FIFTEEN DOGS

Based on the novel by André Alexis
Adapted and directed for the stage by Marie Farsi

With Laura Condlln, Peter Fernandes, Stephen Jackman-Torkoff, Tom Rooney, Tyrone Savage and Mirabella Sundar Singh

All photos by Dahlia Katz

Is it possible to die happy?

That is the question the gods Hermes and Apollo ponder over a beer at the Wheatsheaf Tavern in Toronto. They make a bet, grant 15 dogs human consciousness, and watch from above as the pups discover the poetry and the pitfalls of complex thought and emotion.

In this modern-day fable of fate, faith, love, and language, the pack must reckon with morality and mortality and the profound relationships they share with humans.  


The entire run sold-out and was extended
by popular demand.

The production of FIFTEEN DOGS is officially
the best-selling show in
Crow's Theatre history!

The Globe and Mail CRITIC’S PICK


The talented artist who brought such haunting intensity to Crow’s Theatre’s production of Ghost Quartet four years ago has adapted – for the same company – André Alexis’s 2015 Giller Prize-winning novel Fifteen Dogs with whimsy, imagination and profundity.
— Glenn Sumi for THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Read the full review here


Director/adaptor Marie Farsi has managed the impossible in bringing this Canadian literary masterpiece to the stage.
With Fifteen Dogs, she confirms my belief in her brilliance as a true original — a theatre craftsperson who creates her own conventions and rules.
— Paula Citron for LUDWIGVAN TORONTO BLOG

Read the full review here


It’s ever faithful to the book, maintaining Alexis’s charming tone, and the production is so very smart in its design — Farsi’s chosen an in-the-round configuration, in which the audience sits on all sides of the theatre, peering down at the “dogs.” A clever choice for a play largely about predestination versus free will.
— Aisling Murphy for TORONTO STAR

Read the full review here

More rave reviews

Next Magazine – Insightful play is brilliant adaptation of Giller-winning book. 

Intermission Magazine – A pawesome time at the theatre that barks up the right tree.

Barcza Blog – I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Opera Ramblings –  Brilliant acting.

Lights Up Toronto - It shows us why we need it to live happy.