In 1599 a theater opened in London England. That theatre was known as the Globe. and remained the crown Jewel of European arts and culture – seeing the premier of plays by a at that point little know but now legendary playwright known as William Shakespeare.
Fast forward 424 years and travel 6,663 kilometers and you’ll find yourself at Saskatchewan’s own theatrical crown jewel – aptly also named “The Globe”.
Founded in 1966 by Ken and Sue Kramer – the Globe was Saskatchewan’s first professional theatre company and remains one of the province’s largest performing arts organizations – and the only fixed theater in the round in Canada,
The Globe is an institution – an important fixture on the prairie. Currently the theater stage is dark – as the Globe and it’s 117 year old home in Regina are in the midst of a renovation that will forever change not only the building, but the capabilities of the organization to present cutting edge theatre. The experience for theater goers is being elevated to a level this province has not seen.
That renovation however – has a ballooning price tag – and now the Globe needs your help. In May of 2022 the renovation carried a cost of $34 million, and now in just a year it’s grown to $45 million.”In addition to structural challenges, this project has not been immune to the labour, supply chain, and inflationary pressures felt by every construction project in North America,” says Jaime Boldt – the Globe’s Executive Director.
A look at the interior of the reimagined Globe Theatre – in the midst of a massive renovation project.
“The building is a beautiful old heritage building – and is essentially held together “by paint””, says Boldt – revealing that and additional factor that has lead to inflated costs are unexpected structural repairs that are necessary to be completed.
This has lead the Globe to launch a capital campaign with the tag line of “It’s Your Globe, ” the theatre is trying to make up a 12 million dollar shortfall on the construction project.
Recently an anonymous donor stepped forward. pledging to match donations from the public up to $500,000.
“We really wanted to focus our initiative on that sense of belonging that the Globe has in our community. We need to breathe life into this campaign and remind people that we are still here – and we are still working towards the goal of bringing this beautiful building back into the community.”. The “It’s your Globe” campaign will see the public offered many opportunities to contribute to the project. One way patrons can contribute is by having their name on a seat inside the theatre. This comes as a reward for a $5000 donation to the project.
“We are on the search through all levels of government and our community for about $12 million dollars to get us across the finish line, ” adds Boldt.
Boldt says the Globe is important not only from the standpoint of the arts and culture- but also on the front of employment. “We provide an opportunity for folks in the theater and the arts industry – we are one of the biggest employers in the province as the largest regional theater.” Boldt says the Globe employs Saskatchewan residents at all levels. – and additionally generates more than 5 million dollars in economic spinoff for the city of Regina.
More ways in which you can contribute to this project can be found here.
