Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Royal MTC) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and

Shaw Shaw may refer to: Places Australia *Shaw, Queensland Canada *Shaw Street, a street in Toronto England *Shaw, Berkshire, a village *Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton *Shaw, Swindon, a List of United Kingdom ...

Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country. It was founded in 1958 by

John Hirsch John Stephen Hirsch, OC (; May 1, 1930 – August 1, 1989) was a Hungarian-Canadian theatre director. He was born in Siófok, Hungary to József and Ilona Hirsch, both of whom were murdered in the Holocaust along with his younger brother I ...

and

Tom Hendry Tom Hendry (1929 – 2 December 2012) was the co-founder of the Manitoba Theatre Centre in 1958 and, in 2008, the MTC Warehouse Theatre was officially dedicated to Hendry. Hendry was born in Manitoba. He attended the University of Manitoba in ...

as an amalgamation of the Winnipeg Little Theatre and Theatre 77. In 2010, the theatre received a royal designation from Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, and officially became the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. It has a seating capacity of 785 and opened on October 31, 1970.

History

When the Winnipeg Little Theatre and Theatre 77 merged to become the Manitoba Theatre Centre in 1958, it became the first of a network of "regional theatres" across North America. Artistic Director John Hirsch and General Manager Tom Hendry focused on classics, Broadway hits, and new Canadian work. A second stage for experimental work was established in 1960, and an annual provincial tour began in 1961. Since its founding, MTC has produced more than 600 plays with hundreds of actors, including

Len Cariou Leonard Joseph Cariou (; born September 30, 1939) is a Canadian actor and Theatre director, stage director, best known for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', for which he wo ...

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

Martha Henry Martha Kathleen Henry (née Buhs; February 17, 1938October 21, 2021) was an American-born Canadian stage, film, and television actress. She was noted for her work at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. Early life and training Martha ...

Judd Hirsch Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS series ...

Tom Hulce Thomas Edward Hulce (; born December 6, 1953) is an American actor and theater producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Academy Award-winning film ''Amadeus'' (1984), as well as the roles of Larry "Pinto" Kr ...

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. ...

Tom Jackson Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair lo ...

Seana McKenna Seana McKenna (born 15 August 1956) is a Canadian actress primarily associated with stage roles at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Background Seana McKenna was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is a graduate of the National Theatre Schoo ...

Eric Peterson Eric Neal Peterson (born October 2, 1946) is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian series – '' Street Legal'' (1987–1994), ''Corner Gas'' (2004–2009), and '' This is Wonderland'' ...

Gordon Pinsent Gordon Edward Pinsent (born July 12, 1930) is a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He is known for his roles in numerous productions, including ''Away from Her'', ''The Rowdyman'', ''John and the Missus'', ''A Gift to Last'', '' Due So ...

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

Fiona Reid Fiona Reid, CM (born 24 July 1951) is an English-born Canadian television, film, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles as Cathy on the TV series ''King of Kensington'' and Harriet Miller in the film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding''. E ...

R.H. Thomson Robert Holmes Thomson (born 1947), known as R. H. Thomson, is a Canadian television, film, and stage actor. With a career spanning five decades he remains a regular presence on Canadian movie screens and television. He has received numerous ...

Kathleen Turner Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards. Turner became widely k ...

and

Al Waxman Albert Samuel Waxman, (March 2, 1935 – January 18, 2001) was a Canadian actor and director of over 1,000 productions on radio, television, film, and stage. He is best known for his starring roles in the television series ''King of Kensington' ...

MTC Warehouse theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Today, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre operates two theatre venues in

Winnipeg, Manitoba 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. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

- The John Hirsch Mainstage and the Tom Hendry Warehouse. Each season, MTC produces six Mainstage productions, four Warehouse Productions, an annual 12-day

Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is an alternative theatre festival held each year for twelve days in July in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History Founded in 1988 by the Manitoba Theatre Centre with Larry Desrochers as the first Executive ...

, the Master Playwright Festival and a regional tour. MTC also provides student-only matinees with the Theatre for Young Audiences program, and scholarships and apprentice opportunities for post-secondary theatre students. The Jean Murray - Moray Sinclair Theatre Scholarship is funded purely from donations received during a run of a particular show each season. The Naomi Levin Theatre Scholarship was established in memory of Naomi Levin, a theatre technician associated with the MTC for a number of years. The theatres were renamed after the company's founders in 2008. In 2009, the Government of Canada designated the Mainstage theatre a National Historic Site. On October 26, 2010, Manitoba Theatre Centre received a Royal designation, becoming Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

Architecture

The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre was designed in the

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

style by Winnipeg's Number Ten Architectural Group with input from artistic director Eddie Gilbert. With its exposed concrete sculptural form, an informal interior theatre space and a foyer originally conceived to balance large gatherings and smaller intimate groups in the same space, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is one of Canada's most important small-scale Brutalist designs.

Artistic Directors

(1958–1966) *Edward Gilbert (1966–1969) *Kurt Reis (1969–1970) *Keith Turnbull (1970–1972) *Edward Gilbert (1972–1975) *

(1975–1976) *Arif Hasnain (1977–1980) *

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 ...

(1980–1984) *James Roy (1984–1986) *

Rick McNair 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 Winnipe ...

(1986–1989) *

Steven Schipper Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

(1989–2019) *

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 ...

(2019-)

References

External links

Manitoba Theatre Centre site
{{authority control Brutalist architecture in Canada Theatres in Winnipeg National Historic Sites in Manitoba Theatre companies in Manitoba Theatres on the National Historic Sites of Canada register 1958 establishments in Manitoba