HISTORY
On October 17, 1974 The Bloor
West Village Players opened their doors for the
first time. The Wedgewood Restaurant, on Bloor
near Jane, was the stage for our very first
production, The Rainmaker, by Richard Nash. It
was performed in the seventy-seat Banquet Room.
The Bloor West
Village Players exists to produce both
entertaining and thought-provoking theatre. As a
non-profit group it aims to offer professional
production quality, at a modest cost. It is an
active part of the community and provides
opportunities for training and participation in
all aspects of theatre.
The Village Players needed to find a new home to
keep up with the demand.
In 1977 The Village Players moved east along
Bloor Street to 2190 Bloor West, just east of
Runnymede, in High Park Place. What started out
as an empty room with one light bulb, was soon
transformed into a functional and accommodating
theatre, with a 160-seat capacity, mainstage
area, workshop, two dressing rooms, lobby,
costume and props rooms, box office area, and
washrooms. And how was the money raised? From
private donations, a bank loan, and some help
from Wintario. The 1977-78 season helped to pay
off the debt. Now, as always, we are proud to
say that The Village Players’ major source of
income comes from subscriptions and ticket
sales. Where does all the money go? Since the
Village Playhouse is run solely by volunteers,
including board members, the money goes back
into the theatre, paying for such things as
rent, production costs, royalties, maintenance &
cleaning, hydro and telephone.
Who would have thought that
such humble beginnings would lead to such a
great success? The Village Players strive to
prove that you don’t need to go downtown to
enjoy great theatre. For over thirty years The
Village Players have offered a wide range of
entertaining plays, from Comedies and
Shakespearean dramas to modern tales of romance
and suspense. If you’d like to view a little
history of the plays that have been produced
just check out our washroom decor - the walls
are covered with posters from each production.
Who selects the plays? A Reading Committee
presents the season to The Board. The Board then
co-ordinates the team for each show; directors,
producers, stage managers, designers, operators,
and the balance of the team are all pulled from
our large volunteer base. Each Board member also
has general operations duties to fulfill,
including finances, production supervision,
technical and property maintenance, promotion,
and if they can find the time, some direct a
play or even make it
on stage.
The success of The Village Players lies on its
ability to remain community based. Anyone can
volunteer or audition for a role. There are no
egos here, just a love of theatre.
Some of the plays that have been produced are: A
Man for All Seasons, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The
Odd Couple, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Lady's Not
for Burning, Equus, The Dresser, The Miracle
Worker, All My Sons, Amadeus, Dial 'M' For
Murder, Witness for the Prosecution and 84
Charing Cross Road. Our 25th anniversary season
(1998-99) included the production of: Opening
Night, A Murder is Announced, Someone Who'll
Watch Over Me , a repeat mounting of Arsenic and
Old Lace and Sweeney Todd the Barber.
~ Our Play
History ~
1974-75/ The Rainmaker - Leaving Home -
Lysistrata - You Know I Can't Hear You When the
Water's Running. 1975-76/ Suddenly Last Summer -
Bell, Book and Candle - An Inspector Calls - I
Am A Camera. 1976-77/ The mlet -Haunting of
Hill House -The Good Doctor - Of Mice and Men -
Relatively Speaking.1977-78/ Plaza Suite - The
Miracle Worker - Black Comedy - All My Sons.
1978-79/ Spring and Port Wine - One Flew Over
the Cuckoo's Nest - A Thousand Clowns - The
Children's Hour - Count Dracula. 1979-80/A View
from the Bridge - Anne of a Thousand Days - Play
It Again, Sam - Sleuth - Comic Strip.
1980-81/Bedroom Farce - Come Back, Little Sheba
- Sweeney Todd, the Barber - Blithe Spirit -
Murder on the Nile. 1981-82/Whose Life is it
Anyway? - The Miser - Twigs - See How They Run -
The Last Time I Danced with Harry.
1982-83/Norman Is That You? - Gaslight - The
Rivals - Tribute - Hay Fever. 1983-84/I'll Be
Back Before Midnight - The Lion in Winter - The
Night of January 16th - Exit the Body - Of Mice
and Men. 1984-85/June Groom - Who Killed Santa
Claus? - Lunch Hour - Who's Afraid of Virginia
Woolf? - Shut You Eyes and Think of England.
1985-86/The Comedy of Errors - By the Pricking
of My Thumbs - Your Own Thing - Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern Are Dead - The Dresser.
1986-87/Amadeus - Deathtrap - The Prisoner of
Second Avenue - Agnes of God - Arsenic and Old
Lace. 1987-88/A Man for All Seasons - Season's
Greetings - Hand That Cradles the Rock - One
Night Stand - Enter a Free Man. 1988-89/The Lark
- The Hound of the Baskervilles - Romantic
Comedy - Crimes of the Heart - Wait Until Dark.
