Past Productions
Launched in 2003.
Ever since our acclaimed Canadian premiere of The Laramie Project in 2003, Studio 180 has been committed to providing powerful experiences that examine political and social issues and invite audiences to analyze and explore with us.
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Jonathan Wilson, photographed by Kevin Connery
A PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION
March 25 – April 20, 2025
Tuesday-Saturday at 8:00 PM
Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM
A Studio 180 Theatre production
in association with
Crow’s Theatre
Written & Performed by
Jonathan Wilson
Directed by Mark McGrinder
Crow’s Theatre, Studio Theatre
Streetcar Crowsnest
345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto ON M4M 2T1
Mixing history, comedy, and poignant reflection in equal measure, A Public Display of Affection, Jonathan Wilson’s deeply personal solo show, excavates the lives, loves, and landmarks of his queer youth on the streets of Toronto.
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FOUR MINUTES TWELVE SECONDS
April 20 – May 12, 2024
Wednesday – Saturday at 7:30 PM
Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM
Tuesday and Wednesday student matinees at 1:00 PM
By James Fritz
Directed by Mark McGrinder
Tarragon Theatre
Extraspace
30 Bridgman Avenue
Regular priced tickets: $69
Artsworker tickets: $29
Di and David have devoted their lives to giving their son, Jack, every opportunity they never had. But a startling incident outside the school grounds threatens to ruin everything they’re striving for.
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Poster by Scott McKowen
THE CHINESE LADY
May 2–21, 2023
Tuesday- Saturday at 8:00 PM; Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM
Please note that masks are mandatory at all Tuesday evening and Sunday matinee performances, in accordance with Crow’s Theatre’s Health & Safety Commitment.
By Lloyd Suh
Directed by Marjorie Chan
Studio 180 Theatre and fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company in association with Crow’s Theatre
Studio Theatre, Streetcar Crowsnest
345 Carlaw Ave, Toronto, ON M4M 2T1
Afong Moy is 14 years old when she’s brought to the United States from Guangzhou Province in 1834. Purportedly the first Chinese woman to set foot on U.S. soil, she has been put on display for the American public as “The Chinese Lady.” As the decades wear on, her celebrated sideshow comes to define and challenge her very sense of identity. Alternatingly dark, poetic, and whimsical, the play is a searing portrait of Western culture seen through the eyes of a young Chinese woman.
Poster by Scott McKowen
Indecent
October 14 – November 6, 2022
By Paula Vogel
Directed by Joel Greenberg
Presented by David Mirvish as part of the Off-Mirvish Series
CAA Theatre
651 Yonge Street, Toronto
In 1923, after highly celebrated and groundbreaking productions in Europe, Sholem Asch’s drama God of Vengeance finally opens on Broadway. What European audiences had found brilliant, dazzling and moving, Broadway audiences respond with shock and disgust. The entire cast is arrested and charged with obscenity. Suddenly this evocative work of Jewish culture that explores religious hypocrisy among other social issues, is a cause célèbre. Indecent takes us behind-the-scenes to tell the true story of this forgotten controversy. The play explores the nature of theatre, anti-Semitism, censorship, politics, homophobia and true love.
MY SISTER’S RAGE
October 11 – November 6, 2022
Written and Directed by Yolanda Bonnell
Tarragon Theatre in association with Studio 180 Theatre and T.O. Live
When their Matriarch ends up in a coma, a ma’iingan-wolf clan family gathers together to work through their collective grief and begin to heal from an incident in the past. While the Aunties camp out in the hospital room, the younger cousins spend their time at the Grandmother’s house by the backyard firepit; all while being circled by a cackling crow jokester.
As the veil between the ancestral plane and the earthly realm gets thinner, tensions and emotions are high and vulnerabilities are exposed, revealing the true strength and resilience of the ma’iingan kwe.
Yolanda Bonnell’s My Sister’s Rage is a story about the nuances of holding trauma and joy at the same time and how laughter is medicine.
