History
History and background
Founded in 1969 by Maurice Podbrey, Centaur Theatre Company initially rented the partially renovated Old Stock Exchange Building. Five years later, the building was purchased and renovations were underway to clean up what had been Canada’s first Stock Exchange and to include a second theatre space.
A number of new works evolved in the early years but it was Montreal playwright David Fennario's play, On the Job, which became the breakthrough production for the company. Other new works sprung from direct commissions over the years including Centaur's 1979 production of David Fennario's play, Balconville, which brought national and international acclaim to Centaur. The production toured through Canada, as well as England and Ireland.
In 1985 Centaur purchased and renovated a building in Griffintown to use and to rent as a rehearsal hall, scene and paint shop, and storage facility.
Maurice Podbrey’s 28-year tenure was noted for supporting and producing new works by some of Montreal’s finest playwrights; Vittorio Rossi, David Gow, Linda Griffith, David Freeman, Bowser and Blue and David Fennario. Similarly, Podbrey worked with a number of important international directors and playwrights from Russia, South Africa, Ireland and France, most notable among them being South Africa’s Athol Fugard. In 1997 Maurice Podbrey retired and Gordon McCall was appointed the new Artistic and Executive Director of Centaur Theatre Company.
Over the next ten years, Centaur went on to produce eighteen World Premieres of Montreal plays. The annual Wildside Festival was also created as a way to showcase new and emerging theatre companies, as was the Brave New Works program. This focus on original “auteur” pieces by innovative Montreal theatre artists has been another Centaur outreach program which has in turn contributed to the spirit and prosperity of Montreal’s theatre community. The Saturday Morning Children’s Series has rounded out a full house of community outreach which, to this day has remained a hallmark of Centaur’s artistic philosophy.
In 1998, Centaur's English-language world premiere of Michel Tremblay's For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again marked a turning point in the history of theatrical collaboration between the Anglophone and Francophone communities in Montreal. Tremblay’s play, translated by the eminent Linda Gaboriau, went on to a successful tour of Canada in partnership with Toronto's Canadian Stage Company. The conclusion of the year-long tour resulted in its American premiere. It premiered in the fall of 2000 in Washington, D.C. at the 50th Anniversary of the Arena Stage.
Through the international collaboration initiative, the Artistic Director of Ireland's Abbey Theatre, Ben Barnes, directed three Irish plays for Centaur. In return, The Abbey presented its first-ever Canadian play; Michel Tremblay's, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, directed by Gordon McCall. As a result of this initiative, The Abbey has gone on to produce a number of other Canadian plays.
Following Centaur’s presentation of For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again at the Arena Stage in Washington, the Arena Stage Artistic Director, Molly Smith was invited to Centaur in March 2002 to stage an outstanding production of Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill. In the fall of 2004, Centaur launched an alliance with Australian Artistic Director Simon Phillips of the Melbourne Theatre Company. He came to Centaur to direct the Australian Play, Burnt Piano, by Justin Fleming while Gordon McCall in turn traveled to Melbourne to direct the English Language World Premiere of Cheech, by Montreal playwright François Létourneau, translated by Rick DesRochers.
In September 2002, Gordon McCall directed Centaur’s English-language world-premiere and record-breaking production of Mambo Italiano by Montreal playwright Steve Galluccio. Mambo Italiano reappeared in January 2003 for a sold-out engagement as part of the Ed and David Mirvish Productions season in Toronto.
In December 2006, Centaur won the Grand Prix Theatre nomination from the Conseil des Arts de Montréal for its remarkable contribution to Montreal Theatre life. They highlighted the 2005/06 “Montreal Stories” season, which comprised six new works by Montreal playwrights. Kicking off the world premier season was David Fennario’s, Condoville followed by Vittorio Rossi’s, Hellfire Pass, Part I of his Carpenter’s Trilogy.
In September 2007, Gordon McCall stepped down as Artistic and Executive Director. Following an extensive international search, the Centaur Board of Directors appointed Roy Surette as the next Artistic and Executive Director of Centaur Theatre Company. Roy has directed and co-directed 8 plays including the runaway success Schwartz's: The Musical, since he began his work as Artistic and Executive Director at Centaur. He will direct God of Carnage and In Absentia, for the upcoming 2011-2012 season.
