Catalyst Theatre

Between 1978 and 1996, Catalyst Theatre’s offices were located in the Macleod Building in downtown Edmonton and later in the Garneau Community League on Edmonton’s southside. In 1996, Catalyst moved from the Garneau Community League to a derelict warehouse in Old Strathcona where they completed a renovation that included re-roofing, installing public washrooms, offices, lobby, studio and office space, dressing rooms, a green room and a performance space. The space was leased from the building’s owner, the Edmonton Jazz Society, which operates the Yardbird Suite, a performance venue at the north end of the same building.

In 2000, Catalyst raised the roof and removed the pillars, creating a 2400 SF black box theatre with 20-foot-high ceilings. From 2000 to 2015, the company developed and presented its productions in this space, as well as producing an annual international presenting series (“Blind Dates"). During this time, Catalyst also rented the theatre to the Edmonton International Fringe Festival each year as a Fringe Venue as well as renting to a variety of Edmonton-based theatre, music, and dance companies throughout the season.

In 2015, Catalyst became a resident company at the Citadel Theatre in downtown Edmonton and raised $1.2 million to renovate the Citadel’s Maclab Theatre and lobby and to build a suite of offices where they continue to be based.

The black box theatre created by Catalyst Theatre continues to be an important part of Edmonton’s inventory of live performance venues and has been home to Theatre Network (2015 to 2021) and Workshop West Theatre (2022 to the present).

Between 1997 and the present, Catalyst has been presented at such festivals as the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT), Luminato (Toronto), The Edinburgh Fringe, Carrefour International de Théâtre (Québec), PuSh Festival (Vancouver), High Performance Rodeo (Calgary), and Magnetic North (Ottawa). They have performed at such theatres as the Barbican Theatre (London), New World Stages (NYC), the New Victory Theatre (NYC), the Liverpool Playhouse, The Traverse (Edinburgh), The Tron (Glasgow), The Pleasance (London), La Caserne (Quebec), The National Arts Centre (Ottawa), Canadian Stage (Toronto), The Grand (London, ON), Theatre Calgary, Vertigo Theatre (Calgary), ATP (Calgary), Persephone Theatre (Saskatoon), The Globe (Regina), The Eric Harvie Theatre (Banff Centre for the Arts), Vancouver Playhouse, The Arts Club (Vancouver), and The Cultch (Vancouver), as well as many other theatres across Canada, the UK, the United States and Australia.^[5]