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A Public Display Of Affection
June 3–5, 2022
By Jonathan Wilson
Directed by Moze Mossanen
In Person at The Paradise Cinema
And Streaming Online
Mixing comedy, history and poignant reflection in equal measure, Wilson’s deeply personal solo show excavates the lives, loves, and landmarks of his youth. A bracing companion piece to My Own Private Oshawa, A Public Display of Affection looks back on Wilson’s time as a teen drop-out in Toronto in the late 70s and early 80s and the challenges faced (as well as the community formed) in the face of persecution, ostracization and the onset of the AIDS pandemic. Join Jonathan Wilson on an intimate exploration of the Village he knew, the legacy it left, and the future being forged by a new generation.
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Sweat
January 14 – February 2, 2020
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by David Storch
Co-Production with Canadian Stage
Marilyn and Charles Baillie Theatre
26 Berkeley Street, Toronto
For twenty years, a group of friends working at a steel mill decompress at the local bar. When rumors surface that the company is considering layoffs and flyers are hung to recruit non-union workers for less money, the war between community and capitalism begins and tensions start destroying not only jobs, but also relationships.
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Oslo
February 9 – March 3, 2019
By J.T. Rogers
Directed by Joel Greenberg
Presented by David Mirvish as part of the Off-Mirvish Series
In 1993, in front of the world’s press, the leaders of Israel and Palestine shook hands on the lawn of the White House. Few watching would have guessed that the negotiations leading up to this iconic moment started secretly in a castle in the middle of a forest outside Oslo.
An edge-of-your-seat, witty, juicy & thrilling Tony-winning drama! Joel Greenberg’s crackling production … an excellent cast.
The Globe and Mail (★★★☆)
The Nether
October 11 – November 4, 2018
By Jennifer Haley
Directed by Peter Pasyk
Co-Production with Coal Mine Theatre
In the immersive virtual world of the Nether, guests can log in, assume an identity and indulge their darkest desires. A serpentine crime drama and haunting sci-fi thriller, The Nether explores the consequences of living out one’s private dreams.
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King Charles III
February 10 – March 4, 2018
By Mike Bartlett
Directed by Joel Greenberg
David Mirvish presents a Studio 180 Theatre production
CAA Theatre (formerly the Panasonic), 651 Yonge St, Toronto
Charles. Camilla. William. Kate. Harry. One family holds the future of Great Britain in its hands. But what will the future be? The Queen is dead. The “King-in-waiting” finally ascends the throne. Defying centuries of tradition, Charles boldly attempts to reassert the crown’s power, landing himself – and his country – in a royal mess.
Mike Bartlett’s flat-out brilliant portrait of a monarchy in crisis.
The New York Times
My Name Is Asher Lev
November 4–26, 2017
By Aaron Posner
Adapted from the novel by Chaim Potok
Directed by Joel Greenberg
Gerald Sheff & Shanitha Kachan present a co-production with Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company
Greenwin Theatre
Toronto Centre for the Arts
5040 Yonge Street, Toronto
A young Jewish artist is torn between his Hasidic upbringing and his desperate need to fulfill his creative promise. As his genius threatens to destroy his relationship with his parents and community, he must make a difficult choice between art and faith.
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My Night With Reg
February 10–26, 2017
By Kevin Elyot
Directed by Joel Greenberg
David Mirvish presents a Studio 180 Theatre production
Panasonic Theatre
651 Yonge St, Toronto
At Guy’s London flat, old friends and new gather to party through the night. This is the summer of 1985, and for Guy and his circle the world is about to change forever. Deliciously funny and bittersweet, My Night With Reg captures the fragility of friendship, happiness and life itself.
British drama doesn’t get better than this.
Evening Standard
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You Will Remember Me
March 1 – April 10, 2016
By François Archambault
Translated by Bobby Theodore
Directed by Joel Greenberg
A co-production with Tarragon Theatre
Tarragon Theatre Mainspace
30 Bridgman Avenue, Toronto
How will you be remembered? How will you choose to remember those you love? As the aging patriarch of a modern family – a university professor, political and intellectual force, and long-time sovereigntist – suffers from dementia, the people who love him struggle to make room in their lives for his care.
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Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish
July 16, 2015
By David Rakoff
Adapted and Directed by Mark McGrinder
Co-Presented with Panamania and Presented by CIBC
Fleck Dance Theatre
207 Queens Quay West, Toronto
Studio 180 Theatre paid tribute to essayist, humourist and national treasure David Rakoff with a concert staging of his whimsical and deeply moving portrait of life in the 20th century.
