GROUNDSWELL FESTIVAL 2026

November 9 – 13, 2026
Nancy & Ed Jackman Theatre – Performance Hall (877 Yonge St.)

Tickets: Will be available online starting in October 2026, or can be purchased at the door.

Join us as we celebrate creation, conversation and community at our 41st annual Groundswell Festival! This November, our annual Groundswell Festival is coming to the Nancy & Ed Jackman Theatre Performance Hall to spotlight brand new works from Nightwood Theatre’s Write from the Hip playwright’s unit (WFTH) led by Program Director Intisar Awisse and Program Associate Mya Wong. Hear new plays from Alison Adams, Rais Clarke-Mendes, Sal Currie, Nicci Pryce, Vanessa Spence as well as new Nightwood works in development.

SCHEDULE

To be announced.

Nightwood’s Write From The Hip playwright unit is generously supported by RBC Emerging Artists.

The Groundswell Festival 2026 Team

Intisar Awisse

Program Director

Intisar Awisse is a theatre-maker, playwright, dramaturg, and creative producer. She has been creating theatre for the last ten years with a focus on new plays, devised ensemble work, adaptations, and dance-based performance. Her work includes projects for theatre companies such as Dancemakers, Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival (Meighen Forum), Greenlight Arts, Why Not Theatre, and the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. She was an inaugural ThisGen Dramaturgy Fellow with Why Not Theatre and is currently ThisGen’s Artistic Producer where she supports theatre artists from across Canada. She often leads dramaturgy and creation workshops and has been a guest lecturer and facilitator for various institutions on topics such as Contemporary Dramaturgy and Performance Practice, Script Analysis, Canadian Theatre History, and Black British Theatre. Outside of performance, she regularly works as an editor and educator with experience in both book publishing and arts education.

Mya Wong

Program Associate

Mya Wong (she/her) is a queer, Chinese-Vietnamese artist based in Toronto, Ontario. She loves to explore all the messy, silly, vicious parts of humanity, and to invite audiences to do the same with her. Since graduating from Toronto Metropolitan University with a BFA in Acting, Mya has been developing her dramaturgy practice with a focus on new work that centres underrepresented identities and perspectives. Select theatre credits include: Dramaturg, Playwrights in Process (Doormouse Productions); Production Dramaturg/Assistant Director, Ordinary Days (Shifting Ground Collective); A Perfect Bowl of Pho (Toronto Fringe Festival); Risk! A Climate Cabaret (United Nations with Live Canon).

Alison Adams

Alison Adams is a graduate from the University of Windsor’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting program. Recently, she presented two of her plays at Half Blind Owl’s The Slate Festival: “stupid dumb idiot” in 2024 and “Perfect, Perfect Girls” in 2025. She is currently developing a new work, “One Million Love Songs,” with The Vault Creation Lab. Alison is very excited to delve into the esteemed Write From The Hip program with her newest work, “Hooks.”

Rais Clarke-Mendes

Rais Clarke-Mendes is a Trinidadian-Barbadian actor, director, and emerging playwright. A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, she has honed her craft performing heightened text at The Shaw Festival. A dedicated advocate for Black and Caribbean communities, Rais channels this commitment through her work as a director. She is also engaged in arts education with the Nia Centre for the Arts and shares her love of literature as a book reviewer on Instagram (@rayrayreviewed).

Sal Currie

Sal Currie is a playwright and actor based out of Toronto. Currie’s work operates in shades of contrast. Their passion lies in dragging complicated subjects to the surface, whether that be abortion (It’s Not a Boy! Blue Canoe Productions, 2016), addiction (I Got My Life Back, NTS, 2021), or rape culture (Charlotte Louise, Queen’s Students on Boradway, 2017). They are a proud graduate of both Queen’s University (2018) & The National Theatre School of Canada (2021).

Nicci Pryce

Nicci Pryce (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work is rooted in passion, vulnerability, and social justice. With a BA in Media Production from TMU, they contributed to creating a wide array of projects ranging from mixtapes, theatrical productions, and short films each with a definitive focus on amplifying underrepresented narratives. Their artistic journey has been shaped by collaboration with companies such as Theatre Gargantua, Bad Hats, Crane Creations, Soulpepper, and New Harlem Productions.

Vanessa Spence

Vanessa Spence is a classically trained actor, producer, emerging playwright & director, and professional human being. She is the founder & artistic director of Virtu Arts Theatre, serving the Black diaspora of artists based outside of Toronto. Her artistic practice is rooted in amplifying the intricate stories of Afro-Caribbean femme bodies and minds while advancing the conversation of what it means to be a Black artist based in regions where they are not adequately represented.

Unforgettable theatre. Unbeatable prices.

Get our Season Pass, the best deal to see all of our 2026-2027 shows!

TO A FLAME

An explosive theatrical feast of image and language that pulls us deep into a Victorian Gothic Horror.

JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING

Step into Jaja’s shop, where every braid carries a story.