Garrick Theatre

The Garrick Theatre is a multi-use cultural facility located in the heart of Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It operates as a cinema, live performance venue, and community events space, and is owned and operated by the Bonavista Historic Townscape Foundation. The theatre opened on Christmas Day, 1945, founded by 21-year-old John Bradley, and has since served as a central gathering place for the Bonavista Peninsula. Its programming spans mainstream and independent film, live music and performance, culinary events, author readings, lectures, and trivia nights. The venue features comfortable theatre seating for 200, digital cinema projection, state-of-the-art sound and lighting, and exceptional acoustics. It also includes an intimate performance space known as the Annex. The Garrick has weathered significant economic and social changes, most notably the 1992 cod moratorium, which deeply affected the Bonavista community. Today it remains an active cultural hub, supported by the Bonavista Historic Townscape Foundation and a monthly newsletter that keeps patrons informed of upcoming events.

The Garrick Theatre opened on Christmas Day, 1945, founded by 21-year-old John Bradley. On that opening day, Bradley peered through the windows of the Garrick's double doors, watching the gathering crowd on the street outside. Optimism was in the air: World War II had ended, Newfoundland's return to some form of self-government seemed inevitable, and opportunities abounded. The Bonavista Cottage Hospital, the first publicly-funded medical facility on the peninsula, had been completed during the war, followed by the Bonavista Cold Storage Company's new premises, which employed hundreds of men and women in the processing and export of frozen cod. Newfoundland's prolonged version of the Great Depression had faded in the wake of wartime prosperity, and Bradley had every reason to believe the Garrick would thrive. For the first three decades, the Garrick was open seven nights a week with matinees on Saturday. It was not unusual for people to come in carloads from as far away as Open Hall or Trinity to see the latest movies. Older boys and men would gather in the lobby for conversation. Patrons helped take tickets and clean up, making it difficult to distinguish between paid employees and volunteers. Saturday matinees were the domain of the young—a time for meeting friends and making new ones. In an era when children were separated not only by community but also by denominational schools, the Garrick was a great melting pot where all could meet without the strict supervision of parents, teachers, or clergy. There were challenges to the theatre's success in later years, but none so great as the cod moratorium imposed in 1992. The shock of social and economic dislocation that followed still reverberates today. Bonavista's population fell from about 5,500 at the time to just 3,500. Despite these hardships, the Garrick endured and evolved. Today it is owned and operated by the Bonavista Historic Townscape Foundation and operates as a multi-use cultural facility. It offers a genre-busting program of live performance on its Main Stage or in the intimate Annex, mainstream and independent film in its digital cinema, and a range of community events from culinary gatherings to author readings, lectures, and trivia nights. The theatre seats 200 and features state-of-the-art sound and lighting and exceptional acoustics.

• 1992

  Cod moratorium imposed, causing severe social and economic dislocation in Bonavista; population falls from about 5,500 to 3,500.

• 1945

  Garrick Theatre opens on Christmas Day, founded by 21-year-old John Bradley.

A big city theatre in the heart of a small town, offering a genre-busting program of live performance, film, and community events.

• Live performance on Main Stage

• Live performance in the Annex

• Mainstream and independent film screenings

• Culinary events

• Author readings and lectures

• Trivia nights

1. 1Garrick Theatre official websitegarricktheatre.ca
2. 2Our Story — Garrick Theatregarricktheatre.ca
3. 3Garrick Theatre — Wikidatawikidata.org