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The Company Theatre is a Toronto-based independent theatre company that produces provocative international plays with Canada's best actors.
The Company Theatre (TCT) was created in 2004 by Canadian actors Allan Hawco and Philip Riccio. [1] Their goal was to create a company that encouraged actors to use their natural human instincts to create the most powerful, viscerally exciting on-stage performances possible. Wanting to provide audiences with exciting, relatable and thought-provoking experiences, they focused on producing Canadian premieres of deeply human international stories. Today, TCT works with a mix of established and emerging actors from across the country, inspiring them to embrace their instincts in each performance to create radically live theatre. Sometimes provocative and often hard-hitting, TCT's shows stem from a place of curiosity and authenticity, free from choreographed and often limiting choices.
Their debut production, the Canadian premiere of A Whistle in the Dark , opened in 2005 to great critical acclaim. Helmed by Irish director Jason Byrne, who quickly became a regular face in TCT productions, the company's production of Tom Murphy's masterpiece was described by the National Post as “one of the best things ever seen in Canada.” The show was so successful that it was remounted it in 2007 in highly acclaimed runs at both LSPU Hall in Newfoundland and Toronto's Young Centre for the Performing Arts.
In 2010, TCT began a five-year partnership with Canadian Stage, [2] with five shows featured as part of the Toronto-based company's subscription series. The first play of the partnership was the 2011 original English translation of Lukas Bärfuss’ The Test , for which artistic director and performer Philip Riccio received a Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Play. [3] The second production, Australian playwright Andrew Bovell's Speaking in Tongues, saw the stage debut of acclaimed Australian-Canadian actor Helene Joy. [4] After a successful run in 2012, TCT re-mounted the show at the Belfry Theatre in Victoria, BC, in January 2013.
In 2014, co-Artistic Director and co-founder Allan Hawco returned to the stage after a five-year hiatus to perform in Amy Herzog's Belleville, [5] the third play in the partnership. He worked alongside TCT ensemble member Christine Horne, as well as newcomers Dalmar Abuzied and Marsha Regis.
TCT's 2015 interpretation of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, a co-production with Crow's Theatre, received a sold-out run. [6] In the same year, TCT and Canadian Stage closed their partnership with a production of Bruce Norris's Domesticated. The play starred Paul Gross and Martha Burns, alongside a cast of nine other actors, in what was TCT's largest ensemble production since 2008's Festen . Due to the popularity of the production, Domesticated ran for an extended, completely sold-out fifth week at the 244-seat Berkeley Street Theatre downstairs space.
With their Canadian Stage partnership complete, TCT returned to self producing in January 2017 with the Canadian premiere of Annie Baker's John. The production was directed by TCT ensemble member Jonathan Goad in his directorial debut, and starred Nancy Beatty, Nora McLellan, Philip Riccio, and Loretta Yu. John opened to immense critical acclaim, receiving top marks from the Globe and Mail , [7] Toronto Star , [8] [9] NOW Magazine [10] and various other publications. [11] [12] [13] [14]
TCT's most recent production, Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem, was co-produced with Toronto-based theatre company Outside The March. The Canadian premiere of the play starred Kim Coates ("Sons of Anarchy" and "Bad Blood") in his epic return to the stage after 27 years of working exclusively in film and television. [15] The 14-member cast marked TCT's largest production to date, and was composed of both TCT veterans and newcomers. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to the show, TCT extended their run of Jerusalem at the Streetcar Crowsnest for a fifth sold-out week, and went on to earn seven Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including Outstanding Production and the Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award.
Since their inception in 2004, TCT has produced a variety of development workshops for actors, writers, and directors. Some of their most successful sessions included a workshop exploration of Canadian playwright Ivana Shein's play The Lovers; a deep-dive into the work of Canadian poet Anne Carson, led by acclaimed Australian director Lindy Davies; and several in-depth explorations of the works of Anton Chekhov and Harold Pinter.
In an effort to share their unique rehearsal and performance process with more creators, in 2019, TCT piloted an emerging directors program. Four directors were selected to attend a week-long workshop run by esteemed directors who had previously worked with TCT. Throughout the workshop, participants had the opportunity to work with 15 professional actors, using TCT's unique working method to explore scenes. In its inaugural year, the program focused on providing opportunities for women directors, with plans to focus on other under-represented groups in subsequent years.
In the fall of 2020, the company introduced the Blueprint New Play Development Program to their roster of development opportunities. [16] Over the course of two years, selected playwrights have the opportunity to work closely with TCT writing mentors, preparing the first draft of their plays for a staged reading led by a professional director and featuring union performers.
