music Director of the NAC Orchestra. “Each year we feature the incredible talent of Canadian artists, our National Arts Centre Orchestra, and composers who represent the vast and varied Canadian music scene. Our program features work spanning over 100 years of Canadian music-making. It’s a powerful reminder of the vibrant and evolving nature of Canadian music.”

“What I love most about this concert is how it brings people together. Whether you’re performing on stage or singing along in the audience, you can feel the sense of togetherness in the room. Concerts like this are a beautiful reminder of the power of music,” says guest artist Kellylee Evans. “I’m looking forward to sharing in those magical moments of a live performance where we can all feel the energy and joy of the music together.”

“Personally, what I’m most looking forward to is seeing the audience’s reaction. Those are the moments that really stand out for me! There’s an energy in the air at these free concerts, a palpable sense of community and connection,” says YAO. “As a bilingual artist, it’s an incredible opportunity to be able to share my words and music with such a diverse audience and in the company of the superb NAC Orchestra. It’s truly an honour to be a part of this celebration, and to see how music can touch people’s hearts and minds.”

The 2024 Canada Day Concert by the NAC Orchestra will take place on July 1st at 2:30pm. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. Outside of Southam Hall, television screens will broadcast the Canada Day Concert live inside the National Arts Centre public spaces. 

Doors to Southam Hall will open at 2:00pm, half an hour before the concert begins. The National Arts Centre and 1 Elgin Restaurant will be open before and after the show.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA

Since its debut in 1969, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships.

Since its inception, the NAC Orchestra has recorded for radio and more than 40 commercial recordings many of the 80+ new works it has commissioned, primarily from Canadian composers. These include:

• The 2024 album Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra.  
• Clara - Robert - Johannes: A multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero.  
• The ground-breaking Life Reflected, which includes My Name is Amanda Todd by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year).  
• Ana Sokolović’s Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes, 2019 JUNO Winner for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 JUNO-nominated New Worlds).  
• Angela Hewitt’s 2015 JUNO Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos.     
• The 2020 JUNO-nominated The Bounds of Our Dreams, featuring pianist Alain Lefèvre.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS 

The National Arts Centre Foundation wishes to acknowledge the leadership support of Mark Motors Group, Official Car of the NAC Orchestra. The NAC Orchestra Music Director role is supported by Elinor Ratcliffe, C.M., O.N.L., LLD (hc). Special thanks to the Janice & Earle O’Born Fund for Artistic Excellence. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Greggory Clark  
Communications Strategist 
National Arts Centre Orchestra
343-588-0513
greggory.clark@nac-cna.ca

COME FROM AWAY

Book, Music & Lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein

Directed by Christopher Ashley

Canadian Cast Features: Kyle Brown, Clint Butler, Saccha Dennis, Steffi DiDomenicantonio, Kate Etienne, Barbara Fulton, Lisa Horner, Barbara Johnston, James Kall, Jeff Madden, Jawon Mapp, Ali Momen, Sarah Nairne, Cory O’Brien, Kristen Peace, David Silvestri, Cailin Stadnyk, and Aaron Walpole

Co-Creator Irene Sankoff Joins the Cast for the Ottawa Engagement

Performances In Ottawa Begin August 14, 2024 at The National Arts Centre

Performances In Toronto Begin September 22, 2024 at The Royal Alexandra Theatre

David Mirvish and The National Arts Centre English Theatre are delighted to announce the cast of the new Canadian production of the multi-award-winning global sensation Come From Away.

Come From Away will play a limited run at the Babs Asper Theatre, National Arts Centre in Ottawa from August 14 to September 1, 2024. It will then travel to Toronto for its return engagement, playing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre from September 22 through December 22, 2024.

Tickets to Come From Away in Ottawa are on sale at nac-cna.ca. Tickets for the Toronto return (first block of performances until December 22) are on sale at mirvish.com.

This production of Come From Away is produced by Mirvish Productions and The National Arts Centre English Theatre.

About The Cast

Come From Away features an all-Canadian cast. All but three of the 18-member company were part of the earlier production of the show, which began in Toronto on February 18, 2018 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. Its run was cut short by the global pandemic on March 13, 2020.

Starring are: Kyle Brown as Bob & others, Saccha Dennis as Hannah & others, Steffi DiDomenicantonio as Janice & others, Barbara Fulton as Diane & others, Lisa Horner as Beulah & others, James Kall as Nick/Doug & others, Jeff Madden as Kevin T. /Garth & others, Ali Momen as Kevin J. /Ali & others, Cory O’Brien as Oz & others, Kristen Peace as Bonnie & others, David Silvestri as Claude & others and Cailin Stadnyk as Beverley/Annette & others.  The cast also includes Clint Butler, Kate Etienne, Barbara Johnston, Jawon Mapp, Sarah Nairne and Aaron Walpole as Standbys.

(New to the Come From Away family are: Barbara Johnston, Jawon Mapp and Aaron Walpole.)

Exclusive for the Ottawa engagement, Come From Away’s co-creator, Irene Sankoff, will perform Bonnie & others at The National Arts Centre.

About Come From Away

This New York Times Critic's Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.

This breathtaking musical is written by Tony®-nominated Canadians Irene Sankoff and David Hein and featuring Tony®-winning direction by Christopher Ashley. Newsweek cheers, “It takes you to a place you never want to leave!”

On 9/11, the world stopped.

On 9/12, their stories moved us all.

Come From Away features a book, music and lyrics by Olivier, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award winners and Grammy and two-time Tony Award nominees Irene Sankoff & David Hein, direction by Tony Award winner and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Christopher Ashley, musical staging by Olivier Award winner and two-time Tony Award nominee Kelly Devine, and music supervision by Olivier Award winner and Grammy Award nominee Ian Eisendrath.

Come From Away features scenic design by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Tony Award nominee Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by two-time Tony Award winner Howell Binkley, sound design by Olivier & Outer Critics Circle Award winner and Tony Award nominee Gareth Owen, orchestrations by Olivier Award winner and Grammy & Tony Award nominee August Eriksmoen, and music arrangements by Olivier Award winner and Grammy Award nominee Ian Eisendrath.

A “Best Musical” winner all across North America, the smash hit musical has won the Tony Award for “Best Direction of a Musical” (Christopher Ashley), 4 Olivier Awards (London) including “Best New Musical,” 5 Outer Critics Circle Awards (NYC) including “Outstanding New Broadway Musical,” 3 Drama Desk Awards (NYC) including “Outstanding Musical,” 4 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards (North American Tour) including “Best Production,” 4 Helen Hayes Awards (D.C.) including “Outstanding Production of a Musical,” 4 Gypsy Rose Lee Awards (Seattle) including “Excellence in Production of a Musical,” 6 San Diego Critics Circle Awards including “Outstanding New Musical,” 3 Toronto Theatre Critics Awards including “Best New Musical,” 3 Dora Awards (Toronto) including “Outstanding New Musical/Opera” and “Outstanding Production,” and the 2017 Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award (Toronto).

The Grammy Award-nominated original Broadway cast recording of Come From Away is available digitally and in stores everywhere. Grammy Award winner David Lai and Grammy Award nominees Ian Eisendrath, August Eriksmoen, Irene Sankoff & David Hein served as album producers.

Come From Away was originally produced by Junkyard Dog Productions (Randy Adams, Marleen and Kenny Alhadeff and Sue Frost). 

Come From Away was originally co-produced in 2015 by La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre, and presented in 2016 by Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, and Mirvish Productions at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

Come From Away was developed at the Canadian Music Theatre Project (Michael Rubinoff Producer, Sheridan College in Oakville, ON), and was further developed at Goodspeed Musicals’ Festival of New Artists, in East Haddam, CT.   It was also part of the National Alliance of Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals in New York 2013.  The Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council, and the Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seattle, WA, also provided development support.

