Against The Grain Theatre

Against The Grain Theatre Against the Grain Theatre (AtG) is a multi-award-winning Canadian experimental opera company.

Against the Grain is a collective of Toronto artists — actors, opera singers, musicians, painters, writers, dancers, and arts professionals — with a penchant for performing in unique spaces. We present classical repertoire, from Mozart, Handel and Puccini to Britten, Janáček and Kurtág… differently. Sometimes with English librettos; sometimes with modern dance; and always informally, in intimate s

paces with cabaret-style seating, and appetizers and cocktails. Acclaim for Against the Grain:


"Against the Grain Theatre has [...] achieved that rarest of wonders: a production that succeeds on all levels." – John Terauds, Musical Toronto

“Opera needs exciting productions like [...] The directness is electric.” — Maclean’s

"Against the Grain Theatre has magic that carries even a shoebox production into your imagination and makes it live as art." – Stanley Fefferman, Opus One Review

"One of the most exciting companies in the country" – The Charlebois Post

"The troupe has an unbroken five-year list of hits, including 2011’s La Bohème (performed in a bar) and this summer’s sumptuous Pélleas et Mélisande (sung in an outdoor courtyard)." — NOW Magazine

"...there you are sitting in the grungy basement Black Box Theatre on Queen Street, with 80 other people sitting at 20 tables arranged for a mock wedding reception, and the power of art, of opera, of storytelling and of great music smack you in the face like a bracing wake-up call to the spirit." — The Globe & Mail

We're delighted to announce our first ever partnership with Tapestry Opera 💥The Canadian premiere of Dog Days, co-produc...
08/11/2026

We're delighted to announce our first ever partnership with Tapestry Opera 💥

The Canadian premiere of Dog Days, co-produced by Tapestry Opera and Against the Grain Theatre.

⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

So proud of our Artistic Director Royce Vavrek! We're celebrating The Galloping Cure's premiere at the Edinburgh Interna...
08/11/2026

So proud of our Artistic Director Royce Vavrek! We're celebrating The Galloping Cure's premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival 🎉

Read a review of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's work below!

⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s new music theatre work boasts a richly textured score with a direct but sophisticated musical language. Daniela Mack is ideal as the conflicted doctor as its heart

WOOOO! ❤️We are feeling SO GRATEFUL that Canuck Cantatas took home the win for Outstanding New Opera at the 2026 Dora Ma...
07/02/2026

WOOOO! ❤️

We are feeling SO GRATEFUL that Canuck Cantatas took home the win for Outstanding New Opera at the 2026 Dora Mavor Moore Awards.

Sending love to our incredible creator artists: Sarah Slean, Emma Pennell, Danika Lorèn (pictured, photos by John Lauener), Royce Vavrek, Spencer Kryzanowski, and Vern Thiessen.

Thank you so much Jennifer Nichols, Nathan Bruce, Lesley Abarquez Bradley, Heather Slater, Elaine Wong, Patric McGroarty, Julia Mirzoev, Russell Iceberg, Peter Eom, Brad Cherwin (& more) for bringing these three pieces to life ❤️

And a shout-out to the wonderful nominees: Tapestry Opera and Opera 5! New opera is alive and well in Canada!

❤️
07/01/2026

❤️

Feeling grateful for three Dora Award nominations for Canuck Cantatas ❤️🦌 Nominated for OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION🦌 Nominate...
06/02/2026

Feeling grateful for three Dora Award nominations for Canuck Cantatas ❤️

🦌 Nominated for OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION
🦌 Nominated for OUTSTANDING NEW OPERA (the incredible creative teams of Danika Lorèn & Vern Thiessen, Spencer Kryzanowski & Emma Pennell, and Sarah Slean & Royce Vavrek)
🦌 Nominated for OUTSTANDING CREATIVE DIRECTION (Jennifer Nichols & Spencer Kryzanowski)

Congratulations to all fellow nominees! Opera is alive and well in Toronto.

📸 of Danika Lorèn by Lauren Halasz

Another review!Thank you so much Janine Marley and A View from the Box ❤️
05/14/2026

Another review!

Thank you so much Janine Marley and A View from the Box ❤️

“How many Indigenous artists does it take to make an Opera indigenous?” While this question shouldn’t have to be asked in the first place, it’s what Against the Grain Theatre was faced with when th…

Thank you so much, Michael Jones and Opera Canada ❤️
05/14/2026

Thank you so much, Michael Jones and Opera Canada ❤️

Stories Don’t Die: The Artists of Indians on Vacation | Against the Grain Theatre | Opera Canada

Address

192 Spadina Avenue, Suite 300
Toronto, ON
5T2C2

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm

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