Institutional abuse has left its mark on countries all over the world. In Canada we have, not only the revealed history, and horror of the Residential Schools, but also our own Magdalene Laundries, and Mother and Baby Homes,  where more than 300,000 thousand unwed mothers were forced to give up their children.

The first Magdalene institution in Ireland was founded in 1765. The last one closed on September 25th. 1996. This was three years after the discovery of 155 bodies revealed the long-term abuse of young women in these institutions. This brutal treatment of women and girls in Ireland's Magdalene Laundries was largely unknown or unspoken of until the 1990s. In 2015 it came to light that hundreds of babies were buried in a mass, unmarked grave  on the former grounds of a Magdalene Laundry, in Tuam, County Galway. The discovery of "The Tuam Babies", sparked international shock and outrage. 


Irish Civil War

The Irish Civil War (28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed immediately on the heals of the Irish War of Independence. The Irish Free State,  comprising of 26  of Ireland's 32 counties, has just been established. This entity was independent of the United Kingdom, but still a part of the British Empire,  in a like way to Canada, or Australia.  The Provisional Government (pro-treaty) led by Michael Collins supported this agreement.

The anti-treaty side (IRA) led by Eamon De Valera, fiercely opposed the treaty, seeing it as a betrayal of the aims of the Easter Rising of 1916, which sought to establishment an Irish Republic in all 32 counties.  The fighting was bitter and brutal and may have claimed more lives than the War of Independence that preceded it.  The conflict left Irish society divided and embittered for generations.

We acknowledge that we live and work on the ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Diversity in our workplace, in our audiences and on our stages fosters a rich and creative environment. We welcome applicants of every identity, and encourage artists from Indigenous, Inuit, Metis, Black, People of Colour, Deaf, disabled and 2SLGBTQ+.