Canada's contemporary theatre reflects a rich diversity of regional and cultural identities. Since the late 1960s, there has been a concerted effort to develop the voice of the 'Canadian playwright', which is reflected in the nationally-focused programming of many of the country's theatres. Within this 'Canadian voice' are a plurality of perspectives - that of the First Nations, new immigrants, French Canadians, sexual minorities, etc. - and a multitude of theatre companies have been created to specifically service and support these voices.
Prominent playwrights, practitioners, and contributors
David Fennario
Herman Voaden
George F. Walker
Michel Tremblay
Dora Mavor Moore
Tomson Highway
Christopher Newton
Robert Lepage
Judith Thompson
Wajdi Mouawad
Daniel MacIvor
Daniel Brooks
Sky Gilbert
Paul Thompson (playwright)
John Hirsch
Morris Panych
Marie Clements
Yvette Nolan
Linda Griffiths
Ann-Marie MacDonald
Sharon Pollock
Daniel David Moses
Drew Hayden Taylor
Djanet Sears
Timothy Findley
James Reaney
Andrew Moodie
The Annapolis Basin in Nova Scotia served as the cradle for both French and English language theatre in Canada. Théâtre de Neptune was the first European theatre production in North America. The tradition of English theatre in Canada, also started at Annapolis Royal. The tradition at Fort Anne, Nova Scotia, was to produce a play in honour of the Prince of Wales' birthday. Prior to Paul Mascarene's productions, the Boston Gazette (4–11 June 1733) reported that George Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer was produced on Saturday, 20 January 1733 by the officers of the garrison to mark the Prince's birthday.
Paul Mascarene translated Molière's La Misanthrope and then staged at least two productions of the work during the winter of 1743-1744. The second performance on 20 January 1744 had also coincided with celebrations in the colony to mark the birthday of Frederick, Prince of Wales. The text of the first three acts is contained in the Mascarene papers, British Library. And four years after the Mascarene production, on 20 January 1748, Major Phillips and Captain Floyer also produced a play in honour of the Prince's birthday. Unfortunately, the Boston News Letter (3 March 1748) fails to indicate the title of the play. It does reveal, however, that the same play was staged a second time on 2 February 1748, at the request of Captain Winslow, after the colony received the news of Admiral Edward Hawke's success Second Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747), in October 1747.
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)
Antoine Foucher (1717-1801), of Terrebonne (father of Louis-Charles Foucher), was the owner of the first Francophone theatre in Canada. In 1774, with various British officers, he staged the first production of Molière 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.
Before 1825, the Hayes House Hotel on Dalhousie Square, Montreal, had a theatre that staged German Orchestras and held Viennese dances. After it burned it down, John Molson built the Theatre Royal in 1825, presenting Shakespeare and Restoration authors. It sat 1,000 guests and was also used for circuses and concerts. Edmund Kean and Charles Dickens both performed there before it was demolished in 1844 to make way for the Bonsecours Market. In the West, the GRAND theatre is build 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. She loathed amateur theatre, but her energies spearheaded the Canadian Little Theatre Movement at a time when live theatre in Montreal and across Canada was being threatened by the rapid expansion of the American-influenced movie theatre. She almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the development of the professional modern Canadian theatre scene.
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
Stratford Shakespeare Festival 1953 (Stratford), founded by Tom Patterson
Manitoba Theatre Centre 1958 (Winnipeg), founded by John Hirsch
Toronto Workshop Productions 1958 (Toronto), founded by George Luscombe
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 1960 (Montreal)
Shaw Festival 1962 (Niagara on the Lake)
Neptune Theatre (Halifax) 1963
Vancouver Playhouse 1963 (Vancouver)
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 1969 (Ottawa)
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 1973 Michel Tremblay
1837: Farmer’s Revolt 1974 Rick Salutin
The Donnellys Trilogy 1974-1975 James Reaney
Zastrozzi, The Master of Discipline 1977 George F. Walker
Waiting for the Parade 1977 John Murrell
Billy Bishop Goes to War 1978 John Gray
Balconville 1979 David Fenario
Theatre companies and groups
Factory Theatre 1970 (Toronto), founded by Ken Gass
Tarragon Theatre 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 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
Northern Light Theatre 1977 Scott Swan (Edmonton)
Catalyst Theatre 1977 (Edmonton)
Necessary Angel 1978 (Toronto), founded by Richard Rose
Buddies in Bad Times 1979 (Toronto, queer), founded by Sky Gilbert
Nightwood Theatre 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 1979 (Toronto, theatre for young audiences), founded by David S Craig and Robert Morgan
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, Tarragon Theatre, and the Great Canadian Theatre Company. Theatre Passe Muraille, 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.