Come From Away

Tickets from $49

Mirvish.com

Performances Begin September 22, 2024

The Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St West, Toronto

Performance Schedule:

Tuesday to Thursday: 7:30 pm

Friday & Saturday: 8:00 pm

Wednesday: 1:30 pm

Saturday and Sunday: 2:00 pm

Added show: Thursday October 31: 1:30 pm

No show: Thursday October 31: 7:30 pm

Buy tickets at mirvish.com and 1-800-461-3333

National Arts Centre 

Performances begin August 14 
Babs Asper Theatre 

Performance Schedule 

Evening performances 7:30 pm 

matinees August 24, 25, 28, 31 and September 1 
 
Tickets at nac-cna.ca

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June 3, 2024 – TORONTO (Canada) – Share the Air: A Study of Gender Representation on Canadian Radio (2013-2023) was released today – an extensive study by Dr. Jada Watson through her research program SongData, prepared in collaboration with Eugénie Tessier and in partnership with the National Arts Centre and Women in Music Canada. The study was generously supported by Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia, Ontario Creates, and Feisty Creative.

Taking an intersectional approach to radio data analysis, Dr. Watson evaluated representation amongst the top 150 songs played on Canadian commercial radio between 2013 and 2023 and of all songs played in 2023. Results indicate that songs by women – especially those by women of colour – are underrepresented in each format studied: country, alternative rock, active rock, Top 40, mainstream adult contemporary, hot adult contemporary, and on two specially curated portfolios of French-language stations of both mainstream and hot adult contemporary formats.

Women are almost invisible on some radio formats in Canada. Alternative Rock stations play on average only one song by women per hour, while Active Rock plays just one per 4- or 5-hour block. Country stations: only two per hour. The three pop-oriented genres show greater representation, but songs by women still capture just one third of overall programming.

The study also considers representation via Canadian Content designation, finding that songs by Canadian women are not prioritised in programming on Canadian radio and are programmed less than songs by international female artists. Programming of songs by women of colour are often impacted the most through as the study finds, as their songs are vastly under programmed across all formats. Trans, non-binary, genderqueer and 2-Spirit artists (referred to as Trans* artists in the study) are nearly absent overall, with only a few international artists receiving minimal support through programming on Top 40, mainstream adult contemporary, and hot adult contemporary playlists.

“The results of SongData’s study, which focused on the last decade of radio, are unequivocal: songs by women are underplayed on Canadian radio and those by women of colour and Trans* artists are on some formats entirely unplayed. This is most disconcerting for me in Country and Rock radio – formats with deep roots in Black musical culture and traditions. We see in these findings only a marginal bump in programming for songs by women in 2023 on Canadian radio – nothing to reverse the systemic inequity in the industry in any significant way. These findings are echoed within the programming of the two portfolios of French language stations that we curated specifically for this study, which reveal the same prioritising of songs by white male artists at all levels of analysis. Women’s voices – especially Canadian women’s voices – are lost in the programming pipeline. It’s time for change. It's time to share the air.”

Jada Watson

Principal Investigator of SongData and Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities at the University of Ottawa

Songs that receive radio support have historically had a greater chance for commercial success in the industry’s mainstream and, as a result, artists careers have long often been determined by whether they were supported by radio.

“Radio plays a critical role in the music industry. It has a significant impact on determining mainstream success that includes artists programmed to headline festivals and at large venues across the country. The fact that gender inequity and lack of diversity persist at this level, almost 30 years after the Lilith Fair, is alarming. Women and diverse artists are doing incredible work in music, and we are calling on Canadian radio broadcasters to play their part in elevating and fostering gender equity on the air.”

Heather Gibson

Executive Producer of Popular Music and Variety, National Arts Centre

While the findings shared in this report reveal significant inequity within the Canadian music industry ecosystem, they are not surprising to those devoting their careers to music.

“We must shift from conversation to concrete action towards equity. Without pro-active measures like those put in place for Canadian content, the industry will continue to favour songs created and performed by men. This will continue to have a negative impact on women’s careers, notably on their representation in nominations for Juno Awards, the Canadian Country Music Awards, the ADISQ Gala, and representation on festivals and tours (especially as headliners), among other industry recognitions. Change needs to be done at multiple levels of the artist development and promotion pipeline. It is only through working together on this change that we will see movement to finally enjoying a truly more diverse, equitable and inclusive industry for all.”

Robyn Stewart

Executive Director and CEO, Women in Music Canada

Read the Executive Summary of A Study of Gender on Canadian Radio (2013-2023).

ABOUT SONGDATA

The SongData Project explores the potential of using discographic and biographic data to learn more about how popular music genres form, develop, and evolve over time. We are developing approaches for using information about songs and artists to explore the connections between musicians and the broader socio-cultural and institutional frameworks that govern genres.

ABOUT WOMEN IN MUSIC CANADA

Women in Music Canada (WIMC) is a registered non-profit organization and one of the largest music industry associations in Canada. The organization is dedicated to fostering gender equality in the music industry through the support and advancement of professionals and creatives at every stage of their career. The goal is to strengthen the social-economic balance of the music industry by providing professional development, support and resources for our community. Women in Music Canada hosts educational, career development and networking events alongside broader programming initiatives, industry engagement, research and advocacy to serve the needs of our diverse community. Our panels, seminars, webinars, workshops and performance serve to educate, empower, and celebrate women contributions to the music world, and strengthen community ties.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.  

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Mireille Allaire
Director of Communications, Programming

National Arts Centre
343-998-4244

mireille.allaire@nac-cna.ca

May 29, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – This National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day, the NAC celebrates the strength and resilience of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation, their people, cultures, and perspectives.

Throughout June, we feature Indigenous artists in a curated collection of activities and events including the comedy show Got Land?, Indigenous Trivia Night and our Summer Indigenous Art Market. The highlight of the month is the theatre production You Used to Call Me Marie... by actor, playwright, director, and producer Tai Amy Grauman.

A love story, a historical epic, and a celebration of Métis song and dance, You used to call me Marie… brings to life the stories of the Callihoo women in Alberta. We follow Iskwewo, Napew, and Mistatim ('horse' in Michif) in eight intertwined love stories as the Métis Nation rises across the plains — through tales of the fur trade, governance, and organizing from the 1930s to today — in a beautiful new play featuring dance and live music, from French fiddle to contemporary country.

Tai Amy Grauman is Métis Cree with ties to Haudenosaunee voyageurs from Ardrossan, Alberta. Her family comes from a community in Alberta formerly known as St. Paul des Métis. She is the first elected Provincial Women’s Representative as part of the first Otipemisiawk Métis Government within Alberta.

Join us online and at the National Arts Centre to honour and engage with Indigenous artists through workshops, performances, discussions, and more.

For more information on our June programming, please visit: https://nac-cna.ca/en/series/national-indigenous-history-month

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Indigenous Theatre at Canada’s National Arts Centre is made possible through the generous support of individuals and corporations from across the country. The National Arts Centre Foundation wishes to acknowledge the support of The Slaight Family Foundation, Presenting Sponsor BMO Financial Group, Official Hotel Partner Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites, and Major Sponsor of Indigenous Programming TD Bank Group. Thank you also to Meta, Presenting Partner of #ReconcileThis.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Ian Hobson
Communications Strategist, NAC Indigenous Theatre
National Arts Centre
(343) 588-0742
ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca

May 28, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – As Presenting Sponsor of the 2024 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, RBC is once again showing its commitment to Canada’s emerging artists.

Todd Houseman (aka Kaskitew Asiniy) was chosen as the 2024 recipient of the RBC Emerging Artist Award in a selection process conducted by a committee of artistic leaders based on merit and impact on the community.

Todd is a graduate and current teacher at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal. A player and instructor with Edmonton’s Rapid Fire Theatre improv company for over a decade, he was awarded Alberta’s Best Actor at the Alberta film and Television Awards (Rosies) in 2020. The following year, in 2021, he was awarded a position on the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation’s Top 30 Under 30 list in recognition of both his artistic and cultural facilitation work. 

He is currently working with Toronto’s Outside the March on his new play The Children of the Bear, which has been in development as a large-scale immersive play. 

