Canadian Plays
Welcome to the Canadian Plays section where you will find plays published
in English from across Canada and plays in translation from
French Canada. Plays
are listed by playwright, by last name.
A / B
/ C / D / E /
F / G / H / I / J / K / L / M /
N / O / P / Q / R / S / T / U / V / W /
X / Y / Z
Canadian Anthologies
If you are unsure of the author's name, please to to our search
engine and enter the title of the work you are interested in.
Plays by Canadian playwrights are now appearing on stages around the world
both in their original language and in translation. Many are award winners
both in Canada
and abroad. The creative imagination of the Canadian playwright knows
no bounds and the publishers, equally creative, strive to produce beautiful
editions for the
reader. Our annotations are brief but we strive for acuracy in
the description.
We stock and sell plays from Dramatists Play Service, Dramatic Publishing Co. and Samuel French Ltd. If you require cast breakdowns or any other information, please
feel free to call us at (416) 922.7175 (toll-free 1.800.361.3414) or email us at
action@theatrebooks.com.
New & Featured Canadian
Plays
 Kim's Convenience
Ins Choi
The smash-hit Soulpepper production and winner of Best New Play at Toronto's Fringe Festival, Kim's Convenience is the critically acclaimed and wildly popular debut by celebrated actor and playwright Ins Choi. Wholly original, hysterically funny, and deeply moving, the play tells the story of one Korean family struggling to face the future amidst the bitter memories of their past.
Softcover, 94 pp. $14.95.
 It is Solved by Walking
Catherine Banks
When Margaret leanrs of the death of her former husband, she recalls their earnest days together as Ph.D. candidates, beginning a journey through her past. Told through the sensations of Wallace Stevens's poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird."
Softcover, 76 pp. $16.95.
 The Dream of the Burning Boy
David Read West
Since the sudden death of his favourite students, high-school teacher Larry Morrow has been falling asleep at his desk and dreaming. The school's guidance counselor is hanging inspirational posters designed to help everyone "process their emotions." Searing yet surprisingly funny, The Dream of the Burning Boy is about finding the strength to move on... and the courage to live without regret. Softcover, 52 pp. $11.99.
 If We Were Birds
Erin Shields
If We Were Birdsis a shocking, uncompromising examination of the horrors of war, giving voice to a woman long ago forced into silence and placing a spotlight on countless female victims who have been silenced through violence. This adaptation of Ovid's poetic masterpiece features a chorus of ravaged women, each a survivor of 20th C conflict. 2011 Governor General's Award Winner Dram.a 7 F; 2 M. $16.95.
 Rick: The Rick Hansen Story
Dennis Foon
The story of Rick Hansen, who at 15 suffered an injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down. His accident forced him to adapt his positivity to deal with his new life. Refusing to be disadvantaged, Rick conquers the challenges presented to him with a smale and changes the definition of what it means to be disabled. 3M 1F. Softcover, 66 pp. $16.95.
 Lost: A Memoir
Cathy Ostlere & Dennis Garnhum
An unforgettable show based on an inspiring true story. Cathy leaves her home in Calgary to search for her lost brother. As she tries to unravel the mystery of his life, she discovers some surprising things about her own life's journey. 1F. Softcover, 62 pp. $14.95.
 Down From Heaven
Colleen Wagner
A stunning new play which examines the tenuous balance between civility and savagery, morality and survival, class struggle, art, and love when a pandemic and good crisis challenges dearly held beliefs. 2M 2F. Softcover, 80 pp. $16.95.
 Bannock Republic
Kenneth Williams
Thunderstick. This time a beautiful and vengeful third-party manager will wreak havoc with their lives. This is another knockout comedy from one of Canada's finest playwrights. 2M 2F. Softcover, 92 pp. $14.95.
 The Catering Queen
Alison Lawrence
Christmas cheer, sex, romance, death, laughter, appetizers, and a whole lot of vodka all come together in this hilarious comedy that looks at what happens behind the scenes at the annual corporate Christams cocktail party. 3M 3F. Softcover, 82 pp. $14.95.
 Gas/Dust
Jason Maghanoy
Two plays about the war in Iraq by one of Canada's hottest up-and-coming playwrights. Gas tracks two stories of soldiers dealing with the trauma of their actions during war, and Dust, set in Abu Ghraib prison, deals with the ever intertwining themes of love and torture. Softcover, 102 pp. $14.95.
