Soulpepper Theatre Company
Soulpepper Theatre Company was founded in 1998 and began with twelve actors who wanted to explore the great stories of classical theatre and inspire the next generation of artists and audiences. Many of the founding members worked together at the Stratford Festival Young Company in the late 1980’s under the mentorship of Robin Phillips. A few years out of the Stratford Young Company, these actors were craving a return to the classics and saw that there was a void in the Toronto theatre scene. Why in one of the theatre capitals of the world was there not a world class classical theatre company? At a series of boisterous and passionate dinner parties over many months, the foundations were laid to form a theatre company which met that very need.
Today, under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Albert Schultz, Soulpepper’s staggering growth over the past decade remains unrivaled in Canadian theatre history. The company has moved from a two play summer bill at Harbourfront Centre to year-round programming of over 400 performances in a new state-of-the-art facility, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto’s Distillery Historic District.
Soulpepper’s work does not begin and end on the stage each night. It begins in the schools, as Soulpepper nurtures a love of the arts in young people through its youth outreach programmes. It continues in the rehearsal studios, as Soulpepper trains the theatre artists of the future. Each year over 6500 young people participate in Soulpepper’s education programmes.
Soulpepper’s three-tiered mandate as an artist-founded, classical repertory theatre company is to: present the world's greatest stories in vital Canadian interpretations; to train a new generation of theatre artists; and to inspire and enrich youth through mentorship and access programs.
