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For a considerable period of time, the Canada Council had been anxious to invest fairly heavily in Newfoundland theatre. Various proposals were put forward to elicit Council funds and equivalent matching grants from government. None were effective until finally the Newfoundland Theatre Company was f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Theatre Review
Main Author: Cook, Michael
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) 1975
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/ctr.7.012
https://ctr.utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/ctr.7.012
Description
Summary:For a considerable period of time, the Canada Council had been anxious to invest fairly heavily in Newfoundland theatre. Various proposals were put forward to elicit Council funds and equivalent matching grants from government. None were effective until finally the Newfoundland Theatre Company was formed. This company comprises three separate groups joined together in uneasy wedlock for the purposes of funding, and some interchange of facilities and personnel. Perhaps the best known of the trio is CODCO, a talented and dynamic group whose speciality is satire and comedy. Both of their shows, Cod on a Stick and Sickness, Death and Beyond the Grave were performed successfully here and in Toronto. Their impetus is towards the development of their individual talents, which are considerable, and they are not necessarily committed to the province itself. Significantly, they did not perform the second show outside of St. John’s, which limited their exposure and might affect their survival, for the greatest impact occurs beyond the city, in the neglected bays, where audience involvement and participation is a way of life.