Ravi Jain Named 2025 Siminovitch Prize Laureate

December 2, 2025

Founder and Co-Artistic Director Ravi Jain has been awarded the 2025 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, Canada’s most prestigious award for artistic innovation and leadership. The Siminovitch Prize is also Canada’s most valuable theatre award, recognizing artists whose vision is are transforming the national stage.

Ravi has built Why Not Theatre with a simple belief that the stories we tell shape the world we live in. To see Ravi, who has built Why Not Theatre into one of Canada’s most dynamic and forward-looking companies, recognized at this level is both an honour and a confirmation of the lasting impact of his work.

Each year, the winner of the Siminovitch Prize selects a Protégé who also receives a cash prize plus coaching and counsel to help deepen their practice. Ravi chose his Co-Artistic Director Miriam Fernandes. The Siminovitch Prize recognition celebrates the duo’s contribution to the Canadian performing arts, their national and global impact, and their deep commitment to pushing boundaries.

Watch a mini-doc about Ravi, and his full acceptance speech where he shares a message of peace, in the videos below.

When I reflect on why we humans tell stories, I think about how we’re the only species that does that. It’s our imagination that separates us from animals. When I think of the role of the artist, I think about what it is to be human. To be humane. Peace is a uniquely human act. To choose peace is to reaffirm that we are human.

Ravi Jain

Photos of Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes by Tanja-Tiziana