Christopher Plummer Exhibition & More Set for Canada's Theatre Museum 2027 Inaugural Season

Canada's Theatre Museum will officially open to the public in January 2027 at its permanent home within Toronto's Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres, launching an inaugural season of exhibitions celebrating the extraordinary artists, stories and history of Canadian performance. With free public previews planned for December 2026, the Museum will introduce a dynamic program of exhibitions spanning theatre, dance and live performance, alongside foundational exhibitions and digital programming. From Bharatanatyam to VideoCabaret, from Christopher Plummer to the evolution of Canadian dance, the inaugural season will bring the breadth of Canada's performing arts history to audiences in a new way.

Following years of pop-up exhibitions, special events and programming, Canada's Theatre Museum is preparing to welcome visitors to its permanent home regularly for the first time. This milestone creates a dedicated public space to discover and celebrate the artists, productions and stories that have shaped Canadian theatre, dance, opera, puppetry, circus and live performance.

The inaugural season will feature six Spotlight Exhibitions, beginning with Bodies of Memory: The Evolution of Bharatanatyam Dance in Canada in December 2026. Highlights also include a celebration of 50 years of youth theatre with Theatre Direct Canada, exhibitions exploring Black Canadian theatre and contemporary dance, and Christopher Plummer: In His Own Words, a major feature exhibition celebrating one of Canada's most internationally acclaimed actors.

INAUGURAL SEASON OF EXHIBITIONS

Developed in collaboration with artists, theatre companies and cultural organizations across Canada, CTM's inaugural season brings together exhibitions celebrating the people, productions and traditions that have shaped Canadian performance. Its Spotlight Exhibitions will explore specific artists, companies and cultural histories, while its Feature and Foundational Exhibitions will offer visitors a broader look at Canada's performing arts history.

FEATURE EXHIBITION

Christopher Plummer: In His Own Words | May 2027–May 2028

Christopher Plummer was an international star, but Canada -and Canadian theatre -remained central to his life and career. Drawing on exclusive access granted to CTM by Elaine Plummer, this major exhibition will explore the legendary actor through his own voice, memories and a remarkable body of work. Onstage and off, the exhibition will reveal the artist, the celebrity and the man behind some of the most memorable performances of his generation.

SPOTLIGHT EXHIBITIONS

Bodies of Memory: The Evolution of Bharatanatyam Dance in Canada | December 2026–April 2027

How does an ancient dance tradition take root in a new country—and evolve along the way? Bodies of Memory explores the evolution of Bharatanatyam in Canada and the ways generations of Canadian artists have interpreted and reimagined this Indian classical dance form. Curated by Nova Dance, this highly visual exhibition will bring Bharatanatyam to life through objects, images and video, complemented by conversations and live performance demonstrations.

You Made History. Now, Let's Share It | January – April 2027

Canadian performing arts history belongs to the people who made it. You Made History. Now, Let's Share It brings together first-person stories, photographs and memories from artists and arts workers across the country—both centre stage and behind the scenes. Created through a national open call and presented both in the Museum and online, the exhibition will reveal an ever-growing portrait of Canadian performance across disciplines, regions, communities and generations. This Canada-wide initiative from CTM will also inspire an expanding audience through digital programs and social media.

Daring Dreams: 50 Years of Theatre Direct | February – May 2027

What happens when theatre is created with young audiences at the centre of the experience? This family-focused interactive exhibition celebrates 50 years of Theatre Direct Canada and the imagination, experimentation and daring that have shaped theatre for young people in Canada. Created by Theatre Direct Artistic Director Lisa-Marie DiLiberto, the exhibition draws on the company's award-winning productions, touring history and continuing reinvention of what theatre for young audiences can be.

Sovereignty, Satire and the Unauthorized History of Canada by VideoCabaret | May – September 2027

For 50 years, the work of VideoCabaret has been prescient, revelatory and wildly funny. Its brilliantly satirical History of the Village of the Small Huts takes audiences from Jacques Cartier and Confederation through the Red River Resistance, the FLQ crisis and Brian Mulroney's Free Trade era. At a moment when questions of Canadian identity and sovereignty have a renewed urgency, the exhibition looks at the extraordinary theatrical world created by founders Michael Hollingsworth and Deanne Taylor—and the artists who helped bring their irreverent interpretation of our history to life. Curated by Astrid Janson, Layne Coleman, Marni Jackson, Janet Burke and Andy Moro.

Changing the Landscape: DanceWorks at 50 | September – November 2027

Marking five decades of DanceWorks, this multimedia exhibition explores how the organization's artist-centred approach to programming helped transform Canada's dance landscape. It highlights the remarkable diversity of artists, cultures and dance traditions presented by DanceWorks, and its influence on generations of artists and dance organizations across the country. Particular attention is given to BIPOC and diasporic artists whose contributions have helped shape contemporary dance in Canada. Curated by Dance Collection Danse Artist Researcher-in-Residence Dedra McDermott, it marks the first DCD spotlight exhibition at Canada's Theatre Museum.

they used to… Legends of Black Theatre in Canada | November 2027 - March 2028

Created by pioneering theatre artist ahdri zhina mandiela, this project imbues fresh eyes and perspective on the hidden and undocumented contributions from pioneering Black Theatre artists of the early 1970s and later; contextualizing the legacy of the first-on-the-scene artists who built careers and companies that have profoundly influenced and nurtured the Canadian theatre landscape. The exhibition will extend beyond the gallery through interviews, performances, public conversations and a special tribute to pioneering theatre artist Amah Harris.

Legend Library Live interview with Ann-Marie MacDonald and Anna Maria Tremonti. Photo by Nick Uffen.

FOUNDATIONAL EXHIBITIONS AND DIGITAL PROGRAMS

Canada's Theatre Makers introduces visitors of all ages to the development of theatre in Canada, including its roots in Indigenous performance traditions, and to the many roles involved in creating a performance, from writing, design and directing to building and performing. Partnerships with national organizations, including the Siminovitch Theatre Foundation, will broaden the stories and perspectives represented.

The Legend Library has been a huge success online, reaching over 1 million views across Canada and around the world. Now it will also have a permanent home in the galleries as a Foundational Exhibition, featuring in-depth filmed conversations with major figures in Canadian theatre. Led by R.H. Thomson and Andrew Moodie, the project includes interviews with legendary artists such as William Hutt, Martha Henry, Philip Akin, Paul Thompson, Susan Rubes and Tantoo Cardinal. Available both onsite and online, the collection preserves the voices and experiences of the artists who helped shape Canadian performance.

Origin Stories, an oral history project by director and broadcaster James Roy, will launch early in 2027 and will become a permanent digital archive. Over a two-decade period beginning in the late 1950s, Canada saw an unprecedented flowering of a new national theatre movement. Capturing the personal histories from individuals involved with the foundation of our theatre culture is the goal of this project.

VISITING CANADA'S THEATRE MUSEUM