Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
City Stage
Lunchtime theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, founded in 1972 by Ray Michal and George Plawski. It disbanded in 1986 due to excessive rent demands by the owners of its venue.
Funded with a Local Initiatives Program Grant (LIP), it continued to operate after the grant was withdrawn (unlike many other theatre projects similarly launched). The Company's venue was a doughnut shop with 70-80 seats. Though the productions offered at the beginning were appropriately commercial, the City Stage evolved towards a combination of light and more difficult works. Among them were Peter Shaffer's Black Comedy, Joe Orton's Good and Faithful Servant, Harold Pinter's The Lover, and David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago, mostly directed by Michal. It also hosted Theatre Passe Muraille's production of Doukhobors and Frank Moher's Odd Jobs.
In 1976 City Stage moved to a 150-seat venue and presented theatre in the evening,. The venue became the home for Theatresports, and renamed Back Alley Theatre.
Source: Malcolm Page. Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre, eds Eugene Benson and L.W. Conolly. Toronto: Oxford U P, 1989.
Last updated 2018-03-01
Since October 2002, Athabasca University has hosted the web site, with an editorial board of theatre scholars from across Canada.
To submit an entry, please consult the guidelines for submissions.
Email your submission to: Anne Nothof, Professor Emerita, Athabasca University.
The Encyclopedia collects and disseminates information on plays, playwrights and theatre practitioners. It does not respond to requests for information, auditions, bookings, or tickets.
The Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia web site was originally conceived and developed in 1996 by Gaetan Charlebois—theatre critic, playwright, and actor.
