Why The Artist in Society?
by Peter Hinton

With the appointment of a new artistic director come many questions for the National Arts Centre. Questions about how the English theatre will remain what it has been, and also how it will grow, change and evolve. As I've been thinking about and planning my tenure at the NAC, I thought a good point of departure would be to open up these questions to the artists we work with and, ultimately, to you, our audience. What kind of theatre should best express a National Arts Centre for Canada in the twenty-first century? It's a lofty question perhaps with few easy answers, but one that is central to anyone who commits the hopeful act of coming to spend a night at our theatre. Will you be entertained, or will you leave disappointed? Do you want to discover something new, or be told what you already know? Certainly pleasure is a part of it, we call it a "play" don't we? But if I charge you money to give you something you already understand and have seen before (or could easily see at home on television) you might call that robbery.

In 1969, the NAC was given as a "gift" to the people of Canada. It was an audacious and wonderfully optimistic present: the building of a cultural centre devoted to producing and presenting the best of our national culture. However, what does national really mean? There are so many voices to encompass: cultural, social, geographic, regional, linguistic, sexual, personal, political. There are no easy answers. I used to think this country was too large for such questions, and a national theatre a futile endeavour. However, when given the opportunity to explore that question as an artistic director, I became engaged not so much in what answer I could come up with, but rather all the possibilities that could be explored. It is the argument itself that is worthwhile. The attempt to put forward, in the best of all possible forums – the living stage – the ongoing struggle and changing nature of who we are. After all, the theatre is built upon conflict. Theatre more than any other art form celebrates the right to argue, disagree and persuade us to speculate on new and exciting different points of view. It's what I fight for with the playwrights and actors, directors and designers I work with. The willingness to think uniquely, and dare to express what hasn't been said or understood before. And I want to persuade you, the audience, to be curious and open-minded, critical and speculative, yet willing to reconsider what you thought you understood: to welcome the theatre as a place where we bring into the light, secrets and desires, joy and celebration, the trouble and the pain that the forces of ignorance and intolerance insist we keep in the dark.

With this is in mind the 2006-2007 repertoire is a season of contemporary plays that examines the meaning and value of Art. Should the theatre be solely didactic? What value does it have in our daily lives? And what about entertainment? Where does the artist sit at the table of government, education or civic life? How should the arts be represented in our schools? And, ultimately, what role does the artist play in the organization of our society: public conscience or court fool? How is the theatre really different from the world of film and television? Do we need the theatre at all?

Over the course of the season you will meet painters, poets and prodigies, conductors, composers, musicians and storytellers, activists, philosophers, revolutionaries, rockers, readers, writers and a guy who has a penchant for pratfalls. There are comedies, tragedies, musicals and plays which in and of themselves express the complexity of these questions in both form and content. Some deal with the question directly: they examine the lives of artists in ways that reveal unexplored aspects of a private life and a public persona; other plays explore the theme in a more subversive manner: from the perspective of those who are not celebrated, or the inquiry of creative expression in daily life, love… even war.

I am proud to present a season that includes 5 world premieres, 2 Englishlanguage premieres of plays from Quebec, 2 revivals of outstanding plays from the national repertoire, and 2 recent hit shows (one that has toured the world and another that is about to embark on a tour of its own). I am also proud to continue partnerships with Edmonton's Citadel Theatre, the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, and the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, and I am equally excited to introduce you to many smaller independent companies whose work has garnered critical attention across the country and who are producing with the NAC English Theatre for the first time: One Yellow Rabbit from Calgary, urban ink from Galiano Island, Nightswimming from Toronto, Théâtre du Gros Mécano from Quebec City, STO Union, which has won great acclaim in Europe and at le Festival de Théâtre des Amériques in Montreal and has recently set up home in Ottawa. And I can't tell you what joy I get out of announcing that we are coproducing with the Caravan Farm Theatre from Armstrong, BC. If you've been there, you'll know what I mean; if you haven't… a trip next summer is in order to see their production of Macbeth. These smaller independent companies truly are a real indication of the diversity and calibre of theatre practice in our country.

We will continue to present shows for families and schools, and encourage you adults to check out these productions. The characters and stories are young at heart, with the perspective of young people foremost in mind, but Disney they ain't.

In the Theatre and the Studio, we have programmed plays according to the venue that best suits the subject. Plays of a large spirit, public perspective and big canvas are in the Theatre, and the more intimate works and private subjects will be presented in the Studio. So be adventurous and try a selection from both venues. We have cast all of our productions with some of the most exciting actors in the country and have brought to the NAC designers and directors of superior innovation and excellence. Collectively it would be an ensemble to rival any of the major theatre festivals in North America.

Speaking of festivals, we are thrilled to continue our partnership with Magnetic North, and after a wild 2006 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, where Pierre Brault's Portrait of an Unidentifed Man is playing, the festival returns again to Ottawa in 2007. Look forward to more of the very best in Canadian theatre, and be able to say that you saw that special production before the rest of the world did. Last season's Half Life by John Mighton, has since played to rave reviews at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, and will tour Canada next season.

We also have thought about more ways to talk with you about our theatre. We're offering increased talkbacks with the casts and creative teams, a special pre-show interview series for every production, and a bar night once a week to provide a social opportunity to meet the staff and artists. In our Celebrity Speakers series, host Laurie Brown will interview three remarkable speakers about the Artist in Society, adding yet another perspective to the season of plays.

We're adding two new previews this season to give you a chance to get behind the scenes in a new way, and we've moved our opening nights to Fridays in the Theatre and Thursdays in the Studio. We're hoping you'll choose to spend some time with us celebrating the work and the artists at our opening night parties, whether they're at the NAC or at a venue nearby.

And finally we are introducing two new programmes: a Playwrights in Residence programme that will bring two writers to the NAC for a nine week period to work on a play especially commissioned by us for future seasons, and an annual theatre development laboratory entitled The Ark. This will bring a resident company of actors together with designers, directors, playwrights and dramaturges, in order to explore an idea in theatre for future seasons. This year we will be exploring plays of the 17th century for our season the following year, which will be inspired by the Renaissance. We will be presenting a sneak peek of our exploration in December, entitled The Jacobethan Imagination.

And we'll be continuing our commitment to education initiatives this season with professional development opportunities for artists, in-school workshops, artist-in-residence programmes, pre-performance workshops, the Student Club and, of course, school matinees.

I want to thank the extraordinary staff here at the NAC for their hard work and incredible willingness to make this theatre the best it can be. It has truly been a welcome beyond my deserving. Especially I thank Marti Maraden, my predecessor, who ran this theatre so graciously that we are now poised to take this next adventurous step.

I promise it will be an interesting body of work and I look forward to the debate the season prompts in you, one play at a time and/or each play in contrast to another. For by no means is the season intended to be a conclusive summary, but rather a spur, to prick your mind, subvert your imagination and provoke your heart as to what Theatre and Art might mean today, and what power lies in the will to create.

- PETER HINTON, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Peter Hinton
Photos: Laird Mackintosh