Theatre Passe Muraille

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The home of the theatre on Ryerson Street
The home of the theatre on Ryerson Street

Theatre Passe Muraille, theatre company in Toronto, Canada.

Contents

[edit] History

One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Passe Muraille was founded in 1968 by director and playwright Jim Garrard. The company gained local notoriety when it was bafflingly charged with obscenity for the only mildly provocative play by American playwright Rochelle Owens, Futz (about a farmer who falls in love with his pig, but suffers the persecution of his intolerant neighbours); but it gained its national reputation in the 1970s under the Artistic Directorship of Paul Thompson, who guided the company towards a distinctive style of collective creation with plays such as The Farm Show, 1837: The Farmer's Revolt and I Love You, Baby Blue.

Other notable productions produced at Passe Muraille include O.D. on Paradise and Maggie and Pierre by Linda Griffiths, Fire by David Young and Paul Ledoux, The Stone Angel James Nichol's adaptation of the novel by Margaret Laurence and Lilies by Quebec playwright Michel Marc Bouchard. The company also had a major hit in 2001 with Michael Healey's play The Drawer Boy, which was based on actor Miles Potter's experiences years before while living on a farm to research and develop Theatre Passe Muraille's collective creation The Farm Show.

[edit] Artistic Directors

  • Jim Garrard (1968-1969)
  • Martin Kinch, John Palmer, Paul Thompson (1969-1972)
  • Paul Thompson (1972-1981)
  • Clarke Rogers (1982-1987)
  • Brian Richmond (1988-1990)
  • Layne Coleman (1991)
  • Susan Serran (1992-1996)
  • Layne Coleman (1997-2007)
  • Andy McKim (2007- )

[edit] 2008 Repertoire

  • Hardsell
  • Smokescreen & Born Ready
  • Last Days of Graceland
Further information: Theatre Passe Muraille production history.

[edit] External links