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 wit ...

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 a ...

Dora Mavor Moore Dora Mavor Moore, (April 8, 1888–May 15, 1979) was a Canadian actress, teacher and director who was a pioneer of Canadian theatre. Life and work Born Dora Mavor in Glasgow, Scotland, she moved with her family to Toronto, Ontario, Cana ...

Tomson Highway Tomson Highway (born 6 December 1951) is an Indigenous Canadian playwright, novelist, and children's author. He is best known for his plays ''The Rez Sisters'' and ''Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing'', both of which won the Dora Mavor Moore ...

Christopher Newton Christopher Newton (11 June 1936 – 20 December 2021) was a Canadian director and actor, who served as artistic director of the Shaw Festival from 1980 to 2002. Early life and education Newton was born in Deal, Kent, England and educated at ...

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair l ...

Judith Thompson Judith Clare Thompson, OC (born September 20, 1954) is a Canadian playwright who lives in Toronto, Ontario. She has twice been awarded the Governor General's Award for drama, and is the recipient of many other awards including the Order of Canad ...

Daniel MacIvor Daniel MacIvor (born July 23, 1962) is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom '' Twitch City''. Personal MacIvor was born in Sydney, No ...

Daniel Brooks Daniel Brooks (born 23 June 1958) is a Canadian theatre director, actor and playwright. He is well known in the Toronto theatre scene for his innovative productions and script-writing collaborations. Early life Brooks was born in Toronto, Ontari ...

Sky Gilbert Schuyler Lee (Sky) Gilbert Jr. (born December 20, 1952) is a Canadian writer, actor, academic and drag performer. Born in Norwich, Connecticut, he studied theatre at York University in Toronto, Ontario, and at the University of Toronto Th ...

Paul Thompson (playwright) Paul Thompson O.C. (born May 4, 1940 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island)Paul Thompson
...

John Hirsch John Stephen Hirsch, OC (; May 1, 1930 – August 1, 1989) was a Hungarian-Canadian theatre director. He was born in Siófok, Hungary to József and Ilona Hirsch, both of whom were murdered in the Holocaust along with his younger brother I ...

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 Universi ...

Marie Clements Marie Clements (born January 10, 1962) See p. 147. is a Canadian Métis playwright, performer, director, producer and screenwriter. Marie was founding artistic director of urban ink productions, and is currently co-artistic director of red diva pr ...

Yvette Nolan Yvette Nolan (Algonquian peoples, Algonquin) (1961) is a Canadians, Canadian playwright, director, actor, and educator based out of Saskatchewan, Canada. She was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. She has contributed significantly to the creati ...

Linda Griffiths Linda Pauline Griffiths (7 October 1953 – 21 September 2014) was a Canadian actress and playwright best known for writing and starring in the one woman play ''Maggie and Pierre'', in which she portrayed both Pierre Trudeau and his then-estran ...

Sharon Pollock Sharon Pollock, (19 April 1936 – 22 April 2021) was a Canadian playwright, actor, and director. She was Artistic Director of Theatre Calgary (1984), Theatre New Brunswick (1988–1990) and Performance Kitchen & The Garry Theatre, the latte ...

Daniel David Moses Daniel David Moses (February 18, 1952 - July 13, 2020) was a First Nations poet and playwright from Canada. Moses was born in Ohsweken, Ontario, and raised on a farm on the Six Nations of the Grand River near Brantford, Ontario, Canada.Colin Bo ...

Drew Hayden Taylor Drew Hayden Taylor (born 1 July 1962) is a Canadian playwright, author and journalist. Life and career Born in Curve Lake, Ontario, Taylor is part Ojibwe and part Caucasian. About his background Taylor says: "I plan to start my own nation. Bec ...

Timothy Findley Timothy Irving Frederick Findley Timothy Findley's
entry in

Jordan Tannahill Jordan Tannahill is a Canadian author, playwright, filmmaker, and theatre director. His novels and plays have been translated into twelve languages, and honoured with a number of prizes including two Governor General's Literary Awards.

*

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 ...

* John Herbert

Early Canadian theatre

The

Annapolis Basin The Annapolis Basin is a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy, located on the bay's southeastern shores, along the northwestern shore of Nova Scotia and at the western end of the Annapolis Valley. The basin takes its name from the Annapolis River, whic ...

in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

served as the cradle for both French and English language theatre in Canada. Théâtre de Neptune, performed in 1606, was the first European theatre production in North America. The tradition of English theatre in Canada also started at

Annapolis Royal Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port-Royal (Acadia), Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be ...

. In Fort Anne, Nova Scotia, plays were produced for

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

' birthday. George Farquhar's

The Recruiting Officer ''The Recruiting Officer'' is a 1706 play by the Irish writer George Farquhar, which follows the social and sexual exploits of two officers, the womanising Plume and the cowardly Brazen, in the town of Shrewsbury (the town where Farquhar himse ...

was produced on Saturday, 20 January 1733 to celebrate the birthday of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fa ...

. When he was a Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, Paul Mascarene translated Molière's French play ''

The Misanthrope ''The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover'' (french: Le Misanthrope ou l'Atrabilaire amoureux; ) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris b ...

'' in to English and produced several plays in 1743 and 1744. An unknown play was also staged on 20 January 1748 for the Prince's birthday, and it was restaged on 2 February 1748.

Plays

* Lescarbot's Neptune Theatre 1606 * Molière's Tartuffe Scandal 1693 * Halifax Prologue 1776 * Sullen Indian Prologue 1826 * Eight Men Speak 1933 (at Toronto's Standard Theatre)

Events

Theatre was banned in French Canada by the Catholic clergy in 1694, but after Canada became British in 1763, theatrical activity begun to flourish, foremost among the British garrisons and within amateur theatre. Antoine Foucher (1717-1801), of

Terrebonne Terrebonne, meaning ''good earth'' in French, is a name of several places in North America: ;Canada *Terrebonne, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal ** Terrebonne station, a commuter railway station in Terrebonne, Quebec **Terrebonne City Council, the go ...

