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Image featuring text & photo collage on a sheet of orange paper. To the left: Riot King Art Market presents Radiant Vermin by Philip Ridley. Directed by Sebastian Biasucci. November 12th to 22nd, 2026. To the right: Photo collage in the shape of a three-story house, surrounded by four yellow crayon suns, with a person pictured on each level: a young woman with long dark hair in the third floor, an older woman with silver white hair in the second floor and a young Asian man in the first floor.
Image featuring text superimposed over a photo collage on a sheet of orange paper. Riot King Art Market presents Radiant Vermin by Philip Ridley. Directed by Sebastian Biasucci. Photo collage in the shape of a three-story house, surrounded by four yellow crayon suns, with a person pictured on each level: a young woman with long dark hair in the third floor, an older woman with silver white hair in the second floor and a young Asian man in the first floor.
Photo: Katherine Cappellacci, Lisa Horner & Ziye Hu. Photos by Dahlia Katz.

Property dreams Property dreams

How far will a young couple go to build a better life for themselves?

Photo: Katherine Cappellacci, Lisa Horner & Ziye Hu. Photos by Dahlia Katz.

Home Events Performance Riot King Art Market presents: Radiant Vermin

Riot King Art Market presents: Radiant Vermin

From Thursday, November 12 to Sunday, November 22, 2026 – Riot King Art Market presents Radiant Vermin, a wickedly comedic satire by Philip Ridley about a young couple who are offered a way onto the property ladder that may turn out to be too good to be true.

How far would you go to get your dream home?

Ollie and Jill want to tell you about their dream home. Some of the things they did to get it might be shocking. But they want you to know they did it all for baby.

Through a whirlwind retelling of everything they’ve done to get their home, Ollie and Jill show us just how far we might go to build a better life for ourselves. Playful, provocative and viciously sharp, this outrageous dark comedy comments on the housing crisis, homelessness and what it really takes to support a family in today’s world. It will leave Toronto audiences shocked, thrilled and feeling a little more connected to everyone who calls this city home.

About the team

Toronto’s Sebastian Biasucci directs this production. He’s currently an Associate Member of The Howland Company, where he helps lead the Howland Reading Group and first came across Radiant Vermin. He’s also held assistant directing positions with prolific Canadian directors like Weyni Mengesha and Richard Rose.

The three-hander cast is helmed by Canadian theatre icon Lisa Horner (Mirvish, Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival), with Riot King company member Katherine Cappellacci (Young People’s Theatre, 4th Line Theatre, Tweed & Company Theatre) and Toronto newcomer Ziye Hu (Stratford Festival, Mirvish, Tweed & Company Theatre).

Riot King brings back their Tuesday Community Night for this production – on Tuesday, November 17 – to celebrate Toronto’s incredible indie theatre community and offer discounted tickets, so everyone has an opportunity to see this production.

“Radiant Vermin asks uncomfortable questions about the value we place on property, who we believe deserves a home, and how easily we can distance ourselves from our unhoused neighbours. At a time when housing affordability, homelessness, and the rising cost of living are affecting so many people in our city, Radiant Vermin allows us to laugh, feel uncomfortable, and ultimately look more closely at the world we have created around us. As the director, I’m excited to bring this challenging and darkly comic play to Toronto audiences with a small group of exceptional artists.”

– Sebastian Biasucci, Director

About Riot King Art Market

Founded in 2019, Riot King is an indie theatre company and experimental arts hub – producing theatre, community events, play readings and fundraisers with the goal of building a stronger arts community for all. Their incredibly popular 2023 production of Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer earned the company their first Dora Award, for Outstanding Lead Performance in the Independent Theatre category. In 2024, they co-produced an original piece, SAMCA, with Spindle Collective – which BroadwayWorld named one of Toronto’s top theatre productions of the year. In 2025, their production of John Logan’s Red earned the same BroadwayWorld accolade, as well as three Dora Award nominations for design and performance. Read more about them and their team here.

Medium close-up of an older woman with short silver white hair, wearing a purple top. She smiles at us, her head popping out of a cardboard maquette of a kitchen that she holds, resting on her shoulders.

(Photo credits: Riot King Art Market. Lisa Horner. Photo by Dahlia Katz.)

 

Event details

Hosted by: Riot King Art Market 

Type of event: theatre performance

Written by: Philip Ridley

Directed by: Sebastian Biasucci 

Cast: Lisa Horner, Katherine Cappellacci & Ziye Hu 

Dates: Thursday, November 12 – Sunday, November 22, 2026

Start times:

  • Tuesday – Saturday evenings @ 7:30 PM ET
  • Saturday & Sunday afternoons @ 2:00 PM ET

Duration: approx. 2 hours (intermission TBA)

Cost: Prices include taxes & fees, except for PWYC Community Night. All tickets are general admission seating.

  • Arts workers/students: C$28.25 (early bird) / C$33.59
  • General: C$44.29 (early bird) / C$49.64
  • Supporter (includes a donation to the theatre company): C$60.34 (early bird) / C$65.68
  • PWYC Community Night on Tuesday, November 17: Pay-what-you-can (fees & taxes will be calculated before you place your order)

Location: Red Sandcastle Theatre, 922 Queen St. East, Toronto, ON, M4M 2J5

TTC: 501 Queen streetcar or 503 Kingston Rd. bus to Queen St. E. @ Logan Ave. (stop ID 3059)

Parking: Green P on Queen St. East & in Value Village Green P Lot

Booking link: Book your tickets here

Contact details: Riot King Art Market; The Theatre Centre box office: (416) 538-0988; Theatre company contact: riotkingto@gmail.com, riotking.com

 

Content warning: For audiences 13+.

Accessibility: Entrance off Queen St. East has a ramp with a non-automated door, and the theatre has a first-floor, accessible washroom.

Refund policy: Refunds up to two days before event.