THE CHRISTMAS MARKET
25 26 Season
Photo of Danté Prince, Andrew Broderick, daniel jelani ellis by Dahlia Katz
A b current Performing Arts production in association with Crow’s Theatre and Studio 180 Theatre
Written by Kanika Ambrose
Directed by Philip Akin
November 4–30, 2025
Tuesday-Saturday at 8:00 PM
Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday
matinées at 2:00 PM
Studio Theatre, Streetcar Crowsnest
345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto ON M4M 2T1
From Dora Mavor Moore Award–winning playwright Kanika Ambrose (our place, Truth), The Christmas Market is a radical and deeply felt new play set against the shimmering bustle of a snowy holiday market.
Far from home, three Caribbean migrant workers carve out a sense of belonging in an unfamiliar—and often unforgiving—landscape. In the quiet moments between shifts, they discover unexpected friendship—forging unshakeable bonds through their humour, grit, and shared determination to survive their first Canadian winter.
Razor-sharp, funny, and unflinching, The Christmas Market is a powerful exploration of community resilience and the hope created by found family.
A WORLD PREMIERE
Written by Kanika Ambrose
Directed by Philip Akin
Featuring Matthew G Brown, Danté Prince, Savion Roach, and Brenda Robins
Beyond the Stage events
Cast and Creative Team Talkbacks
November 13, 2025
November 20, 2025
November 27, 2025
Details
Stay after the show and get an insider’s point of view! This is an opportunity to ask questions, learn how creative decisions were made, and hear behind-the-scenes stories firsthand from members of the cast and creative team.
Black Together Night
November 28, 2025
8:00 PM (performance + post-show celebration)
Details
BLACK TOGETHER NIGHT is an evening created for Black audiences to gather, celebrate, and witness stories by and for the Black community in a safe and affirming space.
Inspired by the BLACK OUT concept popularized by Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris, this night uplifts Blackness on stage, off stage, and in community.
Join us for a special presentation of Kanika Ambrose’s powerful new play The Christmas Market and then stay for the post-show celebration in the lobby!
First Winters: Community Conversation
November 30, 2025
12:30 PM-1:30 PM (before the 2:00 PM matinée)
Details
Come and see the matinée of The Christmas Market and join the community conversation before the show!
Hosted by b current Performing arts, and facilitated by Dora Award-winning actor and playwright Peter N. Bailey, First Winters is a pre-show community conversation about what it’s like to experience a first winter in Canada.
Share memories – from the magic of a first snowfall to the shock of -30°C weather – or simply listen to the stories of others.
No preparation is needed – just come as you are for good conversation, delicious food, and the chance to connect with others who understand the unique experience of Canadian winters.
This event is free (with lunch!), but registration is required. Space is limited so book early!
Tickets to the matinée performance of The Christmas Market at 2:00 PM are sold separately.
Access Measures
Relaxed Environment (RE) Performance
Tuesday, November 25 at 8:00 PM
A relaxed environment makes this performance more accessible to those who could benefit from a more open and flexible theatregoing experience. During a Relaxed Environment performance, an audience member can:
- exit and re-enter the theatre freely,
- move around throughout the theatre,
- make noise or sounds.
Additionally, an access guide will be available that provides information about the performance (directions to the theatre, pre-show warnings, etc). A quiet space will be available to patrons outside of the theatre along with an access kit with fidget/sensory toys, earplugs, and other access tools to support audience members. Staff will also be present and available to ask any questions about the relaxed environment or discuss the content of the show.
Please note that there are no changes to the technical elements of the show (lighting and sound).
Community Partner
Justice for Migrant Workers
Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW) is a volunteer-run political collective comprising people from diverse walks of life, including migrant workers, labour organizers, educators, researchers, students and racialized youth based in Toronto.
J4MW strives to promote the rights of migrant farm workers (participating in agricultural streams of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, including the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program) and farm workers without a formal immigration status.
Company
Kanika Ambrose
Playwright
For Studio 180 Theatre: debut. Kanika Ambrose is a two-time Dora Award winning playwright, opera librettist, and screenwriter. Her play our place, was first produced by Cahoots Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille in November 2022 and received a Dora Mavor Moore Award for “Outstanding New Play” in 2023. She received a second “Outstanding New Play” Dora in 2024 for Truth which premiered at Young People’s Theatre.
Her opera Of the Sea with composer Ian Cusson premiered at the Bluma Appel Theatre in 2023, commissioned by Tapestry Opera and Obsidian Theatre Company. Other credits include: writer and co-creator of the concert The Big Easy: Music of New Orleans at Soulpepper in 2024, writer of two pieces on Juno nominated classical album Known to Dreamers: Black Voices in Canadian Arts Song produced by Canadian Art Song Project.