(father of

Louis-Charles Foucher Lt-Colonel The Hon. Louis-Charles Foucher (September 13, 1760 – December 26, 1829) was Solicitor General for Lower Canada and elected to the 2nd Parliament of Lower Canada for Montreal West, and afterwards for York and Trois-Rivières. H ...

), was the owner of the first Francophone

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In 1774, with various

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

, he staged the first production of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...

at his home in Montreal. Other Garrison performances were private shows put on for troops, publicly performed by officers, which helped bridge theatre and war during its initial stages of development. It was welcomed by the populaces and distracted soldiers from war and routine military protocol.Wilson, Edwin, ed. ''Living Theatre: History of the Theatre''. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2008. Print. The first professional theatre company was '' Allen's Company of Comedians'', which made its first performance in Montreal in 1786, and was followed by the all male French language amateur society '' Les Jeunes Messieurs Canadiens'' in Quebec City in 1789. From 1790 to 1840, amateur theatre was regularly performed at the Haymarket Theatre in Quebec City. Before 1825, the Hayes House Hotel on Dalhousie Square,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, had a theatre that staged

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

s and held Viennese dances. After it burned it down,

John Molson John Molson (December 28, 1763 – January 11, 1836) was an English-born brewer and entrepreneur in colonial Quebec, which during his lifetime became Lower Canada. In addition to founding Molson Brewery, he built the first steamship and the fir ...

built the Theatre Royal in 1825, presenting

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and Restoration authors. It sat 1,000 guests and was also used for

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

es and

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

s.

Edmund Kean Edmund Kean (4 November 178715 May 1833) was a celebrated British Shakespearean stage actor born in England, who performed, among other places, in London, Belfast, New York, Quebec, and Paris. He was known for his short stature, tumultuo ...

and

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

both performed there before it was demolished in 1844 to make way for the

Bonsecours Market Bonsecours Market (french: Marché Bonsecours), at 350 rue Saint-Paul in Old Montreal, is a two-story domed public market. For more than 100 years, it was the main public market in the Montreal area. It also briefly accommodated the Parliament of ...

. In the West, the Grand Theatre was built in 1912 in Calgary by the visionary Sir James Lougheed. The Grand was the initial home of many arts organizations in Calgary; the first theatre, opera, ballet, symphony concerts, and movies were seen here. This theatre was the centre of social, cultural, and political life in Calgary until the early 1960s. The Grand Theatre has been saved from demolition in 2004 by the company Theatre Junction and its director Mark Lawes. From 1929, Martha Allan founded the Montreal Repertory Theatre and later co-founded the

Dominion Drama Festival The Dominion Drama Festival was an organisation in Canada that sought to promote amateur theatre across the country. It lasted, in one form or another, from 1932 until 1978. Founding The Dominion Drama Festival (DDF) was devised in 1932 as a wa ...

. She loathed

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

, but her energies spearheaded the Canadian

Little Theatre Movement As the new medium of cinema was beginning to replace theater as a source of large-scale spectacle, the Little Theatre Movement developed in the United States around 1912. The Little Theatre Movement served to provide experimental centers for the dr ...

at a time when live theatre in Montreal and across Canada was being threatened by the rapid expansion of the American-influenced

movie theatre A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

. She almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the development of the professional modern Canadian theatre scene.

Theatre of the 1950s

Plays

* Teach Me How To Cry 1955 Patricia Joudry

Theatre companies and groups

* Hudson Players Club 1948 (Hudson, Qc) founded by the collective group of HPC * Theatre du Nouveau Monde 1951 (Montreal), founded by

Jean Gascon Jean Gascon (December 21, 1920 – April 13, 1988) was a Canadian opera director, actor, and administrator. Career Originally bent on a career in medicine, Gascon abandoned it for the stage after considerable work with amateur groups in Mont ...

* Stratford Shakespeare Festival 1953 (Stratford), founded by Tom Patterson * Manitoba Theatre Centre 1958 (Winnipeg), founded by

John Hirsch John Stephen Hirsch, OC (; May 1, 1930 – August 1, 1989) was a Hungarian-Canadian theatre director. He was born in Siófok, Hungary to József and Ilona Hirsch, both of whom were murdered in the Holocaust along with his younger brother I ...

* Toronto Workshop Productions 1958 (Toronto), founded by

George Luscombe George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

Theatre of the 1960s

Plays

* Ecstasy of Rita Joe 1967 George Ryga * Fortune and Men's Eyes 1967 John Herbert * Les Belles-Soeurs 1968 Michel Tremblay

Theatre companies and groups

*

National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants ...

1960 (Montreal) *

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a not-for-profit theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America. The Shaw Festival was founded in 1962. Originally, it only featured productio ...

1962 (Niagara on the Lake) * Neptune Theatre (Halifax) 1963 * Vancouver Playhouse 1963 (Vancouver) *

Arts Club Theatre Company The Arts Club Theatre Company is a Canadian professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, founded in 1958. It is the largest urban not-for-profit theatre company in the country and the largest in Western Canada, with productions tak ...

1964 (Vancouver) * The Citadel Theatre 1965 (Edmonton)
Globe Theatre
1966 (Regina) * Young People's Theatre 1966 (Toronto, theatre for young audiences) * Theatre New Brunswick 1968 (Fredericton) * Theatre Passe-Muraille 1968 (Toronto) * Centaur Theatre 1969 (Montreal) *

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

1969 (Ottawa)

Theatre of the 1970s

Plays

* How Now Black Man, 1971, Lorris Elliot * Creeps, 1971, David Freeman * Leaving Home 1972 David French * The Farm Show 1972 Paul Thompson and Theatre Passe Muraille *

Hosanna ''Hosanna'' () is a liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it refers to a cry expressing an appeal for divine help.Friberg Lexicon In Christianity it is used as a cry of praise. Etymology The word ''hosanna'' (Latin ', Greek ...

1973

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 wit ...

* 1837: Farmer's Revolt 1974 Rick Salutin * The Donnellys Trilogy 1974-1975 James Reaney *

Zastrozzi, The Master of Discipline Zastrozzi, The Master of Discipline is a play by Canadian playwrighter George F. Walker, first produced at Canadian Stage Company, Toronto Free Theatre in 1977. It is loosely based upon the 1810 novel Zastrozzi, Zastrozzi: A Romance by Percy Byssh ...