The Cavan Blazers 1992 Robert Winslow
Tamara 1981 John Krizanc
Albertine en cinq temps 1984 Michel Tremblay
Doc 1984 Sharon Pollock
Drag Queens on Trial 1985 Sky Gilbert
Occupation of Heather Rose 1986 Wendy Lill
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Anne-Marie MacDonald
Polygraph 1988 Robert Lepage
Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing 1989 Thomson Highway
Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love 1989 Brad Fraser
Lion in the Streets 1990 Judith Thompson
Harlem Duet 1997 Djanet Sears
The Drawer Boy 1999 Michael Healey
Theatre companies and groups
4th Line Theatre (Millbrook, Ontario) 1992
Cirque du Soleil (Quebec) (early 1980s)
Windsor Feminist Theatre 1980 (Windsor)
Native Earth Performing Arts 1982 (Toronto)
Half the Sky Feminist Theatre 1982 (Hamilton)
DNA Theatre 1982 (Toronto)
Crow's Theatre 1982 (Toronto)
One Yellow Rabbit 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 1997 (Toronto)
The Electric Company Theatre 1996 (Vancouver)
Nightswimming 1995 (Toronto)
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.
Elizabeth Rex 2000 Timothy Findley
I, Claudia 2001 Kristen Thomson
Incendies 2003 Wajdi Mouawad
Half Life 2005 John Mighton
Cul-de-Sac 2005 Daniel MacIvor
blood.claat 2006 d'bi Young
The December Man 2007 Colleen Murphy
Palace of the End 2008 Judith Thompson
Pyaasa 2008 Anusree Roy
Where The Blood Mixes 2009 Kevin Loring
East of Berlin 2009 Hannah Moscovitch
Theatre companies and groups
Bluemouth Inc. 1998 (Toronto)
Project Porte Parole 1998 (Montreal)
2b theatre company 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)
Downstage 2004 (Calgary)
DaPoPo Theatre 2004 (Halifax)
Ecce Homo Theatre 2005 (Toronto)
Convergence Theatre 2006 (Toronto)
Why Not Theatre 2007 (Toronto)
Suburban Beast 2008 (Toronto)
Outside The March 2009 (Toronto)
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.
Northwest of Armstrong is the Caravan Farm Theatre, a professional outdoor theatre company.
Chemainus hosts the annual Chemainus Festival.
The heritage village of Fort Steele includes the Wild Horse Theatre, which produces a historic revue starring professional actors during the summer months.
Gabriola Island 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 is home to, among others, the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, the Vancouver Fringe Festival, the Arts Club Theatre Company, Touchstone Theatre, Carousel Theatre, Bard on the Beach, Theatre Under the Stars, the Metro Theatre, Studio 58, Pacific Theatre, and the Firehall Arts. Vancouver had also been home to the now-defunct Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, which had been Vancouver's oldest professional theatre company.
Victoria has a major regional theatre, the Belfry Theatre, as well as a professional company, Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre. Kaleidoscope is the resident Professional TYA company. Intrepid Theatre is a local alternative company and organizes both the Uno Festival and the Victoria Fringe Festival.
Calgary is home to Theatre Calgary, a mainstream regional theatre; Alberta Theatre Projects, a major centre for new play development in Canada; the Calgary Animated Objects Society; Vertigo Mystery Theatre; Theatre Junction a multidisciplinary collective directed by Mark Lawes and One Yellow Rabbit, a touring company. Calgary is also home for expert marionetteer, Ronnie Burkett. Calgary is the base of operations of Loose Moose Theatre, which performs improvisational theatre. Other companies, some of which specialize in new plays, include Sage Theatre, Downstage Theatre, Ground Zero Theatre, The Shakespeare Company and Lunchbox Theatre.