“Winning this prize makes me feel grateful, humbled, and complex. Throughout my career, I have felt a lot of imposter syndrome so it's sometimes difficult to accept a compliment. Also, with everything happening in the world right now I feel extremely privileged to be in this position; to be recognized for my artistic practice. I'm grateful for this recognition and I give thanks to all the people who came before me who forged this path that I am following. I only hope to make the most of this moment and this prize by continuing to make work that I think would make my ancestors proud. Kinanâskomitin ekwa hiy hiy.”

- Todd Houseman, RBC Emerging Artist Award recipient

Todd was nominated by the NAC’s Artistic Director of Indigenous Theatre, Kevin Loring.

“Todd Houseman is an innovative artist whose work blends traditional and contemporary Indigenous narratives. Todd's exceptional talent, professionalism, dedication to his craft and commitment to using his platform to highlight Indigenous issues and inspire the next generation of artists makes him an exemplary choice for this prestigious award.”

- Kevin Loring, Artistic Director, NAC Indigenous Theatre

Todd Houseman will be celebrated with all the 2024 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards on June 8, 2024, at the National Arts Centre.

"RBC’s commitment to emerging artists is extraordinary. We are deeply grateful that, as the Presenting Sponsor for the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, RBC is awarding this significant prize for a second year. Their unwavering support for emerging artists helps nurture the next generation of Canadian talent, ensuring a vibrant and dynamic future for the arts in our country. RBC's dedication to supporting emerging artists is truly commendable and plays a crucial role in fostering creative excellence and innovation."

- Juniper Locilento, CEO, NAC Foundation

The inaugural RBC Emerging Artist Award was presented last year, in 2023. It recognized Ralph Escamillan, a queer, Canadian-Filipinx performance artist, teacher and community leader based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

ABOUT THE NAC 

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.  

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Mireille Allaire
Director of Communications, Programming

National Arts Centre
343-998-4244

mireille.allaire@nac-cna.ca

May 22, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The NAC French Theatre wraps up its 55^th season with vibrant colours and a material as sticky as it is delightful: (recyclable) scotch tape!

Conceived and directed by Amélie Poirier, SCOOOOOTCH! is produced by Synthèse additive, a Montreal-based company boasting contemporary puppet theatre where numerous disciplinary sources are combined – dance, puppetry, theatre, visual arts, etc. – and where abstraction comes to meet young and old alike.

Here a trio of girls with a rock-star look, no delicate flowers among them, create an artistic space before our eyes. It’s a super playful demonstration showcasing the transformation of an ordinary material like scotch tape through human imagination. It’s also a touching illustration of the many, sometimes almost invisible, connections between and among us.

Due to the excitement generated by the show, a performance has been added on Sunday, June 2. This is a joyful occasion for kids to ask themselves “How do I build myself? What constitutes me? How do I inhabit the world?” thanks to a collective experience that will touch them regardless of their language.

PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY

Because the experience of going to the theatre begins long before you step into the performance hall, families are welcome to arrive 45 minutes before the start of the performance to warm up their imaginations. This time, artist Emily Rose Michaud has concocted a colourful activity that will challenge children’s ingenuity and creativity.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Azrieli Studio

Duration: 35 minutes

School matinees (it is possible for the media to attend if there are seats available): Wednesday May 29, Thursday May 30, and Friday May 31.

Family performances: Saturday, June 1, at 11am and 3pm; Sunday, June 2, at 11am, 1pm (added performance) and 3pm.

Tickets: $15

To purchase tickets, visit https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/33691 or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS). To find out what you need to know before accessing the building and facilities, click: https://nac-cna.ca/en/visit

Visit the NAC website to learn more about the 2023-2024 NAC French Theatre season.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Lead Donor, the Slaight Family Foundation, Supporting Partner of French Theatre, Québecor, and Official Hotel Partner, Embassy Hotel & Suites.

ABOUT THE NAC

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sylvain Lavoie

Communications Strategist, French Theatre

National Arts Centre

343-588-0743

sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca

May 17, 2024 – OTTAWA – Available today under the Centrediscs music label, Gabriel Dharmoo’s latest album, Vestiges d’une fable, showcases five chamber music compositions that demonstrate Dharmoo’s unique fusion of influences and innovative cross-cultural exploration.

A Creative Partner of the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO), Gabriel Dharmoo draws inspiration from his research of Indian music, particularly Carnatic music, which heavily influences the rhythms, melodies, and ornamentation present in his compositions. Dharmoo describes his own music as the creation of an “imaginary folklore,” blending traditional and experimental elements in a way that defies easy categorization.

“In this album, I set out with the idea of exploring Indian music, but in such a hybrid way and so linked to my very own idiosyncratic ear and way of thinking about music that it doesn’t really read as Indian music,” says Dharmoo. “It dawned on me I was actually conceptualizing the music of an imaginary culture.”

Featuring compositions spanning from 2010 to 2017, Vestiges d’une fable presents a diverse range of chamber music pieces, each showcasing Dharmoo’s distinctive style and sonic explorations. From the intimate trio of “Sur Bà nôi” to the expansive ensemble of “the fog in our poise”, listeners are invited on a journey through Dharmoo’s imaginative musical landscapes.

Recorded at the National Arts Centre with conductor Gary Kulesha and 18 guest musicians, the album captures the essence of Dharmoo’s compositions with remarkable clarity and depth. NAC Orchestra musicians who participated in the recording include Joanna G’froerer (flute), Charles “Chip” Hamann (oboe), Darren Hicks (bassoon), Kimball Sykes (clarinet), Karen Donnelly (trumpet), Lawrence Vine (horn), Noémi Racine Gaudreault (violin), Emily Westell (violin), Jethro Marks (viola), Max Cardilli (bass), Stephanie Morin (flute), and Sean Rice (clarinet); and were joined by guest artists Desiree Abbey (cello) and Frédéric Lacroix (piano) on most of the recordings.

Gabriel Dharmoo’s career spans various disciplines, including composition, vocal performance, improvisation, interdisciplinary art, and research. He has received numerous awards for his compositions, including the Canada Council for the Arts Jules Léger Prize and a Conseil Québécois de la Musique Opus Award. His extensive research in Carnatic music and interdisciplinary projects have garnered international recognition.

Vestiges d’une fable will be available in both digital and physical formats, accessible on major streaming platforms, online music stores, and the CMC Centrediscs label website. Stay tuned for live performances and promotional events in relation to the album release, with details to be announced.

ABOUT GABRIEL DHARMOO

As a composer and interdisciplinary artist, Gabriel Dharmoo’s career has led him around the globe, notably with his solo show Anthropologies imaginaires, which was a prize-winner at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival (2015) and the SummerWorks Performance Festival (2016). They also explore queer arts and drag artistry as Bijuriya (@bijuriya.drag).

Having researched Carnatic music with four renowned masters in Chennai, India, between 2008 and 2011, Gabriel Dharmoo’s personal musical style encourages the fluidity of ideas between tradition and innovation. His work around voice, theatricality, and character is featured on his monographic album Quelques fictions (2020), as well as online art videos.

He holds a PhD in research-creation from the Individualized Program of Concordia University and is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre. For more information about Gabriel Dharmoo, visit <www.gabrieldharmoo.org>.

ABOUT CMC CENTREDISCS

CMC Centrediscs is the only recording label that exclusively promotes Canadian composers, with a focus on releasing classical, contemporary, and experimental music recordings from Canadian composers who are Associate Composer members of the Canadian Music Centre. For a complete catalogue and more information about CMC Centrediscs, visit <www.cmccanada.org>.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA

Since its debut in 1969, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships.

