Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is 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 ...

. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant,

Kim Renders Kim Renders (January 14, 1955 – July 17, 2018) was a Canadian writer, director, actor and designer and a founding member of Nightwood Theatre, the oldest professional feminist theatre company in Canada. Early life Renders was born in Toronto ...

, Mary Vingoe, and

Maureen White Patricia Maureen White, more commonly known as Maureen White, is a specialist in international humanitarian affairs and a fundraiser for the American Democratic Party. She is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins School ...

and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' original intention, Nightwood Theatre has become known for producing

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

works. Some of Nightwood's most famous productions include '' This is For You, Anna'' (1983) and '' Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)'' (1988). Nightwood hosts several annual events including FemCab, the Hysteria Festival, and Groundswell Festival which features readings from participants of Nightwood's Write from the Hip playwright development program.

Company history

Nightwood Theatre was launched in 1979 by co-founders Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe and Maureen White. The name Nightwood was inspired by

Djuna Barnes Djuna Barnes (, June 12, 1892 – June 18, 1982) was an American artist, illustrator, journalist, and writer who is perhaps best known for her novel ''Nightwood'' (1936), a cult classic of lesbian fiction and an important work of modernist litera ...

’ novel ''

Nightwood ''Nightwood'' is a 1936 novel by American author Djuna Barnes that was first published by publishing house Faber and Faber. It is one of the early prominent novels to portray explicit homosexuality between women, and as such can be considered ...

.'' Nightwood was originally intended to be a collective. The company was not originally intended to be a feminist theatre company, but became so by reputation. Nightwood Theatre is part of what Denis Johnston refers to as the "third-wave" of small theatres in Toronto, encapsulating companies which emerged from the late 1970s to the early 1980s during the end of

second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades. It took place throughout the Western world, and aimed to increase equality for women by building on previous feminist gains. Wh ...

. In the beginning, Nightwood focussed largely on collective creations. Their first production in 1979, ''The True Story of Ida Johnson'', was adapted from the novel by

Sharon Riis Sharon Riis (1947 - May 20, 2016) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer and screenwriter.

, and is described as "an innovative mixed-media performance". Grant, who had worked in an editing group at the Women's Press to publish the novel, organized a dramatic reading of ''The True Story of Ida Johnson'' in 1977 and there was a workshop production in 1978 featuring Renders, Vingoe and White in addition to Grant herself. The official Nightwood production opened in September 1979. In 1979, Nightwood, along with

Buddies in Bad Times Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical ex ...

, launched the

Rhubarb! Festival Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical ex ...

, originally intended to be a festival of new Canadian works. Nightwood co-presented the 1980, 1981, and 1982 Rhubarb! Festivals until Rhubarb! became a strictly Buddies in Bad Times production in 1983. The founding artistic director of Buddies in Bad Times,

Sky Gilbert Schuyler Lee (Sky) Gilbert Jr. (born December 20, 1952) is a Canadian writer, actor, academic and drag performer. Born in Norwich, Connecticut, he studied theatre at York University in Toronto, Ontario, and at the University of Toronto, before be ...

, found that Nightwood's involvement in Rhubarb! shifted the emphasis of the festival towards conceptual pieces and away from scripts. Nightwood did not develop a formal administrative structure until the 1982, when a small board of directors was formed. It was around this time that the company began consistently referring to, if albeit informally, Cynthia Grant as Nightwood's artistic director. Until this point, Nightwood's founding four members, Grant, Renders, Vingoe, and White, shared leadership roles and frequently interchanged titles and responsibilities. As part of their 1982–83 season, Nightwood produced the inaugural FemCab, or "Five Minute Feminist Cabaret" on March 8, 1983 at the Horseshoe Tavern. Early FemCab participants included

Ann-Marie MacDonald Ann-Marie MacDonald (born October 29, 1958) is a Canadian playwright, author, actress, and broadcast host who lives in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. MacDonald is the daughter of a member of Canada's military; she was born at an air force base near ...

The Clichettes The Clichettes were an all-women feminist performance art group formed in Toronto, Canada in 1977. Their practice is notable for injecting humour and theatricality into the sphere of performance art. The three performers initially worked using lip s ...

Holly Cole Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio. Background Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a noted radio broadcaster ...

