Nightwood Theatre

Nightwood Theatre
Address Toronto
Canada
Type professional women's theatre company
Website
www.nightwoodtheatre.net

Nightwood Theatre is a Canadian professional women’s theatre company. Based in Toronto, it was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White, a collective of women in their 20s who set out to develop imagistic theatre practices by drawing on literature, painting, and music.[1] Their first production in 1979, The True Story of Ida Johnson, was adapted from the novel by Sharon Riis, and is described as "an innovative mixed-media performance,"[2] as with their 1980 creation, Glazed Tempera, which was inspired by Alex Colville's paintings.[3] The original impetus had little to do with feminism, but that changed once the company began to be defined and critiqued as a group of women theatre practitioners.[4] The company attracted a number of strong writer-performers, such as Beverley Cooper, Ann-Marie MacDonald, and Banuta Rubess.[5] Notable works from this early period in the 1980s include This is For You, Anna, a collective creation exploring themes of justice, power, and violence, based in part on the true story of Marianne Bachmeier; Nancy Drew, The Case of the Missing Mother, by Cooper and MacDonald; and Banuta Rubbess's Pope Joan, about a woman elected as a male pope (see Pope Joan).[6]

Nightwood advocates for women, provides a training ground for emerging talent, promotes diversity, and engages artists in play development and theatre production. Play development, mentorship, and youth outreach are at the centre of the company’s activities, including a free summer program for teen girls called Busting Out! Kelly Thornton has been the artistic director since 2001.

References

  1. ↑ Benson, Eugene, and L.W. Connolly. English Canadian Theatre. Perspectives on Canadian Culture. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1987. P. 107.
  2. ↑ Forsyth, Louise. "Feminist Theatre." The Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre. Eds. Eugene Benson and L.W. Connolly. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1989. P. 206.
  3. ↑ Benson and Connolly.
  4. ↑ Nothof, Anne. "Nightwood Theatre." Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "Nightwood Theatre." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  6. ↑ Forsyth.
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