Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
Toronto Workshop Productions began when Basya Hunter's Arts Club Theatre and Workshop Productions merged in 1959 and started performing out of a 90-seat factory basement. Immediately successful with their first production, Hey Rube!, TWP went on to create more explorative and creative works. George Luscombe became the artistic director in 1961 and the company moved to a larger, 300 seat auditorium in 1967.
Under Luscombe's direction, TWP created and performed works with minimal set but maximum involvement from all participants. Performances were politically charged and evolved with each production.
Jack Winter served as writer-in-residence from 1961 to 1967 and 1974 to 1976. Other writers-in-residence included Len Peterson and Rick Salutin. In 1974, just as Jack Winter’s play You Can't Get Here From There was about to be staged, the theatre was destroyed by fire. After rebuilding, the company continued on with its productions but by the late 1980s started suffering financial hardship and was forced to close in 1988.
Its Artistic Directors were George Luscombe (1959-1985) and Robert Rooney (1985-1988). Leon Pownall took over leadership of the failing company in 1988 and moved the development in a rather different direction, including both a performance space and a retirement home.