, and Meryn Caddell. FemCab was originally produced with Women's Cultural Building, a Toronto-based women's collective who looked to establish a building for women's groups, but, in 1990, it became an annual fundraising event solely for Nightwood. FemCab was briefly suspended for two years from 1995 to 1996. Initially, Grant, Renders, Vingoe, and White tried to avoid Nightwood being labelled "women's theatre" but were labelled as such by the press. In a 1984

grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

application, Mary Vingoe implicitly identified Nightwood Theatre with the

feminist movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality b ...

by stating that Nightwood's 1984–85 season was designed around and to address the issues raised in Rina Fraticelli's report on the status of women in Canadian theatre. In the same funding application, Vingoe noted that Nightwood's work dealt with "the concerns of the women's community" among other issues. Nightwood did not, however, explicitly define themselves as feminist theatre or use the words 'feminist' or 'feminism' in official self-description until much later. Work on the collective creation, '' This is for You, Anna,'' began in 1983. The play was created by a group of artists, many of whom had worked with Nightwood before, who called themselves the Anna Collective. The collective consisted of Suzanne Khuri, Ann-Marie MacDonald,

Baņuta Rubess Baņuta Rubess (born 1956) is a Canadian theatre director, playwright, and professor. She co-wrote '' This is For You, Anna'' as a member of the Anna Project. Rubess was a co-recipient of the 1988 Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award for childr ...

Aida Jordão Aida Jordão is a Portuguese-Canadian playwright, theatre director, and academic. She is a co-founder of the feminist theatre group, Company of Sirens, and she co-created '' This is For You, Anna'', a germinal Canadian feminist theatre play. Ea ...

, Patricia Nichol, and Nightwood co-founder Maureen White. ''This is for You, Anna'' was inspired by the story of

Marianne Bachmeier Marianne Bachmeier (3 June 1950 – 17 September 1996) became famous in Germany after she shot and killed the murderer of her daughter in an act of vigilantism in the hall of the District Court of Lübeck in 1981. Youth and family Bachmeier grew ...

, a woman who shot the man accused of killing her daughter, and premiered as part of Nightwood's 1985–86 season. In 1985, Grant and several other founding members left Nightwood. The same year, Vingoe was appointed Nightwood's 'artistic coordinator', fulfilling the same responsibilities of an artistic director. Vingoe said the change in title was to "allow[] more 'collective' input on major decisions". White took over this position in 1987. In 1988, Kate Lushington became artistic coordinator and Lynda Hill became associate artistic coordinator. In 1990, Lushington reverted the title of Artistic Coordinator to artistic director. Nightwood Theatre's breakthrough play was Ann-Marie MacDonald's '' Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)''. The play premiered with Nightwood in 1988 as directed by Baņuta Rubess and was remounted in 1990. The play was the winner of Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award and

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

, and the production as a whole was nominated for several Dora Mavor Moore awards. In 1991, Diane Roberts was appointed associate artistic director. Then in 1993,

Alisa Palmer Alisa Palmer is a Canadian theatre director and playwright. She was the artistic director of Nightwood Theatre from 1993 to 2001. Palmer is currently the artistic director of the English section of the National Theatre School of Canada. Early l ...

and

Diane Roberts Diane Roberts is an American author, columnist, essayist, radio commentator, reviewer and professor. She is the author of three books and a documentary-maker for the BBC. Career Roberts has been a commentator for NPR since 1993,

were appointed co-artistic directors. Palmer was appointed the sole incoming artistic director in 1995.

Kelly Thornton Kelly Thornton (born 13 April 1997) is an Irish actress who began her career as a child actress. She is best known for her roles as Corrina Mallon in the 2015 RTÉ drama '' Clean Break'' and Emma in the film '' Life's a Breeze'' (2013), which ...

was appointed artistic director of Nightwood Theatre in 2001, the same year Nightwood launched their play development program, Write from the Hip. In 2002, Nightwood moved their offices from

the Theatre Centre The Theatre Centre is a performing arts organization and theatre venue in Toronto . It is nationally recognized as a live-arts incubator for the cultural sector in the city. It also provide meeting space for Toronto residents. The Theatre Centr ...