An extraordinarily and deliriously entertaining work… Heartfelt, charmingly profound… [A] giddy, wistful triumph.
New York Times Book Review
NSFW
November 7–30, 2014
By Lucy Kirkwood
Directed by Joel Greenberg
The Theatre Centre
1115 Queen Street West, Toronto
Doghouse – a tawdry men’s magazine – traffics in titillation, while Electra – an elegant women’s publication – caters to the notion of empowerment. But their contrasting visions of ideal femininity might just have an equally savage effect.
Sharp, funny. An edgy little satire about the continuing exploitation of women by and in the media, and the hypocrisy of those involved. Recommended.
Toronto Star ★★★.5
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Cock
April 4–27, 2014
By Mike Bartlett
Directed by Joel Greenberg
The Theatre Centre
1115 Queen Street West, Toronto
Mike Bartlett’s punchy comedic drama puts you ringside as John wages war with his lovers, himself and a society that demands an answer to the question, “Who am I?”
God of Carnage
November 23 – December 15, 2013
By Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Joel Greenberg
Presented by David Mirvish as part of OFF-MIRVISH: The Second Stage Series
Panasonic Theatre
Benjamin and Henry have had a fight. Their parents are meeting for a civil discussion of the incident. At least that’s the plan. Tensions flare, and the gloves come off in this hilarious, Tony award–winning comedy that strikes at the heart of bourgeois civility and reveals the savagery beneath the polished facade of polite society.
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Clybourne Park
February 12 – March 3, 2013
By Bruce Norris
Directed by Joel Greenberg
Presented by David Mirvish as part of OFF-MIRVISH: The Second Stage Series
Panasonic Theatre
In the hilariously unsettling Clybourne Park – inspired by Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun – a battle over race and real estate rages across two generations in a suburban Chicago neighbourhood.
The Normal Heart
October 19 – November 18, 2012
By Larry Kramer
Directed by Joel Greenberg
In association with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
The story of a society in denial between 1981 and 1984, The Normal Heart unfolds like a real-life political thriller, as a tight-knit group of friends refuses to let doctors, politicians and the press bury the truth of an unspoken epidemic behind a wall of silence.
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Clybourne Park
April 2–28, 2012
By Bruce Norris
Directed by Joel Greenberg
In association with Canadian Stage
Berkeley Street Theatre Downstairs
In this hilariously unsettling comedy – inspired by Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun – a battle over race and real estate rages across two generations in a suburban Chicago neighbourhood.
The Normal Heart
October 14 – November 6, 2011
By Larry Kramer
Directed by Joel Greenberg
In association with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Larry Kramer’s landmark play about love and loss in the 1980s chronicles the rise of the AIDS crisis in New York City, seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks as he battles against a world unwilling to confront the epidemic.
More brilliant work from one of the most reliably interesting and challenging theatre companies in town.
Toronto Star ★★★★
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Our Class
April 4–30, 2011
By Tadeusz Slobodzianek
English version by Ryan Craig
Directed by Joel Greenberg
In association with Canadian Stage
Berkeley Street Theatre Downstairs
In 1925 Poland, a group of Jewish and Catholic schoolchildren declare their ambitions: to be a fireman, a film star, a doctor. As the children grow up their country is torn apart by invading armies, and internal grievances deepen as fervent nationalism develops. The tension escalates into violence as these ordinary people carry out an extraordinary and monstrous act.
Parade
December 30, 2010 – January 22, 2011
Book by Alfred Uhry
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Co-conceived and Directed on Broadway by Harold Prince
Directed by Joel Greenberg
Co-produced with Acting Up Stage, now Musical Stage Company
Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs
In 1913 Atlanta, Georgia, a teenage factory employee is raped and murdered. Leo Frank, the young Jewish manager of the factory, is charged with the crime. By manipulating witnesses and tampering with evidence, the prosecution convinces the jury that Frank is guilty.
A soaring musical experience, a show that reaches for the stars and shines just as bright.