In the summer of 2015, TCT was awarded a Strategic Initiatives grant from the Metcalf Foundation to aid in the creation of a digital theatre magazine. Having noticed the rapid decline of theatre coverage in Toronto and across Canada, the company came up with an online publication meant to empower and showcase artists across the country. In March 2016, TCT officially launched Intermission Magazine — an online platform for Canadian theatre artists and arts journalists to share their voices and help develop audience engagement. The site currently features articles, videos, photography and illustrations from over 300 Canadian theatre artists, ranging from high-profile interviews with some of Canada's most beloved actors to news pieces and artist perspectives from local writers. In its inaugural year, NOW Magazine named Intermission one of its “Bright Lights of 2016,” and Torontoist selected the company as one of their “Heroes of 2016.” [17]
| Year | Production | Playwright | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | A Whistle In the Dark | Tom Murphy | Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto |
| 2007 | Marion Bridge | Daniel MacIvor | Young Centre, Toronto |
| 2008 | Festen | Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov, Bo Hr. Hansen | Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto |
| 2010 | Through The Leaves | Franz Xaver Kroetz | Tarragon Theatre, Toronto |
| 2011 | The Test | Lukas Bärfuss | Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto |
| 2012 | Speaking In Tongues | Andrew Bovell | Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto |
| 2014 | Belleville | Amy Herzog | Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto |
| 2015 | The Seagull | Anton Chekhov | Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto |
| 2015 | Domesticated | Bruce Norris | Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto |
| 2017 | John | Annie Baker | Berkeley Street Upstairs Theatre, Toronto |
| 2018 | Jerusalem | Jez Butterworth | Crow's Theatre, Toronto |
| Year | Show | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | A Whistle in the Dark | 26th Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Independent Theatre) | Outstanding Production | The Company Theatre | Nominated [18] |
| Outstanding Performance - Male | Joseph Ziegler | ||||
| 2007 | Marion Bridge | 28th Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Independent Theatre) | Outstanding Performance by a Female | Sarah Dodd | Won [19] |
| 2009 | Festen | 30th Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Independent Theatre) | Outstanding Production | The Company Theatre | Nominated [20] |
| Outstanding Direction | John Byrne | ||||
| Outstanding Performance - Male | Philip Riccio | ||||
| 2011 | Through the Leaves | 32nd Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Independent Theatre) | Outstanding Production | The Company Theatre | Won [21] |
| Outstanding Direction | Philip Riccio | Nominated [22] | |||
| Outstanding Performance - Male | Nicholas Campbell | ||||
| Outstanding Performance | Maria Vacratsis | ||||
| Outstanding Scenic Design | John Thompson | Won [21] | |||
| 2012 | The Test | 2nd Toronto Theatre Critics Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Play | Philip Riccio | Won [23] |
| 2017 | John | Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Independent Theatre) | Outstanding Performance - Male | Philip Riccio | Nominated [24] |
| Outstanding Performance - Female | Nancy Beatty | ||||
| Outstanding Performance - Female | Nora McLellan | Won [25] | |||
| Outstanding Scenic Design | Shannon Lea Doyle | ||||
| Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards | Best Production of a Play | The Company Theatre | Won [26] | ||
| Best International Play | The Company Theatre | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress in a Play | Nora McLellan | ||||
| 2018 | Jerusalem | Dora Mavor Moore Awards (General Theatre) | Outstanding Production | The Company Theatre, Outside the March, and Starvox Entertainment | Won [27] |
| Outstanding Direction | Mitchell Cushman | ||||
| Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role | Kim Coates | ||||
| Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble | Jason Cadieux Nicholas Campbell Brenna Coates Shakura Dickson, Diana Donnelly Peter Fernandes, Christo Graham Daniel Kash Evan Kearns David Kohlsmith Katelyn McCulloch Philip Riccio Kieran Sequoia Michael Spencer-Davis | ||||
| Outstanding Scenic Design | Nick Blais | ||||
| Outstanding Lighting Design | André du Toit | ||||
| John Kaplan Audience Choice Award | The Company Theatre, Outside the March, and Starvox Entertainment | ||||
| Toronto Theatre Critics Awards | Best Design | Nick Blais (scenic), Lindsay Dagger Junkin (costume), André du Toit (lighting), and Richard Feren (music & sound) | Won [28] |
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A Whistle in the Dark is a play by Tom Murphy that premiered on September 11, 1961 at the Joan Littlewood's Theatre Royal, Stratford East, London, having been rejected by the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. It then went on to be a West End hit. Murphy was twenty-five years old at the time.
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