The Neptune Theatre is the largest professional theatre company in
Atlantic Canada with a capacity of 458 and is located in
downtown Halifax,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
, Canada. It performs a mixture of new and classical plays. It is named after the play
Théâtre de Neptune, which was performed at
Port Royal, Nova Scotia as the first theatrical production in North America.
The Neptune was originally opened on the site of a former cinema in 1963 during
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
's drive to create regional theatres. Its first Artistic Director was
Leon Major, later to become the Artistic Director of
Boston Lyric Opera
Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) is an American opera company based in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1976. BLO is the largest and longest-lived opera company in New England. BLO employs nearly 350 artists and creative professionals annually—vocalist ...
and
Cleveland Opera. Its first President of the Board was local surgeon and CBC writer
Dr. Arthur L. Murphy. The building was renovated in 1997 and now has two theatres and incorporates a theatre school.
From April to July 2007, the theatre staged its longest running production ''
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...
''. The play was performed 127 times, breaking a record previously held by ''
Cats'' in 2004. ''Beauty and the Beast'' was directed by Ron Ulrich and starred Julie Martell as Belle and George Masswohl as the Beast. It also featured
Rejean Cournoyer, Martha Irving, and Hank Stinson.
The most successful play of the 2008/2009 season was the comedy ''Skin Flick''. This production marked the second time Neptune presented a mainstage play by Canada's most successful playwright,
Norm Foster, after the 2008 production ''The Love List''. The production was directed by
Walter Learning
Walter John Learning (November 16, 1938 – January 5, 2020) was a Canadian theatre director, actor, and founder of Theatre New Brunswick.
Biography
Walter Learning was born in 1938 in the small village of Quidi Vidi in the Dominion of Newfou ...
.
For their final production of 2009, Neptune Theatre produced the Canadian Premiere of the stage adaptation of the Disney sensation ''High School Musical'', directed by Canadian director/choreographer
David W. Connolly. Starring the three actors from the hit children's series ''
The Doodlebops
''The Doodlebops'' is a Canadian live action musical-comedy children's television series. It was produced by Cookie Jar Entertainment (now WildBrain) for CBC Television in Canada—although the series aired in the U.S., on Disney Channel's Pla ...
'', along with Aaron Kyte and Elena Juatco, the production premiered 17 April 2009 and broke several box office records for the theatre.
Artistic directors
*
Leon Major (founder, first artistic director, 1963–68)
* Heinar Piller (1969–1970)
* Robert Sherrin (1971–74)
* John Wood (1974–77)
* David Renton (1977–78)
*
John Neville (1978–83)
* Tom Kerr (1983–86)
*
Richard Ouzounian
Richard Ouzounian (born March 8, 1950) is a Canadian journalist and theatre artist. He was the chief theatre critic for the ''Toronto Star'' and the Canadian theatre correspondent for ''Variety''.
Early life, family and education
Ouzounian was b ...
(1986–89)
* Linda Moore (1990–2000)
* Ron Ulrich (2000–2008)
* George Pothitos (2008–2017)
* Jeremy Webb (2017–present)
"Jeremy Webb named Neptune Theatre's new artistic director "
/ref>
Further reading
*
)
References
External links
Official Site
{{authority control
Theatres in Nova Scotia
Theatre companies in Nova Scotia
Buildings and structures in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Culture of Halifax, Nova Scotia
Music venues in Halifax, Nova Scotia