Centaur has won nine Les Masque Awards including Best Actress, Revelation, and Best English-Language Production. In 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively, Centaur has also received praise in The Montreal Mirror’s Best of Montreal catalogue for Best Local Theatre Company. Similarly, in 2008 and 2009 Centaur won MECCA Awards in the Best Actress, Best Text, Best Ensemble, Best Set Design, Best Lighting, and Best Sound categories.
ARCHIVES
Season 42 (2010-2011)
Paradise by the River by Vittorio Rossi
Don Quixote by Peter Anderson and Colin Heath
Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones, Arrangement by Paul Elliot, Adam Kenwright & Pat Moylan
Instructions to any Future Socialist Government Wishing to Abolish Christmas by Michael Mackenzie
Schwartz’s: The Musical by Rick Blue & George Bowser
A Beautiful View by Daniel MacIvor
Season 41 (2009-2010)
In Piazza San Domenico by Steve Galluccio
Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman
Michel and ti-Jean by George Rideout
The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
The Madonna Painter – The Birth of a Painting by Michel Marc Bouchard, Translated by Linda Gaboriau
Trudeau Stories by Brooke Johnson
Season 40 (2008-2009)
Scorched by Majdi Mouawad, Translated by Linda Gaboriau
Skydive by Kevin Kerr
Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell
Doubt- A Parable by John Patrick Shanley
Age of Arousal by Linda Griffiths
With Bated Breath by Bryden Macdonald
Season 39 (2007-2008)
The Carpenter: Part Three of A Carpenter’s Trilogy by Vittorio Rossi
The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien
Half Life by John Mighton
Relative Good by David Gow
The Mystery of Maddy Heisler by Daniel Lillford
Forever Yours, Marie-Lou by Michel Tremblay
Season 38 (2006-2007)
Carmela’s Table: Part Two of A Carpenter’s Trilogy by Vittorio Rossi
Assorted Candies by Michel Tremblay
Glorious! By Peter Quilter
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare
The Caretaker by Harold Pinter
Trying by Joanna McClelland Glass
Season 37 (2005-2006)
Condoville by David Fennario
Real Estate by Allana Harkin
Hellfire Pass: Part One of A Carpenter’s Trilogy by Vittorio Rossi
Cheech by François Létourneau
Have A Heart by David Sherman
Bye Bye Baby by Elyse Gasco
Season 36 (2004 - 2005)
Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz
Burnt Piano by Justin Fleming
The Goat or Who is Sylvia? by Edward Albee
Tales From Ovid by Ted Hughes
Wade In The Water by George Boyd
Long Day's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'Neill
Season 35 (2003 - 2004)
Life After George by Hannie Rayson
Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall
Past Perfect by Michel Tremblay, translated by Linda Gaboriau
The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey
The Shape of Things by Neil Labute
Tiger's Heart by Kit Brennan
Season 34 (2002 - 2003)
Vinci by Maureen Hunter
Impromptu on Nuns' Island by Michel Tremblay, translated by Linda Gaboriau
Strawberries in January by Evelyne de la Chéneliere
Proof by David Auburn
The Paris of America by Bowser & Blue
Copenhagen by Michael Frayn
Toronto: Mambo Italiano
Season 33 (2001 - 2002)
Mambo Italiano by Steve Gallucio
Freeze by Stephen Orlov
Art by Yasmina Reza
A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill
Dinner With Friends by Donald Margulies
The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh
Season 32 (2000 -2001)
Glenn by David Young
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry
Wit by Margaret Edson
The Weir by Conor McPherson
Oliver! by Lionel Bart
Trick or Treat by Jean Marc Dalpé, translated by Robert Dickson
Washington: For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again by Michel Tremblay, translated by Linda Gaboriau
Season 31 (1999 - 2000)
Still the Night by Theresa Tova
The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
The Gin Game by D I Coburn
Venus of Dublin by Marianne Ackerman
Victoria by Charles Fariala
Tour: For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again by Michel Tremblay, translated by Linda Gaboriau
Season 30 (1998 -1999)
For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again by Michel Tremblay, translated by Linda Gaboriau
How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Jay Presson Allen (adaptation)
Having by Kit Brennan
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Very Heaven by Anne Lambert
Season 29 (1997 - 1998)
Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin
The Orphan Muses by Michel Marc Bouchard
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Taking Sides by Ronald Harwood
