Shaw Festival Theatre
Ron Thom's 1973 flagship house for the Shaw Festival, seating 856 behind a cedar-lined proscenium
The Shaw Festival grew out of a 'Salute to Shaw' staged in 1962 by Brian Doherty and Calvin Rand in the courtroom of the Niagara District Court House. It is one of the largest repertory companies in North America and the only theatre in the world devoted to the work of George Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries, a remit later widened to take in plays written about or set in Shaw's lifetime, as well as musicals and new Canadian work.
The Festival Theatre on Queen's Parade is the company's main house. Ground was broken in April 1972 and the building was finished in fourteen months, opening in June 1973 to a design by the Vancouver-born modernist Ronald Thom. The 856-seat auditorium sits behind a proscenium arch and is lined in cedar; outside are gardens, a reflecting pool and a wisteria-covered terrace. The festival also plays at the Court House Theatre and the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre.
Highlights
- Cedar-lined 856-seat proscenium auditorium by Ronald Thom
- Gardens, reflecting pool and wisteria terrace around the building
- Repertory devoted to Shaw and his contemporaries
- Season running from April into late December, including a holiday show
