This year’s programming theme from NAC (National Arts Centre) English Theatre was inspired by a single question — “what if?”
“It’s one of those rare opportunities where all the plays, I felt like did really begin with the question, ‘what if?’” says Artistic Director of NAC English Theatre Nina Lee Aquino. “Even though each play is a work of fiction, just because none of it happened doesn’t mean they weren’t real.”
Fifteen Dogs with Stephen Jackman-Torkoff facing front, Mirabella Sundar Singh right. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
The 2025-26 was announced late last week, and Aquino is excited to be bringing fantastical, new, and exciting works to Ottawa audiences.
“I feel like we delivered [last season] on what we were offering and promising to our audiences that we would be taking them into different kinds of spaces in their imagination,” she says. “This season, I feel like we’re introducing our audiences to the packages of big and small, epic and intimate, and that really good storytelling comes in all kinds of containers.”
The season begins with Fifteen Dogs from Sept 17-27. It’s a story about two gods who give 15 dogs human consciousness. Aquino says that it’s based off of one of her favourite books, and after seeing a production of it in Toronto, knew she had to bring it to the capital.
Fifteen Dogs Mirabella Sundar Singh, Tyrone Savage. photo Dahlia Katz
Fifteen Dogs will also be specially adapted to showcase Ottawa-specific locations.
“It was just a chance for me to also offer this play up as a love letter to the city that I now call my home,” she says. “I’m just so excited at the idea of our audiences coming in and, yes, expecting dogs to start talking and have human consciousness, but to also be placed in familiar and iconic locations in the city.”
From Dec. 3-13, The Storyville Mosquito takes the stage, which tells the story of a young mosquito trying to make it in the big city.
It’s a performance that includes an orchestra and puppeteers, which should be fun for the whole family.
The Storyville Mosquito. Photo by Mikael Theimer
“This story in particular reminds us of the human condition when it’s taken out of the human and put into something else,” says Aquino. “I love that these kinds of stories remind us to look beyond — to peel off those blinders and look around you.”
This season will also feature two world premieres of large-scale proportions. Copperbelt will perform from Jan. 13-24, and cicadas will perform April 7-18.
Copperbelt is a story that brings audiences between Toronto and Zambia, navigating both personal and professional life decisions, and cicadas is an eco-thriller about a mysterious disappearance and a decaying old house.
Copperbelt poster. Photo provided.
“I really love being able to both present the macro universe and the micro universe in big ways,” says Aquino. “And, what’s great about these two pieces is that they’re world premieres, so they’re going to be built with Babs Asper and the [Azraeli] Studio in mind — I’m really excited about that process.”
The last two performances from the 2025-26 season feature music in interesting ways. After the Rain will perform from Feb. 25-March 7 and The Invisible: Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare will be on stage from April 29-May 9.
Aquino says she is always drawn back to her love of musicals, and was pleased when the opportunity came around to bring After the Rain to the NAC stage.
After seeing an excerpt of it at the Canadian Festival of New Musicals in Toronto, she fell completely in love with the story.
When the protagonist takes on a mature piano student who is only interested in mastering one single song, she begins to look at her life in a new light.
“I saw no more than a 30 minute excerpt of it, and I was already weeping,” she says. “It [the story] revolves around a protagonist who’s trying to figure out her voice amongst her parents and her boyfriend who seem to know where they are, and where they belong to, and yet her voice is kind of stifled.”
The Invisible is another musical which takes us back to WWII, taking inspiration from the real-life team of female agents to take down some of the biggest threats of the war.
Cast of The Invisible at Grand Theatre 2024. Photo Dahlia Katz
“It’s a work of fiction, but very much inspired by a true story of these amazing women, done in a noir-ish, but also cool graphic novel kind of style,” says Aquino. “It really is a beautiful fusion of the traditional elements of musical theatre, with modern storytelling.”
This season promises some big stories that will push audiences towards imagining and reimagining the “what if’s” of theatre — something Aquino stresses as an important step in her role as artistic director.
“I know it’s going to be challenging, but I also hope it’s going to be a beautiful experience. I hope it’s going to be joyous,” she says. “I feel like this is going to be a really important step for English Theatre.”
For more information about the upcoming shows, and how to get tickets, visit the NAC’s website.
