Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Direction (General Theatre)
The Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play/Musical is an annual award celebrating achievements in Toronto theatre.
Winners and nominees
1980s
| Year | Director | Play | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Guy Sprung | Balconville and Paper Wheat | [1] |
| Peter Froehlich | Staller's Farm | [2] | |
| Ken Livingstone | American Buffalo | ||
| George Luscombe | Ain't Lookin' | ||
| 1981 | George F. Walker | Theatre of the Film Noir | [3] |
| William Lane | Loose Ends | [4] | |
| Alan Scarfe | The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia | ||
| Ray Whelan | Arms and the Man | ||
| 1982 | Richard Rose | Tamara | [5] |
| Jim Garrard | Cold Comfort | [6] | |
| Guy Sprung | Night and Day | ||
| Henry Tarvainen | Straight Ahead/Blind Dancers | ||
| 1983 | Guy Sprung | Translations | [7] |
| Leon Major | Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You and Identity Crisis | ||
| Robin Phillips | The Prisoner of Zenda | ||
| Guy Sprung | Dream in High Park | ||
| 1984 | Bill Glassco | Cloud Nine | [8] |
| Derek Goldby, David Hemblen | Delicatessen | [9] | |
| Ray Jewers | Trafford Tanzi | ||
| Leon Major | The Dining Room | ||
| 1985 | Derek Goldby | Uncle Vanya | [10] |
| Bill Glassco | Salt-Water Moon | [11] | |
| Ken Livingstone | 'night, Mother | ||
| Robin Phillips | New World | ||
| Aaron Schwartz | Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean | ||
| 1986 | Richard Greenblatt | The Miracle Worker | [12] |
| Alexander Hausvater | Ghetto | [13] | |
| Ken Livingstone | Other Places | ||
| Andy McKim | The Wedding Script | ||
| John Van Burek | Hosanna | ||
| 1987 | Bob Baker | B-Movie: The Play | [14] |
| Dennis Foon | Bedtimes and Bullies | [15] | |
| Jeff Henry | The Bloodknot | ||
| Urjo Kareda, Andy McKim | Aunt Dan and Lemon | ||
| John Van Burek | Bonjour, La, Bonjour | ||
| 1988 | Larry Lillo | A Lie of the Mind | [16] |
| Bill Glassco | Nothing Sacred | [17] | |
| Derek Goldby | I Am Yours | ||
| Richard Greenblatt | Detaining Mr. Trotsky | ||
| Robert Rooney | Something in the Air | ||
| 1989 | Robert Lepage | The Dragons Trilogy | [18] |
| Denise Filiatrault | Les Fridolinades | [19] | |
| Larry Lewis | Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing | ||
| Richard Rose | The Possibilities | ||
| Susan Wright | Under the Skin |
1990s
| Year | Director | Play | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | JoAnn McIntyre | The Collected Works of Billy the Kid | |
| Bob Baker | Breaking the Code | [20] | |
| Derek Goldby | The Father | ||
| Robert Lepage | Echo | ||
| Richard Rose | The Europeans | ||
| 1991 | Richard Monette | Saint Joan | |
| Richard Greenblatt | Mirror Game | ||
| Peter Hinton | Possible Worlds | ||
| Brian Richmond | Lilies | ||
| John Van Burek | La Maison Suspendue | ||
| 1992 | Neil Munro | Hamlet | |
| François Faucher | Elvire Jouvet 40 | ||
| Dennis Foon | Naomi's Road | ||
| László Marton | Three Sisters | ||
| Paulette Phillips | Under the Influence | ||
| 1993 | Harold Prince | Kiss of the Spider Woman | |
| Maja Ardal | Whale | ||
| Marti Maraden | Fallen Angels | ||
| Duncan McIntosh | Le Bal | ||
| Steven Pimlott | Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat | ||
| 1994 | Mike Ockrent | Crazy for You | |
| Maja Ardal | A Christmas Carol | ||
| John Bourgeois | The Taming of the Shrew | ||
| Peter Hinton | Abundance | ||
| Nicholas Hytner | Miss Saigon | ||
| 1995 | Des McAnuff | Tommy | |
| Bob Baker | Into the Woods | ||
| Marti Maraden | Six Degrees of Separation | ||
| 1996 | Robert Lepage | The Seven Streams of the River Ota | |
| Maja Ardal | Two Weeks with the Queen | ||
