Canadian Theatres Work on Renovations Amidst the Pandemic

Theatres throughout Canada have been working on various renovations throughout the course of the pandemic in hopes of having a new and improved experience when audiences can return again, The Globe and Mail reports.

Winnipeg's Burton Cummings Theatre, also known as The "Burt" has undergone major renovations since its last show took place in March 2020.

Changes have been made to the seats, lights, toilets, drapery and more, and repainting has also taken place.

Additionally, The Shaw Festival is still planning to do a renovation of one of its three main venues, the Royal George Theatre. The theatre will be made more accessible to people with disabilities.

"We completed archeological studies of the site [finding nothing significant] and bought the property behind, a parking lot, which we hope will turn into a walking area with garden paths," said Tim Jennings, executive director of the Shaw Festival.

Crow's Theatre has gone as far as removing seats to make streaming productions easier.

"We took out all the seats in the theatre so we could do streaming performances, which was easy because we're configured to move our seats whenever we need to," said the theatre's artistic director, Chris Abraham.

"We also married a three-course meal from the restaurant, which you order and eat at home, with on-screen concerts, and then we partnered with restaurants across the country to produce a version of this for New Year's Eve - dinner and a show," he adds.

Read more on The Globe and Mail.