Classical Theatre Project is a professional theatre company based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

that creates innovative productions of classic plays for a new generation of theatre fans. The company was founded in 2001 and focuses on producing the works of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. Since its creation, the CTP has played to more than 500,000 audience members across Canada and the U.S.

History

Classical Theatre Project was founded in 2001 by David Galpern and

Charles Roy Charles Eugene "Chip" Roy (born August 7, 1972) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's . A member of the Republican Party, Roy took office on January 3, 2019. Before his election to Congress, he s ...

. The company's first production was ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', staged at the Poor Alex Theatre in the Annex neighbourhood of

. The company began producing full seasons of plays and workshops in 2004. In 2007, Classical Theatre Project was nominated for two

Dora Mavor Moore Awards The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, Dance in Canada, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, ...

in the

Theatre for Young Audiences Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA), also youth theatre, theatre for children, and children's theatre is a branch of theatre arts that encompasses all forms of theatre that are attended by or created for younger audiences. It blankets many differen ...

category: ''Macbeth'' received a nomination for Outstanding Production and Jonathan Widdifield received a nomination for Outstanding Actor in ''

''. In 2006, the company moved into the Lower Ossington Theatre. The LOT was renovated in 2008 to house the company's first non-Shakespearean production, a Canadian adaptation of '' The Great Gatsby'', directed by David Rotenberg, a Canadian acting teacher and novelist. In January 2010, the company caused controversy when its U.S. production of ''

'' was considered too racy by some. The performance ultimately went on unchanged, while the incident provoked international discussion on the topic of cultural sensitivity and Shakespeare. CTP was nominated for an additional two Dora Awards in 2010 for director Will O'Hare's production of ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

'' in the categories of Outstanding Production and Outstanding Performance (Ensemble) in the Theatre for Young Audiences category. A year later, CTP was voted one of the ten best theatre production companies in Toronto b
BlogTO
In the fall of 2012, CTP launched its first U.S. tour of ''

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United St ...

''., which continued throughout 2013. Since April 2012, CTP has worked out of the

Toronto Centre for the Arts The Meridian Arts Centre is a performing arts venue in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened on October 16, 1993, as the North York Performing Arts Centre and was designed by Canadian architect Eberhard Zeidler for musica ...

, presenting various Shakespeare productions in its 1,700-seat Main Stage Theatre. In 2013, the company continued to produce outside the works of Shakespeare and, along with NuMusical Productions, brought an all-Canadian production of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'' to th
Panasonic Theatre
in Toronto. That same year, the CTP presented its acclaimed ''ShakesBeer'' a
Artscape Wychwood Barns
showing both ''The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)'' and ''Twelfth Night''. The company is currently co-producing a North American tour of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

''.

2013/2014 season

* ''

Romeo & Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'' - by

, directed by Charles Roy * ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' - by

, directed by Charles Roy * ''

'' - by

, originally directed by Will O'Hare * ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' - by

, directed by Charles Roy * ''The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)'', directed by Charles Roy * ''

A Farewell to Arms ''A Farewell to Arms'' is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant () in the am ...

'' - by

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

, directed by Charles Roy * ''

'' - by James Rado & Gerome Ragni, Music by

Galt MacDermot Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot (December 18, 1928 – December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song " African Waltz" in 1960. His most-successful musicals were ''Hai ...

, directed by Charles Roy

Past Productions

* ''

'' - based on the works of

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

, music by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

, directed by Dave Campbell (2013) * ''

'' - by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, directed by Charles Roy (2012/2013) * ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'' - by

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

, directed by Charles Roy (2009/2010) * '' The Great Gatsby'' - by F. Scott Fitzgerald, directed and adapted by David Rotenberg (2008/2009)

Notable alumni

Christine Horne Christine Horne (born December 14, 1981, in Aurora, Ontario) is a Canadian actress who co-starred with Ellen Burstyn in the movie ''The Stone Angel''. She received her BFA in Theatre at York University in 2004 and has since become an establish ...

, Canadian theatre and film actor
David Reale, Canadian theatre and film actor

Founders & Producers

Charles Roy co-founded CTP with David Galpern in 2001 and currently directs the majority of the plays for CTP. His productions have garnered Dora nominations and multiple U.S. tours. David Galpern has worked extensively in the entertainment industry as a producer, writer, actor, artistic director and fundraiser of both commercial and non-profit theatre companies.

External links

Official Website

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References

{{reflist Theatre companies in Toronto Shakespearean theatre companies in Canada