Culture in Toronto - Performing Arts

Performing Arts

Toronto is home to Canada's most active English language theatre scene; indeed, the Canadian actor, playwright and theatre critic David Gardner has claimed: "With over 168 nonprofit companies and a host of independent commercial enterprises, Toronto has emerged as the world's third-largest centre for English-language theatre, behind only London and New York."

Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre Company regularly stages classic works by Ibsen, Chekhov and Shakespeare, while the Canadian Stage Company has mounted performances of Shirley Valentine, Frankenstein and It's a Wonderful Life. Harold Green Jewish Theatre has staged such pieces as Kindertransport and Tuesdays with Morrie. Tarragon Theatre not only has performed pieces by Strindberg, Chekhov, etc., but has helped playwrights to develop and stage new works.

Several Broadway theatrical hits originated in Toronto, such as the 1993 revival of Show Boat and Ragtime. Venues for theatre include the historic Canon Theatre (formerly the "Pantages"), the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres, the Princess of Wales Theatre, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, the Poor Alex Theatre, and the Harbourfront Centre. Theatres such as The Factory Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille aim to produce distinctly Canadian theatre and have nurtured local artists including George F. Walker, Michael Healey and Ann-Marie MacDonald.

Other prominent venues include St Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Young People's Theatre, Imperial Oil Opera Theatre, and the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Musical venues in Toronto include Roy Thomson Hall, home to Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO); the Toronto Centre for the Arts in North York; Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, (previously the Hummingbird Centre) and Massey Hall. The Canadian Opera Company built Canada's first purpose-built opera house, the Four Seasons Centre, which opened in 2006. The National Ballet of Canada, which had previously appeared at the Sony Centre with the COC, also moved into the Four Seasons Centre at the same time. The city is also home to the renowned Toronto Children's Chorus.

As Canada's recording industry centre, Toronto is also home to many Canadian pop, rock, and hip hop musicians. Live music is centred primarily in the so-called Entertainment District on Queen Street West, though many music venues exist in other neighbourhoods. Established acts play at venues such as Lee's Palace, The Opera House, The Horseshoe Tavern, The Mod Club, The Phoenix Concert Theatre, The Guvernment and Kool Haus. Major concert tours usually book into larger venues such as Air Canada Centre, Sony Centre for the Arts, Rogers Centre and Molson Amphitheatre at Ontario Place.

The Toronto Music Garden, designed with Yo-Yo Ma as a consultant, also hosts free outdoor orchestras in the summer.

Toronto hosts the annual Toronto Student Film Festival. TSFF is a free submission film festival, that screens short films created by students 12-21. This festival attracts submissions from across the world.