By Ravi Jain, Artistic Director, Why Not Theatre

At present, theatre audiences in Toronto are not always reflective of the cultural make up of this city. While there are many funders, artists and institutions working to address this, challenges remain.

Our theatres, for the most part, are led by people who have grown up with a Canadian perspective. For them, it makes sense to program a show by George Bernard Shaw with Christopher Plummer, a classical playwright and a star actor; this is a formula that has worked for 50 years. While there are of course exceptions, for the most part, our theatres have not strayed too far from the model. However, in our diverse city, where nearly half of residents are born outside of Canada, many cultures do not have a reference point for either George Bernard Shaw or Christopher Plummer.

To read the full blog post please visit:  

http://diversecitytoronto.ca/blog/leading-change-in-torontos-theatre-scene-a-performers-wish/