 Herr Beckmann's People
Sally Stubbs
Art, war, and the politics of culture collide in this moving account of a family's legacy of beauty and brutality. 2M 3F. Softcover, 94 pp. $14.95.
 A Killing Snow
Paul Ciufo
Huron County, Ontario. A blizzard is raging. Four travelers take refuge in the secluded farmhouse of a retired Latin teacher. As tempers flare it becomes clear that someone has murder on their mind, as ominous phrases appear on the walls. 2M 3F. Softcover, 88 pp. $14.95.
 Gas Girls
Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
"Love for gas, gas for cash, cash for living, living for love." Two women in Zimbabwe do what it takes to survive, and inspire each other to find joy on the edges of survival in this dark, ponderous, and stirring play. 2M 2F. Softcover, 70 pp. $16.95.
 The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz
Armin Wiebe
A comic folk-play with a classical music base. A farm wife, a carpenter, a midwife, and a musician all struggle to find fulfillment in their seemingly impossible wantings. 2M 2F. Softcover, 103 pp. $14.95.
 Rockbound
Allen Cole
A riveting drama with music first produced by legendary Nova Scotian company Two Planks and a Passion, this is an epic tale of an orphan who returns home and stands in opposition to his righteous, despotic relatives. 7M 4F. Softcover, 110 pp. $14.95.
 Two Rooms
Mansel Robinson
A white Canadian cop is married to a young Muslim doctor, who happens to be a suspect in a terrorism investigation. She has a lot to confess. So does he. Murder, betrayal, politics.... a love story. 1M 1F. Softcover, 50 pp. $14.95.
 Crossing and Other Plays
C.E. Gatchalian
Contains the plays Crossing, Diamond, and Ticks. Softcover, 106 pp. $17.95.
 In Piazza San Domenico
Steve Gallucio
A farcical comedy of errors set in 1952 Naples in which one couple's broken engagement ripples through friends and family, affecting all of their respective lives in different ways. 4M 4F. Softcover, 126 pp. $17.95.
 House of Many Tongues
Jonathan Garfinkel
Two families, one Israeli, one Palestinian, lay claim to the same house and are forced to live together in this absurdist, surreal take on mid-east politics. 4M 3F. Softcover, 91 pp. $16.95.
 Inspiration Point
John Garfield Barlow
Paul, Joseph, and Peter are stranded at Inspiration Point. WIth no one to call and nothing else to do but get high, the boys argue about life on the res and the growing struggle of a community threatened by internal and external assimilationist forces. 4M. Softcover, 130 pp. $16.95.
 Lenin's Embalmers
Vern Thiessen
Based on the true story of two sceintists in !920s Russia assigned with the impossible task of making Vladimir Lenin live forever, this is a darkly hilarious and fiercely original play. 7M 1F. Softcover, 120 pp. $16.95.
 Lutz
Ryan Griffith
After a tremendous upset at the Olympics a figure skater decides it's time to go home to his family in the backwoods of New Brunswick. He soon discovers that his old home delivers more pain than healing, and he finds himself struggling to separate memory from reality. 4M 2F. Softcover, 120 pp. $16.95.
 The Mystery of Maddy Heisler
Daniel R. Lilliford
Contemplating his next mystery novel, Nova Scotian author Jacob Meisner is forced to revisit his past. Ghostly figures start to flit into sight and long-buried memoreis surface. 4M 3F. Softcover, 82 pp. $16.95.
 Witness to a Conga and Other Plays
Stewart Lemoine
Three brilliant, moving plays from Canada's master of comic theatre. Also includes The Oculist's Holiday and Happy Toes. Softcover, 210 pp. $19.95.
 Yichud (Seclusion)
Julie Tepperman
It's Chaim and Rachel'ss wedding, and the audience is their guests. Yichud (Seculsion) directly confronts the tensions that exist in the Orthodox Jewish world between tradition and modernity, powerfully dramatizing issues of love, marriage, respect, sex, honour and duty. 2F 4M. Softcover, 139 pp. $16.95.
 The Forbidden Phoenix
Marty Chan
The Forebidden Phoenix'slyricism brings us to a world where Chinese parables are woven with the painful history of the immigrant men who suffered to build Canada's railroad in the 1800s. Playwright Marty Chan and composer Robert Walsh create a musical rife with stylized characters, lending itself to a performance brimming with exciting acrobats, slapstick, and martial arts. Softcover, 70 pp. $16.95.
