Canada’s only permanent theatre-in-the-round was hollowed out like a pumpkin nearly four years ago.
Work crews removed thousands of kilograms of concrete. They added reinforcements and new features.
More than $40 million later, the Globe Theater in Regina, Saskatchewan’s largest professional theater company, is almost ready to reopen.
“It’s been a labor of love for many people but a massive undertaking,” executive director Jaime Boldt says while providing a tour of the construction site.
Flooring, tiles and fixtures have not yet been added, but patrons can already get a sense of the new space before its scheduled reopening in November.
There will be more seats around the stage. And no matter where people sit, they’ll get an unobstructed view. Before the renovation, some areas were cramped, says Boldt.
“We added bigger seats, more leg room, wider aisles and, of course, cupholders,” she says.
A new catwalk above the stage will let production crews hang lights or other props. A trap room below lets actors sink into or emerge from the stage during performances.
Both features will bring a sense of magic that the theater had been unable to create before, Boldt says.
“Maybe you have a show where a witch would melt into the floor or they’d appear up. Imagine a little puff of smoke. Boom! And something comes from below.”
The Globe, featuring in-house productions, has been integral to the arts community in Regina and southern Saskatchewan.
It also offers a summer theater school for adults and teens wanting to learn how to write, act and improvise.
With the theatre-in-the-round concept, shows take place in the middle of the room and seats surround the stage at every angle. Audiences tend to feel closer to the set, and actors must keep moving so spectators don’t just look at the back of the characters’ heads.
Over the years, the Globe has let emerging artists flex their craft, says Boldt.
Actor Tatiana Maslany, who was born and raised in Regina, had a few stints in the round before she went on to win an Emmy for her lead role in the Canadian science-fiction thriller series “Orphan Black.” She recently starred in the Disney Plus show “She-Hulk.”
The Globe is one of the most unique spaces in the country for those in the industry, Boldt says.
“There’s only a handful of us in the world that have fixed theatres-in-the-round. People really want to come, be onstage and design. They talk about the intimacy of our theatre.
“It’s beautiful and it’s very special.”
Other additions to the building include a new box office and a community theater, as well as rooms for production crews.
A grand staircase takes people to the lobby on the third floor, which features two bars and views of downtown Regina. Above that is office and administrative space.
Boldt says the renovation cost was initially budgeted at $29 million but that has since grown to more than $40 million.
The increase is due to soaring construction costs and unanticipated work, as the 117-year-old heritage building was in worse shape than initially thought.
The Prince Edward Building was Regina’s post office and city hall before the Globe took it over in 1981.
“We didn’t know what we didn’t know. And who knew there was going to be a pandemic? We were not immune to the supply chain issues and the labor shortages that came along with that,” Boldt says.
“When we literally started peeling back some of the membrane from the roof, the concrete came up with it.”
The federal and provincial governments together provided $19.8 million for the renovation and the city offered $8.5 million. The Globe has funded most of the rest but has reached out again to Ottawa and Saskatchewan for a top-up.
Boldt says Regina’s downtown, like other city cores across the country, is struggling.
Once the Globe reopens, though, Boldt hopes it will bring back life to the area. For the past few years, Globe productions have toured across the city at different venues.
“I love that we dated around town, but we’re ready to come home and our patrons are ready for us to come home,” she says.
“This has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It has been a journey, but it’s been worth it.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2024.