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Manitoba Organization: Winnipeg Little Theatre / Theatre 77 / Manitoba Theatre Centre / Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre
In July 1958, Theatre 77 merged with the Winnipeg Little Theatre (established 1921) to form the Manitoba Theatre Centre, the first English-speaking regional theatre company in Canada. It staged its first amateur and professional productions later that year in the Dominion Theatre.
In 1967, it was announced that the theatre would become part of the centennial centre complex in downtown Winnipeg.
The company gained royal patronage in 2010 to become the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.
Artistic Directors
Period
Artistic Director
1958-?
John Steven Hirsch (1930-1989)
Business Managers
Period
Business Manager
1958-1964
Thomas Best “Tom” Hendry (1929-2012)
Presidents
Period
President
1958-1961
Donald John “Don” Campbell (1914-2001)
1961-1963
James Ogden Turner (1913-1998)
1963-1964
John Westwood Beech (1917-1990)
1964-1966
Percy Genser (1909-1987)
1966-1968
Albert Diamond Cohen (1914-2011)
1968-1970
Marjorie Anne Chisholm Johnston (1919-2008)
1970-1972
Albert Diamond Cohen (1914-2011)
1972-1974
W. W. Buchanan
1974-1976
Edward Gray “Ted” Brownell (1923-2004)
1976-1978
Claire W. Miller
1978-1980
Patrick Matthews
1980-1982
Morley Blankstein (1924-2015)
1982-1984
Gordon C. Keatch
1984-1986
James Pappas
?-?
John Foster “Jack” Fraser (1930-2021)
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre / 50th Anniversary Sculpture and Plaque (174 Market Avenue, Winnipeg)
Grease Paint on the Prairies: An Account of the Theatres, the Plays, and the Players of Winnipeg from 1866 to 1921 by Irene Craig
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1946-1947 Season, April 1947The History of Prairie Theatre: The Development of Theatre in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 1833-1982 by E. Ross Stuart, Toronto: Simon & Pierre, 1984.
Sources:
“Drama groups merging in new theatre centre,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 July 1958, page 17.
“Theatre centre had a big year,” Winnipeg Tribune, 2 January 1963, page 21.
“Theatre goes to centre,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 June 1967, page 1.
“Good season at MTC gives record earnings,” Winnipeg Free Press, 26 June 1976, page 2.
“MTC appoints new president,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 September 1984, page 48.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 17 December 2022
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