| Leah Cherniak | The Diary of Anne Frank | ||
| Robert Lepage | Elsinore | ||
| Gilles Maheu | The Dead Souls | ||
| 1997 | Frank Galati | Ragtime | |
| Rob Bettinson | Jolson | ||
| John Caird | Jane Eyre | ||
| Marshall Pynkoski | Don Giovanni | ||
| James Robinson | Elektra | ||
| 1998 | Ian Prinsloo | Patience | |
| Daniel Brooks | The Designated Mourner | [21] | |
| Leah Cherniak | The Betrayal | ||
| Alisa Palmer | The Quartet | ||
| Miles Potter | Molly Sweeney | ||
| Richard Rose | Inexpressible Island | ||
| George F. Walker | Problem Child | ||
| 1999 | Soheil Parsa. Aurash Miles Potter | The Drawer Boy | |
| John MacLachlan Gray, Eric Peterson | Billy Bishop Goes to War | ||
| Michael Hollingsworth | The Life and Times of Brian Mulroney | ||
| Andy McKim | Kilt | ||
| Miles Potter | The Drawer Boy | ||
| Guillermo Verdecchia, Daniel Brooks | Insomnia |
2000s
| Year | Director | Play | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | László Marton | Platonov | |
| Daniel Brooks | Endgame | ||
| Daniel Brooks | Faust | ||
| Morris Panych, Wendy Gorling | The Overcoat | ||
| Sarah Stanley | Beaver | ||
| 2001 | Ian McElhinney | Stones in His Pockets | |
| Blake Brooker, Denise Clarke | Thunderstruck | ||
| Daniel Brooks | Betrayal | ||
| Dennis Garnhum | Slavs! | ||
| Pierre Tétrault | Ghost Train | ||
| 2002 | Jim Warren | The Bald Soprano | |
| Daniel Brooks | The Good Life | ||
| Rosemary Dunsmore | Fighting Words | ||
| Dennis Garnhum | Skylight | ||
| Daniel MacIvor | In On It | ||
| Kelly Thornton | This Hotel | ||
| 2003 | Morris Panych | Girl in the Goldfish Bowl | |
| Chris Abraham | Russell Hill | ||
| Leah Cherniak | The Miracle Worker | ||
| Brian Quirt | Through the Eyes | ||
| Albert Schultz | A Chorus of Disapproval | ||
| 2004 | Richard Rose | Remnants | [22] |
| Guy Mignault | Le Visiteur | [23] | |
| Larry Moss | The Syringa Tree | ||
| Richard Rose | Simpl | ||
| Sarah Stanley | Restitution: An Irish-Canadian Rhapsody | ||
| 2005 | Ken Gass | The Leisure Society | |
| Daniel Brooks | Bigger Than Jesus | ||
| Daniel Brooks | Half-Life | ||
| Allen MacInnis | Blue Planet | ||
| Joseph Ziegler | Hamlet | ||
| 2006 | Nigel Shawn Williams | The Monument | |
| Daniel MacIvor | A Beautiful View | [24] | |
| Weyni Mengesha | blood.claat - one womban story | ||
| Richard Rose | Leo | ||
| Joseph Ziegler | Our Town | ||
| 2007 | Richard Rose | Scorched | [25] |
| Chris Abraham | Insomnia | ||
| Daniel Brooks | Here Lies Henry | ||
| Ted Dykstra | Leaving Home | ||
| Jennifer Tarver | Crave | ||
| 2008 | Alisa Palmer | Top Girls | |
| Philip Akin | Intimate Apparel | ||
| Micheline Chevrier | The December Man | ||
| Diana Leblanc | Rose | ||
| Jean-Stéphane Roy | The Misanthrope | ||
| 2009 | Ed Roy | Agokwe | |
| Chris Abraham | I, Claudia | ||
| Jason Byrne | Festen | ||
| Denise Clarke | Radio Play | ||
| Weyni Mengesha | A Raisin in the Sun |
2010s
| Year | Playwright | Title | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Morris Panych | Parfumerie | |
| Adam Brazier | Assassins | [26] | |
| Alan Dilworth | If We Were Birds | ||
| Graham McLaren | Hamlet | ||
| Richard Rose | Courageous | ||
| 2011 | Brendan Healy | Blasted | |
| Philip Akin | Ruined | ||
| Allen MacInnis | A Year With Frog and Toad | ||
| Gina Wilkinson | Wide Awake Hearts | ||
| Nigel Shawn Williams | Brothel #9 | ||
| 2012 | Philip Akin | Topdog/Underdog | |
| Alan Dilworth | Crash | ||
| Ross Manson | The Golden Dragon | ||
| Robert McQueen | Caroline, or Change | ||
| Kelly Thornton | The Penelopiad | ||
| 2013 | Chris Abraham | The Little Years | |
| Chris Abraham | Someone Else | ||
| Brendan Healy | Arigato, Tokyo | ||
| Evalyn Parry | Obaaberima | ||
| Albert Schultz | The Crucible | ||
