Introducing Kevin Matthew Wong as Factory Theatre’s new Artistic Director
Factory Theatre announced the appointment of internationally touring theatre creator, producer and cultural leader Kevin Matthew Wong as Artistic Director, beginning his full-time position August 11, 2026, and unveiled an ambitious new vision for the future of the organization.
At a moment of rapid change across Canada’s performing arts sector, the appointment signals far more than a leadership transition. It marks a decisive new chapter for Factory, one that reimagines the institution as a world-class home for creativity that creates, incubates and presents uplifting, rigorous and intimate performing arts from Canada while connecting Toronto with the world.
Building on more than five decades of championing Canadian artists and helping shape the country’s theatrical identity, Factory will remain firmly rooted in Canadian work while broadening the forms audiences can experience on its stages. Under Wong’s leadership, the company’s artistic vision will encompass theatre, dance, music, cabaret, film, Theatre for Young Audiences, devised performance and multidisciplinary creation, reflecting the evolving ways artists make work and audiences experience live performance.
Central to this vision is Factory’s renewed commitment to its heritage home at 125 Bathurst Street, at the corner of Bathurst and Adelaide. Rather than treating the building simply as a venue where performances take place, Factory will invest in making it an inviting, year-round home for artists, audiences and the surrounding neighbourhood.
Anchored by its intimate 100-seat Studio Theatre and 200-seat Mainspace Theatre, Factory aims to become Toronto’s most welcoming home for small- and mid-scale live performance: a place where artists create and experiment, neighbours gather, audiences linger, and new ideas take shape. Under Wong, the Studio’s default seating configuration will shift to a more intimate orientation, deepening the connection between performers and audience.
Beginning with a revitalization of the theatre’s main lobby and public spaces, Factory plans to transform the building into a warmer and more vibrant neighbourhood arts hub. The renewed spaces will be designed to welcome people whether they are attending a performance, discovering new work, meeting collaborators or connecting with Toronto’s creative community. Additional improvements to the building will follow in the months ahead.
“My vision is for Factory Theatre to be known as a world-class home for creativity: creating, incubating and presenting uplifting, rigorous and intimate performing arts from Canada, and connecting Toronto with the world. That begins with treating Factory as a true home: a home where artists can take meaningful risks, audiences can encounter work they cannot experience anywhere else, and our neighbours can gather and know they belong. We will honour Factory’s extraordinary history by carrying its founding spirit forward through ambitious Canadian creation, international exchange and a more welcoming, vibrant space at Bathurst and Adelaide.”
Kevin Matthew Wong, Artistic Director
While proudly rooted in Canadian creation, Factory will also look outward. Wong’s vision will create new opportunities for international artistic collaboration, touring and cultural exchange, building pathways for Canadian artists to engage with the world while bringing global artists, practices and ideas into conversation with Toronto. This fall, Wong will represent Factory Theatre at the Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centres and the Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo, both taking place in Hong Kong, China, and he will be developing a new work for Factory with collaborators from Malaysia and Australia.
“On behalf of Factory Theatre’s Board of Directors, we are thrilled to welcome Kevin Matthew Wong as Factory’s newly appointed Artistic Director. From an exceptionally strong pool of 70 applications across the country, we are confident that Kevin is the right leader to guide Factory Theatre into its next chapter and excited to build that future with him,” said Matt McGeachy, one of Factory Theatre’s Board Members and Chair of the Search Committee. “Kevin is an artist and leader of the highest calibre who brings an exceptional commitment to hospitality for audiences and artists, deep relationships across the Canadian and international theatre landscape, and a clear commitment to the distinctive contribution Factory can make to Canada and the world,” said McGeachy.
Wong comes to Factory following seven years at Why Not Theatre, most recently as Executive Producer and Artistic Associate. There, he helped shape the company’s national and international work while leading a portfolio of large-scale and touring projects.
His producing credits include Why Not Theatre’s landmark adaptation of Mahabharata, for which he served as Lead Producer. The production premiered at the Shaw Festival before being presented at the Barbican Centre in London, Perth Festival in Australia and Lincoln Center in New York.
Wong’s own creative work has been presented across Canada and internationally. His multidisciplinary Benevolence series explores Hakka identity, migration, guesthood and cultural inheritance across theatre, film and installation. The work has also been adapted for a fall 2026 Theatre for Young Audiences production through Vancouver’s Green Thumb Theatre Benevolence Hall received the inaugural Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Innovative Experience, while the theatrical production of Benevolence was presented by Lincoln Center in January 2026.
The announcement also reflects Factory Theatre’s broader commitment to organizational renewal and meaningful investment in the people who make its work possible. Factory is a certified Champion-level employer with the Ontario Living Wage Network, underscoring its commitment to fair compensation for its staff.
Alongside this new artistic direction, Factory will launch a multi-year giving campaign to support artistic creation, facility improvements and the organization’s long-term growth. Further details about the campaign, forthcoming programming, community initiatives and artistic collaborations will be announced in the coming months.
Factory Theatre would like to thank the Search Committee, comprised of: Board Members Kaila Basilij, Grazyna Krupa, and Matt McGeachy; Factory Theatre Associate Artistic Director Kalale Dalton-Lutale; Young Peoples’ Theatre Artistic Director Herbie Barnes; and Obsidian Theatre General Manager Michael Sinclair. Factory would also like to thank Martin Bragg & Associates for running the Artistic Director search.
ABOUT KEVIN MATTHEW WONG
Kevin Matthew Wong is an internationally touring theatre creator, producer and cultural leader whose work connects Canadian storytelling with global artistic exchange. Most recently, as Executive Producer and Artistic Associate at Why Not Theatre, Wong has led large-scale and internationally touring projects presented across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and beyond.
Wong is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Broadleaf Creative. His acclaimed Benevolence series received the inaugural Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Innovative Experience. He is also the inaugural recipient of the Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship and a Harold Award winner.
Wong studied International Relations and Drama at the University of Toronto’s Trinity College and Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies.
ABOUT FACTORY THEATRE
Founded in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz, Factory Theatre was the first theatre company in Canadian history to produce only Canadian plays. Since its founding, Factory has premiered more than 300 new Canadian plays on its stages and developed 600 more through workshops and other formats.
Located in a heritage building at 125 Bathurst Street, Factory is home to a 200-seat Mainspace Theatre, a 100-seat Studio Theatre and spaces supporting rehearsal, development and artistic gathering. For more than five decades, Factory has nurtured generations of Canadian artists and played a defining role in the development of the country’s theatrical identity.
Today, Factory is entering an expansive new chapter as a world-class home for creativity, rooted in Canadian work, embedded in its Toronto neighbourhood and connected to the world.
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