VideoCabaret was created by Michael Hollingsworth, Deanne Taylor, and The Hummer Sisters with Chris Clifford (videographer), Jim Plaxton (designer), and Andy Paterson (musician).
Since 1976, with its innovative blend of live video-installations and rock ‘n’ roll music, VideoCabaret reinvented such classics as Orwell’s 1984, Huxley’s Brave New World, and Verdi’s Rigoletto. Hollingsworth stirred controversy with his provocative early plays, Strawberry Fields, and Clear Light, which were deemed improper by the ‘morality police.’ Deanne Taylor’s work included the satirical City for Sale, and the rock-operetta 2nd Nature. The Hummer Sisters performed Dressed to Kill, The Patty Rehearsed Show, and ART VS Art (a political campaign and performance piece in which The Hummers famously ran for Mayor of Toronto.)
VideoCabaret refurbished a small theatre space in the backroom of the iconic music club on Queen Street West. Living in the penthouse of the Cameron House, Hollingsworth refined The History of the Village of the Small Huts, a satirical history cycle of 21 plays exposing Canada’s history of colonialism within a ‘black box’ designed by the company to represent a timeless void where scores of characters are conjured up in rapid-fire succession.
VideoCabaret presented The War of 1812 at the Stratford Festival and remounted the show at Soulpepper Theatre Company. This started a chain of collaborations including Trudeau & The FLQ, Trudeau & Levesque, Confederation: Part1 & 2, and The Great War with Soulpepper.
In 2019, Cliff Cardinal’s multi-character play, Too Good to be True was the first to be produced in VideoCabaret’s new east-end home at 10 Busy Street. When Deanne Taylor passed away in 2020, the company officially moved into the Deanne Taylor Theatre with assistance by longtime allies, Margie Zeidler and Suzanne Depoe.
In 2022, Layne Coleman and Aviva Armour-Ostroff (VideoCabaret) produced The Cold War written by Michael Hollingsworth and directed by Mac Fyfe. The Cold War mirrored the current political climate and was nominated for honorific awards.
Between 2022-2023, Aaron Rothermund was appointed creative and administrative leader of VideoCabaret. During this time, they skillfully created the Michael Hollingsworth Writing Circle, the Deanne Taylor New Works Festival, and reactivated the Black Box Sessions.
Layne Coleman and Aaron Rothermund (VideoCabaret in association with Crow’s Theatre) developed and produced (Everyone I Love Has) A Terrible Fate (Befall Them) written by Cliff Cardinal and directed by Karin Randoja.
In 2024, VideoCabaret collaborated with Other Hearts Collective on Muller’s Quartet directed by Harri Thomas, Corin Raymond’s Bookmarks, and with Nightwood Theatre on Rose Napoli’s Mad Madge directed by Andrea Donaldson.
VIDEOCABARET INTERNATIONAL
Founding Artistic Director / Playwright ...Michael Hollingsworth
Founding Artistic Director / Playwright....Deanne Taylor
General Manager / Artistic Producer ........Aaron Rothermund
Technical Director / Stage Manager..........Andrew Dollar
Associate Artists.................................... Cliff Cardinal, Mac Fyfe, Anand Rajaram, Aviva Armour-Ostroff, Greg Campbell, Richard Campbell, Richard Clarkin, Paul Braunstein, Kat Letwin, Cliff Saunders, Astrid Jansen, Alice Norton, Richard Feren, Merle Harley, JB Nelles.
Operations Manager……………………………Laura Pharo
Arts Admin / Development Coordinator….Anthony Chung
Media Relations..................................................Want & Able, Damien Nelson
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Marni Jackson, Jim Garrard, Janet Burke, Layne Coleman, Astrid Janson, Alice Klein, and Margie Zeidler
