Mandate
Engage with the whole community through works inspired by William Shakespeare.
Working with Shakespeare is the company’s core artistic practice. This practice extends into works inspired by Shakespeare’s stories, characters, language, and themes in a broad sense. We engage with the whole community through our work, which includes those defined by geography, culture, and shared lived experiences.
Mission
Inspire connection by bringing accessible professional theatre to Ottawa and beyond.
The Fools are committed to bringing high-quality theatre to the people, and to eliminating the barriers which prevent patrons from engaging with the arts. We exist to serve the people of Ottawa and strive to share our work with surrounding communities, particularly those without access to live theatre. We aim to inspire connections at our performances, between the art, the audience, and the community we perform within.
Vision
Our vision is to bring out the Fool in everyone.
Fools are both entertainers who spread joy to others, and truth-tellers who use humour to comment on the state of the world. We believe that there is a Fool in everyone, and aim to create experiences that inspire that part of us.
History
a Company of Fools was founded in 1990 as a collective of actors performing short interactive versions of Shakespeare’s works in Ottawa’s Byward Market. This practice was expanded into Shakespeare in the Park tours in 2002. For many years the company operated as an artist collective, where a group of core artists shared producing responsibilities and created multiple productions every year. In addition to an annual Shakespeare in the Park tour, the company toured shows to festivals and schools across Canada, and even brought a performance to China!
During this period the company developed a signature performance style and an overall brand that audiences began to recognize. In 2014 the Fools joined the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, becoming one of three Ottawa theatres to use the Canadian Theatre Agreement to engage artists.
Today the Fools are best known for our Torchlight Shakespeare in the Park series, where we tour 90-minute versions of Shakespeare’s hits to parks across Ottawa and Eastern Ontario for pass-the-hat donations. This tour spans two months, offers 42 performances, and reaches over 10,000 patrons. Over 20% of the company’s patrons report that Fools shows are the only theatre productions they attend. Outside the summer season, the Fools offer educational programming in the form of our annual spring School Tour, in-school workshops, and a (Young) Company of Fools in partnership with Ottawa Children’s Theatre.
We believe that it doesn’t matter where you live, how much you make, or how old you are: theatre should be accessible to everyone.
Don’t live near a theatre? We’ll come to you.
Don’t have much disposable income? Our shows are pay-what-you-can.
Can’t find a babysitter? Bring your kids! Bring your dog, too!
Didn’t eat dinner? Bring a picnic, or grab a snack at our Front of House tent!