World Theatre Day 2025

A message from PGC’s Board President, Christopher Tolley

This year, World Theatre Day arrives as both a wake-up call and a rallying cry.

Powerful forces from elsewhere are growing bolder in their attempts to blur our borders, dilute our identity, and erase much of what makes our culture truly distinct. But as playwrights, our purpose has never been clearer. Every word we write, every character we give voice to, and every story we tell is a bold assertion of our cultural sovereignty.

It is through our plays that we challenge, protect, and define what it means to be Canadian.

Margaret Atwood’s words have never rung truer: “A country needs to hear its own voices if it is to become or to remain an aware society, and a functioning democracy.”

As playwrights, it is our sacred duty to ensure these voices are heard—clearly, urgently, and without compromise.

Theatre is a place where truth emerges. It is where empathy, honesty, and complexity are not just permitted—but are applauded. We find joy in nuance, and reverence in humanity. And while others are starting to turn away from this, we choose to embrace it—to write about it. And we do so with courage, and conviction.

But as Canadian storytellers, we understand that safeguarding our culture also means embracing others.

As neighbours turn inwards, we look beyond. Our stories connect audiences across different languages, identities, and regions, weaving together the many threads that make us unique. While some turn their backs on this powerful tapestry, we as playwrights and as Canadians, know better. We understand that diversity is not a threat, but a strength.

Yet, we not only embrace the world; we also know our place within it.

We see this in last year’s production of Ins Choi’s acclaimed Kim’s Convenience at London’s Riverside Studios, Cliff Cardinal’s recent production of As You Like It, or The Land Acknowledgement at the 2025 Sydney Festival, and Jordan Tannahill’s upcoming off-Broadway world premiere of Prince Faggot, not to mention the many other esteemed Canadian productions seen around the world. Canadians are asserting themselves unapologetically on the global stage.

So let’s continue to write with passion and bravery. Let’s continue to tell stories that inspire, unite, and matter. Theatre is our voice of resistance. It is a bold defence against any threat to what makes Canada—Canada.

Today, on World Theatre Day, we stand united, as Canadians and artists of the world, determined not merely to preserve our culture—but to boldly define its future.