NAC Indigenous Theatre / Théâtre autochtone du CNA

09/12/2026

"The saddest thing in the world is a voice that never gets heard."

We stopped in at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton to talk with Canadian music icon Tom Wilson about Beautiful Scars: his true story, and the secret that took 53 years to surface. Hear from Tom, director Mary Francis Moore, and lead actor Sheldon Elter on adapting Tom's bestselling memoir into a musical.

Read the full story: https://nac-cna.ca/en/stories/story/a-family-secret-set-to-music

Performances of Beautiful Scars are on until September 19 at the National Arts Centre.
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« Ce qu'il y a de plus triste au monde, c'est une voix qu'on n'entend jamais. »

Nous nous sommes arrêtés au Theatre Aquarius, à Hamilton, pour discuter avec l'icône de la musique canadienne Tom Wilson de Beautiful Scars : son histoire vraie et le secret qui a mis 53 ans à refaire surface. Tom, la metteuse en scène Mary Francis Moore et le comédien Sheldon Elter, qui incarne Tom Wilson, reviennent sur l'adaptation de ses mémoires, un succès de librairie, en comédie musicale.

Lisez l'histoire complète, en français : https://nac-cna.ca/fr/stories/story/a-family-secret-set-to-music

Beautiful Scars est à l'affiche jusqu'au 19 septembre au Centre national des Arts.

09/11/2026

It's opening night! 🤩

Beautiful Scars takes the Babs Asper Theatre stage tonight, kicking off the 2026–27 season.

Don't miss Theatre Aquarius's electrifying musical inspired by Tom Wilson's bestselling memoir. 🎸

📅 Beautiful Scars is at your NAC until September 19.

🎟️ Tickets and details: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40384
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C'est la première! 🤩

Beautiful Scars prend d'assaut la scène du Théâtre Babs Asper ce soir, en ouverture de la saison 2026-2027.

Ne manquez pas cette comédie musicale électrisante de Theatre Aquarius, inspirée des mémoires à succès de Tom Wilson. 🎸

📅 Beautiful Scars est présenté au CNA jusqu'au 19 septembre.

🎟️ Billets et détails : https://nac-cna.ca/fr/event/40384

09/09/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for an evening with Tom Wilson! A perfect way to warm up for opening night of Beautiful Scars, the musical adaptation of Wilson's bestselling memoir.

Beautiful Scars kicks off the 2026-27 season this Friday at your National Arts Centre!

Learn more: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40384

📸 Curtis Perry

09/03/2026

📢 Have you entered our giveaway? Don't miss your chance to win a signed copy of Tom Wilson's memoir, Beautiful Scars: Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the Road Home, plus two tickets to opening night of the musical adaptation on Friday, September 11!

Head to the National Arts Centre's Instagram page to enter and for full details. 👉 https://www.instagram.com/nac.cna/

Entries close at 11:59 PM on Sunday, September 6.

09/02/2026

🎵 Sharing Songs. Building Community.

The Indigenous Song Project is an Indigenous-led community research initiative presented by TO Live that explores the profound power of traditional songs to carry teachings, strengthen relationships, and nurture community connections.

Experience a gathering of learning, reflection, and celebration as we explore the role of song in sustaining culture and bringing people together.

📍 National Arts Centre, Ottawa
📅 October 15, 2026

📍 St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Toronto
📅 November 19, 2026

Join us as we honour the living traditions that continue to inspire and connect communities.

🔗 More info here: tolive.com/songproject

09/01/2026

Spend an evening with Tom Wilson as he reads from his bestselling memoir, Beautiful Scars: Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the Road Home, performs an intimate acoustic set, and answers your questions.

🎤 An Evening with Tom Wilson
📅 Tuesday, September 8
🕡 6:30 - 8:00 PM
📍 Peter A. Herrndorf Place, National Arts Centre

Join us for this FREE event and hear about the story behind the musical he co-created, as he tells the story the way he tells everything: songs, laughter, and no small amount of trouble.

Tom Wilson had already built a life as a rock musician when he learned the truth about where he came from. Beautiful Scars: Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the Road Home is the bestselling memoir behind the musical he co-created, and he tells the story the way he tells everything: songs, la...

08/31/2026

🎸 Rehearsals continue for Beautiful Scars, the rock-n-roll musical based on Tom Wilson's bestselling memoir.

Wilson, a multi JUNO-winner, spent decades in the Canadian music scene. For most of his life, he believed the Irish-Canadian couple who raised him were his birth parents. At 53, a chance remark revealed the truth...

Tracing that reckoning from Hamilton's East Mountain to Kahnawake, this Theatre Aquarius production opens our 2026-27 Season!

📅 Catch it from September 10 to 19 at your NAC.

🔗 Learn more: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/40384
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🎸 Les répétitions se poursuivent pour Beautiful Scars, la comédie musicale rock inspirée des mémoires à succès de Tom Wilson.

Wilson, lauréat de plusieurs prix JUNO, a passé des décennies dans le milieu musical canadien. Pendant la majeure partie de sa vie, il a cru que le couple irlando-canadien qui l'a élevé était ses parents biologiques. À 53 ans, une remarque fortuite a révélé la vérité...

Retraçant ce cheminement du quartier East Mountain de Hamilton jusqu'à Kahnawake, cette production de Theatre Aquarius ouvre notre saison 2026-2027!

📅 À l'affiche du 10 au 19 septembre à votre CNA.

🔗 En savoir plus : https://nac-cna.ca/fr/event/40384

Photo 2: Tom Wilson, Mary Francis Moore
Photo 3: Brandon McGibbon, Mary Francis Moore, Sheldon Elter, Kristi Hansen
Photo 4: Brandon McGibbon, Phil Davis
Photo 5: Kristi Hansen, Jeremy Proulx, Sheldon Elter

📷 Ian Hobson

08/14/2026

Join us for The Comeback, playing November 26th to December 5th at the NAC.

Both hilarious and heartfelt, The Comeback celebrates the power of love and the importance of family bonds, as it follows Adam, a Métis writer navigating identity and family history, and his settler wife, Jesse. When Adam and Jesse's surprise pregnancy brings their Métis and settler families closer together, long-buried tensions bubble to the surface.

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Joignez-vous à nous pour The Comeback, présentée du 26 novembre au 5 décembre au CNA.

À la fois drôle et touchant, The Comeback, une pièce sincère et pleine de justesse sur la rencontre de deux familles que tout oppose, célèbre le pouvoir de l'amour et l'importance des liens familiaux. Adam, écrivain métis en quête de son identité et de son histoire familiale, et sa femme allochtone, Jesse, voient leurs mondes bouleversés lorsque l'annonce d'une grossesse surprise rapproche leurs familles et fait ressurgir des tensions longtemps enfouies.