The Shaw Festival, one of Canada’s largest theatre companies, ran the biggest single-season deficit in its history in 2023, spending $5.7-million more than it brought in.
Indeed, the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres and the Association des théâtres francophones du Canada issued an urgent call to Canadians earlier this week, asking them to support theatres. PACT members have reported an average increase of 35 to 41 per cent in operating expenses from 2019, while national audience participation still remains well below prepandemic levels.
In terms of attendance, the festival, which focuses on classic plays and musicals, has specific challenges related to being a destination theatre aiming to draw people from across Southern Ontario and up from the United States. The executive director said unforeseen situations such as wildfire smoke affected cross-border tourism to the Niagara region and led to attendance from the United States accounting for just 20 per cent instead of the usual 34 per cent.