Artist renderings of the Royal George Theatre’s revamp.Supplied
The Shaw Festival has reached a new milestone in its revitalization efforts, announcing on Monday that it has raised $110-million in its capital campaign to help increase sustainability, improve facilities and promote outreach to Niagara-on-the-Lake’s seniors.
The planned $150-million campaign, dubbed “All. Together. Now.,” will help fund the festival‘s facility renovations, including the previously announced revamp of the Royal George Theatre, which will close at the end of this season until its anticipated reopening for a holiday show in 2028. The Royal George, originally erected during the First World War, needs a significant overhaul because of its age.
The money raised so far includes a $35-million contribution from the province earmarked for Royal George renovations. The festival has also received $15-million from the federal government for the festival‘s artists’ village, which is scheduled to open at the end of 2026. The village will include housing for the festival‘s seasonal contractors, as well as gathering spaces and workshops for the wardrobe department.
The rest of the $110-million comes from private donors, including lead donations from the James A. Burton and Family Foundation and Tim and Frances Price, as well as smaller family foundations. The festival declined to announce the amount of these donations.
Shaw Festival artistic director Tim Carroll said a key push for fundraising is the festival‘s relationship with Niagara-on-the-Lake’s seniors.
“There hasn’t been enough celebration of our white-haired audience, and we should really embrace the fact that our audience is getting older every day – all of us are,” Carroll said. “But we have a responsibility to each other to keep our theatres accessible as mobility gets compromised – to cater to all the problems and obstacles that confront us as we get older.”
Plans for senior-specific programming include workshops, classes and tours, Carroll said. The completed artists’ village and Royal George Theatre will be fully accessible for both artists and audiences, he added, though the Royal George renovations will not compromise the building’s faux-historic charm.
“Our hope is that we become a sort of hub with spokes, and that we can begin a movement for centres for positive aging,” he said. “We’d love to see other theatres and cultural organizations follow on from that, and take some of what we learn about helping people get older with joy and creativity.”
The renovated Royal George is additionally projected to be the first carbon-neutral and Rick Hansen Gold Certified performing arts centre in North America.