to the Toronto's Distilleries district, where they still are today. The next year, Nightwood launched Hysteria: A Festival of Women with Buddies in Bad Times. The Hysteria Festival was intended to be a semi-annual and

multi-disciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

showcase of North American female artists. The 2003 Hysteria Festival was ten days long and featured classes and workshops in addition to performances and staged readings. Nightwood Theatre held the Consent Event in 2017, coinciding with widespread conversations around the #MeToo movement following allegations of sexual abuse against Harvey Weinstein. The event featured the premieres of two plays and the Consent Event Symposium, a community conversation and workshop about consent. The plays premiered as part of the Consent Event were Rose Napoli's ''Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells)'', which Napoli developed when she was a participant in Write from the Hip, and Ellie Moon's documentary-play, ''Asking for It''. In early 2019, it was announced that

Andrea Donaldson Andrea Donaldson is a Canadian theatre director and dramaturge. She is the current artistic director of Nightwood Theatre and was formerly the program director of Nightwood's Write From the Hip program. Early life Donaldson attended the Claude ...

would be taking over Thornton's role of artistic director. Donaldson's first programmed season will be 2020–21, though she officially began transitioning into the new role in March 2019. Nightwood Theatre cancelled their performances of

Karen Hines Karen Hines is a Canadian actor, writer and director. She is the artistic director and producer of "Keep Frozen: Pochsy Productions." Born in Chicago, raised in Toronto, she now lives in Calgary where she was playwright in Residence at Alberta Th ...

' ''All the Little Animals I Have Eaten'' in keeping with Canada's guidelines surrounding the

COVID-19 outbreak The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Groundswell Festival

Nightwood Theatre's Groundswell Festival of new works began in the spring of 1986 and was originally timed to coincide with

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

. In 2011, Nightwood Theatre held two Groundswell Festivals, the latter of which was called The New Groundswell Festival. In a brochure published by Nightwood for the 2011 New Groundswell Festival, they wrote that "Nightwood has re-envisioned and expanded Groundswell to be A National Festival of Contemporary Women's Theatre." Since the second Groundswell of 2011, the festival has operated under the new name. The Groundswell Festival takes up approximately one third of Nightwood Theatre's budget. Many plays which have premiered or been workshopped at Groundswell have gone on to be performed as part of Nightwood Theatre's main season.

Write from the Hip

Write from the Hip or WFTH, as it is sometimes called, is Nightwood's script development program for emerging playwrights and began in 2001. Originally, Write from the Hip culminated with playwrights writing 15-minute plays, but former artistic director Kelly Thornton felt that this format did not encourage the participation of playwrights who were committed to theatre. During these early years, Write from the Hip plays were performed by actors from Nightwood's Emerging Actors Program. In the beginning, Write from the Hip was aimed at playwrights aged 19 to 29, but it is now open to participants of any age who fit Nightwood's description of "emerging playwright". Write from the Hip pieces are now featured as readings as part of the Groundswell Festival. Andrea Donaldson was Write from the Hip program director from 2014 to 2019. Donna-Michell St. Bernard replaced Donaldson as the Write from the Hip program director for the 2019–20 season. The position has previously been held by Lisa Codrington and Anna Chatterton.

Artistic directors

* Cynthia Grant (founding artistic director, until 1985) * Mary Vingoe (1985–1987), as artistic coordinator *Maureen White (1987–1988), as artistic coordinator * Kate Lushington (1988–1993), as artistic coordinator (1988–1990) *

and Diane Roberts (1993–1995) * Alisa Palmer (1995–2001) * Kelly Thornton (2001–2019) * Andrea Donaldson (2019''–''pres.)

Select performance history

*''The True Story of Ida Johnson—'' a collaborative adaptation of the novel by

Sharon Riis Sharon Riis (1947 - May 20, 2016) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer and screenwriter.

(1979) *''The Yellow Wallpaper'' ''—'' adapted from Charlotte Perkins Gilman's story ''

The Yellow Wallpaper "The Yellow Wallpaper" (original title: "The Yellow Wall-paper. A Story") is a short story by American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in January 1892 in '' The New England Magazine''. It is regarded as an important early work ...

'' (1980-81 season) * ''Antigone'' ''—'' adapted from

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 ...

Greek tragedy Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & Roma ...

'' by Patricia Keeney-Smith (1982-83 season) * ''Pope Joan —'' written by

, directed by Cynthia Grant, finalist for the

Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award The Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award was a Canadian literary award given to Canadian plays produced by any professional Canadian theatre company, and having performances in the Toronto area. The prize had a monetary value of $25,000, and wa ...