Since its inception, the NAC Orchestra has recorded for radio and more than 40 commercial recordings many of the 80+ new works it has commissioned, primarily from Canadian composers. These include:

• The 2024 album Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13, commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra. 
• Clara - Robert - Johannes: A multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero. 
• The ground-breaking Life Reflected, which includes My Name is Amanda Todd by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year). 
• Ana Sokolović’s Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes, 2019 JUNO Winner for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 JUNO-nominated New Worlds). 
• Angela Hewitt’s 2015 JUNO Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos.    
• The 2020 JUNO-nominated The Bounds of Our Dreams, featuring pianist Alain Lefèvre.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Greggory Clark
Communication Strategist
National Arts Centre Orchestra
343-588-0513
greggory.clark@nac-cna.ca

MAY 9, 2024 – Ottawa, Canada – The National Arts Centre today revealed its programming for the 2024-2025 season. Building on the success of the current season featuring some of the most diverse and creative Canadian and international artists, the 2024-2025 season will take audiences on breathtaking journeys through an enthralling blend of powerful new works and absolute classics.

The 2024-2025 season begins with SPHERE, a 10-day festival running from September 10-20. It will pick up themes from the NAC’s first SPHERE festival in Fall 2022 around the exploration of our relationship to Earth and the environment, with a focus on rivers, water and watersheds. Produced by the NAC Orchestra and curated by festival Artistic Director Alexander Shelley, SPHERE will engage all the NAC’s artistic disciplines, with participation from NAC Dance, English Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, French Theatre, Popular Music and Variety, and 1 Elgin Culinary Arts.

SPHERE will feature a new dance commission, choreographed by Andrea Peña and orchestral concerts curated with and performed by renowned artists including Jeremy Dutcher, playwright Christine Beaulieu and soprano Renée Fleming. In addition, the festival will premiere newly commissioned radio plays by Canadian playwrights David Yee and Berni Stapleton, with composers Chris Thornborrow and Duane Andrews, a theatrical dance piece by prominent Indigenous choreographer Santee Smith, and a specially curated dinner by Indigenous resident chef Chris Commandant.

And that is just the beginning, as the season welcomes several significant milestones. Executive Producer for NAC Dance Caroline Ohrt introduces her inaugural season featuring the most creative choreographers and artists. Indigenous Theatre Artistic Director Kevin Loring commemorates five years since the Mòshkamo Indigenous Arts Festival welcomed Indigenous Theatre’s opening season. Music Director Alexander Shelley celebrates his 10th season conducting the NAC Orchestra. English Theatre Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino continues the success of her first season, inviting audiences on a theatrical odyssey. French Theatre Artistic Director Mani Soleymanlou shares personal works created by some of the best Francophone artists and organizations, and Popular Music and Variety Executive Producer Heather Gibson continues to reach beyond the stage to showcase legendary performers and up-and-coming artists from Canada and around the globe.

“The performing arts are essential to the human experience, inviting us to connect with beauty and wonder, laughter and tears.” said NAC President and CEO Christopher Deacon. “Through performance and story, the arts bring us together and enable us to learn from one another. We invite everyone to come and experience our extraordinary 2024-2025 season, featuring wonderful performances and brilliant artists from across Canada and around the world. We greatly look forward to welcoming you to the NAC.”  

All six NAC artistic leaders have created exceptional opportunities to take both audiences and artists on an exciting journey on stage and beyond for the 2024-2025 season. nac-cna.ca/season
 

National Arts Centre 2024-2025 Season

NAC Dance

The 2024-2025 NAC Dance season marks a new beginning, with Executive Producer Caroline Ohrt eagerly unveiling her inaugural season. Daring creations by Canadian and international artists, timeless classics from the ballet canon, and innovative works by new voices will awaken senses and provoke reflection.

A significant new commission fusing dance, music, and the visual arts opens the season as part of the SPHERE festival. Choreographer and designer Andrea Peña will premiere UAQUE, a contemplative creation that responds to the breathtaking photographs of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, performed to live symphonic music conducted by Alexander Shelley.

Ballets with the NAC Orchestra are cornerstones of NAC Dance seasons, and 2024-2025 presents a rich array of offerings. Ballet BC – in their first invitation to perform with live orchestra – brings an evening of mixed repertoire including their hugely successful Bolero X that features 50 dancers on stage. The National Ballet of Canada presents their gorgeous rendition of the Romantic drama Giselle. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet performs Jekyll & Hyde, a new story ballet based on the famous novella. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens returns with their beloved rendition of The Nutcracker.

Renowned international companies making their NAC debuts include the UK’s fearless Far From The Norm, Belgium’s multiple-award-winning company Peeping Tom, France’s rising star Maud Le Pladec who combines krump with contemporary dance, and Burkina Faso’s Serge Aimé Coulibaly with his company Faso Dance Theatre. The season closes on a spectacular note with the return engagement by the USA’s MOMIX and their amazing dancer-illusionists.

NAC Dance also proudly presents four co-productions with Canadian artists this season: Compagnie Catherine Gaudet’s Les jolies choses, Compagnie Virginie Brunelle’s Fables, Le Patin Libre’s Murmuration, which takes us outside the NAC walls to an arena in Gatineau, and Dancers of Damelahamid’s Raven Mother, a new work in honour of the late Cree Elder Margaret Harris, co-presented with Indigenous Theatre.

“Dance is essential to everyone. From ballet to contemporary, and everything in between, our 2024-2025 season is filled with thought-provoking pieces that explore themes anchored in our time and offer reflections on societal issues while bringing light and beauty.”

— Caroline Ohrt, Executive Producer, NAC Dance 
Check out the full NAC Dance season
  

NAC Orchestra

Music Director Alexander Shelley continues to lead the NAC Orchestra with passion and innovation, highlighted by cross-disciplinary collaboration with choreographer Andrea Peña and Canadian photographer and artist Edward Burtynsky in the season-opening SPHERE festival. This upcoming season sees Shelley presenting new works by Ian Cusson, Alexina Louie, and John Estacio, all commissions for a recording project which pairs the timeless music of Richard Strauss with the creative brilliance of leading Canadian composers.

The season boasts an impressive lineup of soloists, including Jeremy Dutcher, violin virtuoso Hilary Hahn, jazz legend Branford Marsalis, opera superstar Renée Fleming, pianists Angela Hewitt, Gabriela Montero, Yeol Eum Son, Jonathan Biss, Marc-André Hamelin, and Broadway star Norm Lewis, among others.

Notable performances include Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds’s interpretation of Carl Nielsen and Kaija Saariaho, offering a fresh perspective on the Nordic composers’ work. Moreover, the 2024-2025 season will feature an abundance of Beethoven, including the iconic Fifth Symphony and the lively Seventh Symphony, along with two enthralling piano concertos. Renowned Baroque specialist Trevor Pinnock, former Music Director of the NAC Orchestra (1991-1997), returns to lead the Orchestra in performances of Handel’s Messiah. A series of recitals featuring luminaries such as Barbara Hannigan and NOBU (a.k.a. Nobuyuki Tsujii) will enchant audiences at Southam Hall.

Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser curates a lively night of Calypso music featuring a steelpan soloist in Steelpan Symphony. He also leads the Orchestra’s highly popular Family Adventures series for all ages.

Final Symphony features orchestral music by legendary Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu, written for the hugely influential FINAL FANTASY video games. This will be the NAC Orchestra’s first-ever concert of music from a video game soundtrack.  

The long-running Pops series, helmed by Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly, showcases the best of Broadway, jazz, and cinema, with the NAC Orchestra performing live soundtracks to Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Will Ferrell’s Christmas comedy, Elf. Jazz trumpeter and conductor Byron Stripling presents Harlem Nights: From Ella to Ellington.

“As we continue to explore new horizons and push the boundaries of the symphonic experience, I invite audiences to join us for what promises to be an unforgettable season of music and inspiration. This season marks a special milestone for me as I celebrate my tenth anniversary with my beloved NAC Orchestra and our wonderful audience. Whether you are a seasoned concertgoer or attending your very first performance, thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to sharing these remarkable programs. Our upcoming season is brimming with opportunities for connection.”   

