TORONTO — Canadian Stage has eliminated its accumulated debt for the first time since its founding in 1987.
The not-for-profit theatre company says it ended the 2023-24 season with a nearly $290,000 surplus after sinking into the red by as much as $1.7 million in 2018.
It credits several big-name donors including the Slaight Family Foundation, Marilyn and Charles Baillie Family Foundation, and Paul and Janice Sabourin, whose financial support meant the theatre could put on ambitious productions to grow their audience.
Last year, Canadian Stage says it drew its largest number of single-ticket buyers since 2008, with nearly half of its audience comprised of first-time attendees.
The season included Matthew Lopez’s “The Inheritance,” which explored gay culture and the legacy of the AIDS crisis; the world premiere of Crystal Pite’s "Assembly Hall;" and Australia’s Back to Back Theatre’s "The Shadows Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes," created and performed by neurodiverse artists.
Artistic director Brendan Healy says the company now has “a fresh start and renewed energy to focus on a vibrant future for Canadian theatre.”
He says he and executive director Monica Esteves focused on addressing the debt when they joined in 2018 and the accumulated deficit sat at $1.7 million.
Esteves says the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation — which has driven production costs up by roughly 40 per cent since 2019 — created significant financial hurdles. But by streamlining their season to fewer productions, channelling resources into larger casts and higher production values, and extending show runs to reach more people, they managed to attract new patrons.
The theatre also credited the success of free child care services offered during sold-out performances for "Universal Child Care," and says it will offer child care at every Berkeley production going forward.
Canadian Stage concludes the 2023-24 season with a financial surplus of $289,749.
In December, Canadian Stage will bring Ross Petty’s holiday pantomime “The Wizard of Oz” to Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre.
Canadian Stage was formed through the merger of CentreStage and Toronto Free Theatre in 1987.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press