A bit of history
In its forty-three years, Théâtre français de Toronto (TfT) has become one of the most important French-language theatres outside of Québec, with nearly 240 productions to its name. Today, TfT has almost a thousand subscribers and welcomes nearly 11,500 spectators each season from all over the GTA and Southwestern Ontario. TfT’s season consists of five productions for the general public, as well as shows for adolescents and children. TfT has played at the Berkeley Street Theatre since 1990. It offers its francophone and francophile public a varied repertoire that includes new work, Canadian and international pieces, and the great classics.
TfT was founded in 1967 and named Théâtre du P’tit Bonheur after its first production. By 1970, under its first Artistic Director, John Van Burek, it established a continuing relationship with playwright Michel Tremblay. To mark its 20th anniversary, the company changed its name to Théâtre français de Toronto. Its 1992/93 season, under the artistic direction of Diana Leblanc, was a resounding success, with eight Dora Mavor Moore nominations. For its 30th anniversary season TfT passed the torch to Guy Mignault. Since then, TfT has reinstated its programming for children and created a playwright-in-residence program. Guy Mignault’s first musical creation, C’était un p’tit Bonheur, won a Dora award in 1998.
In the fall of 2004, TfT launched Nouvelles Générations with two shows created specifically for teens. During this time, the children’s play Grimm Grimm, completed its third year of touring schools in the province, to be seen by 16,500 young viewers. In 2005, TfT won a Dora Award for Outstanding Touring Production for Est-ce qu’on ne pourrait pas s’aimer un peu? by Théâtre Loyal du Trac from Brussels. That same year Portrait chinois d’une imposteure toured Ottawa and Sudbury.
In November 2007, TfT celebrated its 40th anniversary to much fanfare at Toronto’s Casa Loma. This important event for the community was presided over by Governor General Michaëlle Jean and numerous other distinguished guests.
In December 2008, TfT reached another important stage in its development with the opening of its Centre for Creation. This new space in the heart of Toronto brings TfT’s administrative offices, rehearsal hall, and wardrobe facility together under one roof. In a short time, the Centre for Creation has become an essential meeting place for artists and the francophone community. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable James Moore, visited the Centre for Creation in January 2009.
The 2008/09 season provided some great successes, such as Le Dîner de cons by Francis Weber and Une Maison face au Nord, a new work by Jean Rock Gaudreault. This co-production’s popular and critical acclaim has spread beyond Toronto, due to an outstanding tour which will visit more than 45 cities between 2009 and 2011. Une Maison face au Nord was even named Canadian Play of the Year 2009 and one of the Top 10 Canadian Productions of the Decade by Eye Weekly.
The 2009/10 season sees the start of an important collaborative project with Ottawa’s Théâtre La Catapult. This agreement, known as“5 ans de théâtre” (“Five Years of Theatre”), commits TfT to co-producing and touring one work a year for five years, in order to promote French-language theatre throughout Ontario and strengthen the company’s position as a leader of francophone creation. Les Médecins de Molière has started this process, followed in 2010/11 by Les Fridolinades by Gratien Gélinas.
Launched in April 2005, surtitled performances are now a major attraction that enables francophones to invite friends and family who do not speak French, as they give all theatre lovers an opportunity to discover French-language theatre. In April 2006, L’Avare broke box office records for the last ten years and two performances had to be added. The success of this production, directed by Jean-Stéphane Roy and starring Guy Mignault in the title role, was topped off by the Masque Award for Best Franco-Canadian Production 2006. This record was broken in 2008/09 by Francis Weber’s Le Dîner de cons, which beat all attendance records since TfT’s inception.
TfT supports creation and artistic expression in schools in the Greater Toronto Area with Les Zurbains, a show produced by Théâtre Le Clou in Montréal, from stories written by high school students in Toronto, Montréal, Québec City, and Ottawa. The writing competition encourages hundreds of young francophones to discover their talent in their own language. In addition, TfT presents rich and varied programming for young audiences at the theatre. Presentations for young audiences and adolescents, presented at student matinees and family performances, reaches almost 5,000 viewers every year.