1989-90/Antigone - Mumberly Inheritance - Last
of the Red Hot Lovers - Melville Boys - The
Women. 1990-91/It's Later Than You Think -
Waiting for the Parade - Saving Grace - Absent
Friends - Dial "M" for Murder. 1991-92/The
Lady's Not For Burning - Pure as the Driven Snow
- Sinners - The Elephant Man - On Golden Pond.
1992-93/Night Must Fall - Bullshot Crummond -
The Tomorrow Box - Equus - The Importance of
Being Earnest - The Wizard of Oz - Salt-Water
Moon. 1993-94/The Incredible Murder of Cardinal
Tosca - There Goes the Bride - Les Belles Soeurs
- Rope - Barefoot in the Park - Beauty and the
Beast - Seascape. 1994-95/The Madwoman of
Chaillot - No Sex Please, We're British - The
Gazebo - The Glass Menagerie - Charley's Aunt -
Alice in Wonderland - 'Night Mother - Love
Letters. 1995-96/Witness for the Prosecution -
The Odd Couple - The Cat and the Canary - Pack
of Lies - Steel Magnolias - The Elves and the
Shoemaker - Mass Appeal - No Exit.
1996-97/Rebecca - The Affections of May -
Lettice and Lovage - Bus Stop - I Hate Hamlet -
The Princess and the Frog. 1997-98/Inherit the
Wind - My Three Angels - The Gin Game - Death
and the Maiden - Rumors - The Griffin and the
Minor Canon. 1998-99/Opening Night - Sweeney
Todd the Barber - A Murder is Announced -
Someone Who'll Watch Over Me - Arsenic and Old
Lace. 1999-2000/ How Could You, Mrs. Dick? -
Harvey - Sea Marks - True West - Jake's Women -
Two Plays and a Slice of Pie I. 2000-01/Cat on a
Hot Tin Roof - Alone Together - The Kind Lady -
Jacob's Wake - Office Hours - Two Plays and a
Slice of Pie II. 2001-02/ 84, Charing Cross Rd -
Forty Carats - The Uninvited - Yesterday, the
Children Were Dancing - Chapter Two - Two Plays
and a Slice of Pie III. 2002-03/Table Manners -
The Real Inspector Hound/After Magritte - Boiler
Room Suite - The Memory of Water - My Darling
Judith - Two Plays and a Slice of Pie IV.
2003-04/ All My Sons- Who Killed Santa Claus-
Salt Water Moon- The Cocktail Hour- Over the
River and through the Woods. Two Plays and a
Slice of Pie V. 2004-05 Cause Celebre -
Greetings - The Woman in Black - If We Are Women
- How the Other Half Loves---Two Plays and a
Slice of Pie VI 2005-06 An Ideal Husband - The
Unexpected Guest -- Talley's Folly--Of the
Fields,Lately-- Ned Durango Comes to Big Oak--
Two Plays and a Slice of Pie VII 2006-2007 Our
Town---Deathtrap---Private Lives--Painting
Churches---
Don't Dress for Dinner. 2007-2008 The Winslow
Boy--Night Watch--The Kingfisher--Enchanted
April--Relatively Speaking. 2008-2009 The
Heiress--Dangerous Corner--Ravenscroft--Humble
Boy--Hay Fever. 2009/2010 Cyprienne--Cliffhanger--The
Golden Age--The Price--Key for Two.
~Co-Productions Staged at the Village Playhouse~
1997 (Scylla & Charibdis Co)Under Milkwood -
Norbury -The Valiant. 1998 (Scylla & Charibdis
Co)Exiles - Private Ear/Public Eye 2001 (Old
Factory Theatre and Onizone Productions)Scrooge
2002 (Cabbagetown Players)No Sweetheart Required
I. - (Cabbagetown Players)The Reluctant Dragon
2003 (Cabbagetown Players)No Sweetheart Required
II. (Cabbagetown Players) kid's show - 2004 (Cabbagetown
Players)No Sweetheart Required III, 2005 (Cabbagetown
Players) No Sweetheart Required IV
~Co-Productions Staged at the Village Playhouse~
1997 (Scylla & Charibdis Co)Under Milkwood -
Norbury -The Valiant. 1998 (Scylla & Charibdis
Co)Exiles - Private Ear/Public Eye 2001 (Old
Factory Theatre and Onizone Productions)Scrooge
2002 (Cabbagetown Players)No Sweetheart Required
I. - (Cabbagetown Players)The Reluctant Dragon
2003 (Cabbagetown Players)No Sweetheart Required
II. (Cabbagetown Players) kid's show - 2004 (Cabbagetown
Players)No Sweetheart Required III, 2005 (Cabbagetown
Players) No Sweetheart Required IV
