Theatre of Canada
The contemporary theatre scene in Canada revolves around companies and summer festivals based at facilities in Canadian cities.
Western Canada
British Columbia
- 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 Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, the Vancouver Fringe Festival, the Arts Club Theatre Company, Carousel Theatre, Bard on the Beach, Theatre Under the Stars, the Metro Theatre, Studio 58, Pacific Theatre, and the Firehall Arts.
- Victoria has a major regional theatre, the Belfry Theatre, as well as a professional company, Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre. Intrepid Theatre is a local alternative company and organizes both the Uno Festival and the Victoria Fringe Festival.
Alberta
- 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.
Saskatchewan
- Regina features Saskatchewan's largest professional theatre and Canada's only permanent arena theatre, the Globe Theatre.
Manitoba
Central Canada
Ontario
- Toronto has a large and vibrant theatre scene, with many different companies, some producing large-scale Broadway-style productions (produced by companies like Mirvish Productions), and others producing 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, Buddies in Bad Times and Alumnae Theatre. Toronto has several theatre festivals during the year, including Summerworks and the Toronto Fringe Festival. Important smaller companies include Native Earth, Nightwood Theatre, Necessary Angel, Crow's Theatre, DNA Company, Lonely Cake and Volcano.
Quebec
Northwest Territories
- Yellowknife is home to the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, a small theatre with just over 300 seats.
Eastern Canada
New Brunswick
- Moncton has the restored Capitol Theatre, one of only eight theatres of the ca. 1922 Pantages/Vaudeville design in the nation.
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
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).
Summer Festivals
Major summer theatre festivals include:
- 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
Canada also has 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 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 Theatre Festival and the Atlantic Fringe Festival.
See also
External links
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