(1983-84 season) * ''Love and Work Enough – "A Celebration of Ontario's Pioneer Women" —'' won

Dora Mavor Moore Award 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 and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped estab ...

for Best Production in children's category (1983-84 season) * ''La Musica – "an interlude in divorce"'' ''—'' written by

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

(1983-84 season) * ''Re-production'' ''—'' written by

Amanda Hale Amanda Hale (born 2 October 1982) is a British actress. Early life Hale is one of four children born to Irish immigrant parents in northwest London. Her cousin is scientist Martin Glennie. She had been due to go to Oxford University to study ...

(1984-85 season) * ''The Edge of the Earth is Too Near, Violette Leduc'' ''—'' written by

Jovette Marchessault Jovette Marchessault () (February 9, 1938 – December 31, 2012)

(1984-85 season) * '' This is For You, Anna —'' created by Suzanne Khuri, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Baņuta Rubess, Maureen White, Aida Jordao and Patricia Nichol (1985-86 season) *''My Boyfriend's Back and There's Gonna Be Laundry'' ''—'' written and performed by Sandra Shamas (1986-87 season) *''Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) —'' written by Ann-Marie MacDonald, winner of Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award and

, nominated for Dora Mavor Moore awards (1987-88 season, later toured as part of 1989–90 season)MacArthur, Laura Michelle (2014)
"Re-viewing Reception: Criticism of Feminist Theatre in Montreal and Toronto, 1976 to Present" (PDF)
''library.utoronto.ca''.

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. p. 187. *''Princess Pocahontas and the Blue Spots'' ''—'' written by

Monique Mojica Monique Mojica ( Kuna and Rappahannock) is a playwright, director, and actor based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was born in New York City, but came to Canada as founding member of Native Earth Performing Arts. She has appeared in several ...

(1989-90 season) *''A Fertile Imagination'' ''—'' written by

Susan G. Cole Susan G. Cole (born February 9, 1952) is a Canadian feminist author, activist, editor, speaker and playwright. She has spoken out on a number of issues, including free speech, pornography, race and religion. As a lesbian activist and mother, sh ...

, directed by Kate Lushington (1990-91 season) *''dark diaspora . . . in DUB'' ''—'' written by

Ahdri Zhina Mandiela Ahdri Zhina Mandiela (born May 10, 1953) is a Toronto-based dub poet, theatre producer, and artistic director. She has gained worldwide acclaim for her books, music recordings, film, theatre and dance productions.

, directed by Mandiela and

Djanet Sears Djanet Sears is a Canadian playwright, actor and director, nationally recognized for her work in African-Canadian theatre. Sears has many credits in writing and editing highly acclaimed dramas such as ''Afrika Solo'', the first stage play to be wr ...

(1990-91 season) *''The Wonder Quartet —'' written by

Diana Braithwaite Diana Braithwaite is a Canadian electric blues singer, songwriter and screenwriter. She is a multiple Maple Blues Awards, Maple Blues Award winner. More recently she has teamed up with Chris Whiteley and they have been acclaimed as "blues icons" ...

(1991-92 season) *''Love and Other Strange Things'' ''—'' written by Lilian Allen (1992-93 season) *''Oedipus'' ''—'' written by

Ned Dickens Ned Dickens (born 1959 in British Columbia) is a Canadian playwright. He authored 16 plays, including the ''City of Wine'' series, a seven-play cycle which "traces the rise and fall of the ancient city of Thebes, from its founding by Cadmus and Ha ...

(1993-94 season) *''Wearing the Bone'' ''—'' written by Alisa Palmer (1993-94 season) *''

Harlem Duet ''Harlem Duet'' is a 1997 dramatic play by Canadian playwright Djanet Sears. Billie, a young graduate student in Harlem, deals with her husband Othello leaving her for a white woman named Mona. The play moves through time to show Billie and O ...

'' ''—'' written and directed by Djanet Sears (1996-97 season) *''The Striker'' ''—'' written by

Caryl Churchill Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes.

, workshop production (1997-98 season) *''Random Acts'' ''—'' written by

Diane Flacks Diane Flacks is a Canadian comedic actress, screenwriter and playwright. Early life and education Flacks was raised in the Jewish faith. Her early education took place in Jewish parochial schools. Flacks studied drama at Leah Posluns Institu ...

(1997-98 season, followed by tour) *''

One Flea Spare ''One Flea Spare'', by Naomi Wallace, is a play set in plague-ravaged 17th Century London. Synopsis A wealthy couple is preparing to flee their home when a mysterious sailor and a young girl appear sneaking into their boarded up house. Now, qu ...

