Based on the multi-award-winning and global bestselling novel by Canadian author André Alexis, David and Hannah Mirvish are proud to announce the cast of the Crow’s Theatre and Segal Centre for Performing Arts production of Fifteen Dogs. Adapted for the stage and directed by Marie Farsi, Fifteen Dogs will play the CAA Theatre from January 28 to February 16, 2025.

Tickets will be available as of Saturday September 7 at mirvish.com or by calling 1.800.461.3333.

Five actors, some of the finest working in Canada, from the world premiere 2023 Crow’s Theatre production – Laura Condlln (Fun Home, David Mirvish and The Musical Stage Company) as Bella, a great dane; Stephen Jackman-Torkoff (The Inheritance, Canadian Stage) as Prince, a mutt who composes the poetry; Tom Rooney (Uncle Vanya, Crow’s Theatre and Mirvish Productions) as Majnoun, a black poodle, Tyrone Savage (Cymbeline, Stratford Festival) as Atticus, an imposing Neapolitan mastiff, and Mirabella Sundar Singh (Armadillos, Factory Theatre) as Dougie, a schnauzer – will reprise their acclaimed roles at the CAA Theatre.

They will be joined by Dan Chameroy, a star of the Stratford Festival (Something Rotten)–and a frequent actor on the Toronto stage, famous for his hilarious work as Plumbum in Ross Petty’s seasonal pantomimes–as Benjy, a resourceful and conniving beagle.

ABOUT THE PLAY:

— I wonder, said Hermes, what it would be like if animals had human intelligence.

— I'll wager a year's servitude, answered Apollo, that animals – any animal you like – would be even more unhappy than humans are, if they were given human intelligence.

That’s how, one night over a beer at the Wheatsheaf Tavern, the gods Hermes and Apollo decide to grant human consciousness and language to a group of 15 dogs at a Toronto veterinary clinic.

What happens next – how each of the dogs responds to this sudden change to their existence – is the story of this wildly successful stage adaptation of André Alexis’s multi-award-winning international best-selling novel.

Roving the city from west to east, the dogs must learn to live life with their newfound intelligence. By turns joyful and tearful, playful and philosophical, FIFTEEN DOGS is an elegant and hugely entertaining modern-day fable about love, language, and the human condition.

This new play had its world premiere at Crow’s Theatre in January 2023. Embraced by both critics and audiences, Fifteen Dogs became an instant hit. It was subsequently staged at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts in Montreal earlier this year, where it was greeted with similar acclaim.

This compelling, charming, funny and moving play examines our relationship with the animals we share our lives with while providing insights on the human condition itself.

You will fall in love with Fifteen Dogs.

THE CREATIVE TEAM:

The award-winning design team includes set, props, and costume designer Julie Fox, lighting designer Kimberly Purtell, and Music and Sound Designer David Mesiha.

Fifteen Dogs is adapted and directed by Marie Farsi. Marie is an award-winning theatre maker and film director primarily focused on the creation of new work. She has worked with exciting and innovative companies across Canada including Rumble Theatre, Théâtre La Seizième, Porte-Parole, Stratford Festival, Bard on the Beach, Arts Club in Vancouver, and Crow’s Theatre.

André Alexis was born in Trinidad and grew up in Canada. Fifteen Dogs, a global bestseller by the beloved Toronto writer, won the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and Canada Reads. André’s most recent novel is Ring. His other books include Days by Moonlight which won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, Asylum, Pastoral, The Hidden Keys, and The Night Piece: Collected Stories. André is the recipient of the prestigious American Windham Campbell Prize for literary achievement. “You can’t know what a life has been until it is over.” Fifteen Dogs, André Alexis

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FIFTEEN DOGS

CAA Theatre, 651 Yonge St

January 28 – February 16, 2025

Tickets are available at 10AM on Saturday September 7 at mirvish.com or by calling 1.800.461.3333.

Performance Schedule

Tuesday - Saturday: 7:30PM

Wednesday: 1:30PM & 7:30PM

Saturday: 2PM & 7:30PM

Sunday: 2PM