Newswire | NAC Announces 2026–2027 Season

May 7, 2026 – OTTAWA (Canada) – In 2026–2027, we invite you to experience the best new and emerging artists, and reconnect with long-time favourites from around the world and close to home.

The NAC Orchestra enters a landmark chapter as internationally-acclaimed conductor John Storgårds begins his tenure as Music Director. He joins the NAC Orchestra with a vision that balances world-class artistic excellence and a deep investment in Canadian voices. His inaugural season features rising Canadian soloists, including Kerson Leong, Élisabeth Pion, and Kevin Chen, and centres on the music of British Columbia composer Jean Coulthard through a major performance and recording project.

Throughout the season, the NAC Orchestra also welcomes renowned international artists, including violinists Christian Tetzlaff and Hilary Hahn, and French hornist Ben Goldscheider. The Orchestra will offer a lively mix of musical experiences—from blockbuster film scores and classic pop hits to high-energy Caribbean rhythms and family-friendly orchestral journeys featuring vibrant dance and circus magic.

Popular music lovers will be thrilled by the variety of shows from across the Canadian musical identity, including the legendary Bruce Cockburn, pop idol Roch Voisine, indie darlings Rheostatics, alt-pop artist Begonia and multi-award-winning artist Allison Russell. In addition, a driving force behind the radiance of Quebec culture,Cirque Éloize will wow NAC audiences next season. Expect to be swept up in the infectious energy of Afro-Peruvian rhythms through the unique sounds of Afro-Andean Funk. With a growing series of best-selling authors on our stages, the NAC is very excited to welcome David Sedaris and Zadie Smith to Southam Hall this fall.

The NAC Dance season features a spectacular opening by Irish choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan with MÁM. Danza Contemporánea de Cuba will offer an electrifying evening that showcases the vibrancy and sensuality of modern Cuban artistry. Guillaume Côté returns with Midsummer Night Dreams for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, a poetic reimagining of Shakespeare’s 1595 play. Audiences will experience 2par2 by Ebnflōh Dance Company, a powerful example of emerging choreographic voices within Quebec’s Hip-Hop scene. NAC Dance and Indigenous Theatre will co-present Matriarchs Uprising, a festival curated by Olivia C. Davies as a platform for Indigenous women to redefine the future of contemporary dance and storytelling.

In theatre, the season emphasizes work shaped by cultural continuity and community connection. Indigenous Theatre presents Waiting for Godot – Inuktitut, a culturally reimagined version of Samuel Beckett’s classic, created by a collective of Inuit translators and artists. The production reflects how the NAC supports theatre makers in developing work that serves both artistic excellence, cultural renewal and linguistic preservation. Co-produced by NAC Indigenous and French Theatre, Innu artist Soleil Launière’s Pakuneu is a multidisciplinary work grounded in Innu cosmology that uses theatre, krumping, song, and video to explore the possible life paths of a child born in prison. In an NAC Indigenous Theatre and NAC English Theatre co-production,

Margaret Laurence’s beloved novel The Diviners is adapted in a powerful version by Vern Thiessen and Yvette Nolan, directed by Krista Jackson.

English Theatre continues to champion Canadian artists through its long-term support of playwrights at pivotal moments in their creative journeys.Ins Choi, whose wildly popular play Kim’s Convenience was staged at the NAC before becoming a hit television series, returns with his latest award-winning work, Son of a Preacherman. The season also features the Stratford production of Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman’s The King James Bible Play. Directed by Nina Lee Aquino, this production underscores the NAC’s commitment to carrying Canadian stories beyond their world premieres and out to audiences across the country. That spirit of national reach and partnership continues with a production of Lauren Yee’s Cambodian Rock Band, arriving at the NAC after its 2025 Canadian debut at Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver—an electrifying blend of live music and historical drama featuring the songs of Dengue Fever.

French Theatre similarly highlights artistic growth as Etienne Lou returns to the NAC stage in Je comprends. Respect., a gripping autobiographical journey that brings together theatre and Hip-Hop, recruiting local dancers. French Theatre Artistic Director Mani Soleymanlou is back on stage in Bashir Lazhar, directed by Marie Brassard. This 2007 play by Evelyne de la Chenelière about a professor displaced from his homeland still resonates in the collective consciousness. In a monumental staging of L’Orestie, Alice Ronfard unites a cast of more than 30 to deliver an ambitious masterpiece. Joël Pommerat returns to the NAC with Les Petites Filles modernes (titre provisoire), a poetic dive into the tumult of two children’s hearts, for audiences aged 13 and up. A strong focus on youth programming also emerges, with a majority of works led by female voices.

The National Arts Centre nurtures the Canadian performing arts sector by investing millions through its National Creation Fund, providing artists with the essential time and resources to develop ambitious new works for audiences here and around the world. We support the next generation of artists through professional residencies, masterclasses, and intensive mentorship programs. By co-producing world premieres and providing a national platform for companies from across the country, the NAC serves as a vital engine for artistic innovation and professional growth across Canada.

– Annabelle Cloutier  President and CEO, National Arts Centre