Associated Press
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The Overwhelming
March 8 – April 3, 2010
By J.T. Rogers
Directed by Joel Greenberg
In association with Canadian Stage
Berkeley Street Theatre Downstairs
American academic Jack Exley travels to Rwanda to interview old friend Joseph Gasana about his struggle for good against daunting odds. But when Jack arrives in Kigali, he is unable to find the Tutsi doctor – or anyone who will even admit to having known him. Befriended by both locals and diplomats with veiled motives, Jack and his family become enmeshed in the tension, terror, professional risks and personal betrayals that they ultimately realize mark the start of a genocidal war.
Stuff Happens
November 14 – December 23, 2009
By David Hare
Directed by Joel Greenberg
David Mirvish presents the Studio 180 production
The Royal Alexandra Theatre
Beginning in the first days of the Bush administration and following its march to war, Stuff Happens is a dramatic speculation, authenticated from multiple real-life sources, on the behind-closed-doors proceedings that have shaped world events. Renowned playwright David Hare blends documented public-record information and theatrical invention to create a riveting drama that centres on still-living history.
Studio 180’s production of Stuff Happens survives transfer to the big house with impact intact, force and lucidity undiminished.
National Post
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Blackbird
March 9 – April 4, 2009
By David Harrower
Directed by Joel Greenberg
In association with Canadian Stage
Berkeley Street Theatre Downstairs
Fifteen years ago, Una and Ray had a relationship. They haven’t set eyes on each other since… Now she’s found him again.
Offensive Shadows
September 26 – October 19, 2008
By Paul Dunn
Directed by Michael Shamata
Tarragon Theatre Extraspace
Paul Dunn’s sexy and darkly comic contemporary sequel to A Midsummer Night’s Dream… Artfully blending the romantic heart of Shakespeare’s classic with a modern sensibility, explore what happens when Demetrius, Helena, Hermia and Lysander finally wake up.
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Stuff Happens
February 29 – March 29, 2008
By David Hare
Directed by Joel Greenberg
Berkeley Street Theatre Downstairs
Beginning in the first days of the Bush administration and following its march to war, Stuff Happens is a dramatic speculation, authenticated from multiple real-life sources, on the behind-closed-doors proceedings that have shaped recent world events.
Offensive Shadows
August 2–12, 2007
By Paul Dunn
Directed by Michael Shamata
Presented in the SummerWorks Festival
Tarragon Theatre Extraspace
A critical and popular smash (it won the NOW Magazine Audience Choice Award), Paul Dunn’s sexy and darkly comic contemporary sequel to A Midsummer Night’s Dream explores what happens when Demetrius, Helena, Hermia and Lysander finally wake up.
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The Arab-Israeli Cookbook
March 3 – April 1, 2006
By Robin Soans
Directed by Joel Greenberg
Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs
The Arab-Israeli Cookbook combines onstage food preparation with intimate interviews to create a portrait of the lives of ordinary people in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. In their travels, the creators met and interviewed more than 80 people, from a wide background of cultures, classes and creeds. The resulting play presents over 40 characters describing their daily lives amidst the surrounding conflict.
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The Passion of the Chris
July 3–10, 2004
A scourge of plays by Christopher Durang
Directed by Joel Greenberg
Presented as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival
Tarragon Theatre Mainspace
A corrosive collage of savage satire! Taking an opportunity to play, Studio 180’s core artistic team assembled this collage of works by social satirist Christopher Durang. With acid wit, Durang’s plays pierce the veneer of Western complacency to hilarious and often moving effect.
The Laramie Project
February 27 – March 28, 2004
By Moisés Kaufman and members of
the Tectonic Theater Project
Directed by Joel Greenberg
In association with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Developed after the murder of openly gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in 1998, The Laramie Project gives voice to the real life testimony of more than 50 residents of Laramie, Wyoming, as they struggle to come to terms with the event and the questions raised in the wake of violence.
This play never judges anybody… [Its] straightforwardness, the inevitable snatches of comedy that arise from the interviews and the great swathes of sorrow also apparent in Laramie make the project utterly compelling.
Globe and Mail ★★★★
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The Laramie Project
February 12 – March 2, 2003
By Moisés Kaufman and members of
the Tectonic Theater Project
Directed by Joel Greenberg
Artword Theatre
In October 1998, openly gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, beaten and left to die, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. Five weeks later, Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie, and over the course of the next year conducted more than 200 interviews with people of the town.
