Great Canadian Theatre Company

The Great Canadian Theatre Company is a professional theatre company based in Ottawa. It was established in 1975 by a group of professors and graduate students at Carleton University. Riding a wave of cultural nationalism, founders Robin Mathews, Larry McDonald, Bill Law, Greg Reid and Lois Shannon envisioned a theatre company that would produce only Canadian plays, especially those with social and political relevance. Driven by a dream to place Canadian stories and Canadian history front and centre in our country’s universities and theatres, the company launched its first production in August 1975. The Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre, which includes a 262-seat mainstage theatre, a flexible black box studio theatre, and two spacious lobbies, has allowed The Great Canadian Theatre Company to expand its community-based activities. More than 35,000 people visit the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre every year to see productions by The Great Canadian Theatre Company and other live performing arts companies.