Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Theatre-Club
Company in Montreal Quebec, founded in 1953 by Monique Lepage and Jacques Létourneau.
It opened with the work Beau Sang by Jules Roy, and went on to present the works of Henri Troyat, J.B. Priestley, de Musset, Racine, Shakespeare (their 1956 production of Nuit des rois/Twelfth Night was their first major success, seen by 25,000 people), and the premiere of Marcel Dubé's Le Barrage.
At first the company played all over the city, including in high school auditoriums, before performing for three seasons (1957-60) in a small 200-seat hall. They then performed at the Comédie-Canadienne. Theatre-Club was one of the first companies in Canada to present professional children's theatre.
Artists who worked there included Marcel Sabourin, Jacques Languirand, Robert Gadouas, and Jean-Claude Rinfret. Létourneau directed many of the Club's works.
Though the company began as an unsubsidized troupe, it did eventually receive grants. These, however, were cut in 1964 and the company went out of business a year later.
Profile by Gaetan Charlebois
Last updated 2021-03-15
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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.