— Alexander Shelley, Music Director, NAC Orchestra
Check out the full NAC Orchestra season
 

NAC Indigenous Theatre

On the fifth anniversary season of NAC Indigenous Theatre, Artistic Director Kevin Loring is thrilled to invite audiences to experience brilliantly and beautifully told stories of kinship, resilience, and the power of love. These stories pay tribute to the lands, honour the enduring influence of the Matriarchs, and celebrate the indomitable spirit of the Ancestors.  

The season kicks off with Homelands, a multimedia dance performance honouring the Indigenous women's lasting connection to land and waterways. In partnership with NAC Dance, the visually stunning piece Raven Mother celebrates Northwest Coast culture and storytelling. By popular demand, Bear Grease returns with the Bear Grease Christmas Special, promising a night of laughter, spirit, and Indigenized musical theatre—holiday style!

Moving into the New Year, Qaumma highlights the fierce perseverance of Inuit women in protecting their culture, language, and families. In March, The Secret to Good Tea tells a poignant story of familial resilience post-residential schools. Closing the season, the powerful French-language play Marguerite: le feu ignites the fight for justice and memory.

“We believe that Our Stories Are Medicine. We continue to share Indigenous stories because they are the stories of this land. And they are our stories told in our voices. They are a celebration of our ancestors, our communities, and future generations. We are so excited to share these moments with you.” 

— Kevin Loring, Artistic Director, NAC Indigenous Theatre 
Check out the full NAC Indigenous Theatre season
 

NAC English Theatre

Building on the exhilarating success of Nina Lee Aquino’s inaugural season, English Theatre’s 2024-2025 programming invites audiences on a rich theatrical odyssey. The wide-ranging lineup offers a captivating journey from reality to fantasy, and from history to myth, intrepidly guiding audiences through a dizzying array of productions. This season boldly showcases the transformative potential of art, serving both as performance and messenger, where political themes are woven with deeply personal narratives to forge unforgettably powerful experiences.

Featuring exciting collaborations with theatre companies across the country as well as with our own NAC family, our adventure begins with Walking on Water (the second volume of Irresistible Neighbourhoods), co-produced with NAC Orchestra for the SPHERE festival, followed by Punctuate! Theatre’s intercontinental love story First Métis Man of Odesa, based on the creators’ real-life events.

From there, the season’s odyssey travels from the Shaw Festival’s production of Snow in Midsummer, directed by Ms. Aquino – a haunting ghost story of revenge rooted in an ancient folktale – to Salesman in China from the Stratford Festival, inspired by Arthur Miller’s ground-breaking journey to China for an East-meets-West collaboration that revolutionized the theatre world. Controlled Damage, co-produced with Neptune Theatre, offers a rich portrait of Canadian civil rights icon Viola Desmond, while Trident Moon, co-produced by Crow’s Theatre and also directed by Ms. Aquino, takes audiences through a journey of survival in 1947 India.

Lastly, Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata closes out the season with a sprawling two-part, once-in-a-generation theatrical experience based on the ancient Sanskrit epic, which took audiences by storm at the Shaw Festival and London’s Barbican.

“The 2024-2025 season charts an epic journey across the globe, weaving a rich tapestry of sweeping tales in personal settings with intimate stories set against expansive backdrops. Join us on a voyage through time as we explore the most pressing issues of our own era through the bifocal lens of history and myth, underpinning the many diverse cultures we visit. Embedded within every production is the understanding that only by examining our past can we address the ailments of our present, and take control of our collective narrative to write a better future.”

— Nina Lee Aquino, Artistic Director, NAC English Theatre 
Check out the full NAC English Theatre season
 

NAC French Theatre

Mani Soleymanlou’s third season is an invitation to “step out of the box.” Resolutely fictional, his engaging program aims to take us out of ourselves, away from our individual reality, and put the “we” back at the centre of the experience. The season comprises fifteen shows, including six for children and youth, programmed by Mélanie Dumont in her final season as director of this important component of French Theatre.

The season opens with La traversée du siècle, an epic performance/reading based on the work of Michel Tremblay. Created by Alice Ronfard and the late André Brassard, this unique event is coming to Ottawa to kick off the theatre season in style!

Faire le bien is the second edition of the Collectif, a project initiated by Mani Soleymanlou. Directed by Claude Poissant, the company will perform scenes of toxic positivity by François Archambault and Gabrielle Chapdelaine. This is one of five French Theatre co-productions, which also include Surveillée et punie, a powerful show created by Philippe Cyr for a singer, an actress and backup singers, based on the hateful comments directed at Safia Nolin.

In April, in Classique(s), a fabulous team led by Mani Soleymanlou will take a collective trip into the past to explore the works that make up the so-called “repertoire.” Equally jubilant is Philippe Boutin’s The Rise of the BlingBling, a baroque fresco that borrows from pop culture (dance, kung fu, pantomime, lip-synching) to tell the founding myth of Jesus.

Other joint projects that revisit familiar stories include Peau d’âne, a production for both adults and teenagers, and the masterpiece Au cœur de la rose, a spellbinding maritime fable by filmmaker Pierre Perrault.

French Theatre’s residency program will continue in 2024-2025 with Ottawa-Gatineau artists Marie‑Ève Fontaine and Guillaume Saindon, as well as Mélanie Binette, who has already begun working on a participatory project entitled Camions : fantômes de la liberté.

The lineup for children and youth includes notably the return of Le Carrousel with Joséphine et les grandes personnes, in which a mini life coach gives a hilarious talk about adults, and Potager (Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke), an immersive show where carrots rock in a translucent greenhouse!

“The 2024-2025 season is an invitation to get out: not only out of our homes, but also out of the frames that confine us. When a poem stops time, when a story reaches out to us, when the mind takes flight and the imagination freely accompanies the heart, when for a fleeting moment, however brief, furtive and inadequate, there is movement, we achieve that. Together.”

– Mani Soleymanlou, NAC French Theatre Artistic Director 
Check out the full NAC French Theatre season
 

NAC Popular Music and Variety

The Popular Music & Variety 2024-2025 season promises to bring another exciting year of music and entertainment to all four stages at the NAC. The season begins on September 13 with celebrated Indigenous artist Jeremy Dutcher who, for the first time, will perform with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Later in the season, Canadian R&B sensation Jully Black will take the Babs Asper Theatre stage on February 28, 2025. On March 12, 2025, we are thrilled to present the renowned Japanese taiko drum group Kodo. 

In the 2024-2025 season, there are also remarkable shows with some of entertainment’s most revered voices. On October 9, we are honoured to present Grammy Award-winning and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artist Graham Nash. Canada’s legendary rock band Glass Tiger will perform with host Erica Ehm on November 23. In March, the legendary Montreal drag queen Mado Lamotte will grace our stage with their widely loved cabaret show, on tour for the first time in over a decade.

We’ll also be celebrating 30th anniversary tours with Susan Aglukark, The Kingdom Choir, and Pink Martini. And you can enjoy some returning favourites like Donovan Woods, Les Hay Babies, and Choir! Choir! Choir!  

Music enthusiasts will come together in the most premium listening rooms in Ottawa, at the Azrieli Studio and Fourth Stage for performances by artists from across Canada like Chloé Sainte-Marie, Héritières and so many more.

Stay tuned for more announcements throughout the year!

“This season we will be bringing the best of the world to our stage; new voices, renowned groups and artists, and of course celebrated Canadian artists, both established and emerging, that will entertain and inspire.”

— Heather Gibson, Executive Producer for Popular Music & Variety  
Check out the full NAC Popular Music and Variety season
 

Family shows and Student matinees with our Arts Alive programming

After last season’s successful return, Arts Alive is delighted to announce that family and school programming for the 2024-2025 season will once again thrill young audiences. Our season includes 17 shows for children, seven for teenagers, eight for elementary schools and nine for secondary schools.

Teenage lovers of the performing arts will also be happy to find a space specially dedicated to them, thanks to a brand-new web page featuring programming for 12-17-year-olds. 

"We’re overjoyed to have all these young, cheerful faces back in our halls. And it’s with the same enthusiasm that we present incredible, rich and varied new programming for families and schools, opening with the SPHERE festival. The variety of programming that is offered at the NAC is sure to entertain young audiences of all ages.”

