Shaw Festival has raised 70 per cent of $150M goal to reinvent theatre institution

An artist rendering design of a replacement for the Royal George Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., is shown in this handout image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Shaw Festival, Unity Design Studio **MANDATORY CREDIT**

The Shaw Festival says it’s raised 70 per cent of the $150 million it needs to reinvent the theatre institution’s role in southern Ontario.

Artistic director Tim Carroll says the $110 million the festival has raised so far comes from a combination of the province, the federal government and private donations.

He says they’re now soliciting donations more broadly because they see the finish line in sight.

The Shaw Festival in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ont., plans to expand its footprint with an artists’ village beside the current Festival Theatre that will include performance and classroom spaces.

The organization also plans to create a new downtown campus, including a new theatre to replace the crumbling Royal George Theatre.

The Shaw says it wants to create a community hub that brings people together and encourages deeper engagement with the theatre.

Carroll says theatregoers are already inspired by what they see on stage, and the Shaw plans to foster that inspiration.

“In future you will come to ‘Anything Goes,’ and then you can go and take a tap dance class, or you can come to a comedy show and you can then go and take an improv class or a comedy class,” he said Monday.

He said it will go beyond performance — there will also be classes for technical theatre skills such as scene design.

“We want everyone to be able to find where their joy is and to be able to release their own artist,” Carroll said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2025.

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press