By visiting this Website, you agree to the use of essential + preferences Cookies. If you want to opt in to statistics Cookies to have your Website visit analyzed, check the box below & click ‘Submit’. We do not track your visit if you leave the box unchecked. For more details, see our Cookie Policy.

Image featuring text superimposed over a photo collage. Pleiades Theatre proudly presents Karma. Left: Close-up of a battered flag with red and white horizontal stripes, a green star and two red stars set behind the title. Centre: A sepia-toned, ghostly shrouded figure, revealing an image where the face should be, of a distant figure waving, with hands reaching out toward it. Right: Close-up of a man's right hand, reaching away from us, toward the top right corner.
Image featuring text superimposed over a photo collage. Pleiades Theatre proudly presents Karma. Left: Close-up of a battered flag with red and white horizontal stripes, a green star and two red stars set behind the title. Centre: A sepia-toned, ghostly shrouded figure, revealing an image where the face should be, of a distant figure waving, with hands reaching out toward it. Right: Close-up of a man's right hand, reaching away from us, toward the top right corner.

Family bonds Family bonds

A mother & son travel across time & place, confronting past & current lives.

Home Events Performance Pleiades Theatre presents: Karma

Pleiades Theatre presents: Karma

From Friday, May 1 to Sunday, May 17, 2026 – Pleiades Theatre presents the world premiere of Karma by Aksam Alyousef. This mother and son journey explores the bonds of family, the trauma of civil war, the notion of forgiveness, and how our circumstances shape us. Presented in the Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace.

A world premiere

Set in 2012, Karma follows Adeeb, a young man born in Canada who believes that he lived a previous life in Syria. His Syrian mother, Karma, worries for his mental health, and forces him to dismiss the notion. Now an adult, Adeeb travels to Syria, forcing himself and his mother to confront their past and current lives.

“There is a quiet possibility that life is not a single flame but a returning light. That we might inherit the burdens we helped create. That every judgment plants a future in which we stand on the other side of our own certainty. If this is so, then cruelty is only a debt deferred. Compassion becomes the only form of freedom.”

– Aksam Alyousef, playwright

Directed by Pleiades Theatre Artistic Executive Director Ash Knight, the cast features Basel Daoud, Andrew Iles, Zaynna Khalife, Christina Tannous and Yusuf Zine.

Knight observes, “With Karma, Aksam brings to life a complex story, with poetic language. The piece is a challenge for artists and audiences alike, one that will leave everyone who experiences it moved and aware. The play explores themes of forgiveness and trauma, and Aksam does this without ever preaching or handing us the answers. He asks the questions and, hopefully, we find the answers together.”

Pleiades Theatre acknowledges the generous support of its donors: The Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Government of Ontario, Toronto Arts Council, The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, The Norman and Margaret Jewison Charitable Foundation, and Season Sponsor: Bank of Montreal.

About Pleiades Theatre

Founded in 1997 by John Van Burek, then led by Andrey Tarasiuk from 2017-2023, Pleiades is now under the leadership of Artistic Executive Director Ash Knight. Pleiades aims to redefine what it means to be Canadian by sharing stories from 1st and 2nd generation Canadians. They encourage 1st and 2nd generation storytellers – particularly artists of colour, but through intersectionality also Deaf artists, artists with disabilities, artists living with mental illness, New Gen artists, 2SLBTQIAP artists and Indigenous artists – to create Inspirations (new, relevant plays exploring 1st and/or 2nd generation stories), Translations (sharing stories from other languages for all audiences) and Adaptations (exploring existing works through a new lens). Read more about them and their production history here.

Image featuring text superimposed over a photo collage. Pleiades Theatre proudly presents Karma by Aksam Alyousef. Directed & dramaturged by Ash Knight. Left: Close-up of a battered flag with red and white horizontal stripes, a green star and two red stars set behind the title. Centre: A sepia-toned, ghostly shrouded figure, revealing an image where the face should be, of a distant figure waving, with hands reaching out toward it. Right: Close-up of a man's right hand, reaching away from us, toward the top right corner.

(Photo credits: Pleiades Theatre.)

 

Event details

Presented by: Pleiades Theatre 

Type of event: theatre performance

Written by: Aksam Alyousef 

Directed by: Ash Knight 

Cast: Basel Daoud, Andrew Iles, Zaynna Khalife, Christina Tannous & Yusuf Zine

Dates: Friday, May 1 – Sunday, May 17, 2026. Please note: Saturday, May 2 is the first publicly available performance.

Start times:

  • Wednesday – Saturday evenings @ 7:30 PM ET
  • Saturday & Sunday matinées @ 2:00 PM ET

Duration: 100 minutes (no intermission)

Cost: Pay-what-you-can: C$15.00, $20.00, $25.00 or $30.00 (+ $3.00 booking fee)

Location: Theatre Passe Muraille, Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T 2P3

Booking link: Book your tickets here. Please note: Saturday, May 2 is the first publicly available performance.

Contact Details: Pleiades Theatre, 202 – 258 Wallace Avenue, Toronto, ON, M6P 3M9, Canada; (416) 203-1227, info@pleiadestheatre.org, pleiadestheatre.org

 

Content warning: For audiences 18+ and not recommended for kids under 14. Depictions of violence, strong or offensive language, gun violence, and themes of civil war and torture.

Accessibility: Info here.

Health & safety: Info here.