The Dora Awards, the biggest night of the year for Toronto’s theatre, dance and opera, happens tonight, and you can bet one of the big buzz topics will be the cut to the SummerWorks funding.
In a press release issued today, SummerWorks announced the theatre and arts festival’s “tremendously productive five year partnership with Heritage Canada” is over.
“The Festival has just received notice that this partnership is not going to be renewed for the 2011 season,” wrote artistic producer Michael Rubenfeld.
There’s no mention in the release about the controversy caused by a Sun Media article criticizing government funding of the festival, in particular Catherine Frid’s play Homegrown, about convicted “Toronto 18” terrorist Shareef Abdelhaleem, which premiered at least year’s fest.
The grant – worth an estimated $40,000 – makes up about 20% of the 10-day festival’s budget. And its loss just over a month away from the festival comes as a blow. The festival is sending out a notice to supporters asking for a minimum donation of $21. (It’s SummerWorks’s 21st season this year.)
The annual festival has premiered some outstanding shows over the past two decades, including many works that went on to further success, like the recently Dora Award nominated The Middle Place, Montparnasse and If We Were Birds.
SummerWorks takes place August 4-14 in the Queen West neighbourhood. SummerWorks.ca
