The ten best theatre shows in 2023

Matthew MacKenzie and Mariya Khomutova in "First Métis Man of Odesa." 

Alexis McKeown

Source: Toronto Star

Author of the Article: Karen Fricker Theatre Critic, Joshua Chong Staff Reporter

With inspiring performances that elicited emotions from joy to anger to disgust and everything in between, Toronto's theatre scene has delivered a packed and powerful year of theatrical shows

When we met to talk through our favourite theatre shows of the year, a strong theme emerged: truth-telling. Be they new plays based on real-life stories, imagined stories that resonate with past and current socio-politics, or classics retold in ways that reflect contemporary experience, it’s clear we were hungry for veracity and topicality.

In that vein, there’s no production that better sums up the theatrical spirit of 2023 than our first pick here, in which a brilliant Indigenous storyteller spins a big theatrical lie to lay down some profound truths about Indigenous/settler relations on this land.

Here, in no particular order following our number one pick, is a list of the top 10 productions of 2023 which we selected together through debate and consensus — plus two bonus picks of shows that stuck with us individually for different reasons.