High Life by Lee MacDougall
Angels in America Part II: Perestroika by Tony Kushner
Season 28 (1996 - 1997)
The Glace Bay by Sheldon Currie/Wendy Lill
Miner's Museum Vigil by Morris Panych
Mainly Montreal by Rossi/Fennario/Bowser & Blue
The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare
2 Pianos, 4 Hands by Ted Dykstra & Richard Greenblatt
Angels in America Part 1: Millenium Approaches by Tony Kushner
Season 27 (1995-1996)
The Stone Angel by James W Nichol (adapted)
Take the Floor by D J Grant & Sue Pam-Grant
Anthony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare
The Visitor by Eric Emmanuel Schmitt
If We Are Women by Joanna McClelland Glass
Troubadours Through Time by Bowser & Blue
The Friedman Family Fortune by David Gow
Season 26 (1994 - 1995)
The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Someday by Drew Hayden Taylor
My Fair Lady by Lerner & Loewe
Tall Tales of a Generation - Collective Work
Love & Other Games by Vittorio Rossi
The Substance of Fire by Jon Robin Baitz
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe by Jane Wagner
Season 25 (1993 - 1994)
Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel
Come Good Rain by George Seremba
The Last Adam by Vittorio Rossi
Someone Who'll Watch Over Me by Frank McGuiness
La Bete by David Hirson
Blokes II by Bowser & Blue
Cabaret by Joe Masteroff
Season 24 (1992 - 1993)
The Guid Sisters by Michel Tremblay
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
Playboy of the West Indies by Mustapha Matura
Look Back in Anger by John Osborne
Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
Aurelie, ma soeur by Marie Laberge
Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov
Season 23 (1991 - 1992)
A Shayna Maidel by Barbara Lebow
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Balconville by David Fennario
Karla & Grif by Vivienne Laxdal
Rough Crossing by Tom Stoppard
Blokes by Bowser & Blue
A Damsel for a Gorilla by Fernando Arrabal
Season 22 (1990-1991)
Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker
My Children! My Africa! by Athol Fugard
The Woman in Black
adapted by Stephen Mallatratt
The Death of Rene Levesque by David Fennario
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams
The Affections of Mae by Norm Foster
Broadway Bound by Neil Simo
Season 21 (1989-1990)
Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave by Maynard Collins
Footprints on the Moon by Maureen Hunter
Woman in Mind by Alan Ayckbourn
Fire-Sale by James Nadler
Scarpone by Vittorio Rossi
Mother of all the Behans, adapted by Peter Sheridan
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) by the Reduced Shakespeare Company
Season 20 (1988-1989)
The Chain by Vittorio Rossi
The Gigli Concert by Thomas Murphy
Little Shop of Horrors, Music by Alan Menken Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman
The Murder of Susan Parr by David Fennario
The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway
From the Main to Mainstreet, A Collective Creation
Juno and the Paycock by Sean O'Casey
Season 19 (1987-1988)
Guys & Dolls
Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
La Sagouine by Anonine Maillet
Vassa by Maxim Gorky
The Road to Mecca by Athol Fugard
Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Toward the Somme by Frank McGuinness
Bordertown Café by Kelly Rebar
Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon
Season 18 (1986-1987)
Asinamali by Mbongenl Ngema
The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht
Fire by Paul Ledoux & David Young
Sombody Sombody's Returning by Frederick Ward
The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard
The Faith Healer by Brian Friel
Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon
Season 17 (1985-1986)
Albertine in Five Times by Michel Tremblay
The Zen of an Intelligent Machine by William Kuhns
Prague by John Krizanc
Gone with Hardy by David Allen
Master Class by David Pownall
Stuff as Dreams are Made of by Fred Curchak
Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet
Season 16 (1984-1985)
What is to be done? by Mavis Gallant
Salt-Water Moon by David French
Love is Strange by Paul Ledoux & David Young
Master Harold and the Boys by Athol Fugard
Successful Strategies by Marivaux
Night Mother by Marsha Norman
Gone the Burning Sun by Ken Mitchell
Season 15 (1983-1984)
Rock and Roll by John Gray
K2 by Patrick Meyers
84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
A Majority of Two by Alun Hibbert
The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
Not About Heroes by Stephen McDonald
Glorious Mud: A Flanders & Swan Show by Bartley Bard
