The National Arts Centre has unveiled its 2026-27 slate of programming.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
The National Arts Centre has unveiled its 2026-27 slate of programming, including a number of world premieres and co-productions across its theatre, music and dance departments.
“In a world that keeps changing, the arts anchor us,” said NAC president and CEO Annabelle Cloutier in a media release. “That sense of connection is at the core of our 2026–2027 season with shows and concerts that ground and replenish us through the depth and diversity of theatre, music, dance and interdisciplinary arts.”
Two Stratford Festival commissions will play on the NAC’s stages: The Diviners, adapted from Margaret Laurence’s novel by Vern Thiessen and Yvette Nolan, and The King James Bible Play, written by Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman and directed by NAC English Theatre artistic director Nina Lee Aquino. (The Diviners premiered at the Stratford Festival in 2024; The King James Bible Play will debut at the fest this summer.)
Also included in the English Theatre season are Son of a Preacherman, a musical project by Kim’s Convenience creator Ins Choi, and Matchstick Theatre’s production of Leaving Home, David French’s classic Canadian play about the frictions between generations in Atlantic Canada.
Rounding out the department’s offerings are Cambodian Rock Band, written by Lauren Yee and featuring songs by Dengue Fever, and The Vinyl Cafe Christmas Musical, based on the stories of Stuart McLean.
Following this year’s landmark production of Tomson Highway’s musical Rose, NAC Indigenous Theatre, led by artistic director Kevin Loring, will present Beautiful Scars, the Theatre Aquarius-produced rock musical based on Tom Wilson’s memoir Beautiful Scars: Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the Road Home.
Next comes The Comeback, a co-production with Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre written by Trish Cooper and Sam Vint. The play follows a Métis writer and his settler-born wife as they navigate the complexities of their family – and the possibilities of its future. Jordan, Yvette Nolan’s play about a young boy’s tragic death, will follow.
Completing the Indigenous Theatre season are Pakuneu, a multidisciplinary co-production with NAC French Theatre; Waiting for Godot – Inuktitut, a reimagining of Samuel Beckett’s enduring tragicomedy; and Matriarchs Uprising, a festival which will include masterclasses and workshops that spotlight dance and storytelling from Indigenous women.
The French Theatre department will open its season with Mommy, le retour, a musical satire by Olivier Choinière, followed by Neige sur Abidjan, written and performed by Iannicko N’Doua.
Next comes L’Orestie (The Oresteia), a 3½-hour, 33-person performance based on the trilogy of Agamemnon, Choephoroi and Eumenides. Then, in December, the company will present Je comprends. Respect, a hip-hop theatre production by Etienne Lou.
In the new year, the department will open Tout ça, which condenses one woman’s life into one hour of storytelling. (Évelyne Rompré will star.) As well, the company will revive Bashir Lazhar, a monologue by Evelyne de la Chenelière which first premiered in 2007. The production will be directed by Marie Brassard, with mani Soleymanlou set to perform.
Following Bashir Lazhar, NAC French Theatre will present Refaire la marguerite, a jazz-inspired performance created by the company L’eau du bain. Then, to finish off the main season, the company will offer Fils manqués?, a piece about fatherhood by René Bazinet and David-Alexandre Després, and Les Petites filles modernes, for audiences aged 13 and up. (The department will also offer a slate of youth programming, curated by associate artistic director Amélie Bergeron.)
In John Storgårds’s inaugural season as music director for the NAC Orchestra, the company will feature a number of soloists, including pianists Élisabeth Pion, Kevin Chen and Angela Hewitt and violinist James Ehnes. Bernard Labadie and La Chapelle de Québec will additionally perform a slate of Bach cantatas.
International artists set to perform with the NAC Orchestra include violinists Christian Tetzlaff and Hilary Hahn and French hornist Ben Goldscheider, plus conductors Ryan Bancroft, Stephanie Childress and Roderick Cox. The season will also include offerings through the company’s fan-favourite Pop series, plus a number of offerings for young children beginning to explore the world of live music.
NAC Dance, led by executive producer Caroline Ohrt, will open the season with Mám, by Irish choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan. Then, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet will present a Stravinsky double bill; Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, meanwhile, will present two productions: The Nutcracker, pegged to Christmastime in Ottawa, and Midsummer Night Dreams, which will see Guillaume Côté reinterpret Shakespeare’s comedy.
Other NAC Dance highlights include the National Ballet of Canada’s new production of Dr. Coppélius, a Cuban work by Danze Contemporánea de Cuba and Deepstaria, a new creation by British choreographer Wayne McGregor.
A full list of the season’s offerings is available on the National Arts Centre’s website.