A new world premiere is set to take flight this winter at Manitoba Theatre for Young People, as Tad & Birdy takes to the mainstage from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7 before touring schools across Manitoba through the spring.
Playwright Anika Dowsett, who grew up in Gimli, is the writer of Tad & Birdy, a world-premiere production opening Jan. 30 at Manitoba Theatre for Young People before touring Manitoba schools this spring
Written by Anika Dowsett, the production follows the unlikely friendship between Tad, a bird-voiced tree frog tadpole new to the world, and Birdy, a lovebird who believes they already know everything — except how to be happy. Set inside a messy bedroom, the story explores friendship, change and the courage it takes to look beyond self-imposed limits.
“Birdy, I’m with you. Whatever happens in the big blue world, we can face it together,” Dowsett writes in the play.
Recommended for ages five and up, the 55-minute production blends humour and heart while speaking directly to the experiences of young audiences navigating a world that can feel overwhelming and unfamiliar.
Dowsett grew up in Gimli, and says the Interlake community left a lasting imprint on her as an artist.
“Gimli is in my bones,” she said. “It’s a quirky small town with a fascinating cultural sector that really changed how I view art.”
She credits experiences such as the Gimli International Film Festival and the Nuna/Now cultural exchange for expanding her creative worldview at a young age, along with the inspiration drawn from Lake Winnipeg’s vast shoreline.
“I think about the expansiveness of Lake Winnipeg often when I’m faced with a blank page,” she said.
Dowsett moved to Winnipeg the day after graduating high school, where access to theatre training, creative mentors and a broader arts community helped solidify playwriting as a career path. Her connection to MTYP runs deep — from taking classes as a teenager to later working as a box office attendant, instructor’s assistant and director.
“For a long time I have thought of MTYP as my second home,” she said. “Having Tad & Birdy premiere there, in the place that shaped so much of my life, is overwhelming.”
From workshop to world premiere
The idea for Tad & Birdy began as a writing exercise during MTYP’s Sandbox program, where Dowsett was challenged to create a children’s show inspired by a randomly selected song — in her case, one about tadpoles.
“I immediately saw this little tadpole in a jar asking a bird about life,” she said.
Years of development followed, supported by MTYP and Young People’s Theatre Toronto’s Leaps and Bounds program. Dramaturg Pablo Felices-Luna helped shape the final work, encouraging Dowsett to widen the story’s lens beyond the bedroom walls.
“Creating a play is a community effort,” she said. “MTYP has been the community behind this one.”
Writing for young audiences
Dowsett says honesty is at the heart of writing for children.
“Youth are the smartest audiences,” she said. “They will see right through anything that doesn’t feel real.”
She also views the process as a conversation with her younger self, asking what a five- or six-year-old Anika needed to hear and how she wanted to be treated.
That same philosophy carries into the provincial tour, which will see Tad & Birdy performed in schools from Feb. 9 to May 1, including in Gimli.
“Access to the arts is a vital part of education,” she said. “I feel honoured that my play gets to meet youth across Manitoba exactly where they are.”
Performance details
Tad & Birdy runs on the MTYP mainstage with performances on:
• Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.
• Saturday, Jan. 31 at 1 p.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. (relaxed performance)
• Sunday, Feb. 1 at 4 p.m.
• Saturday, Feb. 7 at 1 p.m. (ASL performance)
• Saturday, Feb. 7 at 4 p.m. (audio-described performance)
Tickets are available online or by calling the MTYP box office at 204-942-8898.
As her first professional production, Dowsett says Tad & Birdy represents both a milestone and a beginning.
“The world is so big and so blue and so full,” she said. “We’ll see where we go from here.”