1977 George F. Walker * Waiting for the Parade 1977 John Murrell *

Billy Bishop Goes to War ''Billy Bishop Goes to War'' is a Canadian musical, written by John MacLachlan Gray in collaboration with the actor Eric Peterson. One of the most widely produced plays in Canadian theatre, the two-man play dramatizes the life of Canadian World ...

1978 John Gray * Balconville 1979 David Fenario * Blitzkrieg by Bryan Wade, Tarragon Theatre, 1974

Theatre companies and groups

*

Factory Theatre Factory Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz, and it was run for almost 20 years by Dian English. Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would e ...

1970 (Toronto), founded by Ken Gass *

Tarragon Theatre The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.

1971 (Toronto), founded by Bill Glassco * Toronto Free Theatre 1971 (Toronto), founded by Tom Hendry, Martin Kinch, John Palmer * 25th Street Theatre 1972 (Saskatoon) * Black Theatre Workshop 1972, founded by Dr. Clarence S. Bayne * The Second City 1973 (Toronto) * Persephone Theatre 1974 (Saskatoon), founded by Janet Wright, Susan Wright, Brian Richmond *

Green Thumb Theatre Green Thumb Theatre (also known as the Green Thumb Theatre for Young People and simply as Green Thumb) is a Canadian children's theatre company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1975 by playwrights Dennis Foon and Jane Howard ...

1975 (Vancouver, theatre for young audiences), founded by Dennis Foon * Carbone 14 1975 (Montreal) * Great Canadian Theatre Company 1975 (Ottawa) * Theatre Network 1976 (Edmonton) * VideoCabaret 1976 (Toronto), founded by Michael Hollingsworth and

Deanne Taylor Deanne Taylor (born November 24, 1946) was a Candian actress, artist, and performer. At 9 years old, she starred in the television program Maggie Muggins. In 1982, she ran for mayor in the 1982 Toronto municipal election, under the pseudonym A. ...

* Northern Light Theatre 1977 Scott Swan (Edmonton) * Catalyst Theatre 1977 (Edmonton) * Necessary Angel 1978 (Toronto), founded by Richard Rose *

Buddies in Bad Times Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical e ...

1979 (Toronto, queer), founded by

Sky Gilbert Schuyler Lee (Sky) Gilbert Jr. (born December 20, 1952) is a Canadian writer, actor, academic and drag performer. Born in Norwich, Connecticut, he studied theatre at York University in Toronto, Ontario, and at the University of Toronto Th ...

*

Nightwood Theatre Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' ori ...

1979 (Toronto, feminist), founded by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe and Maureen White * Workshop West Theatre 1979 Gerry Potter Artistic Director (Edmonton) *

Roseneath Theatre Roseneath Theatre is a not-for-profit theatre specializing in work for Young Audiences (TYA) which is officed in downtown Toronto but tours its productions to schools grades JK-12 across the province of Ontario. They have also been to the far N ...

1979 (Toronto, theatre for young audiences), founded by David S Craig and Robert Morgan

Events

With Canada's centennial in 1967 came a growing awareness of the need to cultivate a national cultural identity. Thus, the 1970s were marked by the establishment of multiple theatre institutions dedicated to the development and presentation of Canadian playwrights, such as

Factory Theatre Factory Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz, and it was run for almost 20 years by Dian English. Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would e ...

,

Tarragon Theatre The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.

, and the Great Canadian Theatre Company.

Theatre Passe Muraille Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Brief history One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille ("theatre beyond walls") was founded in 1968 by director and playwright Jim Gar ...

, under Paul Thompson's directorship in the 1970s, gained a national reputation for its distinctive style of collective creation with plays such as The Farm Show, 1837: The Farmer's Revolt and I Love You, Baby Blue. In 1971 a group of Canadian playwrights issued the Gaspé Manifesto as a call for at least one-half of the programing at publicly subsidized theatres to be Canadian content. The numerical goal was not achieved, but the following years saw an increase in Canadian content stage productions.

Theatre of the 1980s and 1990s

Plays

* The Cavan Blazers 1992 Robert Winslow * Tamara 1981 John Krizanc * Albertine en cinq temps 1984

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 wit ...

* Doc 1984

Sharon Pollock Sharon Pollock, (19 April 1936 – 22 April 2021) was a Canadian playwright, actor, and director. She was Artistic Director of Theatre Calgary (1984), Theatre New Brunswick (1988–1990) and Performance Kitchen & The Garry Theatre, the latte ...

* Drag Queens on Trial 1985

Sky Gilbert Schuyler Lee (Sky) Gilbert Jr. (born December 20, 1952) is a Canadian writer, actor, academic and drag performer. Born in Norwich, Connecticut, he studied theatre at York University in Toronto, Ontario, and at the University of Toronto Th ...

* Occupation of Heather Rose 1986

Wendy Lill Wendy Lill (born November 2, 1950) is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and radio dramatist who served as an NDP Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2004. Her stage plays have been performed extensively in theatres across Canada as well as inter ...

* Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Anne-Marie MacDonald * Polygraph 1988

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair l ...

* Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing 1989 Thomson Highway *

Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love ''Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love'' is a 1989 stage play written by Canadian playwright Brad Fraser. Set in Edmonton, Alberta, the comedy-drama follows the lives of several sexually frustrated "thirty-somethings" who try ...

1989

Brad Fraser Brad Fraser (born June 28, 1959 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and cultural commentator.Gaetan Charlebois and Anne Nothof"Fraser, Brad" ''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', June 2, 2019. He is one of the most widely pr ...

* Lion in the Streets 1990

Judith Thompson Judith Clare Thompson, OC (born September 20, 1954) is a Canadian playwright who lives in Toronto, Ontario. She has twice been awarded the Governor General's Award for drama, and is the recipient of many other awards including the Order of Canad ...

* Harlem Duet 1997 Djanet Sears *

The Drawer Boy ''The Drawer Boy'' is a play by Michael Healey. It is a two-act play set in 1972 on a farm near Clinton, Ontario. There are only three characters: the farm's two owners, Morgan and Angus, and Miles Potter, a young actor from Toronto doing resea ...

