The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary

playwriting A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

in the country."Tarragon Theatre"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

'', September 3, 2008. Located near Casa Loma, the theatre was founded by Bill and Jane Glassco in 1970.

Bill Glassco William Grant Glassco, (August 30, 1935 – September 13, 2004) was a Canadian theatre director, producer, translator and founder of Toronto's Tarragon Theatre. Born in Quebec City, Quebec, he studied at the University of Toronto, Princeton ...

was the artistic director from 1971 to 1982. In 1982,

Urjo Kareda Urjo Kareda (February 9, 1944 – December 26, 2001) was an Estonian-born Canadian theatre and music critic, dramaturge and stage director. Kareda was born in Tallinn, Estonia. His parents fled the Soviet occupation of Estonia in the autumn of ...

took over as artistic director and remained in that role until his death in December 2001. Richard Rose was appointed artistic director in July 2002, and Camilla Holland was appointed general manager in July 2006. In 1987, Tarragon purchased and renovated the building that has been its home since 1971. There are two playing spaces: Mainspace (205 seats), The Extra Space (113 seats). Tarragon is well known for its development, creation and encouragement of new work. Over 170 works have premiered at Tarragon. Playwrights who have premiered their work here include

Morwyn Brebner Morwyn Brebner is a Welsh playwright, television writer and producer,"Brebner, Morwyn"

, David French,

Michael Healey Michael Healey is a Canadian playwright and actor. He graduated from the acting programme at Toronto's Ryerson Theatre School in 1985. His acting credits include the plays of Jason Sherman (''The League of Nathans'', ''Reading Hebron'' and ''Thr ...

Joan MacLeod Joan MacLeod (born 1954) is a Canadian playwright.Joan MacLeod
Canadian Theatre Encyclo ...

Morris Panych Morris Stephen Panych (born 30 June 1952) is a Canadian playwright, director and actor. Early life Panych was born in Calgary, Alberta and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. He studied at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and the Universit ...

James Reaney James Crerar Reaney, (September 1, 1926 – June 11, 2008) was a Canadian poet, playwright, librettist, and professor, "whose works transform small-town Ontario life into the realm of dream and symbol." Reaney won Canada's highest literary ...

Jason Sherman Jason Sherman (born July 28, 1962 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter. After graduating from the creative writing program at York University in 1985, Sherman co-founded What Publishing with Kevin Connolly, which produc ...

Brendan Gall Brendan Gall (born September 2, 1978) is a Canadian writer, actor and producer living in Los Angeles, California. Early life and education Gall graduated from the George Brown Theatre School. Career Gall has written and/or produced for the t ...

Hannah Moscovitch Hannah Moscovitch (born June 5, 1978) is a Canadian playwright who rose to national prominence in the 2000s. She is best known for her plays ''East of Berlin'', ''This Is War'', "Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story", and '' Sexual Misconduct of the Mi ...

Ellie Moon Ellie Moon is a Canadian-British actress, playwright and screenwriter. Moon wrote the screenplay for and starred in the feature film '' Adult Adoption'' (2022). Her plays are published with Talonbooks. Early life Moon grew up in Kingsville, O ...

and Judith Thompson.

Background

The theatre is housed in a building originally designed for light industrial use—for instance, it was once a cribbage board factory. It has championed the work of Canadian playwrights David French,

Michel Tremblay Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a French-Canadian novelist and playwright. Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood wi ...

, Judith Thompson, Jason Sherman,

and others, as well as productions of plays by canonical playwrights such as

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

and

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

. The theatre holds two performances venues, containing approximately 200 and 100 seats respectively. One of their rehearsal halls can also be used as a performance area, seating 60. It remains one of the foremost organizations for producing new plays in Canada.

Artistic directors

(1971–1982) *

(1982–2002) *

Richard Rose Richard Rose may refer to: * Richard Rose (mystic) (1917–2005), American mystic, esoteric philosopher, author, poet, and investigator of paranormal phenomena *Richard Rose (political scientist) (born 1933), American political scientist and profess ...

(2002–present)

2008-2009 season

*'' Scorched'' - by

Wajdi Mouawad Wajdi Mouawad, OC, (born 1968) is a Lebanese-Canadian writer, actor, and director. He is known in Canadian and French theatre for politically engaged works such as the acclaimed play ''Incendies'' (2003). His works often revolve around family t ...

*'' The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets'' - by Robert Wilson,

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, and William S. Burroughs *'' Bashir Lazhar'' - by

Évelyne de la Chenelière Évelyne de la Chenelière (born 1975) is a Canadian writer and actress. She is best known for her plays ''Désordre public'', which won the Governor General's Award for French-language drama in 2006, and ''Bashir Lazhar'', which was the screenpla ...

, translated by

Morwyn Brebner Morwyn Brebner is a Welsh playwright, television writer and producer,"Brebner, Morwyn"

*'' Moliere'' - by

Sabina Berman Sabina Berman Goldberg (born August 21, 1955, in Mexico City) is a writer and journalist. Her work deals mainly with issues related to diversity and its obstacles. She is a four-time winner of the National Playwriting Award in Mexico (Premio Nac ...

*'' East of Berlin'' - by

*''

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: '' Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All ...

'' - by The Ensemble *'' The Patient Hour'' - by Kristen Thomson *''

Another Home Invasion Another or variant may refer to: * anOther or Another Magazine, culture and fashion magazine * ''Another'' (novel), a Japanese horror novel ** ''Another'' (film), a Japanese 2012 live-action film based on the novel * Another River, a river in the ...

'' - by

Joan MacLeod Joan MacLeod (born 1954) is a Canadian playwright.Joan MacLeod
Canadian Theatre Encyclo ...

*'' A Beautiful View'' - by Daniel MacIvor *'' House of Many Tongues'' - by Jonathan Garfinkel

References

External links

Tarragon Theatre web site

Tarragon Theatre fonds (R10611)
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...

. The fonds consists of posters advertising productions staged at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto in 1972 and 1973. {{Coord, 43.674970, N, 79.412995, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title Theatre companies in Toronto Theatres in Toronto 1970 establishments in Ontario