And So it Goes
George F. Walker
Gwen and Ned are unable to maintain the facade of their former middle-class lifestyle. They are newly unemployed and their daughter has been recently diagnosed with schizophrenia. In the midst of their darkest hours, they seek solace in the ghost of Kurt Vonnegut. m2, f2. Softcover, 127 pp. $17.95.
 Gordon
Morris Panych
Gordon was always an odd little child, given his penchant for setting the neighbours’ sheds on fire with their pets locked inside, and his fascination with the funeral rituals at the church across the way. As the steel mill shuts down and everyone in town moves away, Gordon’s father urges him to attend an institution of higher learning. Gordon’s vocabulary grows by leaps and bounds, as do his natural gifts for sociopathic rhetoric, fatuous rationalization and reductive logic. Upon graduation, Gordon sets out to build an innovative business with his former cellmate Carl. This ambition is not without its bloody-handed transactions and awkward issues about where to file the evidence. Softcover, 128 pages.$17.95.
 The Edward Curtis Project: A Modern Picture Story
Marie Clements & Rita Leistner
The Edward Curtis Project began when Presentation House Theatre commissioned Marie Clements to write a play that would stage the issues raised by Curtis's monumental project to document "the vanishing race of the North American Indian." To parallel the play, Clements asked photojournalist Rita Leistner to create a photographic investigation of Curtis's endeavour. Their collaboration is presented here in a fascinating single volume. Softcover, 159 pp. $24.95.
 Age of Arousal
Linda Griffiths
ItÂ’s 1885 in Age of Arousal, and in London there are half a million more women than men. Mary, an ex-suffragette, has opened a secretarial school for women to teach liberation through typing. When three sisters sign up, unexpected passions and secret desires are unleashed as they each learn what being a New Woman can truly mean. 5 F; 1 M. Softcover, $17.95.
 Reading Carol Bolt
Carol Bolt
One of the first "stars" of the Canadian theatre scene, Carol Bolt was a pioneer in the art of dramatic writing and created timeless, powerfull, and beautifully poetic works. This long overdue collection brings together some of her finest works including Cyclone Jack, Red Emma, Companeras, Icetime, and others. Softcover, 368 pp. $45.00.
 Bone Cage
Catherine Banks
Bone Cage is a poetic and darkly humorous portrayal of life in Nova Scotia, where stripping the enviroment means stripping your soul. This play examines how young people in rural communities, employed in the destruction of the enviroment they cherish, treat the people they love at the end of their shift and the difficulties in growing and hanging onto dreams in a world where they are seen as impractical or weak. Softcover, 103 pp. $18.95.
 Such Creatures
Judith Thompson
Two deeply-linked monologues show us the astonishing courage and resilience of young human beings during earth-shattering moments. Each piece introduces us to a fifteen-year-old girl: the first speaks to us from contemporary Toronto, and the second from Auschwitz, 1945. Thanks to their shared love of Shakespeare, each girl believes in miracles when there is almost no hope, and in humour when there is nothing but fear. Softcover, 49 pp. $16.95.
 Missing
Florence Gibson MacDonald
Evelyn MacMillam, wife and mother of three, has vanished without a trace. When Detective Carol Seaforth is brought in to investigate, the MacMillan's rural, Southern Ontario town is turned upside down to uncover the truth behind Evelyn's disappearance. As Carol grows closer to Evelyn's husband and withdraws from her own marriage, long-hidden secrets bubble to the surface, eventually bringing the investigation to a diner on the outskirts of London, Ontario. Softcover, 94 pp. $16.95.
 The Satchmo Suite
Hans Boggild
A concert cellist unwittingly invokes the spirit of Louis Armstrong, who helps him discover things about his own identity as a musician as well as truths about the art and nature of music. Softcover, 79 pp. $17.95.
 Living Curiosities or What You Will
Mary Vingoe
This play is inspired by the story of Anna Swan, the nineteenth-century Nova Scotia giantess who was sent to exhibit at P.T. Barnum's famed American Museum in NYC at the height of the American Civil War. 5m, 6f. Softcover, 81 pp. $16.95.
 Wreckage
Sally Stubbs
A mysterious train wreck. A red suitcase. A ghost that sings Puccini. Nothing is quite what it seems in this surprising, highly original "gangster" play by award winning playwright Sally Stubbs. Wreckage is wild genre-crossing train ride through a dickensian vision of Vancouver's underbelly. Softcover, $14.95.
 Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre
Larry Tremblay
Was John Wilkes Booth the first reality star? What would Abraham Lincoln google if he had the chance? What would a re-enactment of Lincoln's assasination look like in the hand of Laurel & Hardy? These questions and more are explored, probed and laughed at in this madcap and, at times, haunting new play from Larry Tremblay. Softcover, 95 pp. $16.95.
