Great Canadian Theatre Company Mandate

"To foster, produce and promote excellent theatre that provokes examination of Canadian life and our place in the world."

 
 
Image Description: A man at the front of a stage holds up an item that seven people in the background lean in to get a good look at. In the background, there is a chalkboard with math equations, and a projector with the same.

You don’t have to ask us what we do; it’s in our name: Great Canadian Theatre Company.

The Great Canadian Theatre Company is celebrating its 49th Season in 2023-24. We continue to foster, produce and promote excellent theatre that provokes examination of Canadian life and our place in the world. GCTC aims to increase the diversity on its stages, in its creative teams, make its work inclusive for more audiences, and deepen their experience. GCTC also continues to embrace artistic risk and to ensure a wide range of theatrical experiences. 

 
 
 

Founded in 1975

GCTC was founded in 1975 by a group of professors and graduate students at Carleton University that envisioned a company that would only produce Canadian plays, especially those with social relevance. With a mandate in hand, and the gusto to match, they were off! GCTC launched its first production in August of 1975 and we haven’t looked back since.

After spending the 80’s and 90’s operating out of a renovated truck garage on Gladstone Avenue, GCTC moved to the lovely, trendy, and super-hipster Wellington West neighbourhood of Ottawa. Surrounded by coffee shops, art galleries, and artisanal doughnut-makers, GCTC now calls the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre its home. The Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre, which includes a 262-seat mainstage theatre, a flexible black box studio theatre, and two spacious lobbies, has allowed GCTC to expand its activities and become a hub for community-based and artistic activities.

 

Looking into the future

In the 2016–17 season, GCTC announced a three-year strategic plan and commitment to diversity and accessibility on stage and off. The aim is to tell a broad range of Canadian stories to a broad range of Canadian audiences, in ways that are accessible to anyone.

We’re making progress, but there’s still progress to be made.

GCTC’s legal name is Great Canadian Theatre Corporation and is a federally incorporated not-for-profit corporation set up to deliver programs for the benefit of the public good. GCTC is also a registered charity (#119235836RR0001) which allows the company to issue tax receipts for donations.