| 2014 | Albert Schultz | Of Human Bondage | |
| Brendan Healy | Pig | [27] | |
| Weyni Mengesha | Lungs | ||
| Adam Paolozza | The Double | ||
| Richard Rose | A God in Need of Help | ||
| 2015 | Eda Holmes | Tom at the Farm | [28] |
| Alan Dilworth | Twelve Angry Men | [29] | |
| Gísli Örn Garðarsson | The Heart of Robin Hood | ||
| Ravi Jain | Accidental Death of an Anarchist | ||
| Richard Rose | An Enemy of the People | ||
| 2016 | Ravi Jain | Salt-Water Moon | [30] |
| Ashlie Corcoran | Mustard | ||
| Matjash Mrozewski, Estelle Shook | Botticelli in the Fire and Sunday in Sodom | ||
| Peter Hinton | Bombay Black | ||
| Ravi Jain | We Are Proud to Present... | ||
| 2017 | Philip Akin | "Master Harold" ...and the Boys | |
| Nina Lee Aquino | acquiesce | ||
| Ashlie Corcoran | KISS | ||
| Alan Dilworth | Incident at Vichy | ||
| Weyni Mengesha | Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts I, II, III) | ||
| 2018 | Mitchell Cushman | Jerusalem | |
| Alan Dilworth | Idomeneus | [31] | |
| Richard Rose | Hamlet | ||
| Djanet Sears | For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf | ||
| Ted Witzel | LULU v.7 // aspects of a femme fatale | ||
| 2019 | Nina Lee Aquino | School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play | [32] |
| Brendan Healy | Every Brilliant Thing | ||
| Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu | Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape | ||
| Meg Roe | Middletown | ||
| Guillermo Verdecchia | The Royale |
2020s
| Year | Playwright | Title | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu | The Brothers Size | [33] |
| Chris Abraham | Julius Caesar | [34] | |
| Mitchell Cushman | The Flick | ||
| Jani Lauzon | Almighty Voice and His Wife | ||
| Weyni Mengesha | A Streetcar Named Desire | ||
| 2021 | No ceremony held due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada on theatre production in 2020. | [35] | |
| 2022 | Soheil Parsa | Wildfire | [36] |
| Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster | Three Women of Swatow | [37] | |
| Weyni Mengesha | Pipeline | ||
| Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu | Is God Is | ||
| John Tiffany | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | ||
| 2023 | Cherissa Richards | Red Velvet | [38] |
| Philip Akin | Maanomaa, My Brother | ||
| Marie Farsi | Fifteen Dogs | ||
| Weyni Mengesha | Queen Goneril | ||
| Alisa Palmer | Fall On Your Knees, Part Two: The Diary | ||
| 2024 | Andrew Kushnir | Bad Roads | [39] |
| Chris Abraham | The Master Plan | [40] | |
| Seth Bockley | King Gilgamesh and the Man of the Wild | ||
| Brendan Healy | The Inheritance, Pt. 1 | ||
| Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu | Sizwe Banzi Is Dead | ||
| 2025 | Ravi Jain | Mahabharata: Part One: Karma: The Life We Inherit | [41] |
| Brendan Healy | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | [42] | |
| Djanet Sears | Table for Two | ||
| Mumbi Tindeybwa Otu | Flex | ||
References
- ^ Ray Conlogue, "Dora Mavor Moore Awards suffer from stage fright". The Globe and Mail, January 27, 1981.
- ^ Gina Mallet, "Controversial Bent set for Toronto run". Toronto Star, January 23, 1981.
- ^ Carole Corbeil, "Just like Oscars: lots of no-shows Carver, Maxwell win theatre awards". The Globe and Mail, January 26, 1982.
- ^ "And the nominees are...". Toronto Star, January 16, 1982.
- ^ Carole Corbeil, "An outstanding night for Tamara". The Globe and Mail, November 16, 1982.
- ^ "Dora Mavor Moore awards Tamara paces the nominees". The Globe and Mail, October 1, 1982.
- ^ Ray Conlogue, "Thomson, Phipps take Doras for outstanding acting". The Globe and Mail, October 11, 1983.
- ^ Stephen Godfrey, "Jungle of Cities wins four Doras". The Globe and Mail, October 23, 1984.
