# Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Original Play (Independent Theatre)

The Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, Independent Theatre is a Canadian theatre award, presented as part of the Dora Mavor Moore Awards to honour the year's best new play by a Canadian playwright which had its premiere in the Toronto theatre market in the previous year.
The award was first presented in 1988 as an award for small theatre productions. In 1993, a separate award for mid-sized theatre was introduced, with the definitions set at 200 seats or less for small theatres and 200 to 500 seats for midsize theatres. The awards were presented alongside each other to different plays until 1997; in 1998, the awards were merged as a single award for independent theatre production.

## Winners and nominees
### 1980s

| Year | Playwright | Title |
| 1988 | Stewart Lemoine | The Vile Governess and Other Psychodramas |
| 1988 | Leah Cherniak, Robert Morgan, Martha Ross | The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine |
| 1988 | Robin Fulford | Steel Kiss |
| 1988 | Michael Hollingsworth | Confederation and Riel |
| 1988 | Diego Matamoros, Dean Gilmour, Michele Smith | The Green Bird |
| 1989 | John Mighton | Scientific Americans |
| 1989 | Don Druick | Where Is Kabuki? |
| 1989 | Tomson Highway | The Sage, the Dancer and the Fool |
| 1989 | Bruce McCulloch | Jazz Stenographers |
| 1989 | Martha Ross | Paranoia |

