Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
British Columbia
Also see article: History of Canadian Theatre .
Province of Western Canada with a population of 4,455,207 (Statistics Canada, 2009 estimated population) with a flourishing theatre scene.
As in the rest of Canada, it was amateurs who ruled the theatrical roost until the railroad linked the cities and towns of British Columbia to the other provinces, and enabled professional touring companies from the United States and England to come to the burgeoning cities. As soon as there was British Navy in the harbours (as early as 1853) there were the naval theatricals. But in British Columbia, particularly during the gold-rush, c. 1858 (which saw cities born, prosper and die in a period of a decade or so), organizations of amateurs turned out a huge amount of theatre which ranged from abysmal to very good. Moreover, amateurs were often seen shoring up professional touring companies which came to the goldrush towns from all over the world. By 1862 Victoria had the Dramatic Association. New Westminster had a like society, the Amateur Dramatic Club, by 1866. Many towns in the interior, too, saw societies formed to keep miners and loggers entertained - notably Nanaimo and Kamloops.
Dramatic Society production of Gilbert and
Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance (1885)
(Chad Evans. Frontier Theatre.
Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1983,
British Columbia Archives)
Though its first true theatre (as opposed to the top floor of a tavern where theatre might be presented) was a converted rolling-skating rink (Hart's Opera House), Vancouver saw a boom in the building of theatres. The Opera House (1891, demolished in 1969), the York (1912) and the Orpheum (1927, now home to the Vancouver Symphony).
Until the post WWII boom of made-in-Canada professional theatre, educational institutions and their teachers also presented plays and, indeed, helped create the future professionals from the province. Notable, here, is Frederic Wood at the University of British Columbia, founder of the Players Club. However, there were two companies in Vancouver which called themselves professional in the 40s and 50s: Everyman and Totem.
In 1963, the Vancouver Playhouse was born; in 1964, the Arts Club Theatre . Indigenous theatre was on the rise but truly exploded with the creation of the New Play Centre (now Playwrights Theatre Centre ) in 1970. Tamahnous Theatre , established in 1971, took theatre in BC into brave new directions.
When the Liberal government created the Local Initiatives Program/LIP, British Columbian theatre artists saw a good thing and there was a mini-boom in theatrical activity between 1972 and 1974. Citystage was one of the longest running of the LIP-grant companies. With the new companies came a demand for more theatrical space. Vancouver East Cultural Centre , refurbished from a church in 1973, answered the call. Other venues include the Vogue, Ford Centre for the Performing Arts, Chan Centre of the Performing Arts (attached to the University of British Columbia), Firehall Arts Centre and Waterfront Theatre.
Innovation and exploration into multi-media, deconstruction and performance art soon followed. One of the key companies in Vancouver which explores virtually all facets of performance is Rumble Productions .
In the capital of Victoria, Bastion Theatre responded to the more conservative tastes of the older population base, Belfry Theatre to those interested in a more adventurous theatre.
Important venues and companies elsewhere include the Massey Centre in New Westminster, Genesis Theatre in Ladner and the Surrey Arts Centre Theatre.
The theatres of British Columbia can be thanked for birthing the careers of several playwrights, Margaret Hollingsworth and George Ryga notable among them.
Other relevant articles in The Encyclopedia: Norman Browning , Canadian College of Performing Arts , Tom Cone , Caravan Farm Theatre , Green Thumb Theatre For Young People , Headlines Theatre , Glynis Leyshon , Mark Leiren-Young , Malcolm Page , Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage , Roy Surette , Touchstone Theatre
Readings: James Hoffman and Ginny Ratsoy, eds. Playing the Pacific Province: An Anthology of British Columbia Plays, 1967-2000. Toronto: Playwrights Canada P.; Eugene Benson and L.W. Conolly. English-Canadian Theatre. Toronto: Oxford UP, 1987
(Additional information provided by Chuck Davis and Colin Plant)
Last updated 2010-02-01
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The Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia web site was originally conceived and developed in 1996 by Gaetan Charlebois—theatre critic, playwright, and actor.