1999 Michael Healey

Theatre companies and groups

* 4th Line Theatre (Millbrook, Ontario) 1992 *

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

(Quebec) (early 1980s) * Windsor Feminist Theatre 1980 (Windsor) *

Native Earth Performing Arts Native Earth Performing Arts is a Canadian theatre company located in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1982, Native Earth is Canada's oldest professional Indigenous theatre company. Native Earth is dedicated to developing, producing and presenting pro ...

1982 (Toronto) * Half the Sky Feminist Theatre 1982 (Hamilton) * DNA Theatre 1982 (Toronto) * Crow's Theatre 1982 (Toronto) *

One Yellow Rabbit One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre (OYR) is based in the Big Secret Theatre in Calgary’s Arts Commons. With its Resident Performing Ensemble, OYR creates original theatrical works each year for its home audiences and also hosts The High Per ...

1982 (Calgary) * Theatre Junction 1991 * The Augusta Company 1980-90s (Toronto) * De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre 1984 (Manitoulin Island) * Cahoots Theatre 1986 (Toronto) * da da kamera 1986 (Toronto) * Radix Theatre 1988 (Vancouver) * Primus Theatre 1988 (Winnipeg) * Théâtre Ex Machina 1990 (Quebec City) * Rumble Productions 1990 (Vancouver) * Theatre Projects Manitoba 1990 (Winnipeg) founded by Harry Rintoul * Mammalian Diving Reflex 1993 (Toronto) * Die in Debt Theatre 1993 (Toronto) * STO Union 1992 (Wakefield) * Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland 1995 (St. John's) *

Soulpepper Theatre Company Soulpepper is a theater company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest non-profit theater in the city. History Soulpepper was founded in 1998 by twelve Toronto artists aiming to produce lesser-known theatrical classics. Soulpepper has sinc ...

1997 (Toronto) * The Electric Company Theatre 1996 (Vancouver) * Nightswimming 1995 (Toronto) * Sarasvati Productions 1998 (Toronto, later relocated to Winnipeg)
Imago Theatre
1987 (Montreal)
Common Boots Theatre
1984 (Toronto)

Events

The 1980s and 1990s saw a flourish of experimental theatre companies cropping up across Canada, many of whom were exploring site-specific and immersive staging techniques, such as Toronto's DNA Theatre and Vancouver's Radix Theatre.

Theatre of the 2000s

Plays

* Elizabeth Rex 2000

Timothy Findley Timothy Irving Frederick Findley Timothy Findley's
entry in

Kristen Thomson Kristen Thomson (born 1966) is a Canadian actress and playwright. Thomson was born in Toronto, Ontario. She is known for her one-woman play ''I, Claudia'', which was adapted to film in 2004. In that play and film, Thomson plays all of the roles ...

* Incendies 2003 Wajdi Mouawad * Half Life 2005

John Mighton John Mighton, OC (born October 2, 1957) is a Canadian mathematician, author, and playwright. Education and career Mighton was born in Hamilton, Ontario on and lives in Toronto, Ontario with partner Pamela Sinha and daughter Chloe. In 1998 ...

* Cul-de-Sac 2005

Daniel MacIvor Daniel MacIvor (born July 23, 1962) is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom '' Twitch City''. Personal MacIvor was born in Sydney, No ...

* blood.claat 2006

d'bi Young d’bi.young anitafrika is a Jamaican-Canadian feminist dub poet, activist, and singer for the band D’bi and the 333. Their work includes theatrical performances, four published collections of poetry, twelve plays, and seven albums. Early l ...

* The December Man 2007 Colleen Murphy * Palace of the End 2008

Judith Thompson Judith Clare Thompson, OC (born September 20, 1954) is a Canadian playwright who lives in Toronto, Ontario. She has twice been awarded the Governor General's Award for drama, and is the recipient of many other awards including the Order of Canad ...

* Pyaasa 2008

Anusree Roy Anusree Roy is a Canadian award-winning writer of plays, television, film and libretto. She is also an actress.Kevin Loring Kevin Loring (born November 24, 1974) is a Canadian playwright and actor. As a playwright, he won the Governor General's Award for English-language drama, the Herman Voaden Playwriting Competition and the Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding O ...

* East of Berlin 2009

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 ...

Theatre companies and groups

* Bluemouth Inc. 1998 (Toronto) * Project Porte Parole 1998 (Montreal) *

2b theatre company 2b Theatre Company, stylized as the 2b theatre company, is a theatre company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. History 2b was founded by a group of recent graduates and emerging artists in 1999 under the name "Bunnies in the Headlights Theatre." I ...

1999 (Halifax) * Old Trout Puppet Workshop 1999 (Calgary) * Leaky Heaven 1999 (Vancouver) * Zuppa Theatre 1999 (Halifax) * Obsidian Theatre 2000 (Toronto) * Aluna Theatre 2001 (Toronto) * Small Wooden Shoe 2001 (Halifax/Toronto) * fu-GEN 2002 (Toronto) * Theatre Replacement 2003 (Vancouver) * Realwheels Theatre 2003 (Vancouver) * Downstage 2004 (Calgary) * DaPoPo Theatre 2004 (Halifax) * B2C Theatre 2004 (Toronto) * Ecce Homo Theatre 2005 (Toronto) * Convergence Theatre 2006 (Toronto) *

Segal Centre for Performing Arts The Segal Centre for Performing Arts, formerly the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, is a theatre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 5170 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâ ...

(Montreal) * Why Not Theatre 2007 (Toronto) * Suburban Beast 2008 (Toronto) * Outside The March 2009 (Toronto)

Events

The 2000s saw the creation of several theatre companies with specific cultural mandates including Obsidian Theatre, a company supporting 'the Black voice', fu-GEN, a company dedicated to work by Asian Canadians, and Aluna Theatre, a company with a focus on Latin Canadian artists.

