Canada’s Theatre Museum at Montgomery’s Inn
Wednesday | June 3, 2026 at 2:00 - 06:00 PM
Montgomery’s Inn Museum, Toronto. Image source: National Trust for Canada website.
This June, Canada’s Theatre Museum is stepping outside the museum walls and into the community. On June 3, 2026 we’ll be taking part in the Pride Flag Raising and Farmers’ Market Festival at Montgomery’s Inn Museum, joining families, neighbours, and visitors of all generations for an outdoor gathering that marks the beginning of Pride Month.
If you’re in Toronto, come by and say hello. And wherever you are across Canada, we hope this season brings opportunities to connect with Pride Month activities in your own community, from flag-raising events and outdoor festivals to local gatherings and celebrations.
Past Event Highlights: Lawrence and Miriam Adams Dance History Lecture
From left to right: Dr. Seika Boye; Miriam Adams; Dance Collection Danse’s educational kits on display. Photos by Nick Uffen.
Our special events and digital programming reflect CTM’s role in illuminating our shared expressions of theatre as essential and enriching elements of Canada’s social fabric. Through deep conversations, performances, and shared reflections, our programs set the stage for audiences to explore the past, present, and future of the performing arts in Canada.
As a story-based museum, CTM holds space for many perspectives and many forms of performance, recognizing the rich diversity of voices, practices, and experiences that shape theatre in Canada. This recap highlights a few moments and reflections from our recent programs.
Canada’s Theatre Museum was pleased to celebrate this year’s International Dance Day with Dance Collection Danse and Dr. Seika Boye.
Dr. Boye’s lecture reflected on the educational legacy of Dance Collection Danse over the years, using her own artistic and scholarly journey as a lens and discussing how DCD influenced her practice and research. She was then joined by DCD co-founder Miriam Adams and Executive and Curatorial Director Amy Bowring for a conversation about learning and mentorship in dance.
Past Event Highlights: Toronto Through a Global Lens: A Curator’s First Year in Toronto
From left to right: Shiralee Hudson Hill, Acting Director of Museum and Heritage Services for the City of Toronto; Tandazani Dhlakama, Curator of Global Africa at the Royal Ontario Museum; and guests at the event. Photos by Nick Uffen.
Toronto Museum Network Spring Social
Canada’s Theatre Museum was pleased to host the Toronto Museum Network’s Spring Social, welcoming museum professionals from across the city for conversation, connection, and reflection.
The event featured a thoughtful discussion between Tandazani Dhlakama and Shiralee Hudson Hill, exploring Toronto museum practice through a global lens and connecting international experience with current issues relevant to the broader museum sector.
Past Event Highlights: Canadian Theatre on Film and National Canadian Film Day
Martha Henry as Prospero in The Tempest. Photo by David Hou. Linda Butler as Ophelia and Steven Bush as Polonius in Thog's Hamlet. Image by Richard Leiterman.
This year, Canada’s Theatre Museum marked National Canadian Film Day with not one, but two screenings of theatre on film. From the raw, collaborative energy of Thog’s Hamlet (1971) to the commanding performance of Martha Henry in Stratford Festival’s The Tempest (2018), these screenings captured two different, but equally impactful Canadian interpretations of Shakespeare’s classics. A special display of costumes from The Tempest added a tangible connection to the work on screen.
The day began with Thog’s Hamlet, introduced by actor, writer, and director Joel Chico, who reflected on the political and cultural climate surrounding its creation. Recounting his first time seeing the film, he shared, “It brought me back to a past I wish I could have known.” Following the screening, Chico led a mind-expanding discussion with Linda Butler and Steven Bush, members of the original creative team, offering rare insight into the production’s bold, collective spirit.
The program continued with the Stratford Festival’s 2018 production of The Tempest, introduced by Vilma Mancini, Film Sales and Marketing Coordinator at Stratford. Actor André Morin, who portrayed Ariel opposite Martha Henry’s Prospero, also shared stories from the rehearsal process, including a piece of advice from Henry herself: “Just say the words, and one day Shakespeare will tap you on the shoulder and whisper in your ear what they mean.”
Thank you to our partners REEL CANADA and the Stratford Festival for helping bring this memorable celebration of Canadian Theatre on Film to life.
Past Event Highlights: Martha Henry Legend Library Interview
Still image from the Legend Library interview with Martha Henry.
Looking for more Martha Henry? Watch our 2006 Legend Library interview, where she shares memories of the many theatre greats she’s worked with over her career, discusses acting techniques and her training, and gives her thoughts on playing a female Prospero.
Martha Henry was an actor and director known for her work over 47 seasons of the Stratford Festival, including over 30 Shakespeare plays. She also acted in theatres across Canada, including Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Theatre Aquarius, Centaur Theatre, Citadel Theatre, and Coal Mine Theatre. She was also an accomplished director, directing at the Stratford Festival, the River Run Centre, Canadian Stage, and the Shaw Festival. She received numerous awards, including five Genie Awards and four Gemini Awards for her work in film and television, the Toronto Drama Bench Award for Outstanding Contribution to Canadian Theatre, a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Order of Ontario, and the Order of Canada.
Past Event Highlights: World Theatre Day at Canada's Theatre Museum
From left to right: Walter Borden, Canadian World Theatre Day Ambassador; and guests at the event. Photos by Dahlia Katz.
World Theatre Day has already become one of Canada’s Theatre Museum’s signature annual gatherings — a moment to bring artists, supporters, partners, and theatre lovers together to recognize the vital contribution of theatre to Canada’s cultural life.
This year’s event was presented in partnership with TAPA Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology (CITT/ICTS), and the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT). Special thanks to our generous venue partner: the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres.
The event featured a moving speech from Canadian World Theatre Day Ambassador Walter Borden, exciting announcements from the Ontario Heritage Trust and TAPA, and performances from the cast of The Drowsy Chaperone by Shifting Ground Collective.
There is no place like home!
Canada’s performing arts connect generations, regions and artistic traditions through work that continues to shape our cultural landscape. At Canada’s Theatre Museum, we illuminate this creativity by shining a spotlight on the stories, voices and ideas that energize theatre in Canada today and those shaping its future.
Your contribution helps us create a national space where people gather, learn, connect and feel inspired by our culture and creativity. It strengthens a community of artists, audiences and theatre lovers who want to see the performing arts in Canada championed, celebrated and elevated.
With your support, we create experiences that highlight the artists who move us, the collaborations that shift the landscape and the emerging voices who are redefining what theatre in Canada can become.