— Natasha Harwood, Director, Arts Alive
Learn more about Arts Alive
 

NAC’s National Creation Fund

For the first time in its seven-year history, the NAC’s National Creation Fund is delighted that ten landmark productions supported by the Fund will shine on the NAC’s stages during the 2024-2025 season.  

From the epic Mahabharata (English Theatre) to the magnificent Murmuration (NAC Dance), from the monumental Traversée du siècle (French Theatre) to the powerful Raven Mother (Indigenous Theatre), the range of shows for the coming season reflects the importance of investing in artistic creation. The Fund offers Canadian artists the opportunity to realize artistic projects that are close to their hearts, resulting in performances that are meaningful contributions to creating the vibrant culture that artists, audiences and communities deserve. The National Creation Fund invests in imagination and creation.

“The Fund is dedicated to the alchemy of artistic creation; we work in service of the imagination. We are committed to encouraging the beautifully bold creative dreams of Canadian artists. A record ten Fund-supported productions are in the NAC 2024-2025 season, all beacons of possibility and light. We can’t wait for audiences to experience them.” 

— Sarah Conn, National Creation Fund Artistic Producer
More information on the NAC’s National Creation Fund season and investments
 

Purchase tickets for 2024-2025

Renewing season subscribers can book Fixed Series and Create Your Own subscriptions as of May 10.

New subscriptions and individual show tickets for most of our programming will go on sale June 18.

Visit the NAC Box Office online, contact us by email at subscriptions@nac-cna.ca, or call us at 1 844 985 2787 (ARTS).

Experience mind-blowing shows for $15

As in past seasons, Indigenous Theatre will continue to offer community-engaged activity, learning opportunities and corollary programming in and around the work presented on stage. We are honoured to be able to continue to offer $15 All My Relations tickets to the Indigenous community in the upcoming season. It extends to most of the programming at the NAC.

Under30 tickets are for anybody under the age of 30, including teens and kids! We know high ticket prices can keep away some young arts lovers, so we created Under30 to make it easier to enjoy amazing theatre, dance and music at the NAC.

Some restrictions apply. Under30 and All My Relations tickets are not available as subscription packages.
 

Thank you to our partners

Programming at the National Arts Centre is supported by many generous organizations from across the country. The NAC Foundation would like to thank the Adrian Burns Fund for Women Leaders in the Performing Arts, the Azrieli Foundation, BMO Financial Group, the Janice & Earle O'Born Fund for Artistic Excellence, the Lord Elgin Hotel, Mark Motors Group, Meta, The Metcalfe Hotel, National Bank of Canada, Ottawa Embassy Hotel & Suites, Power Corporation of Canada, the RBC Foundation, Rogers Communications, Scotiabank and TD Bank Group. 

A huge thank you to our devoted Donor’s Circle individual donors for making programming at the NAC possible. 

About the National Arts Centre

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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For more information, please contact:

Sean Fitzpatrick
Communications Strategist
NAC English Theatre
613-899-9737
sean.fitzpatrick@nac-cna.ca

Mireille Allaire
Director of Communications, Programming
National Arts Centre
343-998-4244
mireille.allaire@nac-cna.ca

April 30, 2024 – TORONTO (Canada) – Why Not Theatre, in partnership with the National Arts Centre, is proud to announce the cohort for ThisGen Fellowship 2024. This national initiative is an accelerator for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) women and non-binary* performing arts professionals that provides paid training and mentorship opportunities with world-class artists, national residency gatherings, and peer connection. The program offers a unique opportunity that equips participants with the skills, networks, and resources to expand the kind of work seen on Canadian stages, as well as reimagine the process of making it.
*ThisGen Fellowship is a Trans-inclusive program. 

In 2024, ThisGen Fellowship will focus on the collaboration between directors and designers, with eight artists selected for the cohort. "I am thrilled to share the incredible lineup of Canadian and international artists who are part of ThisGen Fellowship 2024,” said Why Not Theatre’s Co-Artistic Director Miriam Fernandes. “ThisGen is unique in the Canadian training landscape, in that it provides the opportunity for Fellows to learn from international arts leaders. This year we have assembled a cohort of designers and directors together to nurture this powerful collaborative relationship and provoke a deeper understanding of the collision between the practices.”  

THISGEN 2024 FELLOWS

Selected from 87 applicants from across Canada, the ThisGen 2024 Directing Fellows are Arthi Chandra, Lisa Karen Cox, Roshanak Jaberi, desirée leverenz and the ThisGen 2024 Design Fellows are Ashley Au, Samay Arcentales Cajas, Meghan Cheng, and Sarah Uwadiae.  

This year’s program starts with an online paid training intensive led by internationally renowned artists, followed by an in-person residency at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa from June 10-14. The fellowship will culminate in a two-week hands-on lab in Toronto where the Fellows will apply their learnings in an exploratory setting.  

Now in its fifth year, ThisGen Fellowship has been committed to redefining the future of cultural leadership in Canada by advancing the careers of 40 BIPOC artists. "The connections I made both in Canada and internationally through ThisGen Fellowship were invaluable,” shared Vanessa Sears, a 2022-23 Fellow whose mentorship was with Lileana Blain-Cruz, a Tony-nominated director who invited Sears to New York City to observe rehearsals at The Metropolitan Opera as part of their mentorship exchange. “That, coupled with the practical knowledge and skills passed on from the faculty and shared within our cohort made the experience truly singular and transformative. I am so grateful for my time and my learning with this program. It has truly evolved my directing practice and inspired new artistic goals." 

By introducing Fellows to leading international artists creating groundbreaking work, the fellowship aims to expand imagination around artistic and leadership practices and equip this generation of cultural leaders in Canada with the tools to shape the future of the performing arts. 

ThisGen Fellowship 2024 faculty from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States includes Omar Elerian (directing), Katie Mitchell (directing), Maiko Yamamoto (directing), Gareth Fry (design), Andy Moro (design), Rajha Shakiry (design), Madeline Sayet (directing), Asa Benally (design), Dawn Walton (directing), Simon Kenny (design), Alex Eales (design), Hana S. Kim (design) and Christian Lapointe (directing).

 "We are so grateful to be partnering once again with Why Not Theatre on ThisGen Fellowship, said NAC President and CEO Christopher Deacon. “This outstanding professional development opportunity will not only benefit its Fellows: by sharing their knowledge going forward, they will help strengthen and advance the Canadian performing arts. We congratulate the 2024 cohort and look forward to welcoming them to the NAC for their residency in June.” 

For more information about ThisGen Fellowship, visit Why Not Theatre.  

ThisGen is produced by Why Not Theatre in partnership with the National Arts Centre. 

THANK YOU

ThisGen Fellowship is made possible by the generous support of Canadian Heritage through the Canada Arts Training Fund, the National Arts Centre and RBC Foundation, with additional support provided by Canada Council for the Arts, Kingfisher Foundation, Lindy Green Family Foundation, Metcalf Foundation, Toronto Arts Council and Youssef Warren Foundation. 

ABOUT WHY NOT THEATRE

Founded in 2007, Why Not Theatre is a Toronto-based theatre company with an international scope. Why Not has established a reputation for inventive and cross-cultural collaborations. Over 15 years, Why Not has developed 55 new works with 81 tour stops to 40 cities and 11 countries, including the world-wide hit A Brimful of Asha, performed more than 300 times globally, and the critically acclaimed Mahabharata. Led by Co-Artistic Directors Miriam Fernandes and Ravi Jain and Executive Director Karen Tisch, the company has an international reputation for creating innovative, cutting-edge theatre, and providing opportunities for artists to be seen across Canada and around the world. Follow Why Not Theatre on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Intisar Awisse  
ThisGen Fellowship Artistic Producer  
Why Not Theatre                
519 589-0781  
intisar@whynot.theatre 

Anicée Lejeune 
Communications Strategist 
Programs and Special Projects 
National Arts Centre 
514 237-9553 
anicee.lejeune@nac-cna.ca

#ReconcileThis began in 2022/2023 and is generously supported by Meta as a means of addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s “Calls to Action”. The funding is intended to presence digital creations by Indigenous artists across Turtle Island that can be shared over social media platforms. Now entering its second year, the project is expanding its scope to new digital spaces and styles of content.