—'' written by

Naomi Wallace Naomi Wallace (born 1960) is an American playwright, screenwriter and poet from Kentucky. She is widely known for her plays, and has received several distinguished awards for her work. Biography Naomi Wallace was born in Prospect, Kentucky, to ...

(1998-99 season) *''Smudge'' ''—'' written by

Alex Bulmer Alex Bulmer is a Canadian playwright and theatre artist. Bulmer is the co-founder of the theatre companies SNIFF Inc. and Invisible Flash. She wrote the play ''Smudge'' and was a writer for the 2009 Channel 4 series ''Cast Offs''. Early life and ...

(1999-2000 season, followed by tour) *''Anything That Moves —'' written by Ann-Marie MacDonald (lyrics and book), Alisa Palmer (book), and Allen Cole (music) (1999-2000 and 2000–01 seasons) *''

The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God ''The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God'' is a drama written and produced by Canadian playwright Djanet Sears. The production ran from October 2003-March 2004, co-produced by Obsidian Theatre and Nightwood Theatre, and was reprised in 20 ...

'' ''—'' written and directed by Djanet Sears (2001-02 season) *''The Danish Play'' ''—'' written by Sonja Mills (2002-03 season, 2004-05 tours as far as Denmark, remounted at Nightwood for 2006–07 season) *''Cast Iron —'' written by

Lisa Codrington Lisa Codrington is a Canadian character actress and playwright. She is most noted for her role as Gail on the comedy series ''Letterkenny'' and her theatrical plays ''Cast Iron'', which was a nominee for the Governor General's Award for English-la ...

(2004-05 season) *''Mathilde'' ''—'' written by

Véronique Olmi Véronique Olmi (born 1962) is a French playwright and novelist. She won the Prix Alain-Fournier emerging artist award for her 2001 novella '' Bord de Mer''. It has since been translated into several European languages. Olmi has published a doze ...

and translated by

Morwyn Brebner Morwyn Brebner is a Wales, Welsh playwright, television writer and producer,"Brebner, Morwyn"< ...

(2005-06 season) *''Bear With Me'' ''—'' written by and starring Diane Flack (2005-06 season, remounted for 2008–09 season) *'' Crave —'' written by

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological� ...

(2006-07 season) *''Age of Arousal —'' written by

Linda Griffiths Linda Pauline Griffiths (7 October 1953 – 21 September 2014) was a Canadian actress and playwright best known for writing and starring in the one woman play ''Maggie and Pierre'', in which she portrayed both Pierre Trudeau and his then-estran ...

(2007-08 season) *''Wild Dogs'' ''—'' written for the stage by Anne Hardcastle, adapted from the novel by

Helen Humphreys Helen Humphreys (born March 29, 1961) is a Canadian poet and novelist. Personal life Humphreys was born in Kingston-on-Thames, England. Her brother Martin and sister Cathy were born after the family moved to Canada. She now lives in Kingsto ...

(2008-09 season) *''

Yellowman Winston Foster , better known by the stage name Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, also known as King Yellowman. He first became popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, rising to prominence with a series of singles that established ...

'' ''—'' written by

Dael Orlandersmith Dael Orlandersmith (born Donna Brown, 1960–) is an American actress, poet and playwright. She is known for her Obie Award-winning ''Beauty's Daughter'' and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama, ''Yellowman (play), Yellowman''. Early life Or ...

(2009-10 season) *''That Face'' ''—'' written by

Polly Stenham Polly Stenham (born 16 July 1986) is an English playwright known for her play ''That Face'', which she wrote when she was 19 years old. Background Stenham was born and raised in London. She attributes her love of theatre to her father as he to ...

(2009-10 season) * ''Ruined'' ''—'' written by

Lynn Nottage Lynn Nottage (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are Black. She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for he ...

and directed by

Philip Akin Philip Akin (born April 18, 1950) is a Canadian actor. Akin has had roles in major American films such as '' The Sum of All Fears'', ''S.W.A.T.'', and '' Get Rich or Die Tryin. He has also done much voice work, including voicing the character ...

(2010-11 season) *''The List'' ''—'' written by Jennifer Tremblay and translated by

Shelley Tepperman Shelley Tepperman is a Quebec-based Canadian writer and translator. She has been nominated for the Governor General's Award for French to English translation multiple times. Early life and education Tepperman was born in Toronto. She has a BA i ...

