Thy Neighbour’s Wife by Tara Beagan with Naomi Wright, Martin Happer and Melissa-Jane Shaw
Theatre North West is both the organization and venue in Prince George, British Columbia, founded by Artistic Director Ted Price and General Manager Anne Laughlin. The 2010-2011 Season marked the staged succession of the organization’s leadership to Artistic Producer, Samantha MacDonald.
Following a year of research and preparation, Theatre North West (TNW) was incorporated as a Non-Profit Society and received its charitable status in early 1994. That autumn TNW began establishing its roots in the regional community with a 26-performance tour of its first production, The Occupation of Heather Rose by Wendy Lill. This was followed by a production of Amadeus in February and Shirley Valentine in April. One year later a small performance space was created out of a bakery warehouse in the Parkhill Centre in Prince George and TNW offered its first full subscription season. Major renovations in 1997 expanded the venue to a 228-seat theatre, which has provided a home for all of TNW’s subsequent productions.
Vinci by Maureen Hunter with Vanessa AvRuskin and Missy Christensen
A program of four to five professional stage productions, with as many as 100 performances, is offered each season. Programming, based on TNW’s mission of providing access for people in the northern region of British Columbia to the pleasures and benefits of professional theatre, is a blend of contemporary work from the Canadian and International repertoire.
Dogbarked by James O’Shea with Tom O’Hara and Brian Linds
Although one of Canada’s smaller regional theatres, the organization has gained a reputation for its exceptional production values, its penchant for casting from across the country, and local enthusiasm for an emphasis on Canadian work. Typical examples of the latter would include 1949 by David French, Corker by Wendy Lill, A Guide to Mourning by Eugene Stickland, Amigo’s Blue Guitar by Joan MacLeod, The Invisibility of Eileen by Kit Brennan, Thy Neighbour’s Wife by Tara Beagan and the works of Norm Foster, Guy Vanderhaeghe and Lance Woolaver.
The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway with Gloria Okeynan and Odessa Shuquaya
Theatre North West now ranks as the largest arts organization in the northern two-thirds of British Columbia with the most paid attendance, the most annual performances, and remarkably high per capita season ticket sales with 3723 subscribers (2010-2011).