January in Toronto is rarely associated with warmth — but for the third year running, Tarragon Theatre’s Greenhouse Festival aims to change that. Returning January 27–31, 2026, the process-led festival once again opens its doors to audiences curious about how theatre is made, not just how it looks when it’s finished.
Taking over the Extraspace and spilling into corners of the building itself, Greenhouse is less about polished premieres and more about creative growth. Under the guidance of Festival Producer jonnie lombard, three artistic collectives arrive in residence with works-in-progress that stretch across genres — from dance-driven storytelling and shadow puppetry to confessional concert formats. Audiences are invited to explore Tarragon as a living laboratory, encountering theatre in flux and engaging directly with artists along the way.
This year’s featured works include APOLOGY SHOW, a participatory performance that blends concert, monologue, and research, inviting select audience members to role-play their dream apology; PULSE, which asks whether movement and dance can serve as the primary structure of theatrical storytelling; and Ramla and the Desert, a haunting shadow puppetry and live animation piece exploring disappearance and memory. Together, they offer a wide spectrum of form, tone, and theatrical inquiry.
Adding to the festival’s communal feel are a series of free nightly activations. Love Me Back, a hybrid of magic show and intimate performance by Michael Kras, unfolds between mainstage presentations, while the Planter Box Cabaret offers a rotating lineup of low-pressure, late-evening gatherings — from DJ dance parties and poetry to crafts and karaoke. These moments encourage audiences to linger, connect, and experience theatre as a shared social space.
The festival also features a special presentation, Pearle Harbour’s Agit-Pop!, a cabaret-style performance that blends sharp political commentary with reimagined pop classics, bringing an electrifying jolt of theatrical bravado to the lineup.
For Toronto audiences, Greenhouse Festival offers something increasingly rare: access to the creative process itself. It’s a chance to see ideas take shape, ask questions, and witness the early roots of work that may one day tour far beyond the city. Curious, welcoming, and quietly ambitious, Greenhouse continues to position Tarragon as a space where experimentation isn’t just allowed — it’s celebrated.
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