Our Mission, Vision and Values
As Canada’s foremost feminist theatre, Nightwood provides an essential home for the creation of extraordinary theatre by women and gender expansive folks. Founded in 1979, Nightwood Theatre upholds a long-standing tradition of giving voice to many of the leading theatre artists in the country and of contributing to the national canon of plays by women, creating and producing award-winning plays which have received Dora Mavor Moore, Chalmers, Trillium, and Governor General's Awards. The company is helmed by Artistic Director Andrea Donaldson and Managing Director Naz Afsahi, whose leadership has received public acclaim for artistic excellence, the successful training and development of emerging talent, and their on-going advocacy around gender equity. Our values are provocation, empowerment, feminism, inclusivity, integrity, opportunity and respect.
About Nightwood Theatre
Nightwood Theatre has created, produced and toured award-winning plays that have garnered Dora Mavor Moore, Chalmers, Trillium and Governor General’s awards, such with GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA (GOOD MORNING JULIET) by the acclaimed playwright and novelist Ann-Marie MacDonald, HARLEM DUET by Djanet Sears, PRINCESS POCAHONTAS AND THE BLUE SPOTS by Monique Mojica, UNHOLY by Diane Flacks, EVERY DAY SHE ROSE by Andrea Scott and Nick Green, and LO (OR DEAR MR. WELLS) by Rose Napoli, among others. Nightwood is known for partnerships with local and national partners, bringing the most vital feminist works – by our nation’s most important voices – to the stage.
In Shelley Scott’s book Nightwood Theatre: A Woman’s Work is Always Done she quotes Professor Rita Much in saying: “By nurturing an entire generation of women theatre artists — writers, designers, directors, actors, Nightwood Theatre has made a permanent impression on the nature and scope of contemporary Canadian theatre, its politics and its aesthetic, as well as the conditions in which this theatre is created.”
Nightwood typically produces several full productions in Toronto’s most beloved mid-sized theatre venues, alongside The Groundswell Festival, an annual festival of new works each season. In its early days, we produced FemCab, Nightwood’s notorious annual celebration of International Women’s Day, which has inspired a new event entirely produced and curated by the emerging theatre-makers in our Innovator Program, aptly retitled Fempocalypse.
With Nightwood's Innovators Program, we empower emerging theatre practitioners with the skills and connections needed to produce their own work, building a community of artists that are emboldened to build their own theatre companies or strengthen the ecology of established companies. Now in its 21st year, our annual playwrights program Write From The Hip has become a key milestone for playwrights emerging in craft. Additionally, throughout our season we host community gatherings such as Nightwood’s Community Choir, Rising Moon and our patriarchy-smashing Feminist Unconference to unpack all things feminist in theatre.
As an equity-seeking organization, our mandate continues to be relevant as we continue to advocate for, celebrate and connect gender oppressed artists with audiences who are passionate about consuming intersectional feminist culture. We are continuously investigating what the cultural shifts in feminism and gender mean for a company such as Nightwood by actively reflecting and refining our values, ensuring they are embedded in all of our relationships.
