Toronto Amazing
Dora Mavor Moore Awards (The Dora's)
A Bit of History Worth Knowing
Named after Dora Mavor Moore — a Glasgow-born director who arrived in Toronto in 1894 and spent her life building Canadian professional theatre from the ground up
First Canadian ever accepted at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1912); co-founded Toronto's first post-war professional theatre company, the New Play Society, in 1946
She died in 1979, the same year TAPA established the awards in her honour — now in their 46th year
The Doras were cancelled in 2021 when COVID shut down live production entirely, which puts this year's numbers in sharp relief
What the Award Is
Canada's oldest and largest professional awards for theatre, dance, and opera — 44 categories across 7 divisions
Presented by TAPA (Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts)
Gender-neutral performance categories since 2019 — one of the first major awards programs in North America to make that shift
This Year by the Numbers
221 nominations across 214 shows from 99 companies — the highest submission count since 2019, and widely read as confirmation the industry has fully recovered post-pandemic
Full list: tapa.ca/doras/nominees
Notable Stories This Season
Amaka Umeh — this year's host — received their 9th and 10th Dora nominations in the same announcement, for ensemble work in both Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary (Crow's Theatre) and Narnia (Soulpepper/Bad Hats/Crow's).
bahia watson is double-nominated in the same individual performance category — for Summer and Smoke and The Welkin — two separate productions. Unusual, and a strong signal she's having an exceptional season.
The Welkin (Soulpepper/Howland Company/Crow's) leads General Theatre with nominations spanning production, a 15-person ensemble, direction, costume, lighting, and scenic design. A co-production at that scale is uncommon.
Narnia — an entirely original new Canadian musical by Bad Hats Theatre — is nominated for Outstanding New Musical alongside multiple performance and design nods. A world-premiere adaptation of that property is a big swing that apparently landed.
The Green Line (In Arms Theatre/MENA Collective), dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, picked up nominations in production, new play, direction, performance, lighting, and sound — one of the more politically visible productions of the season.
In the Dance Division, Katie Adams-Gossage is nominated for Outstanding Original Choreography for gutted, presented by Fall for Dance North and Citadel + Compagnie — a well-deserved nod for a standout piece this season.
The Ceremony
June 29, 2026 · 7:30 pm · Meridian Hall, 1 Front Street East
Hosted by Amaka Umeh · Early bird tickets via Ticketmaster (on sale until June 8)
Why It's Relevant to Us
The actors, directors, designers, and choreographers recognised here regularly cross into commercial, film, and TV work — knowing who's breaking through is useful intel
Toronto's live arts scene feeds our talent pool, and this is the moment that pool gets a public spotlight