Other short works have premiered across North America including celebrated digital work Tak-Tak-Shoo with composer Rene Orth. Kanika is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University and is Associate Artistic Director of Necessary Angel Theatre Company. She is a former Artistic Producer of Paprika Festival. She was featured as one of Cahoots Theatre Company’s 30 for 30 theatre makers for their 30th anniversary season. She is a graduate of Canadian Film Centre’s Bell Media Primetime TV Program (2022-2023). This year she is Tarragon Theatre’s OAC Playwright in Residence and will have another new work, Moonlight Schooner premiering in Toronto this November.
Philip Akin
Director
For Studio 180 Theatre: debut. Select theatre credits: The House That Will Not Stand, Gem of the Ocean (Shaw Festival); In 7 Days (The Grand Theatre/Harold Green Jewish Theatre); Fat Ham, The Lehman Trilogy (Canadian Stage); Heroes of the Fourth Turning (The Howland Company/Crow’s Theatre); Maanomaa, My Brother (Blue Bird Collective/Canadian Stage).
AWARDS: Toronto Theatre Critics award (Best Director, 2019: Actually and Pass Over); Canadian Stage Artistic Achievement Prize; The Herbert Whittaker/CTCA award (distinguished contribution to Canadian theatre); Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts; William Kilbourn award (the Celebration of Toronto’s Cultural Life); C.A.E.A. Lifetime Membership award (outstanding contributions to the performing arts); PGC Women’s Caucus Bra d’Or award (supporting and promoting the work of Canadian women playwrights); Mallory Gilbert Leadership award; T.A.P.A. Silver Ticket Award (Outstanding Contribution to the Arts).
Matthew G Brown
Joe
For Studio 180 Theatre: debut. Select theatre credits: Romeo and Juliet (Dream in High Park), Is God Is (Canadian Stage, Obsidian, Necessary Angel), Controlled Damage (Neptune, NAC), The Real McCoy (Blyth Festival), Appropriate (Associate Director, The Coal Mine Theatre), Intimate Apparel (Belfry), Billy Elliot, Little Shop of Horrors, To Kill A Mockingbird, (Stratford Festival), Sister Act (Drayton), Wizard of Oz, Cinderella: A RATtical retelling (YPT), I Think I Can (YPT, The National Arts Centre), Jersey Boys (Dancap, Dodgers). Selected film & TV: Mother Father Sister Brother Frank (Highball TV), Fellow Travelers (Showtime), Pretty Hard Cases (CBC), Pinkalicious and Peterrific (PBS Kids), The Kennedys (History Television), Hailstorm (CFC) Instant Star (CTV) Training: Randolph College, The Canadian Film Centre Actors Conservatory.
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Danté Prince
Lionel
For Studio 180 Theatre: debut. Danté Prince is an Artist born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario. He self describes as having an obsession with the craft of storytelling. Committing himself to refine his discipline. To be the best Actor, Playwright, or whatever else he can be. He feels very grateful to have been able to do this as a career. Living out long time dreams that even he didn’t know were there. And he hopes to eventually be able to share his art with everyone reading this.
Savion Roach
Roy
For Studio 180 Theatre: debut. Savion Roach is a multidisciplinary artist from Scarborough, ON. He has studied Jazz Vocal at the New Conservatory of Music and is a self taught Hip-Hop, Krump, Step, and Contemporary Dancer. He also writes, produces and performs his own music with multiple releases on Spotify and Apple Music under the Alias (SAATURN).
Selected credits: Simeon Whyte in Get That Hope (Stratford Festival); Miles/Rashaad/Shawn in Gloria (Crow’s Theatre); Scotch in Is God Is (Obsidian Theatre/Canadian Stage/NAC); AJ in Choir Boy (Canadian Stage/Arts Club Vancouver). Training: National Theatre School of Canada.
Love.
Brenda Robins
Ryan
For Studio 180 Theatre: debut. Brenda has performed extensively in theatres across Canada. Selected recent appearances include: Steel Magnolias (Capitol Theatre), From Alaska, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Children (Belfry Theatre), Escaped Alone, A Delicate Balance, Noises Off, King Lear (Soulpepper Theatre), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Citadel Theatre, RMTC, Grand Theatre), The Lion in Winter (Grand Theatre), August: Osage County, The Constant Wife (Citadel Theatre), Doubt, The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Centaur Theatre), Death and the Maiden, Hedda Gabler (Vancouver Playhouse), and Cruel and Tender, Private Lives (Canadian Stage). Brenda has also been a company member at both the Shaw Festival and the Stratford Festival. Other Work: Brenda co-adapted the scripts for Picture This and the award-winning Parfumerie for Soulpepper Theatre. Awards: She is the recipient of Dora, Sterling, Jessie, and MECCA Awards.