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Red Barn Theatre, Jackson's Point
Red Barn Theatre, Jackson's Point
Red Barn Theatre
Red Barn Theatre
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Canada's longest running professional theatre, right here in York Region, makes its home in a barn over 130 years old.

A young actor named Alfred Mulock leased the barn from its owner, Jack Sibbald, in 1949, in order to make it into a theatre. It took about $20,000 to convert and refurbish the barn in order to transform it into a playhouse. The first performance took place on July 1, 1949.

The play was Lillian Hellman's drama “The Little Foxes”, and it received excellent reviews. The new playhouse was hailed as the best place for summer theatre ever seen. Though the Red Barn Theatre has changed owners, operators, and producers many times since then, the theatre's reputation for quality entertainment has been unwavering.

Today, the theatre is operated by the Lake Simcoe Arts Foundation, which was created in part to save the building from demolition when it was bought by developers in 1973.

Founded by Jack Sibbald's son John, the group purchased the property from the developers and now oversees its operation. The theatre not only provides quality entertainment, but also offers evenings including dinner and a show. Guests can enjoy a quality home-cooked meal, eaten in renovated stalls still labelled for the livestock they once housed, and a live performance.

Best of all, prices are more than reasonable, not to mention the added benefit of student, senior, and group discounts.

This season, the Red Barn Theatre will be putting on a vast array of shows. For those looking for a laugh, comedic plays ranging from the absurd to the truly adult are sure to entertain, in addition to the arrivals of The Great Canadian Comedy Show and Yuk Yuk's adult comedy nights.

For those interested in live music, the Red Barn Theatre is a great intimate venue with excellent acoustics. This season, theatregoers can look forward to a musical tribute to the 1960s and a musical revue entitled “Broadway Treasures”, in addition to the arrivals of Freddy Vette and The Flames, and Juno Award-winning musician George Fox.

The theatre's 290 seats, most of which have a long and interesting history in and of themselves, are sure to be filled with enthusiastic audiences all season long.

The Red Barn Theatre is located at 991 Lake Drive East, in Jackson's Point in the municipality of Georgina. For more information, call 1-888-RED-BARN or visit www.redbarntheatre.ca.



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