### 1990s

| Year | Playwright | Title | Ref |
| 1990 | Sky Gilbert | The Whore's Revenge: A Victorian Melodrama | |
| 1990 | Daniel MacIvor, Ken McDougall, Edward Roy | White Trash Blue Eye | |
| 1990 | Tony Nardi | A Modo Suo (A fable) | |
| 1990 | Martha Ross | Dr. Dapertutto | |
| 1990 | Raymond Storey | The Saints and the Apostles | |
| 1991 | Normand Canac-Marquis, translated by Louison Danis | The Cézanne Syndrome | |
| 1991 | Daniel Brooks, Don McKellar, Tracy Wright | Red Tape | |
| 1991 | Daniel MacIvor | Never Swim Alone | |
| 1991 | Harry Rintoul | Brave Hearts | |
| 1991 | Marcy Rogers | Nocturnal Emissions | |
| 1992 | John Mighton | A Short History of Night | |
| 1992 | Thomas Coyle | The Tyrant of Pontus | |
| 1992 | Daniel MacIvor | House | |
| 1992 | Edward Roy | Seeds | |
| 1992 | Jason Sherman | The League of Nathans | |
| 1993 | Mid-Sized Theatre | Mid-Sized Theatre | Mid-Sized Theatre |
| 1993 | Neil Munro | Bob's Kingdom | |
| 1993 | Normand Chaurette, translated by Linda Gaboriau | The Queens | |
| 1993 | Sean Dixon | 1492 | |
| 1993 | Ann-Marie MacDonald, Nic Gotham | Nigredo Hotel | |
| 1993 | David Young | Glenn | |
| Small Theatre |||
| 1993 | Michael Hollingsworth | The Great War | |
| 1993 | Michael Hollingsworth | The Life and Times of Mackenzie King | |
| 1993 | James O'Reilly | Ghetto | |
| 1993 | Edward Roy | A Secret Life | |
| 1994 | Mid-Sized Theatre | Mid-Sized Theatre | Mid-Sized Theatre |
| 1994 | George Bwanika Seremba | Come Good Rain | |
| 1994 | Simon Fortin | Le Pays dans la gorge | |
| 1994 | Robert Fothergill | Public Lies | |
| 1994 | Stewart Lemoine | Shockers Delight! | |
| 1994 | Jason Sherman | Three in the Back, Two in the Head | |
| Small Theatre |||
| 1994 | Soheil Parsa, Peter Farbridge | The Death of the King | |
| 1994 | Daniel Brooks, Leah Cherniak, Diane Flacks, Richard Greenblatt, Leslie Lester, Allan Merovitz | The Theory of Relatives | |
| 1994 | Kelley Jo Burke | Charming and Rose: True Love | |
| 1994 | Ken Garnhum | Pants on Fire | |
| 1994 | Michael Hollingsworth | WWII | |
| 1995 | Mid-Sized Theatre | Mid-Sized Theatre | Mid-Sized Theatre |
| 1995 | Brad Fraser | Poor Super Man | |
| 1995 | Daniel Brooks, Don McKellar, Tracy Wright | 86 | |
| 1995 | Jean-Marc Dalpé | Eddy | |
| 1995 | Daniel Danis, translated by Linda Gaboriau | Stone and Ashes | |
| 1995 | Colleen Wagner | The Monument | |
| Small Theatre |||
| 1995 | Sabina Fella | Lebensborn | |
| 1995 | Dave Carley | Into | |
| 1995 | Leah Cherniak | The Attic, the Pearls, and 3 Fine Girls | |
| 1995 | Edward Riche | Possible Maps | |
| 1996 | Mid-Sized Theatre | Mid-Sized Theatre | Mid-Sized Theatre |
| 1996 | Lee MacDougall | High Life | |
| 1996 | Bill Harrar | Inquest | |
| 1996 | Daniel MacIvor, Daniel Brooks | Here Lies Henry | |
| 1996 | John Mighton | The Little Years | |
| 1996 | Jason Sherman | The Retreat | |
| Small Theatre |||
| 1996 | Drew Hayden Taylor | Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth | |
| 1996 | Audrey Butler | Medusa Rising | |
| 1996 | Michael Hollingsworth | The Cold War | |
| 1996 | Bryan James | Stockholm(e) | |
| 1996 | Guillermo Verdecchia, Marcus Youssef | A Line in the Sand | |
| 1997 | Mid-Sized Theatre | Mid-Sized Theatre | Mid-Sized Theatre |
| 1997 | Theresa Tova | Still the Night | |
| 1997 | Buddies in Bad Times | The Martha Stewart Projects | |
| 1997 | Carole Fréchette, translated by John Murrell | The Four Lives of Marie | |
| 1997 | Daniel MacIvor | The Soldier Dreams | |
| 1997 | Judith Thompson | Sled | |
| Small Theatre |||
| 1997 | Djanet Sears | Harlem Duet | |
| 1997 | Robin Fulford | Gulag | |
| 1997 | Michael Hollingsworth | The Global Village Part II: Trudeau and the FLQ | |
| 1997 | Leonard Linklater, Patti Flather | Sixty Below | |
| 1997 | Jonathan Wilson | My Own Private Oshawa | |
| 1998 | Michael Healey | Kicked | |
| 1998 | Carol Bolt | Famous | |
| 1998 | Morris Ertman, Ron Reed | Tent Meeting | |
| 1998 | Sky Gilbert | Schubert Lied | |
| 1998 | M. J. Kang | Noran Bang: The Yellow Room | |
| 1999 | Anton Piatigorsky | Easy Lenny Lazmon and the Great Western Ascension | |
| 1999 | Chris Abraham | Lenz | |
| 1999 | Karen Hines | HELLO...HELLO | |
| 1999 | Darren O'Donnell | White Mice | |
| 1999 | M. NourbeSe Philip | Coups and Calypsos | |
| 1999 | Peter Reitzel | Spirits | |

