r/torontotheatre

As the title says, I'm curious as to what you feel you need most right now that the Toronto independent theatre scene is lacking?

What do you need to build, strengthen, and maintain that middle-ground between high-budget professional and community theatre?

For example, if you need affordable space what should rates be? (Not what going affordable rates should be, I'm looking to hear what artists can honestly pay even if it's only a fraction of the going rate)

If you need mentorship opportunities, what else do you genuinely hope to get out of it aside from Zoom conversations with a mentor?

If you want to put on Equity productions - do you need the documents to be easier to understand? Does the structure/fees still feel feasible in this economy?

What kind of community building would be helpful? Cross promotion with other indie shows? Sharing venue costs/time?

If you need more centralized publicity? What would that look like? (Do you want more traditiinal reviewers to come to indie shows? Do you need a more streamlined way to get influencers at your show?)

Really I'm just looking for honest, concrete thoughts and examples as to what you need to succeed and what resources would help build the middle-ground of the theatre industry. Feel free to expand on whatever is affecting you and/or your team right now.

How busy was it? And if you lost, were there discounted tickets available?

Thank you everyone!

Saw a post about a theater experience on IG. "Tadrak's Tales" at the Red Sandcastle Theater. Tonight was it's opening night. Grabbed tickets on a whim ($25 each) and I have to say it was absolutely delightful. It's a one man show with audience participation - like a choose your own adventure. A great, affordable night out. The small, independent theater events have to be my favorite part of the Toronto theater scene.

Ticket link for those who may be interested

https://ticketscene.ca/series/1638/?utm\_source=ig&utm\_medium=social&utm\_content=link\_in\_bio&fbclid=PAb21jcAR6HRZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA81NjcwNjczNDMzNTI0MjcAAafVjtqChxBb4eNySTPYjVbLterUpZTuNPfea\_buQYJXUgYou7wOtYpCk48DEg\_aem\_R\_PXl76xJQkwhZ6tjgQZMA

For anyone that has already seen both...I know they are completely different shows but which do you think is better?

Hey everyone, I'm going to Stratford next weekend, and seeing Tempest and Midsummer Night's Dream on Saturday. I'm thinking of squeezing in another play on Friday evening, and Waiting for Godot and Importance of Being Earnest are both playing at the same time.

I know they are vastly different, but wondering if anyone has seen them already and could help me decide which one to watch!

Caught the matinee today and had a nice time. Fun show and the crowd was into it; lots of confetti lol

During the final song (Can’t Stop the Feeling), two ladies in the front row (one on each side of the stage) stood up to film it on their phones. I know some productions are fine with recording the finale (like the Six megamix), but I wasn’t sure if that was allowed here. It felt a little odd.

Wondering if anyone knows of any thrift/vintage stores or otherwise that may have theatre playbills/programs or merch from past Toronto or New York productions. The store doesn’t have to specialize in theatre at all, but, for example, a thrift store in New York has a big box of playbills at the back.

EDIT: typo

We all knew the end was near and now the closing announcement has been made.

See it soon if you’ve been putting it off!

I love going to the theatre - both live and films. But in both cases I’m being increasingly turned off by poor etiquette from guests that make it hard to enjoy the show. I try to ignore and focus on the show but it’s not always possible.
At Hamilton a few years back, a person near us treated it as a sing a long show. At Book of Mormon, the person beside me fell asleep and loudly snored throughout the first act. At Chicago recently, the couple beside us and the couple beside them talked through the entire musical. Not to mention the frequent phone use and glare.
I’ve taken to shushing people and asking them to stop talking, but I get looked at funny when I do this - even by bystanders.
I’ve had the opportunity to go to Broadway shows over the years and have never noticed this happen there.
How can we handle this, and what would you recommend we do in these situations to make the theatre a better experience for ppl who want to watch the show?

A full list of this year’s winners is also available on our new website here: https://www.torontotheatrecritics.ca/past-winners

Hi all! I'm working on a this musical comedy "1920's Walking Around In A Dream" for this year's Toronto Fringe and we just laugh all the way through rehearsals!

It's has a Roaring Twenties jazz, flapper & bootlegger setting with a plot inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The music is all public domain jazz classics by Cole Porter, Fats Waller, Jerome Kern, Gus Kahn, Oscar Hammerstein II, and others

It's hilarious, zany, fun, written in thick 1920s slang. The award-winning playwright Natalie Kaye actually did co-write a comedy with thick historical slang at Toronto Fringe in 2025 called #1 Clown Comedy with Victor & Priscilla. Which was also a very funny show, but different style & era.

The director has new musical arrangements for the songs, his most recent experience is directing shows for Disney Cruise Line

Tickets are quite affordable too, with minimum ticket price $5.

Thought I'd share with you, and I'll likely post here again once the giant Toronto Fringe mega thread is started!

It looks like Cabaret is coming to Toronto next year but it isn’t super clear how we can purchase tickets. It looks like tickets are only available now for subscription holders. Is it possible tickets may become available to the general public closer to?