WinterWorks 2026
WinterWorks fosters innovation and creativity in the Montreal performing arts community.
Buy Pass
February 4 – 22, 2026
Centaur Theatre | Montreal
Montreal’s home for bold, boundary-pushing performance premieres returns this February.
WINTERWORKS IS BACK AT CENTAUR THEATRE
WinterWorks, Centaur Theatre’s festival dedicated to adventurous, experimental, and cutting-edge performance, returns February 4–22, 2026. Formerly known as the Wildside Festival, WinterWorks has evolved into a dynamic showcase of what’s next in Canadian performance—bringing together fully realized productions by established artists alongside Pay-What-You-Can readings by exciting emerging voices.
With accessible ticket prices, festival passes, and a program that spans dance-theatre, live electronic music, immersive technology, and daring new writing, WinterWorks is a must-see event for audiences eager to experience the future of theatre.
“I think of WinterWorks as a perfect tasting menu of theatrical delicacies, offering Montrealers the very best of ambitious and boundary-pushing performance. From lovers of dance-theatre and live techno music to emerging playwrighting voices and even VR headsets, WinterWorks is sure to excite, amaze, and inspire.”
— Rebecca Gibian, WinterWorks Curator
Following last year’s record-breaking attendance, WinterWorks 2026 proudly presents four new works, including two full productions and two Pay-What-You-Can staged readings, which can be enjoyed independently or combined into a festival-style double feature, with readings scheduled immediately before or after mainstage performances.
For this year’s WinterWorks, we are proud to present:
Frequencies
February 4 – February 8, 2026
A HEIST Production
Written by Aaron Collier with Francesca Ekwuyasi and Stewart Legere
Directed by Ann-Marie Kerr
Starring Aaron Collier with Richie Wilcox
Original Music by Aaron Collier
Using live electronic music, virtual reality and storytelling, musician and performer Aaron Collier elucidates a connection between himself and his brother, who died seven years before he was born.
The Healing
February 17 – February 22, 2026
Playwright & Producer Marie Barlizo
Voice Actor Josette Jorge
Director Aaron Jan
Choreographer Hanna Kiel
Production Dramaturg Paula Wing
This immersive dance theatre piece follows Marie from her troubled childhood with her mentally ill, alcoholic father into adulthood, where the same fears and addictions resurface. The Healing asks powerful questions about identity, inheritance and what it takes to release our past.
Holes
February 8, 2026
By Jojo O’Neil
Directed by Christopher Morris
A play about madness, love, and hope (and lack thereof), Holes follows ANDREW the amnesiac, moments before he jumps in front of a speeding subway car. He can’t remember why he’s there though—he’s got holes in his brain. Using what little memory he has, and with help of his not-so-helpful schizophrenic girlfriend PAT, Holes explores how we can protect ourselves, and the ones that we love, in a world that offers us no protection.
Lay Down All Dogs
February 21, 2026
Director Carter Gulseth
Playwright Sarah Danielle Pitman
After the death of their father, two sisters must decide how far they will go to protect their home when a stranger appears on their doorstep with a secret that could cause them to lose everything.
Confabulation presents: The Shortest Story
February 14, 2026
Confabulation, Montreal’s original true life storytelling series, is back at the Centaur Theatre with another evening of stories, told by the people who lived them! For WinterWorks, we are presenting our annual Shortest Story extravaganza – a whirlwind of 2 minute stories shared by up to 30 storytellers.
Centaur After Dark
February 7 @ 7pm
Use the codes
AFTERDARK — $15 show-only ticket
DRINKONUS — $20 show + drink ticket
For the Next Generation of Theatre Lovers.
Meet friends, sip a cocktail in the heart of the Old Port, and connect with Montreal’s next generation of theatre lovers at Centaur After Dark, where theatre becomes a social event.
Start the night in Centaur’s gallery with drinks and conversation alongside artists, creators, and fellow culture-seekers (and sign up for your karaoke slot). Then catch a performance of Frequencies, before heading back for a late-night Queer Karaoke Party, hosted by Anton May. Keep your ticket for after-party discounts to establishments around the Old Port because the night doesn’t have to end when you put the mic down.
Whether you’re a seasoned theatre-goer or stepping into a theatre for the first time, Centaur After Dark is the perfect way to discover theatre in the heart of Old Montreal!
*Queer Karaoke is part of the Centaur+ Music Series, curated by Sarah Segal-Lazar and sponsored by The Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation.
La Chapelle Spotlight
Fragiles Apparitions – variations in 3 songs
By Sarah Wendt + Pascal Dufaux
February 9th to 13th 2026
La Chapelle
Fragiles Apparitions – variations in 3 songs is a three-part ritual that explores the soft power of the ephemeral. Between textile carapaces and soft organs, architectures of soap films and mirror reflections, this performance-installation envelops us in an immersive, sensorial environment where forms tremble, dissolve, and reappear. Structured as three songs in dialogue, the work moves through three interconnected movements in which dance, matter, and live music merge. The result of an extended research process, Fragiles Apparitions brings together the collaborative practice of Sarah Wendt and Pascal Dufaux. In this encounter between bodies and materials, movement and image, the performance offers a hypnotic, tactile experience—an homage to fragility, interdependence, and the precariousness of life.