### 2000s

| Year | Playwright | Title |
| 2000 | Michael Redhill | Building Jerusalem |
| 2000 | Sky Gilbert | The Emotionalists |
| 2000 | Dean Gilmour, Michele Smith | Chekhov's Shorts |
| 2000 | Anton Piatigorsky | The Offering |
| 2000 | Chaz Thorne | The Dogpatch |
| 2001 | Chris Earle | RADIO:30 |
| 2001 | Adam Nashman | The 3º Cabaret |
| 2001 | Anton Piatigorsky | The Kabbalistic Psychoanalysis of Adam R. Tzaddik |
| 2001 | Michael Spence | The Exit Room |
| 2001 | David Widdicombe | Science Fiction |
| 2002 | Dean Gilmour, Michele Smith | Chekhov Longs...In the Ravine |
| 2002 | Hrant Alianak | The Walls of Africa |
| 2002 | Ned Dickens | Icara |
| 2002 | Sarah Phillips | Antigone |
| 2002 | Jacob Richmond | The Qualities of Zero |
| 2002 | Jennifer Tarver | History Play |
| 2003 | Mike McPhaden | Poochwater |
| 2003 | Dave Carley | Orchidelirum |
| 2003 | Michael Kennard, John Turner | Mump and Smoot in Flux |
| 2003 | Matthew MacFadzean | Richardthesecond |
| 2003 | Richard Sanger | Two Words for Snow |
| 2003 | Eric Woolfe | Grendelmaus |
| 2004 | Bluemouth Inc. | something about a river |
| 2004 | Darrell Dennis | Tales of an Urban Indian |
| 2004 | Abbas Nalbandian, translated by Soheil Parsa and Peter Farbridge | Stories from the Rains of Love and Death |
| 2004 | Beatriz Pizano | For Sale |
| 2004 | Eric Woolfe | Dear Boss |
| 2005 | Tara Beagan | Thy Neighbour's Wife |
| 2005 | Erika Batdorf | Poetic License |
| 2005 | Andy Massingham | Rough House |
| 2005 | Gord Rand | Pond Life |
| 2005 | Rick Roberts | Kite |
| 2006 | Anosh Irani | Bombay Black |
| 2006 | Sue Balint, Daryl Cloran, Alena Dzebo, Holly Lewis, Christopher Morris, Tanja Smoje and Dylan Trowbridge | Return: The Sarajevo Project |
| 2006 | Mark Brownell | Medici Slot Machine |
| 2006 | Alex Poch-Goldin | Cringeworthy |
| 2006 | Judith Thompson | Enoch Arden by Alfred, Lord Jabber and his Catatonic Songstress |
| 2007 | Bruce Alcock, Kate Alton, Rafael Barreto-Rivera, bpNichol, Paul Dutton, Steve MacCaffrey, Ross Manson | The Four Horsemen Project |
| 2007 | Erika Batdorf, Christine Horne, Matthew Romantini | Gorey Story |
| 2007 | Brandon Firla, Kurt Firla | SARSical |
| 2007 | Catherine Hernandez | Singkil |
| 2007 | Tony Nardi | Two Letters |
| 2008 | Anusree Roy | Pyaasa |
| 2008 | Brendan Gall | A Quiet Place |
| 2008 | Michael Hollingsworth | Laurier |
| 2008 | Beatriz Pizano | Madre |
| 2008 | Michael Rubenfeld | My Fellow Creatures |
| 2009 | Anton Piatigorsky | Eternal Hydra |
| 2009 | Tara Beagan | Miss Julie: Sheh'mah |
| 2009 | Layne Coleman | Tijuana Cure |
| 2009 | Brendan Gall, Mike McPhaden, Rick Roberts, Julie Tepperman | The Gladstone Variations |
| 2009 | David Yee | lady in the red dress |

