Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. As of 2021, Winnipeg had a city population of 749,607 and a metropolitan population of 834,678, making it Canada's sixth-largest city and eighth-largest metropolitan area.
Canada's contemporary theatre reflects a rich diversity of regional and cultural identities. Since the late 1960s, there has been a concerted effort to develop the voice of the 'Canadian playwright', which is reflected in the nationally focused programming of many of the country's theatres. Within this 'Canadian voice' are a plurality of perspectives - that of the First Nations, new immigrants, French Canadians, sexual minorities, etc. - and a multitude of theatre companies have been created to specifically service and support these voices.
Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In London, the fringe are small-scale theatres, many of them located above pubs, and the equivalent to New York's Off-Off-Broadway theatres and Europe's "free theatre" groups.
The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is an annual arts festival held every August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Produced by the Fringe Theatre, it is the oldest and largest fringe theatre festival in North America. The Edmonton Fringe is a founding member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals.
Canada Life Centre is an indoor arena in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The arena is the home of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.
Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country. It was founded in 1958 by John Hirsch and Tom Hendry as an amalgamation of the Winnipeg Little Theatre and Theatre 77. In 2010, the theatre received a royal designation from Queen Elizabeth II, and officially became the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.
Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE) is a professional theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is located on the third floor of Portage Place mall in downtown Winnipeg. By the end of the 2016–17 season, PTE had presented 340 plays on its thrust stage over its 44-year history, 149 of which were world premieres, to an annual average attendance of 35,000 people.
Rick McNair (1942–2007), was a Canadian basketball player and coach. He was the former Director of Theatre Calgary and the Manitoba Theatre Centre and the founder of the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, he died in Winnipeg, Manitoba on January 31, 2007.
The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival is a 14-day annual arts festival that takes place in Orlando, Florida, every May. The festival features 850 ticketed theatrical performances on indoor and outdoor stages, produced by local, national and international artists. It is an open access performing arts festival, meaning there is no selection committee, and anyone may participate, with any type of performance.
Fringe World, or Fringe World Festival, is an annual multi-arts fringe festival held in Perth, Western Australia during the city's summer festival season of January/February. The annual program of events features artists and acts from a range of styles including circus, cabaret, comedy, music, dance, theatre, film and visual art.
Theatre Projects Manitoba (TPM) is a professional theatre company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was founded in 1990 by playwright Harry Rintoul in response to the perceived need for a strong local professional company to provide opportunities for Manitoban artists and to put local stories on the stage. With close ties to the Manitoba Association of Playwrights (MAP) and a passionate faith in this region’s playwrights, TPM was established as the only professional company dedicated to producing the works of Manitoba playwrights. Since its creation TPM has produced more than 50 new Manitoba works, as well as presenting new work from across the country. Theatre Projects Manitoba is a member of PACT, the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres.
Harry Rintoul was a Canadian playwright and theatre director. He was best known for his 1990 play Brave Hearts, which was noted as one of the first significant gay-themed plays in Canadian theatre history to address gay themes in a rural setting outside of the traditional gay urban meccas of Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal.
Kelly Thornton is a Canadian theatre director and dramaturge. She has served as artistic director of Nightwood Theatre and is the current artistic director of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. Thornton was the co-head of Equity in Canadian Theatre: the Women’s Initiative.
Sarasvàti Productions, often stylized Sarasvati Productions, was a Canadian feminist theatre company. Sarasvati hosts several annual events including the International Women's Week Cabaret of Monologues, One Night Stand, and FemFest.
Audrey Dwyer is a Canadian writer, actor, and director. She is a former associate artistic director of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. She wrote the 2018 comedy, Calpurnia.
Hope McIntyre is a Canadian playwright, theatre creator, and professor. She was the founding artistic director of Sarasvati Productions and served as the company's artistic director until 2020.
Frances Koncan is an Saulteaux-Slovene journalist, theatre director, and playwright from Couchiching First Nation who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As of 2023, Koncan uses she/they pronouns.
Women of the Fur Trade is a play by written by Frances Koncan about the Métis-led Red River Resistance against European colonisers. It premiered in 2020.
Zahgidiwin/love is a 2016 play by Frances Koncan about the residential school system in Canada. It won the Harry Rintoul Award in 2016.