(2010-11 season) *''Stockholm'' ''—'' written by

Bryony Lavery Bryony Lavery (born 1947) is a British dramatist, known for her successful and award-winning 1998 play '' Frozen''. In addition to her work in theatre, she has also written for television and radio. She has written books including the biography ...

(2011-12 season) *''

The Penelopiad ''The Penelopiad'' is a novella by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It was published in 2005 as part of the first set of books in the ''Canongate Myth Series'' where contemporary authors rewrite ancient myths. In ''The Penelopiad'', Penelope remi ...

'' ''—'' written by

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

(2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons) *''The Carousel —'' written by Jennifer Tremblay and translated by Shelley Tepperman (2013-14 season) *''Free Outgoing'' ''—'' written by

Anupama Chandrasekhar Anupama Chandrasekhar is an Indian playwright born and based in Chennai. She is best known for her play ''The Father and the Assassin'', which earned her a nomination for the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for Best Play and was a finalist for ...

(2013-14 season) *''Nirbhaya'' ''—'' written and directed by

Yaël Farber Yaël Farber is a South African director and playwright. Early life Farber was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1971. Books ''Molora'' was published by Oberon Books in 2008 . Genre drama. Farber wrote the book as an Ancient Greek type ...

(2015-16 season) *''The Public Servant'' ''—'' written by

Jennifer Brewin Jennifer Brewin is a Canadian writer, director, and artistic director. She is known for co-creating ''The Attic, the Pearls and Three Fine Girls'' and her other work with Common Boots Theatre, formerly known as Theatre Columbus and the Caravan F ...

Haley McGee Haley McGee is a Canadian actress, writer and comedian based in London. McGee is best known for her role as Dorothy Skerritt, the personal assistant to Nikola Tesla in the '' Doctor Who'' episode ''Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror''. She is also kno ...

, Sarah McVie and Amy Rutherford (2015-16 season) *''Refuge'' ''—'' written by Mary Vingoe (2015-16 season) * ''Quiver —'' written and performed by

Anna Chatterton Anna Chatterton is a Canadian playwright,"Chatterton, Anna"
''Canadian Theatre Encyclo ...

(2016-17 season) * '' Mouthpiece —'' created and performed by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava (2016-17 season, re-mounted for 2017/18 season) * ''Unholy'' ''—'' written and performed by Diane Flacks (2016-17 season, re-staged for 2018–19 season) * ''Asking For It'' ''—'' written by Ellie Moon (2017-18 season) *''Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells'') ''—'' written by Rose Napoli (2017-18 season) * ''7th Cousins —'' written and performed by Christine Brubaker and Erin Brubacher (2017-18 season) * ''Inner Elder'' ''—'' written by

Michelle Thrush Michelle Thrush (born February 6, 1967) is a Canadian actress and First Nations activist for Aboriginal Canadians and the other Indigenous peoples of the Americas. She is best known for her leading role as Gail Stoney in '' Blackstone'', for which ...

(2018-19 season) * ''School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play'' ''—'' written by

Jocelyn Bioh Jocelyn Bioh is a Ghanaian-American writer, playwright and actor. She graduated from Ohio State University with a BA in English and Theater and got her master's degree in Playwriting from Columbia University. Jocelyn's Broadway credits include ...

(2018-19 season) *''All the Little Animals I Have Eaten'' ''—'' written and directed by

(2019-20 season, cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

)

Notable performers

Megan Follows Megan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows (born March 14, 1968) is a Canadian-American actress and director. She is known for her role as Anne Shirley in the 1985 Canadian television miniseries ''Anne of Green Gables'' and its two sequels. From 2013 t ...

- nominated for Dora Mavor Moore Award for Featured Male Performance for performance in ''The Edge of the Earth is Too Near, Violette Leduc'' *

Kate Hennig Kate Hennig is a Canadian actress and playwright, currently the associate artistic director of the Shaw Festival. Early life and education Hennig was born in Harlow, Ontario near London. Her father was a Lutheran minister. She and her family m ...

- won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role – Play (Large Theatre) in ''The Danish Play'' (2003) *

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 ...

References

External links

Nightwood Theatre website
{{Authority control Theatre companies in Toronto Women in theatre 1979 establishments in Ontario Feminist theatre Second-wave feminism