 Thunderstick
Kenneth T. Williams
Two estranged cousins, one a freelance writer, one a photojournalist, are teamed up to write a story on parliament hill. They get thrown into jail one one of them vomits on Jean Chretien. Their brief stint in jail sets of a chain of events that sees them journeying deep into the backwoods in search of adventure, escape, and a fantastic story. Thunderstick is a hilarious tale of two Cree men trying to reconcile their deeply painful pasts with their dreams of the future. Softcover, 72 pp. $14.95.
 With Bated Breath
Bryden MacDonald
This is the provocative tale of Willy, a troubled but charismatic gay kid who flees Cape Breton Island for Montreal with hopes of forgetting a newly broken heart by starting a new life in the big city. There, hopelessly awkward and naive, caught up in the cynical and brutalizing cash-economy of the city's red light district, he retreats ever further into a world of fantasy and anonymity, and soon goes missing without a trace. Softcover, 127 pp. $17.95.
 The Shunning
Patrick Friesen
Peter is trying to live a good life, a faithful life. When he begins to question the doctrine of his Mennonite church and his faith in general, he is ostracized from the community. A decree by the church forces his wife to abandon him, if not in person, then in spirit. The strain of domestic and community pressures forces Peter deeper into isolation, but he still refuses to stop questioning. 3m, 1f. Softcover, 69 pp. $14.95.
 Beating the Bushes
Steven Bush
Steven Bush's one-man standup comedy, rant, political protest and call for the war-crimes trials of both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush is a brash theatrical tour de force that dares his audience to accompany him on personal quest for evidence of honesty, decency in a world of damning facts and murky conspiracy theories. Softcover, 157 pp. $18.95.
 The Refugee Hotel
Carmen Aguirre
Set in a run-down hotel in 1974, only months after the start of the infamous Pinochet regime, eight Chilean refugees struggle, at times haplessly, at times profouondly, to decide if fleeing their homeland means they have abandoned their friends and responsibilities or not. Softcover, 126 pp. $17.95.
Courageous
Michael Healey
Brian and his partner Martin seek a civil ceremony, but are stopped when Tom, the city official, won't perform a homosexual marriage. While Tom fights for what he believes, his lover finds the battle a little too much to bear. Todd and Tammy do get married, but their life together quickly begins to unravel. From a chance meeting at City Hall, three couples are forever altered. m5, f2. Softcover, $103 pp. $16.95.
 Lucy
Damien Atkins
A world-renowned and much-respected anthropologist, Vivian is most comfortable in her world of quiet solitude, balking at even the smallest of interactions with the outside world. Her life is abruptly changed, however, when her ex-husband shows up and asks Vivian to reassume custody of their thirteen-year-old autistic daughter, Lucy, while he settles in with his new wife. Overwhelmed by the particulars of Lucy's care and unable at first to connect with her daughter, Vivian soon realizes that she and Lucy are more alike than she ever could have expected -- a revelation that has powerful and disturbing consequences. m2, f3. Softcover, 84 pp. $16.95.
 The Madonna Painter
Michel Marc Bouchard
At the end of the First World War, to protect his village from the Spanish flu epidemic brought home by returning soldiers, a young priest recently arrived in the Parish of Lac St-Jean commissions a wandering Italian painter to decorate the walls of the local church with a fresco dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The presence of the foreign artist, his choice of a local virgin to serve as a model, and the frighteningly strange nature of his work will upset this lives and change the fate of the entire community. m3, f4. Softcover, 94 pp. $16.95.
 Jocasta Regina
Nancy Huston
As Oedipus, Creon and Tiresias continue to fight it out in public, as the plague continues to wreak havoc in the city, we slip into the bedrooms, kitchen and infirmary of the palace of Thebes ... and learn at last, some two and a half millenia after Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, what went on in the indomitable heart heart and mind of Queen Jocasta. Softcover, 115 pp. $18.95.
 Iskooniguni Iskweewuk
Tomson Highway
The Rez Sisters in its original version: Cree. Softcover, 127 pp. $16.95.
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Harvest and Other Plays
Lady in the Red Dress
Shakespeare's Dog
Afterimage
The Eyes of Heaven
Home Coming
The Trespassers
Welfarewell
String Quartet
One Voice: House & Here Lies Henry
Toronto the Good
Scratch
