We’ve talked a lot about theaters and venues in Montreal, although data compiled last September by the professional association of show presenters RIDEAU also included venues in the region.
Posted at 7:00 am.
RIDEAU announced that overall occupancy across all disciplines combined was 49%, according to ticketing results from 65 multidisciplinary theaters in Quebec. But like many other readers, Claude Tremblay would have liked a more detailed portrait by region or by income, which we don’t have for the last year.
“I go to a lot of theater and shows at the Gatineau Cultural Center and have only seen a few empty rooms. It may be very different from Montreal and could give a completely different picture. If so, it would be interesting to know why,” he believes.
Another reader, Nicole Haineault, writes to us: “Living in a suburb of Montreal, I strangely find that cinemas fill up months in advance. It’s impossible to get good tickets if you don’t buy them months in advance.” I would like to know the dates for theaters outside of Montreal. We have decided not to go to Montreal anymore, the city of detours and closures. Is that why the theaters are empty? »
However, low-capacity theaters that perform plays over short periods of time (e.g. 10 performances) appear to perform better, as shown by the example of the Théâtre Aux Écuries in the Villeray district of Montreal, whose performances Providencia and L’èse fabulatrice recorded overall occupancy of 90%.
The reaction of two theater directors
Claude Poissant is happy when the theaters on the outskirts of Montreal or in the region fill up. “All the better if there are more venues in Quebec, if the culture spreads, I think that’s wonderful. After that, people who want to change their habits from time to time and go to shows in Montreal or Quebec to see new things have the opportunity to do so, and that’s also very good. »
Catherine Vidal believes that theaters have an interest in their shows “circulating.” She would also like to see more co-productions with regional theaters to cover the entire area.