Western Canadian theatre

British Columbia

* Northwest of Armstrong is the Caravan Farm Theatre, a professional outdoor theatre company. *

Chemainus Chemainus is a community within the municipality of North Cowichan in the Chemainus Valley on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Founded as an unincorporated logging town in 1858, Chemainus is now famou ...

hosts the annual Chemainus Festival. * The heritage village of

Fort Steele Fort Steele is a heritage site in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This visitor attraction lies on the east shore of the Kootenay River between the mouths of the St. Mary River and Wild Horse River. The locality, on the m ...

includes the Wild Horse Theatre, which produces a historic revue starring professional actors during the summer months. *

Gabriola Island Gabriola Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia (BC), Canada. It is about east of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, to which it is linked by a 20-minute ferry service. It has a land area of about and a res ...

is home to the Gabriola Theatre Festival, which produces twelve shows over one weekend in August. * Kamloops is home to Western Canada Theatre. * North Vancouver has Presentation House Theatre and Centennial Theatre. * Prince George is the home of Theatre North West. *

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

is home to, among others, the

Arts Club Theatre Company The Arts Club Theatre Company is a Canadian professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, founded in 1958. It is the largest urban not-for-profit theatre company in the country and the largest in Western Canada, with productions tak ...

, the

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is produced over three weeks each January in Vancouver, British Columbia. The PuSh Festival presents work in the live performing arts. The Festival showcases international, Canadian and local artis ...

, the

Vancouver Fringe Festival The Vancouver Fringe Festival is an annual alternative theatre festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada established in 1985. The event is organized and sponsored by the First Vancouver Theatrespace Society, a volunteer not-for-profit ...

,

Touchstone Theatre Touchstone Theatre is a professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1976 by a group of University of British Columbia theatre graduates. Touchstone's focus is on the development and production of Canadian works ...

, Carousel Theatre,

Bard on the Beach Bard on the Beach is Western Canada's largest professional Shakespeare festival. The theatre Festival runs annually from early June through September in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Festival is produced by Bard on the Beach Theatre Soc ...

, Theatre Under the Stars, the Metro Theatre,

Studio 58 Studio 58 is the professional theatre training school at Langara College in Vancouver, British Columbia. The school offers a three-year diploma program for acting students and a three-year diploma program for production students. A Bachelor o ...

, Pacific Theatre, and the Firehall Arts. Vancouver had also been home to the now-defunct

Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company ("The Playhouse") was a regional theatre company, producing plays since 1962. Its first production was '' The Hostage'' by Brendan Behan, which opened on October 2, 1963. The company performed out of the V ...

, which had been Vancouver's oldest professional theatre company. *

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

has a major regional theatre, the

Belfry Theatre The Belfry Theatre is a theatre and associated theatre company in the Fernwood neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The company produces contemporary theatre, with a focus on Canadian work. The theatre building is a converted ...

, as well as professional companie
Theatre SKAMSNAFU Dance Theatre SocietyBlue Bridge Repertory TheatreWilliam Head on StageTheatre InconnuAtomic VaudevilleImpulse TheatreSuddenly Dance Theatre
an
Wonderheads TheatreKaleidoscope
is the resident Professional TYA company.

Intrepid Theatre Intrepid Theatre is a not-for-profit organization in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, that produces the annual Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival, Uno Fest: Canada’s Singular Live Theatre Event, and a year-round series of international theatre pr ...

is a local alternative company and organizes both the Uno Festival and the Victoria Fringe Festival.

Alberta

* Calgary is home to

Theatre Calgary Theatre Calgary, is a theatre company in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, established as a professional company in 1968. It was preceded by Workshop 14, a theatre study group founded in 1944 by Betty Mitchell. Calgary's ''Betty Mitchell'' awards are ...

, a mainstream regional theatre; Alberta Theatre Projects, a major centre for new play development in Canada; the

Calgary Animated Objects Society Calgary Animated Objects Society (CAOS) is a non-profit charitable arts organization based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 2003, CAOS is dedicated to the arts of mask, puppetry and animated objects, and to building community through diffe ...

; Vertigo Mystery Theatre; Theatre Junction a multidisciplinary collective directed by Mark Lawes;

One Yellow Rabbit One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre (OYR) is based in the Big Secret Theatre in Calgary’s Arts Commons. With its Resident Performing Ensemble, OYR creates original theatrical works each year for its home audiences and also hosts The High Per ...

, a touring company; and Urban Curvz, a feminist theatre company rebranded as Handsome Alice Theatre in 2016. Calgary is also home for expert marionetteer,

Ronnie Burkett Ronnie Burkett, OC is a Canadian puppeteer, best known for his original theatrical plays for adults, performed with marionettes. Burkett, who hails from Medicine Hat, was the puppeteer for Ralph on the TV Ontario series '' Harriet's Magic Hats'' ...

. Calgary is the base of operations of

Loose Moose Theatre The Loose Moose Theatre Company (LMTC), is a theater company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was co-founded in 1977, by Keith Johnstone and Mel Tonken. LMTC has an international reputation for developing the theatrical style of improvisati ...

, which performs

improvisational theatre Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

. Other companies, some of which specialize in new plays, include Sage Theatre, Downstage Theatre, Ground Zero Theatre, The Shakespeare Company and Lunchbox Theatre. *

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

is best known for the

Edmonton International Fringe Festival The Edmonton International Fringe Festival is an annual arts festival held every August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Produced by the Fringe Theatre Adventures (FTA), it is the oldest and largest fringe theatre festival in North America (based on ...

, the first and largest fringe theatre festival in North America. The major live venue is the

Citadel Theatre The Citadel Theatre is the major venue for theatre arts in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located in the city's downtown core on Churchill Square. It is the third largest regional theatre in Canada. History It began in a former Salvatio ...

. The neighborhood of

Old Strathcona Old Strathcona is a historic district in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Once the commercial core of the separate city of Strathcona, the area is now home to many of Edmonton's arts and entertainment facilities, as well as a local s ...

contains the Theatre District, where

Catalyst Theatre Catalyst Theatre is a multi-award-winning theatre company based in Edmonton, Alberta. Founded in 1977 as a social action theatre, it was taken over by Artistic Co-Directors Jonathan Christenson and Joey Tremblay in 1996, who drastically changed t ...

