The Shaw Theaters in Ontario, Canada are the host of the one of North America's most popular festivals, The Shaw Festival.
The festival started in 1962 and featured plays of Bernard Shaw, such as Don Juan in Hell and Candida. The Shaw Festival is an art theater rather than a commercial theater, therefore it is a not-for-profit and charitable organization. In the first decade of the annual festival the audience growth was exponential, therefore the company toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada. Today, they produce 10-12 plays each season with over 800 performances in 3 different theaters. Previously run out of the Assembly Room on the historic Court House, in 1973 Queen Elizabeth II opened the beautiful Festival Theater which allowed the company to host large-scale productions drawing national and international acclaim. Today, the festival is run out of three different theaters, the Festival Theater, the Courthouse Theater, and the Royal George Theater. The largest is the Festival Theater, this is where the large-scale presentations are presented. It seats 856, which is still intimate by most standards, and is home to a Café and Bernards, a retail shop. The Court House Theater host the most challenging and intimate works produced by the company and it seats 327. Last but not least is the Royal George Theater. Built in 1915 as a little vaudeville house, and acquired by the Shaw Festival in 1980, this theater is where the most popular plays are presented and seats 328.
