Tarragon Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto
, Canada
, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country. Located near Casa Loma
, the theatre was founded by Bill
and Jane Glassco in 1970. Bill
was the Artistic Director from 1971 to 1982. In 1982, Urjo Kareda took over as Artistic Director and remained in that role until his death in December 2001. Richard Rose was appointed Artistic Director in July 2002, and Camilla Holland was appointed General Manager in July 2006.
In 1987, Tarragon purchased and renovated the building that has been its home since 1971. There are two playing spaces: Mainspace (205 seats), The Extra Space (113 seats).
Tarragon is well known for its development, creation and encouragement of new work. Over 170 works have premiered at Tarragon. Playwrights who have premiered their work here include Morwyn Brebner, David French, Michael Healey
, Joan MacLeod, Morris Panych
, James Reaney
, Jason Sherman
and Judith Thompson
.
It has championed the work of Canadian playwrights David French, Michel Tremblay
, Judith Thompson
, Jason Sherman, Michael Healey
and others, as well as productions of plays by canonical playwrights such as Anton Chekhov
and August Strindberg
.
The theatre holds two performances venues, containing approximately 200 and 100 seats respectively. One of their rehearsal halls can also be used as a performance area, seating 60.
It remains one of the foremost organizations for producing new plays in Canada.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country. Located near Casa Loma
Casa Loma
Casa Loma is a Gothic Revival style house in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is now a museum and landmark. It was originally a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Casa Loma was constructed over a three-year period from 1911–1914. The architect of the mansion was E. J...
, the theatre was founded by Bill
Bill Glassco
William Grant Glassco, OC was a Canadian theatre director, producer and founder of Toronto's Tarragon Theatre....
and Jane Glassco in 1970. Bill
Bill Glassco
William Grant Glassco, OC was a Canadian theatre director, producer and founder of Toronto's Tarragon Theatre....
was the Artistic Director from 1971 to 1982. In 1982, Urjo Kareda took over as Artistic Director and remained in that role until his death in December 2001. Richard Rose was appointed Artistic Director in July 2002, and Camilla Holland was appointed General Manager in July 2006.
In 1987, Tarragon purchased and renovated the building that has been its home since 1971. There are two playing spaces: Mainspace (205 seats), The Extra Space (113 seats).
Tarragon is well known for its development, creation and encouragement of new work. Over 170 works have premiered at Tarragon. Playwrights who have premiered their work here include Morwyn Brebner, David French, Michael Healey
Michael Healey
Michael Healey is a Canadian playwright and actor. He graduated from the acting programme at Toronto's Ryerson Theatre School in 1985. His acting credits include the plays of Jason Sherman and George F...
, Joan MacLeod, Morris Panych
Morris Panych
Stephen Morris Panych is a Canadian playwright, director and actor.Morris Panych was born in Calgary and grew up in Edmonton. He studied at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and the University of British Columbia...
, James Reaney
James Reaney
James Crerar Reaney was an influential Canadian poet, playwright, librettist, and professor, "whose works transform small-town Ontario life into the realm of dream and symbol."...
, Jason Sherman
Jason Sherman
Jason Sherman is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter.After graduating from the creative writing program at York University in 1985, Sherman co-founded What Publishing with Kevin Connolly, which produced what, a literary magazine that he edited from 1985 to 1990...
and Judith Thompson
Judith Thompson
Judith Clare Thompson, OC is a Canadian playwright who lives in Toronto, Ontario. Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail once declared that "...in this country, a playwright as good as Judith Thompson is a miracle." She has twice been awarded the Governor General's Award for drama, and is the...
.
Background
The theatre is housed in a building originally designed for light industrial use - for instance, it was once a cribbage board factory.It has championed the work of Canadian playwrights David French, Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay, CQ is a Canadian novelist and playwright.Tremblay grew up in the Plateau Mont-Royal, a French-speaking neighbourhood of Montreal, at the time of his birth a neighbourhood with a working-class character and joual dialect, something that would heavily influence his work...
, Judith Thompson
Judith Thompson
Judith Clare Thompson, OC is a Canadian playwright who lives in Toronto, Ontario. Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail once declared that "...in this country, a playwright as good as Judith Thompson is a miracle." She has twice been awarded the Governor General's Award for drama, and is the...
, Jason Sherman, Michael Healey
Michael Healey
Michael Healey is a Canadian playwright and actor. He graduated from the acting programme at Toronto's Ryerson Theatre School in 1985. His acting credits include the plays of Jason Sherman and George F...
and others, as well as productions of plays by canonical playwrights such as Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
and August Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
.
The theatre holds two performances venues, containing approximately 200 and 100 seats respectively. One of their rehearsal halls can also be used as a performance area, seating 60.
It remains one of the foremost organizations for producing new plays in Canada.
Artistic Directors
- Bill GlasscoBill GlasscoWilliam Grant Glassco, OC was a Canadian theatre director, producer and founder of Toronto's Tarragon Theatre....
(1971–1982) - Urjo KaredaUrjo KaredaUrjo Kareda was a Canadian theatre and music critic, dramaturge and stage director....
(1982–2002) - Richard RoseRichard RoseRichard Rose was an American mystic, esoteric philosopher, author, poet, and investigator of paranormal phenomena...
(2002–present)
2008-2009 Season
- ScorchedScorched (play)Scorched is an English-language version of a 2005 play by Wajdi Mouawad . The play was translated into English by Linda Gaboriau.-Plot:...
- by Wajdi MouawadWajdi MouawadWajdi Mouawad, OC is a Canadian writer, actor and director born in Lebanon in 1968. After living in France for a short time, he moved to Quebec in 1983.- Biography :He obtained his diploma from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1991.... - The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic BulletsThe Black RiderThe Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets is a self-billed "musical fable" in the avant-garde tradition created through the collaboration of theatre director Robert Wilson, musician Tom Waits, and writer William S. Burroughs. Wilson was largely responsible for the design and direction....
- by Robert WilsonRobert Wilson (director)Robert Wilson is an American avant-garde stage director and playwright who has been called "[America]'s — or even the world's — foremost vanguard 'theater artist'". Over the course of his wide-ranging career, he has also worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video...
, Tom WaitsTom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, and William S. BurroughsWilliam S. BurroughsWilliam Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th... - Bashir Lazhar - by Evelyne de la Chenelière, translated by Morwyn Brebner
- Moliere - by Sabina BermanSabina BermanSabina Berman is a many faceted writer. Playwright, storyteller, essayist, film and theater director. She is recognized as the most prolific, original, and daring playwright of her generation in the Spanish language...
- East of Berlin - by Hannah MoscovitchHannah MoscovitchHannah Moscovitch is a Canadian playwright. She is best known for her plays East of Berlin, Essay, and The Russian Play.-Life and career:...
- Ubuntu - by The Ensemble
- The Patient Hour - by Kristen ThomsonKristen ThomsonKristen Thomson is a Canadian actress and playwright.Thomson was born in Toronto, Ontario. She is known for her one-woman play I, Claudia, which was adapted to film in 2004...
- Another Home Invasion - by Joan MacLeod
- A Beautiful View - by Daniel MacIvorDaniel MacIvorDaniel MacIvor is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director and film director. He was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia and educated at Dalhousie University in Halifax, and then at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario....
- House of Many Tongues - by Jonathan Garfinkel
External links
- Tarragon Theatre web site
- Tarragon Theatre at The Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...