English theatre shines in Montréal

Musicals, comedy and drama!

Montréal’s two big English-language theatres – the venerable Centaur Theatre Company in Old Montréal, and the Sylvan Adams Theatre at the Segal Centre for the Performing Arts in the west end – offer varied programming.

Segal Centre for Performing Arts

The Segal’s 2025-2026 blockbuster season presents the Canadian premiere of the Tony-winning Kimberly Akimbo led by theatre legend Louise Pitre – who originated the role of Fantine in the Canadian premiere of Les Misérables, Donna in the North American and Broadway premieres of Mamma Mia!, and Edith Piaf in The Angel and the Sparrow at the Segal – in this deeply moving and wildly funny musical about a teenager with a rare condition as she navigates family dysfunction, first love, and potential felony charges! Runs November 23 to December 21.

Centaur Theatre

The Centaur opens their 2025-2026 season with the culmination of their inaugural Indigenous Artist Residency: Stone and Bone Spectacular written and directed by Ange Loft is a playful and profound look at the history of Tioh’tià:ke featuring dancing beavers, stone-lifting stunts and long-lost lovers. Runs October 15 to 26.

Next, the English-language premiere of Kisses Deep by Québecois literary icon Michel Marc Bouchard, and translated by Linda Gaboriau, takes the stage November 26 to December 14. This long-awaited English-language premiere tells the story of the transformational relationship between a troubled, gifted young man and his complex and inspiring mother. Directed by Eda Holmes, the cast includes Lyndz Dantiste, Yves Jacques, Leni Parker, Alice Pascual and Kevin Raymond.

Montréal, arts interculturels

Located in the Plateau-Mont-Royal, the innovative Montréal, arts interculturels cultural organization – better known as “The MAI” – presents an eclectic slate of multi-disciplinary productions (visual arts, dance and theatre) each season. 

The MAI’s current 27th season includes Fragments: celle qui m’habitait déjà, a French-language immersive creation designed for a blind audience. Sighted individuals are invited to experience the piece – an installation where smells, textures and sounds evoke an old house – while wearing eyeshades. Runs October 22 to November 8.

Other theatre

The oldest professional Black theatre company in Canada, Black Theatre Workshop (BTW) launches their 55th season with the Montréal premiere of our place by Kanika Ambrose, a powerful and humourous play that unveils the complexities of Canada’s immigration system and the demanding costs of survival: Andrea and Niesha are two young women recently arrived from the Caribbean, working under the table at Jerk Pork Castle restaurant to send money home to family, and flirting with a visa expiration deadline while they explore ways to stay in the country. Runs at the Segal Centre Studio from November 19 to 30.

For young audiences, BTW presents Pirate and the Lone Voice about the world of pirate radio in Guinea-Bissau, where two rebels risk everything to keep music and free expression alive. The production will tour schools across Montréal from October 6 to 31, then culminate with a public performance on October 25 at Union United Church in Little Burgundy.

Teesri Duniya Theatre presents White Lion, Brown Tiger about a heated exchange between two Sri Lankan thrift-shop employees which breaks out into a fight. A charged exploration of workplace racism, toxic masculinity, performative allyship, and weaponized trauma. Written by playwright Vishesh Abeyratne, directed by Michelle Soicher, and starring Natasha Fagant, Keith Fernandez and Matt Lacas. Runs October 11 to 23. 

Imago Theatre presents Cult Play by playwright Scout Rexe, a multimedia solo show that explores the complex interplay of desire and deception, complicity and choice. Presented at the Segal Centre Studio from October 22 to November 2. 

Despite moving out of their permanent home on The Main last summer, Mainline Theatre – the heart of indie theatre in Montréal, as well as home base of the Montréal Fringe Festival – remounts their hugely popular annual production of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, complete with live band, from October 29 to November 1 at Théâtre La Comédie de Montréal. Click here for tickets. 

The Hudson Village Theatre presents The Night Watch, written and directed by Clint Ward, a play about brave young women in wartime. Runs October 29 to November 2. 

Then Hudson Village Theatre presents their Annual Holiday Pantomime, Peter Pan by Tom Whalley, co-directed by Steve Walters and Jean-Frédéric Samson. Filled with singing, dancing, silly jokes, goodies, baddies, and loads of fun for the whole family. Runs December 12 to January 4 (matinee and evening performances).

Directed by Montréal theatre legend Vittorio Rossi, Knuckles: The Chris Nilan Story stars legendary Canadiens de Montréal enforcer Chris Nilan sharing his raw journey through iconic moments on the ice, battles with mental health and addiction, and the resilience that defines a true warrior. At the Théâtre Mirella & Lino Saputo at the Leonardo Da Vinci Centre on November 13. Stay after the show for a Q&A and Meet & Greet.

As part of their bilingual 36^th interdisciplinary season, La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines presents Tyson Houseman’s askîwan ᐊᐢᑮᐊᐧᐣ multimedia opera that highlights baritone Jonathon Adams singing in Nēhiyawēwin, accompanied by an electroacoustic score, live video projections, and a moving set design. Inspired by the Nehiyaw calendar structure, askîwan is an ode to the artist’s ancestral territory in times of ecological crisis. Runs November 25 to 28.

Dorval’s English-language community theatre group for more than 50 years, The Lakeshore Players Dorval presents One Act Wonders featuring four short plays with music and songs, at the Roxboro United Church from November 27 to 30.

Dawson College’s Professional Theatre Department 2025-2026 season remounts Irish playwright Marina Carr’s acclaimed Hecuba, a visceral reimagining of the legend of Hecuba, the queen of Troy in Greek mythology (October 1 to 4); and The Women, the classic 1936 comedy of manners by American playwright Clare Boothe Luce (November 10 to 22). All shows presented at Dawson’s gorgeous New Dome Theatre.

Also, click here for info on all upcoming National Theatre School productions at the Monument-National, including Yerma by iconic Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca (December 9 to 13).

From Broadway to Montréal

Looking ahead to 2026, evenko and Broadway Across Canada present smash hit touring productions at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. Their new 2026 Broadway season includes Montréal’s first-ever presentation of & Juliet (March 17 to 22), as well as Moulin Rouge! The Musical (June 9 to 14), and the triumphant return of Disney’s THE LION KING for a whopping 24 performances (August 19 to September 6).

French theatre

There are many French-language plays and theatres in Montréal.

The Québec adaptation of the French classic La Cage aux Folles returns for an encore run at the Studio-Cabaret at Espace St-Denis featuring an all-star cast complemented by bonafide Montréal drag stars. Runs October 8 to 11. 

One of the most-buzzed-about productions of the season is Corps fantôme at Théatre Duceppe, co-produced by Montréal theatre company La Messe Basse who say their queer Québécois story “echoes” Angels in America. The play tells the tale of three friends who mobilize in the early 1990s when Montréal’s LGBTQ community was under siege, battling AIDS, police repression, and anti-LGBTQ murders and violence. Runs October 22 to November 22.