For the 2022/2023, the NAC contracted several artists as “Fire Starters.” Now, we are looking for artists to become “Fire Carriers.” In that spirit, we are inviting Indigenous artists to build upon the foundations already started, and to encourage the next generation of artist to help carry on the fire.

ARTIST CALL

Indigenous artists are encouraged to submit their interest in collaborating and facilitating a creative process with Indigenous youth and young artists. “Indigenous youth” refer to Indigenous students under 18 and in Junior High or High School. “Indigenous young artists” refer to early-stage Indigenous artists not in Junior High or High School and in the early-stages of their careers. Selected artists will help select up to 3 Indigenous youth/young artists from their local community and work together over a four-month period to develop new work speaking to the #ReconcileThis goals. The theme(s) explored in the creative product are up to the artists, but the starting question is, “what does reconciliation mean to me?”

Both the contracted artists as well as the Indigenous youth/young artists will receive honorariums for their creative work.

With guidance from Josh Languedoc, the Associate Producer for #ReconcileThis, the selected artists will:

• Decide an artistic lens of exploration.
• Recruit and engage up to 3 Indigenous youth/young artists.
• Define an artistic project to be shared digitally.
• Meet, mentor, and collaborate with Indigenous youth/young artists to support in developing their project.
• Meet digitally semi-regularly.
• When needed, work in-person with the Indigenous youth/young artists.
• Work within a set budget and report expenditures.
• Submit a final video component.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Indigenous artists from any artistic disciplines such as theatre, visual art, music, dance, spoken word, interdisciplinary, etc.

The NAC welcomes anyone of any ability and identity to apply. We strive to foster the diversity of artist identities and artists at various stages of their careers throughout the country.

The ideal candidates will represent a variety of Indigenous Nations, identities, abilities, and artistic disciplines from across the country. Applicants should also enjoy the process of youth mentorship and group collaboration.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The National Arts Centre will be responsible for:

• Contracts.
• Payments to the contracted artists. 
• Payments to the contracted Indigenous youth/young artists. 
• Any rentals associated with any in-person work with the youth/young artists. 
• Hosting all digital gatherings. 
• Disseminate the final videos in our digital spaces.
• Sharing past creations as sources of inspiration.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

Submissions should include:

• Letter of Interest. 
• CV. 
• Examples of your work. 
• A story about yourself as an artist.

Please send all submission information to josh.languedoc@nac-cna.ca by June 14. Please include the subject “#ReconcileThis.”

In the spirit of community and connection, all those who submit will be contacted for a brief conversation.

Selected artists will be paid $5000 for their facilitation and creative artistic work.

Chii Miigwetch.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES

Ian Hobson
Communications Strategist, NAC Indigenous Theatre
National Arts Centre
343 588-0742
ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca

April 8, 2024 – OTTAWA – On Sunday, April 7, a talented group of music students aged 16 to 26, each with ties to the National Capital Region, competed for a chance to win prizes worth more than $24,000 in the 43rd annual National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition.

This year’s Bursary winners are:

• 2024 NAC Orchestra Bursary ($8,000) – Luca Ortolani, oboe 
• The Crabtree Foundation Award ($5,000) – Annie Noël-de-Tilly, flute 
• The Friends of the NAC Orchestra Award ($3,500) – Nadia Ingalls, bassoon 
• The NAC Orchestra Vic Pomer Award ($2,000) – Xudong (Ray) Zheng, flute 
• Friends of the NAC Orchestra Evelyn Greenberg Award ($2,000) – Dylan Pinette, oboe 
• The Sturdevant Prize for Orchestra Excerpts ($1,500) – Luca Ortolani, oboe 
• Piccolo Prix ($1,000) – Shaw Nicholson, trumpet 
• Don Renshaw Memorial Award for Brass ($500) – Constance Prost, trombone 
• Honourable mentions of $350 each were awarded to Nabeel Ansari, oboe and Constance Prost, trombone.

Visit nac-cna.ca/orchestra/bursary/awards for the history and description of each award.

Winners were evaluated on their performance of short orchestral excerpts and movements from a concerto or sonata written for their instrument. The 2024 Bursary competition was open to emerging young players of wind instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon), brass (horn, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, tuba), percussion and timpani.

Grand Prize-winner Luca Ortolani was delighted with the win: “I’m so thrilled to have been awarded this year’s NAC Orchestra Bursary. This award is very meaningful to me because I grew up attending NACO concerts. The orchestra is the reason I fell in love with classical music and remains a constant source of inspiration. It’s especially moving for me to have also been awarded the Sturdevant Orchestral Excerpts Prize as it was Pace Sturdevant himself who, early on, encouraged me to pursue a life in music. Thank you to the judges and organizers who made this wonderful competition possible. Also, much gratitude to my teachers throughout the years — Titus Underwood, Sarah Jeffrey, Anna Petersen and Angela Casagrande, as well as my family and friends for many years of support.”

Luca Ortolani completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto. He is currently concluding a Master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Titus Underwood. In Fall 2024, he will be returning to Toronto to pursue an Artist’s Diploma at The Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of Sarah Jeffrey.

New this year, the Don Renshaw Memorial Award for Brass was presented to Constance Prost. In memory of Don Renshaw, the NAC Orchestra’s principal trombonist from 1986 to 2022, this new prize is awarded to a brass player who exhibits a flair for style, sound, and emotion as a future professional orchestral musician.

The jury to select this year’s award winners comprised of Bursary Committee Chair Christina Cameron (non-voting); four NAC Orchestra musicians (Leah Roseman, upper strings; Marc-André Riberdy, lower strings; Stephanie Morin, winds; Steven van Gulik, brass and percussion); and two external judges (Jo Ann Simpson, bassoonist, and Doug Burden, retired NACO trombonist).

Past recipients of the NAC Orchestra Bursary Award include Justin Saulnier (violin, 2023); Bryan Cheng (cello, 2016), Kerson Leong (violin, 2013), and current NAC Orchestra members Leah Roseman (violin, 1990); Steven van Gulik (trumpet, 1993); and Darren Hicks (bassoon, 2012). 

ABOUT THE NAC ORCHESTRA BURSARY AWARD

The NAC Orchestra Bursary Competition was first held in 1981. The prime objective of the competition is to encourage the pursuit of excellence on the part of young instrumentalists aspiring to orchestral careers. Each year, a jury identifies deserving recipients through audition and competition.

The Bursary was created in 1979 by members of the NAC Orchestra as a gesture of appreciation to the audiences who supported the Orchestra during its first decade. The bursary is meant to provide recognition and financial support that helps further the development of young musicians who have connections to the National Capital Region (NCR). Funding for the award originally came from two sources: the NAC Orchestra Bursary Fund, created in 1979 by the members of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and from the NAC Orchestra Trust (originally the Capital Trust, founded in 1932 to benefit the Ottawa Philharmonic Society which, on its demise in 1970, transferred the income to the NAC). The fund is now known as the NAC Orchestra Trust Fund.

In 1981, one prize of $1,000 – the NAC Orchestra Bursary – was awarded. In subsequent years, thanks to the growth of the Fund, as well as the generosity of private organizations and individuals, prizes now total more than $24,000.

In 2025, the competition will be open to students of stringed instruments and the harp. 

ABOUT THE NAC ORCHESTRA

Since its debut in 1969, the National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships.