Edmonton is best known for the Edmonton International Fringe Festival, the first and largest fringe theatre festival in North America. The major live venue is the Citadel Theatre. The neighborhood of Old Strathcona contains the Theatre District, where Catalyst Theatre, Walterdale Playhouse, and the Varscona Theatre (home of several companies: Teatro la Quindicina, Shadow Theatre, Rapid Fire Theatre, Die-Nasty, 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, located one hour east of Calgary, is home to Rosebud Theatre, Alberta's only rural professional theatre.
Red Deer hosts the Scott Block Theatre.
Regina features Saskatchewan's only permanent arena theatre, the Globe Theatre.
Saskatoon is home to Saskatchewan's largest theatre, Persephone Theatre, as well as Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company, 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.
Winnipeg is the home of Le Cercle Molière (the oldest continuously running theatre company in Canada), the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre), the Pantages Playhouse, Fantasy Theatre for Children (Manitoba's oldest children's theatre), Merlyn Productions, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Rainbow Stage, Theatre Projects Manitoba, the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, and the Winnipeg Fringe Festival.
Yellowknife is home to the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, a small theatre with just over 300 seats.
Thunder Bay has Magnus Theatre, The Dr. S. Penny Petrone Centre for the Performing Arts, a regional professional theatre company.
Sudbury has the regional theatre companies Sudbury Theatre Centre and Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario.
Blyth is the home of the Blyth Festival Theatre and Centre for the Arts.
London is home to the Grand Theatre.
Stratford is best known for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is best known for the Shaw Festival.
Toronto 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), 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, Theatre Passe-Muraille, the Factory Theatre, Soulpepper Theatre Company, and Buddies in Bad Times. The Harbourfront Centre'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 in June, and SummerWorks in August. Important smaller companies include Native Earth, Nightwood Theatre, 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.
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, the Thousand Islands Playhouse features professional productions in two venues.
Ottawa is home to the multi-venue National Arts Centre and the smaller Great Canadian Theatre Company, and holds the Ottawa Fringe Festival. The Ottawa Little Theatre, founded in 1913, is the longest-running community theatre company in Canada.
In Windsor, the Windsor Light Music Theatre has been staging musicals, operettas and other theatre productions since 1948.
Brampton is home to the Rose Theatre Brampton.
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.
Montréal's theatre scene is split between French and English language theatre. The city is home to Le Festival TransAmériques, the Montreal Fringe Festival, the National Theatre School of Canada, the Centaur Theatre, Usine C, Le Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, and Canada's oldest professional Black theatre company, The Black Theatre Workshop.
Québec City is the home of Robert Lepage's company Ex Machina and Le Grand Théâtre de Québec
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.
Fredericton is host to The Playhouse, a gift to the people of New Brunswick by Lord Beaverbrook in 1964.
Theatre New Brunswick is a provincial theatre company.
Prince Edward Island
Charlottetown is home to the Charlottetown Festival and the Confederation Centre of the Arts, with its 1,100 seat mainstage theatre being one of Atlantic Canada's pre-eminent performing arts facilities.
Amongst Halifax's theatre producers are Neptune Theatre, Shakespeare by the Sea, 2b theatre company, 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 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.
Antigonish has Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre, and Theatre Antigonish Antigonish.
Parrsboro has Ship's Company Theatre.
Wolfville was home to the Atlantic Theatre Festival.
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, 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 of Memorial University offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre, with productions staged every semester.
Major summer theatre festivals include:
4th Line Theatre based in Millbrook, Ontario, Ontario.
Gabriola Theatre Festival (Gabriola Island, British Columbia)
Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Blyth Festival Theatre, based in Blyth, Ontario
The Stratford Festival of Canada, based in Stratford, Ontario.
The Shaw Festival, based in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
The Thousand Islands Playhouse, based in Gananoque, Ontario.
The Charlottetown Festival, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre, based in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Shakespeare by the Sea, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The Magnetic North Theatre Festival, based in Ottawa, Ontario and held annually, alternating between Ottawa and another Canadian city.
The Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan Festival in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
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 in September. The circuit includes the two largest fringe festivals in North America, the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival and the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. Other fringe theatre festivals include the Saskatoon Fringe Theatre Festival, the Calgary Fringe Festival, the London Fringe Theatre Festival (Ontario), the Toronto Fringe Festival and the Atlantic Fringe Festival.