Season 14 (1982-1983)
Brew (Broue) by Michel Coté, Marc Messier, Marcel Gauthier
Duet for One by Tom Kempinski
Translations by Brian Friel
Moving by David Fennario
Quiet in the Land by Anne Chislett
Empress Eugenie by Jason Lindsey
Playing the Fool by Alun Hibbert
Season 13 (1981-1982)
Happy End by Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill
Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
Blood Relations by Sharon Pollock
The Crackwalker by Judith Thompson
Lady From the Sea by Henrik Ibsen
Sweet Like Suga by Paul Herzberg
The Riddle of the World by David French
Season 12 (1980-1981)
Maggie and Pierre by Linda Griffiths & Paul Thompson
Wings by Arthur Kopit
The Tomorrow Box by Anne Chislett
Passionate Ladies by Barbara Perry
Night and Day by Tom Stoppard
Everloving by Margaret Hollingsworth
Talley's Folly by Lanford Wilson
Season 11 (1979-1980)
Billy Bishop goes to War by John Gray
Spokesong by Stewart Parker
A Lesson From Aloes by Athol Fugard
Waiting For The Parade by John Murell
Jitters by David French
Circus Gothic by Jan Kudelka
The Leonard Cohen Show by B. Wexler & C. Latraverse
Season 10 (1978-1979)
Paper Wheat
A Collective Creation by the 25th Street House Theatre
Travesties by Tom Stoppard
Balconville by David Fennario
Ashes by David Rudkin
Winter Dancers by David Lan
Weeds by Beverly Lockwood
Piaf by Pauline Lebel and Daniel Roussel
Season 9 (1977-1978)
Cruel Tears by Ken Mitchell & Humphrey and the Dumptrucks
Eve by Larry Fineberg
The Sea by Edward Bond
Toronto by David Fennario
Back to Beulah by W.O. Mitchell
The Island by Athol Fugard, John Kani, Winston Ntshona
The Dream Play by August Strinberg
Season 8 (1976-1977)
Nothing to Lose by David Fennario
Les Canadiens by Rick Salutin
Quiller & Therese's Creed by Michael Cook
The Playboy of Western World by J.M. Synge
Anatol by Arthur Schnitzler
Artichoke by Joanna M. Glass
Sizwe Bansi is Dead by Athol Fugard
Comedians by Trevor Griffiths
Season 7 (1975-1976)
Ten Lost Years by Jack Winter & Cederic Smith
Canadian Gothic and American Modern by Joanna M. Glass
On the Job by David Fennario
I.W.A.- The Newfoundland Logger's Strike by The Mummers
One Crack Out by David French
The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Kennedy's Children by Robert Patrick
The Divine Sarah by Jocques Beyderwellen
Season 6 (1974-1975)
On the Job by David Fennario
Woyzeck by George Buchner
Lenz by Mike Stott
Riverlisp by Frederick Ward
Summer by Hugh Leonard
The Daughter-in-law by D.H. Lawrence
Bethune by Rod Langley
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Frankenstein by Alden Nolan & Walter Learning
People are Living There by Athol Fugard
Season 5 (1973-1974)
That Championship Season by Jason Miller
Of the Fields, Lately by David French
The Promise by Aleksei Arbuzov
Tooth of Crime by Sam Sheppard
Mr. Joyce is Leaving Paris by Tom Gallacher
You're Gonna Be Alright Jaimie Boy by David Freeman
Season 4 (1972-1973)
Leaving Home by David French
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Creeps by David Freeman
The Real Inspector Hound & After Margritte by Tom Stoppard
Autumn at Altenburg by Ronald Garrett
Mandragola by Niccolo Machiavelli
Old Times by Harold Pinter
Season 3 (1971-1972)
Total Eclipse by Christopher Hampton
The Maids by Jean Genet
The Exception and the Rule by Bertolt Brecht
At the Hawk's Well, A Full Moon in March &The Cat and the Moon by W.B.Yeats
Summer Days by Romain Weingartner
The Entertainer by John Osbourne
Electra by Euripides
Blood Knot by Athol Fugard
Season 2 (1970-1971)
A Touch of the Poet by Eugene O'Neil
Othello by William Shakespeare
The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria by Arrabal
Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov
The Death of Bessie Smith by Edward Albee
The Electronic Nigger by Ed Bullins
The Homecoming by Harold Pinter
Revenge by Howard Brenton
Season 1 (1969-1970)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Joe Egg by Peter Nichols
Androcles and the Lion by Aurand Harris
The Odd Couple by Neil Simon
The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter
A Lily in Little India by David Horwath
Luther by John Osbourne
The Great White Computer by Peter Desbarats
THE MONTREAL STOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING
Architect - George Browne Post (December 15, 1837 - November 28, 1913) was a U.S. architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition. Post was a student of Richard Morris Hunt, but unlike many architects of his generation, he had previously received a degree in civil engineering (New York University, 1858).