, Walterdale Playhouse, and the

Varscona Theatre The Varscona Theatre is a live performance venue in the Old Strathcona neighborhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Since 1994, the Varscona has been operated by a consortium of small theatre companies, including Teatro la Quindicina and Shadow Thea ...

(home of several companies: Teatro la Quindicina,

Shadow Theatre The Shadow Theatre is an Edmonton-based theatre company born of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival in 1990. History Shadow Theatre was incorporated in 1992, operating under the governance of a volunteer Board of Directors. Co founded by H ...

,

Rapid Fire Theatre ''Rapid Fire Theatre'' (RFT) is an improvisational theatre company based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. History The origins of the company stretch to 1981, when Edmonton's Theatre Network became the third company in the world to regularly prod ...

,

Die-Nasty ''Die-Nasty'' is a live improvised soap opera, running weekly in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada since 1991. ''Die-Nastys improv comedy format features a continuing storyline and recurring characters, live music, and a director who sets up s ...

, and Oh Susanna!) are located. Other well-known companies, some of which specialize in new plays, include Workshop West Theatre, Northern Light, and Theatre Network. Edmonton is also known for its prestigious BFA conservatory acting program at the University of Alberta * Lethbridge is the home of New West Theatre, a professional theatre company. Theatre Outré also operates out of Lethbridge and presents theatrical content, subject matter, styles and forms that are alternative to what is currently offered in the community. *

Rosebud Rosebud may refer to: * Rose bud, the bud of a rose flower Arts * The name of Jerry Garcia's guitar from 1990 until his death in 1995. * In the 1941 film ''Citizen Kane'', the last words of Charles Foster Kane and an overall plot device. * "Ros ...

, located one hour east of Calgary, is home to Rosebud Theatre, Alberta's only rural professional theatre. *

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

hosts the Scott Block Theatre.

Saskatchewan

* Regina features Saskatchewan's only permanent arena theatre, the Globe Theatre. *

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

is home to Saskatchewan's largest theatre, Persephone Theatre, as well as Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, the Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre, Saskatchewan's francophone theatre La Troupe du Jour, Live Five and the Saskatoon Fringe Theatre Festival. Dancing Sky Theatre and the Rosthern Station Arts Centre are located 45 minutes east and north of Saskatoon, respectively.

Manitoba

*

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

is the home of

Le Cercle Molière Le Cercle Molière is a theatre company in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History The theatre company has operated since 1925. Its activities include a four-play subscription season, a youth production that tours Manitoba schools, a high school th ...

(the oldest continuously running theatre company in Canada)
Fantasy Theatre for Children
(Manitoba's oldest children's theatre)
Merlyn Productions

Manitoba Theatre for Young People Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) is a theatre for children and young adults in The Forks area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. , MTYP's annual attendance regularly exceeds 100,000. Within the theatre complex are two performance venues: a ...

,

Prairie Theatre Exchange Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE) is a professional theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is located on the third floor of Portage Place mall in downtown Winnipeg. By the end of the 2016-17 season, PTE had presented 340 plays on its thrust stag ...

, Rainbow Stage, the

Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Royal MTC) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country. It was founded in 1958 by Joh ...

(Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre), Sarasvati Productions, Theatre Projects Manitoba, the

Winnipeg Jewish Theatre Winnipeg Jewish Theatre is a theatre based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was founded in 1987 and is the only professional theatre in Canada dedicated to Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious ...

, and the

Winnipeg Fringe Festival The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is an alternative theatre festival held each year for twelve days in July in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History Founded in 1988 by the Manitoba Theatre Centre with Larry Desrochers as the first Executiv ...

.

Northwest Territories

*

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

is home to the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, a small theatre with just over 300 seats.

Central Canadian theatre

Ontario

* Blyth is the home of the Blyth Festival Theatre and Centre for the Arts. *

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it ...

is home to th
Rose Theatre Brampton.
* Drayton Entertainment has seven stages at six theatres across Ontario including the Drayton Festival Theatre in Drayton, Hamilton Family Theatre Cambridge in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, Huron Country Playhouse in

Grand Bend Grand Bend is a community located on the shores of Lake Huron in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Municipality of Lambton Shores in Lambton County. History Grand Bend is situated on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron ...

, King's Wharf Theatre in

Penetanguishene Penetanguishene , sometimes shortened to Penetang, is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual (French and English) community has a populati ...

, and St. Jacobs Country Playhouse and the Schoolhouse Theatre in St. Jacobs. * Kitchener is home t
actOUT! The Kitchener Waterloo Children's Drama Workshop
which for over a quarter century has produced theatre by & for the children of the Waterloo Region. * Kingston is home to its own professional company, Theatre Kingston, the Vagabond Repertory Theatre Company, as well as many amateur and student theatre groups. In nearby

Gananoque Gananoque ( ) is a town in the Leeds and Grenville area of Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,383 year-round residents in the 2021 Canadian Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred to as "Islanders" because of the Tho ...

, the

Thousand Islands Playhouse The Thousand Islands Playhouse is a summer theatre company located in Gananoque, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1981 by Greg Wanless and a group of local actors and graduates from Queen's University including Timm Hughes, Joan Gardiner, Mo Bo ...

features professional productions in two venues. *

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

is home to the Grand Theatre. * Niagara-on-the-Lake is best known for the

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a not-for-profit theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America. The Shaw Festival was founded in 1962. Originally, it only featured productio ...

. * Oshawa is home to Oshawa Little Theatre (http://oshawalittletheatre.com) founded in 1928 and running continuously since 1950; offers 4 productions a year as well as a youth group production. It runs out of its own facility on Russet Ave. since 1983. * Ottawa is home to the multi-venue

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

and the smaller Great Canadian Theatre Company, and holds the Ottawa Fringe Festival. The

Ottawa Little Theatre The Ottawa Little Theatre, originally called the Ottawa Drama League at its inception in 1913, is the longest continuously running community theatre in Canada, and one of the oldest in North America. Based in Canada's capital city, it owns its ow ...

