HANS nominated for the Dora Award for Outstanding New Play!

Posted: June 5, 2026

Rick Miller and Craig Francis have received a nomination for Outstanding New Play at the 2026 Dora Awards! HANS: My Life In Fairy Tales, which premiered at the 2025 Luminato Festival, is nominated in the Theatre for Young Audiences division.

Wondrous and hilarious, HANS conjures the life and stories of one of the world’s great writers, Hans Christian Andersen, from his poor childhood as an “Ugly Duckling,” to fame across Europe. Beloved tales like “The Little Mermaid” and “The Little Match Girl” come to life as you’ve never seen them before: through puppetry, video, clown, opera, and an original accordion soundtrack.

HANS: My Life in Fairy Tales is produced by WYRD Productions and Kidoons in association with The 20K Collective, and presented by the Luminato Festival.

The Doras are named for Dora Mavor Moore (1888–1979), a beloved teacher and director who helped establish Canadian professional theatre in the 1930s and 1940s. Recognizing outstanding achievements in Toronto’s performing arts industry, the Dora Awards honour the creators of theatre, dance, and opera productions annually in the following divisions:

• General Theatre
• Independent Theatre
• Musical Theatre
• Dance
• Opera
• Theatre for Young Audiences
• Touring
• Innovation

The Dora Awards are administered by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA).

The Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations were announced on June 1. View the full list of nominees on the TAPA website .

Winners will be announced on June 29 at Meridian Hall in Toronto.