Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador (TNL) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating and producing professional theatre which reflects the lives and dirversity of our audiences on the provinces's west coast, extending to labrador and across the island of Newfoundland.
Through the Gros Morne Theatre Festival, youth theatre programming, main stage, courses in threatre instruction, and by touring productions to outport communities, TNL seeks to provide Newfoundlanders with thought-provoking and relevant entertainment, with an emphasis on regional and Canadian work.
To promote Theatre Newfoundland Labrador as a leading cultural voice for its communities, and to develop and maintain a growing arts community and audience on the west coast of Newfoundland & Labrador.
TNL actively promotes the development of theatre artists and the growth of an indigenous arts community through youth theatre instruction, the fostering of emerging artists in our winter season and at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival.
TNL reaches out to its community, by providing programmes in theatre instruction, youth theatre productions, Gros Morne Theatre Festival, and by touring mainstage productions. In so doing we aspire to enrich the cultural life of our community and to inspire new audiences to a life-long love affair with the theatre. Our programming must reflect an awareness of Canadian and world theatre as well as our own, in order to bring the world to the west coast of Newfoundland & Labrador and at the same time help our audiences to see themselves.
TNL seeks to forge an alchemy of traditional theatre rendered in fresh and innovative ways, and alternative theatre produced in ways which provide access and engagement for our audiences. We are committed to finding and helping to develop emerging artists in western Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Atlantic provinces and in Canada.
As a grassroots organization heavily involved with our communities, TNL must be as concerned with the process of developing a theatre audience and a community of artists, as with production. That means we must remain devoted to audience development and young artists and provide both with artistic leadership and a stable and creative professional context in which to develop.
Welcome to Theatre Newfoundland Labrador's 2009 Gros Morne Theatre
Festival! This is our 60th anniversary since Newfoundland joined Canada in
1949 and I can think of no better way to mark the occasion than presenting
David French's Mercer Family saga.
Five separate but connected plays that reveal the humour, sadness, and
drama of Jacob Mercer, his wife Mary and sons Ben and Bill. From a railway
station in Bay Roberts in 1923 to their home in Toronto in 1961 David French
weaves an intricate and powerful plot of a Newfoundland family struggling to
survive. The plays are funny, sad, tragic and always entertaining - they have
been performed across Canada and around the world making David French
our most successful and prolific playwright. To make things even more
exciting - this is the first time that all five plays will be presented together in
repertory!
Come and witness this extraordinary Canadian theatrical event in Cow Head
this summer! Over forty professional actors, musicians, directors, designers
and technicians working to bring David French's Mercer family to life! And
let's not forget our ever popular Ethie dinner theatre and our Neddy Norris
show!
Here's to lookin' at ya this summer!
