Shaw Festival Theatre

About Shaw Festival Theatre:

The Shaw Festival's (SF) namesake is the famed playwright George Bernard Shaw, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Its mandate is to produce plays written during or about the period of Shaw's lifetime (1856-1950). In 1962, SF first performed at the Court House Theatre. Today, SF still uses this theatre and three additional theatres: Festival Theatre (for large-scale productions), Royal George Theatre and the Studio Theatre, all located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

In 1985, SF established an academy to promote the informal exchange of skills among company members. Now, the Slaight Family Academy offers professional training, play development programs, and public enrichment activities. It also publishes house programs and other initiatives such as the translations of scripts.

In 2014 nearly 250,000 people attended SF productions, with 35% of the audience from outside of Canada.

Financial Review:

In F2014 administrative costs were 12% of revenues, while fundraising costs were 29% of donations. The organization has total funding reserves of $587k, which only cover 3% of annual program costs.

This financial analysis does not include the net assets and results of operations of the Shaw Festival Theatre Endowment Foundation.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to the charity for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated August 24, 2015.