The grandfather of the Canadian theater (both in age and in importance) was the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario. It was founded in 1953.
There are performances not only based on the works of Shakespeare, but also on the works of modern classics. There are also more than 90 different theaters operating throughout the country.
The heyday of the French-speaking theater is associated with the name of the famous playwright Michel Tremblay. He made a revolution in the Quebec theatrical art by introducing “joual” (slang) into the speech of his characters. These are works such as Les Belles Soeurs and the recent play Un geste de beaute. An equally important playwright is Michel Marc Bouchard, whose play Les Muses Orphelines is very popular. There are also avant-garde theaters, such as, for example, Gilles-Maheu’s Garbon Dance Theater. In early 1998, the premiere of the play “Winter” took place here.
One of the most fascinating phenomena of French-speaking culture in North America is the Cirque du Soleil in Montreal. There are no rooms with animals, but a variety of acrobatic performances and performances of jugglers create an exciting dynamic spectacle.
