Annex Theatre Schedule

Did You Know?

Shadowland Theatre is a community arts theatre and collective of visual and theatre artists on Toronto Island.

Welfare State principals Boris and Maggie Howarth were hired to assist and the result was "Island Follies", a historical fantasia."Toronto Star", July 25, 1984, Greg Quill, "Mainlanders invited to vaudeville history of Toronto Island." B3. In 1985 Smith and Coleman handed over the company to the key group of Toronto Island artists who worked on the show — Kathleen Doody, Leida Englar, Jerry Englar, Brad Harley and Sarah Miller — and it was renamed Shadowland Theatre.Shadowland’s early development was significantly influenced by Welfare State's format of professional artists engaging communities in collective performance, and this method has become the backbone of Shadowland’s way of working ever since.

Other major influences are Bread and Puppet Theater, Peter Minshall and Trinidad Carnival ( leading to many years of involvement in Caribana parades) and ongoing working relationships with many Caribbean artists.

The first production, Radio Ghost,"Toronto Star", April 1, 1982, D7 a musical about the fictional meeting of Canadian radio inventor Reginald Fessenden and radio diva Jessica Dragonette, was co-written by Christopher and Coleman and toured artist-run centres across Canada.During the World Stage in 1982, the British company Welfare State International worked in collaboration with the Toronto Island community to produce the Tempest on Snake Island.

These influences have contributed to Shadowland's bold and visually distinctive form of theatre and performance events.

It is a professional, not-for-profit theatre company and registered charity, incorporated in 1994.Shadowland Repertory Company (named after the early Hollywood magazine, Shadowland) was founded"Toronto Star", July 25, 1984, ""Mainlanders invited to vaudeville history of Toronto Island", B3 in 1982 by Elizabeth M.Christopher and Victor Coleman with a mandate of producing musicals using shadow puppetry and other alternative theatrical media.