- ^ Stephen Godfrey, "Team aims to make this award show different". The Globe and Mail, October 13, 1984.
- ^ "Cats takes lion's share of Dora awards". Montreal Gazette, October 9, 1985.
- ^ Henry Mietkiewicz, "Cats leads pack of Dora nominees". Toronto Star, September 5, 1985.
- ^ Sid Adilman, "A night for families at Dora Awards show". Toronto Star, June 20, 1986.
- ^ Deirdre Kelly, "Dora smiles on Tarragon with record 17 nominations". The Globe and Mail, May 15, 1986.
- ^ Ray Conlogue, "Mikado, B-Movie big Dora winners". The Globe and Mail, June 23, 1987.
- ^ "Dora Award nominees". Toronto Star, May 27, 1987.
- ^ Ray Conlogue, "Walker's Nothing Sacred collects four Dora awards". The Globe and Mail, June 15, 1988.
- ^ Robert Crew, "CentreStage play tops Dora Award nominees". Toronto Star, May 11, 1988.
- ^ "Highway sweeps Dora awards". Edmonton Journal, June 27, 1989.
- ^ Isabel Vincent, "And the Dora nominees are...". The Globe and Mail, May 13, 1989.
- ^ Ray Conlogue, "Dora nominations harvested from sparse crop of new plays". The Globe and Mail, May 15, 1990.
- ^ "Dora Award nominees". Toronto Star, May 27, 1998.
- ^ Kamal Al-Solaylee, "The Producers lost at box office but wins big at Dora awards". The Globe and Mail, June 29, 2004.
- ^ Robert Cushman, "The Doras: and the winner is ...: Odd nominees make predictions difficult". National Post, June 26, 2004.
- ^ Robert Cushman, "Some nods are inexplicable: A desperate season, a desperate slate of Dora nominees". National Post, June 24, 2006.
- ^ Guy Dixon, "Scorched wins best play at Dora Awards". The Globe and Mail, June 25, 2007.
- ^ Robert Cushman, "Navigating the nominations; Our critic predicts Dora winners and laments overlooked performances". National Post, June 26, 2010.
- ^ Robert Cushman, "Best in shows; The Doras have a weak field to choose from this year, but they've chosen well". National Post, June 21, 2014.
- ^ Nestruck, J. Kelly (June 22, 2015). "Movie-turned-musical Once a surprise winner at Toronto's Dora Awards". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ^ J. Kelly Nestruck, "Soulpepper leads in Dora Award nods". The Globe and Mail, June 2, 2015.
- ^ Maga, Carly (June 27, 2016). "2016 Dora Awards spread the wealth". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ^ J. Kelly Nestruck, "Soulpepper's 13 nominations lead general theatre division of Toronto's Dora Awards". The Globe and Mail, May 31, 2018.
- ^ BWW News Desk (June 26, 2019). "Full List of Winners Announced For the 40th Annual Dora Awards - Soulpepper Theatre, Canadian Opera Company, and More!". Broadway World. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- ^ The Canadian Press (June 30, 2020). "Soulpepper's The Brothers Size racks up five wins at Dora Awards". CBC. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- ^ Smith, Mae (June 29, 2020). "2020 Dora Mavor Moore Award Winners". Intermission Magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-08-09. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ^ "Dora Awards honour lifetime achievement in theatre as COVID-19 shuts down live shows: Dora Mavor Moore Awards celebrates lifetime contributions after COVID-19 pandemic shut down live performances". The Globe and Mail, June 16, 2021.
- ^ Joshua Chong, "‘Sweeney Todd,’ ‘Italian Mime Suicide’ and ‘Wildfire’ win big at 2022 Dora Awards". Toronto Star, September 19, 2022.
- ^ Aisling Murphy, "Nomination Announcements: 42nd Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards". Intermission Magazine, August 29, 2022.
- ^ Hélène Crowley, "Announcing the 2023 Dora Mavor Moore Award Winners". Intermission Magazine, June 27, 2023.
- ^ Glenn Sumi, "Dora Awards 2024: ‘Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812’ earns four statuettes at Toronto’s top theatre honours". Toronto Star, June 24, 2024.
- ^ Aisling Murphy, "TAPA announces 2024 Dora Award nominees". Intermission Magazine, May 28, 2004.
- ^ Beatriz Ferreira, "2025 Dora Mavor Moore Awards: Winners honoured for excellence in Toronto theatre". Now, July 1, 2025.
- ^ Krystal Abrigo, "TAPA reveals 2025 Dora Award nominees". Intermission, May 28, 2025.