### 2010s

| Year | Playwright | Title |
| 2010 | Donna-Michelle St. Bernard | Gas Girls |
| 2010 | Hannah Moscovitch | The Mill (Part Two): The Huron Bride |
| 2010 | Beatriz Pizano | La Comuniòn |
| 2010 | Michele Smith, Dean Gilmour, Ravi Jain, Adam Paolozza | Spent |
| 2010 | Norman Yeung | Pu-Erh |
| 2011 | Sky Gilbert | The Situationists |
| 2011 | Maev Beaty, Erin Shields, Andrea Donaldson | Montparnasse |
| 2011 | Jovanni Sy | A Taste of Empire |
| 2011 | Darrah Teitel | The Apology |
| 2011 | Eric Woolfe | Madhouse Variations |
| 2012 | Jules Lewis | Tomasso's Party |
| 2012 | Heather Marie Annis, Amy Lee, Byron Laviolette | Morro and Jasp: Go Bake Yourself |
| 2012 | Hume Baugh | Crush |
| 2012 | Adam Paolozza, Arif Mirabdolbaghi | The Double |
| 2012 | Eric Woolfe | Doc Wuthergloom's Haunted Medicine Show |
| 2013 | Adam Seybold | The De Chardin Project |
| 2013 | Sky Gilbert | A Few Brittle Leaves |
| 2013 | Daniel Karasik | The Biographer |
| 2013 | Michele Smith, Dean Gilmour | As I Lay Dying |
| 2013 | Jordan Tannahill | Post Eden |
| 2014 | Rosamund Small | Vitals |
| 2014 | Sheila Heti | All Our Happy Days Are Stupid |
| 2014 | Litmus Theatre Collective | Birth of Frankenstein |
| 2014 | Alanna Mitchell | Sea Sick |
| 2014 | Christina Serra, Michele Smith, Dan Watson | Ralph + Lina |
| 2015 | Jordan Tannahill | Concord Floral |
| 2015 | Florence Gibson MacDonald | How Do I Love Thee? |
| 2015 | Amy Nostbakken, Norah Sadava | Mouthpiece |
| 2015 | Beatriz Pizano, Trevor Schwellnus, Lyon Smith | What I Learned from a Decade of Fear |
| 2015 | Judith Thompson | Watching Glory Die |
| 2016 | Cliff Cardinal | Huff |
| 2016 | Nicolas Billon | Butcher |
| 2016 | Rachel Blair | A Man Walks Into a Bar |
| 2016 | Karen Hines | Crawlspace |
| 2016 | d'bi.young anitafrika | She Mami Wata & The Pussy Witchhunt |
| 2017 | Ngozi Paul | The Emancipation of Ms. Lovely |
| 2017 | Michael Ross Albert | Tough Jews |
| 2017 | Tony Diamanti, Dan Watson, Christina Serra, Karin Randoja, Liz MacDougall | This Is the Point |
| 2017 | Evan Webber | Other Jesus |
| 2017 | Eric Woolfe | The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy |
| 2018 | Matthew MacKenzie | Bears |
| 2018 | Miranda Calderon, Adam Paolozza, Liz Peterson, Guillermo Verdecchia, Dan Watson | Flashing Lights |
| 2018 | daniel jelani ellis | speaking of sneaking |
| 2018 | Lauren Gillis, Alaine Hutton | Mr. Truth |
| 2018 | Falen Johnson | Ipperwash |
| 2019 | Christopher Morris | The Runner |
| 2019 | Augusto Bitter | Chicho |
| 2019 | Meegwun Fairbrother, Jack Grinhaus | Isitwendam |
| 2019 | Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho) | Iphigenia and the Furies (On Taurian Land) |
| 2019 | Matthew MacKenzie | After the Fire |

### 2020s

| Year | Playwright | Title |
| 2020 | Keith Barker | This Is How We Got Here |
| 2020 | Jani Lauzon | Prophecy Fog |
| 2020 | Robin Luckwaldt, Natalia Bushnik | The Bathtub Girls |
| 2020 | Daniel MacIvor | Let's Run Away |
| 2020 | David Yee | No Foreigners |
| 2021 | No ceremony held due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada on theatre production in 2020. | No ceremony held due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada on theatre production in 2020. |
| 2022 | Bad New Days | Italian Mime Suicide |
| 2022 | Akosua Amo-Adem, Qasim Khan, Cheyenne Scott | The Home Project |
| 2022 | Steven Elliott Jackson | Three Ordinary Men |
| 2022 | Neha Poduval, Himanshu Sitlani | An IMM-Permanent Resident |
| 2022 | Theatre Gargantua | A Tonic for Desperate Times |
| 2023 | Matthew MacKenzie, Mariya Khomutova | First Métis Man of Odesa |
| 2023 | Curtis Campbell, Daniel Krolik | Gay for Pay with Blake and Clay |
| 2023 | Deanna H. Choi, Maddie Bautista, Erin Brubacher | Love You Wrong Time |
| 2023 | Haley McGee | The Ex-Boyfriend Yard Sale |
| 2023 | Hengameh E. Rice | Anahita's Republic |
| 2024 | Peter N. Bailey | Tyson's Song |
| 2024 | Cliff Cardinal | (Everyone I Love Has) A Terrible Fate (Befall Them) |
| 2024 | Andrew Gurza, Ken Harrower, Frank Hull, Debbie Patterson, Brian Postalian, Jonathan Seinen | Access Me |
| 2024 | Gregory Prest | Bremen Town |
| 2024 | Payam Saeedi | Voiceless |