, founded in 1913, is the longest-running community theatre company in Canada. * Stratford is best known for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. * Sudbury has the regional theatre companies Sudbury Theatre Centre and

Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario (''Theatre of New-Ontario'') is a Canadian professional theatre company. Located in Sudbury, Ontario, the company produces French language stage productions. The company was founded in 1971 by the Coopérative des a ...

. *

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...

has Magnus Theatre, The Dr. S. Penny Petrone Centre for the Performing Arts, a regional professional theatre company. *

Toronto 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 anch ...

has a large and vibrant theatre scene, centred around the Toronto Theatre District, with many different companies. Some produce large-scale Broadway-style productions (produced by companies like

Mirvish Productions Mirvish Productions is a Canadian based theatrical production company and promoter. The company was founded in 1987 by David Mirvish, son of Toronto retailing icon and owner of the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Ed Mirvish. The first assets acquired ...

), and others produce smaller-scale plays by Canadian and other playwrights. Some of the major theatre companies of Toronto include: Canadian Stage Company,

Tarragon Theatre The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.

,

Theatre Passe-Muraille Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Brief history One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille ("theatre beyond walls") was founded in 1968 by director and playwright Jim Gar ...

, the

Factory Theatre Factory Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz, and it was run for almost 20 years by Dian English. Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would e ...

,

Soulpepper Theatre Company Soulpepper is a theater company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest non-profit theater in the city. History Soulpepper was founded in 1998 by twelve Toronto artists aiming to produce lesser-known theatrical classics. Soulpepper has sinc ...

, the Lower Ossington Theatre and

Buddies in Bad Times Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical e ...

. The

Harbourfront Centre Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at 235 Queens Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the Government of Canada to create a waterfront park, it became ...

's World Stage festival presents innovative contemporary performance from national and international companies. Toronto has several theatre festivals throughout the year, including The Next Stage Festival in January, the

Toronto Fringe Festival The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival, featuring un-juried plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been ...

in June, and SummerWorks in August. Important smaller companies include Native Earth,

Nightwood Theatre Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' ori ...

, Necessary Angel, Crow's Theatre, Obsidian Theatre, Acting Upstage, and Volcano. 2012 saw a surge of storefront theatres opening in the city including Videofag and The Storefront Theatre. * In

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, the Windsor Light Music Theatre has been staging musicals, operettas and other theatre productions since 1948.

Quebec

*

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

's theatre scene is split between French and English language theatre. The city is home to Le

Festival TransAmériques The Festival TransAmériques (FTA) is an annual dance and theater festival held in Montreal, Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Que ...

, the Montreal Fringe Festival, the

National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants ...

, the

Segal Centre for Performing Arts The Segal Centre for Performing Arts, formerly the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, is a theatre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 5170 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâ ...

, the

Centaur Theatre The Centaur Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Montreal, Quebec. It was co-founded in 1969 by Maurice Podbrey along with The Centaur Foundation for the Performing Arts. It currently has Eda Holmes as the Artistic and Executive Director, ...

, Usine C, Le

Théâtre du Nouveau Monde The Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (TNM) is a theatre company and Theater (structure), venue located on Rue Sainte-Catherine (Montreal), rue Sainte-Catherine in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in , it launched with the classic play ''L'Avare'' by Molière. ...

, and Canada's oldest professional Black theatre company, The Black Theatre Workshop. *

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

is home to Le Théâtre des Nouveaux Compagnons, the oldest French-speaking theatre company in Canada. *

Québec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is the ...

is the home of

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair l ...

's company Ex Machina and Le

Grand Théâtre de Québec The Grand Théâtre de Québec is a performing arts complex in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was conceived to commemorate the Canadian Centennial of 1967 and the Quebec Conference, 1864, one of the key meetings leading to the Canadian Confedera ...

.

Atlantic Canada

New Brunswick

* Moncton has the restored Capitol Theatre, one of only eight theatres of the ca. 1922 Pantages/Vaudeville design in the nation. * Saint John has the restored Imperial Theatre, an historic ca. 1913 modern adaptation of the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

. * Fredericton is host to The Playhouse, a gift to the people of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

by Lord Beaverbrook in 1964. *

Theatre New Brunswick Theatre New Brunswick is the only English language professional theatre company in New Brunswick, Canada. It began operation in 1968, and has been successfully operating since that time. Artistic directors * Walter Learning (1968-1978) *Malcolm Bl ...

is a provincial theatre company.

Prince Edward Island

* Charlottetown is home to the

Charlottetown Festival The Charlottetown Festival is a seasonal Canadian musical theatre festival which runs from late May to mid-October every year since 1965. Named after its host city Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and its Charlottetown Conference, since its inc ...

and the

Confederation Centre of the Arts Confederation Centre of the Arts (french: Centre des arts de la Confédération) is a cultural centre dedicated to the visual and performing arts located in the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. History Construction of Confede ...

, with its 1,100 seat mainstage theatre being one of Atlantic Canada's pre-eminent performing arts facilities.
Watermark Theatre
- a professional theatre presenting classic and modern classic plays in North Rustico

Nova Scotia

* Amongst Halifax's theatre producers are Neptune Theatre, Shakespeare by the Sea,

2b theatre company 2b Theatre Company, stylized as the 2b theatre company, is a theatre company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. History 2b was founded by a group of recent graduates and emerging artists in 1999 under the name "Bunnies in the Headlights Theatre." I ...

, Zuppa Theatre, DaPoPo Theatre and ''Canada's longest continuously running community theatre'' The Theatre Arts Guild. Halifax's theatre venues include The Bus Stop and the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. See Culture of the Halifax Regional Municipality#Theatre. *

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2016 the municipality has a population of 94,285. The ...

has both the Highland Arts Theatre performing arts centre in Sydney, and the Savoy Theatre, long considered a cultural centre for Cape Breton Island, located in

Glace Bay Glace Bay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Glasbaidh'') is a community in the eastern part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It forms part of the general area referred to as Industrial Cape Breton. Formerly an incorporated ...