Since its inception, the NAC Orchestra has recorded for radio and more than 40 commercial recordings many of the 80+ new works it has commissioned, primarily from Canadian composers. These include:

• Angela Hewitt’s 2015 JUNO Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos.   
• The ground-breaking Life Reflected, which includes My Name is Amanda Todd by the late Jocelyn Morlock (winner of the 2018 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year). 
• Ana Sokolović’s Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes, 2019 JUNO Winner for Classical Composition of the Year (from the 2019 JUNO-nominated New Worlds). 
• The 2020 JUNO-nominated The Bounds of Our Dreams, featuring pianist Alain Lefèvre. 
• Clara - Robert - Johannes: A multi-year, multi-album exploration of the music of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, featuring pianists Angela Hewitt, Stewart Goodyear, and Gabriela Montero. 
• The 2024 album Truth in Our Time, including the premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 13. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

Greggory Clark  
Communication Strategist
National Arts Centre Orchestra
343-588-0513
greggory.clark@nac-cna.ca 

April 9, 2024 – OTTAWA (Canada) – The NAC welcomes locals and visitors alike to gather 'Together under the Sun' from July 2nd to August 30th, 2024, for its third summer programming season.  

Visitors are invited to enjoy interactive exhibits, music, dance, and theatre performances, as well as children’s summer camps and more. Our 2024 summer programming offers audiences the opportunity to participate in over 70 shows and events, featuring free and accessibly priced programs. These events take place in a variety of indoor venues, as well as outdoors, including the rooftop wooden terrace and along the picturesque Rideau Canal. 

Whether you are looking for a family-friendly event or strolling downtown on a summer night, there will be something for everyone, every day of the week at the NAC. 

"Bring your family, friends, and your summer visitors to experience a wide variety of family friendly programming in dance, theatre, and music.  You'll discover Canadian artists, many who have never performed at the NAC before, and artists from around the world, many who are performing in Canada for the first time. We also have an exciting new immersive adventure created right here at the NAC, beginning in July called MYÜZ - be sure to watch for more details.” 

- Heather Gibson, Executive Producer of NAC Popular Music and Variety  

SUMMER PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS 

Stage Series  

Indulge in a sing-along to beloved Broadway musicals or immerse yourself in the intimate settings of the Babs Asper Theatre, Azrieli Studio, or the Fourth Stage, where you can connect with a diverse array of Canadian, Indigenous, Latin, and international artists. Feel the rhythm of Argentina with Social Tango Project, get to know the Gilsons, an MPB musical trio, experience São Paulo's intense indie music scene with Passarim, a tribute project to the godfather of bossa nova Tom Jobim, or the soulful fusion style of French Cameroonian singer Valérie Ekoume, there's something for everyone to enjoy! Finally, take a seat in Southam Hall with the NAC Orchestra presenting the world premiere of Canadian Métis composer Ian Cusson’s latest work, 1Q84: Sinfonietta Metamoderna. 

The Feeling of Free   

From June 27 to July 27, join us Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. for separate performances by Miguel de Armas and members of the NAC Orchestra aboard a boat cruising down the Rideau Canal. The boat will make a stop at Lansdowne Park. For the detailed schedule, please check our website. Weather permitting.  

Take your lunch to the Atrium and enjoy live musical performances starting July 2nd, at noon, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, you can hear performances from Ottawa Chamberfest artists, including 2 shows from their “bring the kids” series, our very own NACO musicians, and Diyet, among other artists who will also be performing on our wood terrace.  

Wood Terrace  

The public can access the NAC’s wood terrace and its iconic view from Elgin Street or the Mackenzie King Bridge. Every Tuesday and Wednesday night at 7:30 pm, audiences can enjoy a variety of live music from across Canada, including Quique Escamilla, Okavango African Orchestra, Moneka Arabic Jazz, Turkwaz, Beauxmont, Les Fireflies and more! These performances are also free. 

$8 Plays  

We are thrilled to be able to offer 3 productions for our 8$ play series. Each play runs for a week.  

MixTape (Crow’s Theatre) – From Neil Diamond to Kate Bush, from show tunes to Mozart, and from squeaky oven doors to the thwap of a heartbeat, Sadiq curates the ultimate mixtape for life; part memoir, part scientific inquiry, and part love affair with listening. In English, 16+, from July 16 to 20. 

The Written Note (L’Écrit, D'Ubus Théâtre) - is an Ode to happiness. A fragile thread along which the meeting between young Célestine Olivier Myata and her great-aunt Murasaki Chizuko is drawn. In French, ages 6+, from July 29 to August 3.  

Renard Doux (de Sylvie Gosselin) - A precious moment of tenderness, humor and creativity between a child, Renard Doux, and her grandmother. In French, ages 4+, from August 5 to 8. 

About MYÜZ 

Find yourself in a house of dreams! Stay tuned for more details on this exciting new immersive adventure, created right here at the NAC, set to launch in early July. 

TICKETS AND INFORMATION 

Tickets are on sale as of April 9, 2024. Find the full lineup and ticket info on our website. 

ABOUT THE NAC    

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.   

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 

Anicée Lejeune 
Communications Strategist, Programs and Special Projects 
National Arts Centre 
514 237-9553 
anicee.lejeune@nac-cna.ca 

Jennifer Payette 
Marketing Strategist, Audience Engagement 
National Arts Centre 
613 668-5958 
jennifer.payette@nac-cna.ca  

ABOUT

The Indigenous Theatre department within the National Arts Centre was created to develop, nurture, and showcase Indigenous stories at community, national and international levels. Our mission is to honour our storytellers and thereby aid in the retention, resurgence and resilience of the multiple and diverse Indigenous cultures of this land.

NAC Indigenous Theatre’s Artistic Director, Kevin Loring, will be conducting general auditions, as an invitation to meet the local Indigenous performer community and with an eye to casting future productions.

Those selected to audition will be asked to prepare two contrasting monologues from plays written by Indigenous playwrights; each must be two minutes or less in length. For performers with a musical and/or dance background, you are welcome to (optional) prepare a song and/or movement piece no longer than one minute in length.

Please come prepared to showcase your unique talents and perspectives.

ROLES AVAILABLE

All roles for the 2024-25 season have been cast. General auditions are primarily a way to introduce yourself and your work. Participants in general auditions may be considered for:

• Roles in future productions
• Work in play development processes (readings, workshops, etc.)
• Participation in artistic development or training programs.

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Auditions are by appointment only. Please note, we are currently not accepting video submissions or virtual auditions.

NAC Indigenous Theatre is eager to meet Indigenous performers from across Turtle Island, and welcome both CAEA members and non-members. The National Arts Centre is committed to diversity and inclusion in a safe, supportive, welcoming work environment. Artists of all ages, genders and abilities will be considered for roles where identity characteristics are not specific. Indigenous artists will be cast in Indigenous roles.

DATES AND LOCATIONS

• Vancouver, BC, The Cultch on April 23rd, 2024.
• Edmonton, AB, The Citadel Theatre on May 4th, 2024.
• Saskatoon, SK, Persephone Theatre on May 6th, 2024.
• Winnipeg, MB, Prairie Theatre Exchange on May 8th, 2024.
• * Montreal, QC, National Theatre School of Canada on July 30th and 31st, 2024.
• Toronto, ON, Meridian Arts Centre on August 1st and 2nd, 2024.

* Montreal auditions will be available in both French and English, courtesy of Emilie Monnet.

HOW TO APPLY

Audition applicants may either;

• Submit their request through our online form: Audition Request 

 OR

• Send an email to indigenoustheatre@nac-cna.ca; in the subject line please write “Indigenous Theatre Audition” and include the city you want to audition in. If you are sending an email submission, please include your headshot, performance resume, and a 150-word paragraph introducing yourself and the kind of work you enjoy—such as new work, comedies, musical theatre, experimental, interdisciplinary, and your experience with creating and/or performing in Indigenous work in a traditional and/or contemporary context.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage applicants to self-identify as members of the following designated groups: women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities.

Please note, due to a high number of interest and submissions, only those selected for an audition will be contacted.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Ian Hobson
Communications Strategist, NAC Indigenous Theatre
National Arts Centre
343 588-0742
ian.hobson@nac-cna.ca