Many of his most characteristic projects were for commercial buildings, where new requirements pushed the traditional boundaries of design. Many of them have also been demolished, since their central locations made them vulnerable to rebuilding in the 20th century. Some of his lost buildings were landmarks of their era, nevertheless. His eight-story Equitable Life Assurance Society (1868–70), was the first office building to use elevators. His Western Union Telegraph Building (1872–75) at Dey Street in Lower Manhattan, was the first office building to rise as high as ten stories, a forerunner of skyscrapers to come. When it was erected in "Newspaper Row" facing City Hall Park, Post's 20-story World Building (1889–90) was the tallest building in New York City.
His vast New York Produce Exchange (1881–84) at Number Two Broadway faced Bowling Green. Its grand skylighted hall, based on French retail structures, cast daylight into the lower floors.
At the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893, Post produced the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building.
He also designed more staid public and semi-public structures: the New York Stock Exchange Building and the Wisconsin State Capitol. Among the prominent private houses by Post were the French chateau for Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1879–82) that once stood at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, and the palazzo that faced it across the street, for Collis P. Huntington (1889–94). In Newport, Rhode Island he built for the president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, C.C. Baldwin, "Chateau-Nooga" or the Baldwin Cottage (1879–80), a polychromatic exercise in the "Quaint Style" withbargeboards and half-timbering; John La Farge provided stained glass panels.
A true member of the American Renaissance, Post employed noted artists and artisans to produce decorative sculpture and murals. Among those who worked with him were the sculptor Karl Bitter and the painter Elihu Vedder. he was a founding member of the National Arts Club and served as its president from 1898 to 1905.
Post's extensive archives are at the New-York Historical Society. Sarah Bradford Landau, George B. Post, Architect: Picturesque Designer and Determined Realist (1998) inspired the retrospective exhibition at the Society, 1998–99 that reassessed Post's work.
Surviving works by George B. Post include: The New York Stock Exchange (1901–03); The New York Cotton Exchange; The original Williamsburgh Savings Bank (1870–75), Brooklyn, New York; The Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn, New York (1878–80); The College of the City of New York Campus (1903–07), in Gothic Revival style; The Cleveland Trust Company (1908), Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio; and The Montreal Stock Exchange (1904), Montreal, Canada
Interior, Montreal Stock Exchange, Montreal, QC, 1903
Wm. Notman & Son
1903, 20th century
Silver salts on glass - Gelatin dry plate process
20 x 25 cm
Purchase from Associated Screen News Ltd.
VIEW-1904
© McCord Museum
Interior, Montreal Stock Exchange, Montreal, QC, 1903
Wm. Notman & Son
1903, 20th century
Silver salts on glass - Gelatin dry plate process
20 x 25 cm
Purchase from Associated Screen News Ltd.
VIEW-1904.A
© McCord Museum
The Montreal Stock Exchange building, St. François Xavier Street, Montreal, QC, about 1905
Wm. Notman & Son
About 1905, 20th century
Silver salts on glass - Gelatin dry plate process
20 x 25 cm
Purchase from Associated Screen News Ltd.
VIEW-8727
© McCord Museum
Interior, Centaur Theatre. Montreal, QC. After Notman (VIEW-1904)
Andrzej Maciejewski
1999, 20th century
Silver salts on paper - Gelatin silver process
27 x 35 cm
Gift of Mr. Andrzej Maciejewski
M2001.60.6
© McCord Museum
Photography of Centaur Theatre from The McCord Collection