Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

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George Luscombe and Toronto Workshop Productions

Photos and transcription by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted June, 2015

Just east of Yonge Street at 12 Alexander Street can be seen this 2014 Heritage Toronto plaque. Here's what it tells us:

Coordinates: 43.663103 -79.382997

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In 1959, artistic director George Luscombe (1926-1999) established Workshop Theatre, one of Canada's first professional alternative theatre companies. Fuelled by the counterculture movement of the 1960s, the expanding company was renamed Toronto Workshop Productions and moved to this former warehouse in 1967.

Toronto Workshop Productions developed an innovative style, transforming documentary material into performances that ignited the political conscience of a generation. Internationally acclaimed productions included Chicago '70 (1970), Ten Lost Years (1974), and Ain't Lookin' (1980).

The recipient of honorary doctorates from York University and the University of Guelph, Luscombe was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada in 1981 for "his contributions to the development of theatre in Canada." He retired in 1986 and Toronto Workshop Productions closed two years later. In 1989, Luscombe and the local performing arts community successfully advocated for the building's perpetual use as a community theatre space, and it was purchased by the City of Toronto.

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