Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Montreal Repertory Theatre
Bilingual institution in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1930 by Martha Allan as the Montreal Theatre Guild.
It is one of a handful of institutions at the source of a national theatre ( Compagnons de Saint-Laurent , and Hart House Theatre are others). Run as an amateur society, it trained actors through the classics of the repertory (both ancient and modern). Through its doors, and in avid participation in many Dominion Drama Festival , came some of the biggest names in the country including Yvette Brind'Amour, Janine Sutto , Denise Pelletier , Hume Cronyn , Gratien Gélinas , John Colicos , Jean-Louis Roux , Herbert Whittaker and Christopher Plummer .
In 1942 the company acquired a tiny theatre that was destroyed by fire in 1952. In 1956 the company turned professional, but disbanded under the weight of an accumulated debt in 1961.
An archival collection on this subject is available at the Toronto Reference Library.
Last updated 2006-11-17
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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.