. *

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

has Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre, and Theatre Antigonish

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

. *

Parrsboro Parrsboro is a community located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. A regional service centre for southern Cumberland County, the community is also known for its port on the Minas Basin, the Ship's Company Theatre productions, and t ...

has

Ship's Company Theatre The Ship's Company Theatre is a professional theatre company based in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. Founded in 1984 by Michael Fuller and Mary Vingoe, the Ship's Company Theatre features productions of Canadian works, with an emphasis on new works fro ...

. *

Wolfville Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The tow ...

was home to the

Atlantic Theatre Festival The Atlantic Theatre Festival (ATF) was a professional theatre company located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Theatre Festival presented a "broad range of critically acclaimed theatre classics" during the summer in Wolfville's Festival The ...

.

Newfoundland and Labrador

* St. John's has the RCA (Resource Centre for the Arts), an artist-run company that is based at the LSPU Hall. It also has the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre, with a 1,000 seat main theatre. * Clarenville, Newfoundland is the home to The New Curtain Theatre Company, which operates as a year-round professional theatre based out of The Loft Theatre at the White Hills Ski Resort in Clarenville (2 hours west of St. John's). * Cupids, Newfoundland is home to The New World Theatre Project, which aims to do work from and inspired by the year 1610, when Cupids was settled as Canada's first English colony. *

Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador Stephenville (Canada 2021 Census population 6540) is a town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland. The town functions as a local service centre for the southwestern part of the island, serving a dir ...

, on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland, features the annual Stephenville Theatre Festival, a summer festival that began in the mid-1970s. * In Corner Brook, the

Grenfell Campus Grenfell Campus, formerly Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, is a campus of the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). It is located in the city of Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The campus has approximately 1,300 students enroll ...

of Memorial University offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre, with productions staged every semester.

Summer Festivals

Major summer theatre festivals include: * 4th Line Theatre based in Millbrook, Ontario, Ontario. * Gabriola Theatre Festival (

Gabriola Island Gabriola Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia (BC), Canada. It is about east of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, to which it is linked by a 20-minute ferry service. It has a land area of about and a res ...

, British Columbia) *

Bard on the Beach Bard on the Beach is Western Canada's largest professional Shakespeare festival. The theatre Festival runs annually from early June through September in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Festival is produced by Bard on the Beach Theatre Soc ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Festival, based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia. * The Blyth Festival Theatre, based in Blyth, Ontario * The

Stratford Festival of Canada The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

, based in Stratford, Ontario. * The

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a not-for-profit theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America. The Shaw Festival was founded in 1962. Originally, it only featured productio ...

, based in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. * The

Thousand Islands Playhouse The Thousand Islands Playhouse is a summer theatre company located in Gananoque, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1981 by Greg Wanless and a group of local actors and graduates from Queen's University including Timm Hughes, Joan Gardiner, Mo Bo ...

, based in

Gananoque Gananoque ( ) is a town in the Leeds and Grenville area of Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,383 year-round residents in the 2021 Canadian Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred to as "Islanders" because of the Tho ...

, Ontario. * The

Charlottetown Festival The Charlottetown Festival is a seasonal Canadian musical theatre festival which runs from late May to mid-October every year since 1965. Named after its host city Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and its Charlottetown Conference, since its inc ...

, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. * Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre, based in

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

, Nova Scotia. * Shakespeare by the Sea, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. * The

Magnetic North Theatre Festival The Magnetic North Theatre Festival is an annual festival celebrating theatre and related performing arts in Canada operated by the Canadian Theatre Festival Society in partnership with the National Arts Centre. The festival is held Ottawa ever ...

, based in Ottawa, Ontario and held annually, alternating between Ottawa and another Canadian city. * The Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan Festival in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

As of 2014, Canada had more fringe theatre festivals than any other country, forming a summer fringe circuit running from the St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe in June and heading westward to the

Vancouver Fringe Festival The Vancouver Fringe Festival is an annual alternative theatre festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada established in 1985. The event is organized and sponsored by the First Vancouver Theatrespace Society, a volunteer not-for-profit ...

in September. The circuit includes the two largest fringe festivals in North America, the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival and the

Edmonton International Fringe Festival The Edmonton International Fringe Festival is an annual arts festival held every August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Produced by the Fringe Theatre Adventures (FTA), it is the oldest and largest fringe theatre festival in North America (based on ...

. Other fringe theatre festivals include the Saskatoon Fringe Theatre Festival, the

Calgary Fringe Festival The Calgary Fringe Festival is an annual Fringe theatre festival in Calgary, Alberta. History The earliest Fringe-type drama festival in Calgary was the Plan B Festival, held in 2000 at a variety of locations in both Calgary's downtown and the ...

, the

London Fringe Theatre Festival (Ontario) The London Fringe Theatre Festival is a Canadian annual fringe theatre and related arts festival in London, Ontario. It is credited with triggering a resurgence in local playwriting and performance after the University of Western Ontario cancelled ...

, the

Toronto Fringe Festival The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival, featuring un-juried plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been ...

and the

Atlantic Fringe Festival The Halifax Fringe Festival, formerly known as the Atlantic Fringe Festival, is held annually in late August and early September in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Since 1991, the festival has been a showcase for non-mainstream theatre. A wide va ...

.

References

External links

Globalization Theory

ArtsAlive.ca, Théâtre Français

Playwrights Canada Press

Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia

The Canadian Theatre Record

L.W. Conolly Theatre Archives
at University of Guelph, Archival and Special Collections, which holds more than 150 archival collections related to Canadian theatre

* ttp://www.canadianshakespeares.ca/ The Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project {{North America topic, Theatre of * Canadian culture

Prominent playwrights, practitioners, and contributors

Early Canadian theatre

Plays

Events

Theatre of the 1950s

Plays

Theatre companies and groups

Theatre of the 1960s

Plays

Theatre companies and groups

Theatre of the 1970s

Plays

Theatre companies and groups

Events

Theatre of the 1980s and 1990s

Plays

Theatre companies and groups

Events

Theatre of the 2000s

Plays

Theatre companies and groups

Events

Western Canadian theatre

British Columbia

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Northwest Territories

Central Canadian theatre

Ontario

Quebec

Atlantic Canada

New Brunswick

Prince Edward Island

Nova Scotia

Newfoundland and Labrador

Summer Festivals

See also

References

Further reading

External links