May 12, 2025 | News, Theatre,

Life & Times of Michael K Awarded an Elliot Norton!

We are thrilled to share that Life & Times of Michael K, which came to ArtsEmerson in January, has won the 2025 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Visiting Play! The show and its production company, South Africa’s Baxter Theatre, will be honored during the 42nd Annual Awards ceremony on June 2nd at the Huntington Theater.

The show was a massive success during its run in Boston, with audiences and critics alike raving about the beautiful, haunting, and innovative used of puppetry to portray the story of Michael K, a simple man who embarks on a journey through South Africa, ravaged by civil war, to return his mother to die on the farm where she was born. Hear what audiences thought after the show’s opening night!

The Elliot Norton Awards are presented annually by the Boston Theater Critics Association. The awards honor the outstanding productions, directors, designers, and performers whose work audiences have seen on Greater Boston stages throughout the season. This is the second year in row that an ArtsEmerson-presented production has won Outstanding Visiting Play, with Plexus Polaire’s Moby Dick winning in 2024. Other winners include: On Beckett, Burgerz, Dreaming Zenzile, Detroit Red, The End of TV, Measure for Measure, HOME, Mala, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, Mies Julie, Metamorphosis, Mabou Mines Dollhouse, and more.

Congratulations again to the entire Baxter Theatre team, along side Handspring Puppetry Company, and director Lara Foot! We look forward to celebrating you at the Elliot Norton Awards on June 2!