The John W. H. Bassett Theatre is a multi-purpose theatre located in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada on Front Street, in the

Metro Toronto Convention Centre Metro Toronto Convention Centre (originally and still colloquially Metro Convention Centre, and sometimes MTCC), is a convention complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street West in the former Railway Lan ...

. The theatre is regularly used by the

CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned List of Canadian ...

for television shows such as ''

Canadian Idol ''Canadian Idol'' is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show '' Pop Idol''. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Do ...

'' and '' Canada's Got Talent.'' The 1,232 seat, multi-purpose theatre is a self-contained venue within the

's North Building. The adjacent rooms host pre-and post-performance receptions. The theatre also hosts corporate events, a number of nationally televised award shows, community events and national and international TV specials. The theatre was named for John W. H. Bassett, the founder of

Baton Broadcasting Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include national television ...

, the main predecessor of

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...

, parent of the

. Since 2003 the theatre has been regularly used by CTV for programs such as ''

'' and was used in December 2011 for the Toronto Canada's Got Talent auditions. During the late 1990s, Thúy Nga has used the theatre several times to produce, perform, and tape

Paris By Night ''Paris by Night'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PBN'') is a direct-to-video series featuring Vietnamese-language musical variety shows produced by Thúy Nga Productions. Hosted mainly by Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên, the ...

References

Theatres in Toronto Canadian Idol Railway Lands {{Ontario-struct-stub