Financially strapped Denise-Pelletier Theatre faces no escape options.
Out of Cash and Curses: Quebec Theaters in Financial Freefall
Caught in a time-warp of high costs and stagnant funding, Quebec theaters fight an uphill battle to keep their historic venues afloat.
Founded six decades ago, the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier (TDP) is the sole theater in Quebec catering to adolescent audiences. And like its elderly counterparts, it too is struggling to stay solvent. With a staggering 23% of its budget programmed towards the grandiose building it calls home, the red-curtained granada cinema – which dates back to 1928 – is a fiscal albatross around the theater's neck. "If funding doesn't change for us, we'll have to ask serious questions," wails general director Stephanie Laurin. "It's already heating up. I don't see an exit."
In 2022, when the theater managed a $333,000 surplus on an annual budget of $3.8 to $4 million, all appeared rosy. But by 2023, the TDP had dived into a red hole to the tune of $325,766. And in 2024, the chasm deepened, hemorrhaging $362,816. The culprit? Laurin points the finger straight at the pandemic.
"This period of artistic production interruption, with funding maintained for operations, generated accumulated surpluses." These temporary surpluses, however, have evaporated like the last drop of whiskey in a fevered dream, leaving the theater reeling in debt. "A perfect storm for the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier," estimates Laurin.
The TDP's troubles are a microcosm of Quebec's larger theater scene. Significant inflation, the increase in all costs, and the responsibility of patrimonial heritage landmarks have turned the theater world into a game of financial Jenga, with forces steadily pushing these institutions towards collapse. "There's a mathematical gap that's widening more and more," bemoans Laurin. "Our maintenance costs are increasing, fixed costs are more expensive, including insurance. We haven’t had an increase in our operational budgets from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec [CALQ] since 2017."
The theater's mission, to reach out to adolescents, relies heavily on engagement with both general and school audiences. To keep tickets affordable, they are sold at a mere $25. Yet even when shows are "sold out," Laurin laments, "it's rare that we cover the production costs of the performance." This school audience has yet to bounce back post-pandemic, representing only 55% of attendance - a far cry from the 66% it used to fetch pre-COVID. A lack of connections with a new generation of teachers has further aggravated the situation.
Denise-Pelletier's Tantalizing Hall
The theater resides in a rich and historic hall, which boasts Spanish-inspired decorations and motifs of scallop shells, grape clusters, Dionysus, and satyrs. With origins dating back to 1928, the place is old in more ways than one. The last reconstruction, executed over a decade ago at a pre-inflation cost of $10.9 million, may have to be repeated, this time with the hefty burdens of inflation included. Last year, the exterior facade posed a serious risk of crumbling, requiring emergency repairs at a hefty $175,000 price tag.
As a cultural institution, the theatre is evaluated solely on artistic grounds by fellow performing arts peers in Quebec. This, Laurin contends, is a significant oversight, as "you can't evaluate a theater season built by [artistic director and stage director] Claude Poissant and the walls of a historic cinema in the same way."
The aging Denise-Pelletier Theatre isn't the only one entangled in this financial vice. Several Quebec theaters, big and small, historic and contemporary, find themselves teetering on the edge of insolvency, their future uncertain and their red curtains drawing closer to the final act.
Take a peek at other struggling theaters and the challenging landscape they navigate:
- A whopping 2 million dollar deficit for the Tohu
- The curtain may fall on the Espace libre
- All texts in our series Scenes without money
Fuel to Fan the Creative Bonfire, Not Paperwork
To preserve their historic halls while nurturing young minds through art, cultural institutions like the TDP require more than mere financial support. They require recognition of their inherent value as a treasured part of Quebec's cultural landscape. And Europe has already shown the way, investing significantly more in its cultural sector in recent years[1].
"I regret that we were frozen in our operating budget by the CALQ," Laurin laments. "Culture remains a tiny part of the total budget. Philanthropy and private funding are not total solutions." Instead, she advocates for increased state investment in the arts, believing it forms a vital pillar of a healthy and thriving society.
"The state can play a leading role," she insists. "Granting separate budgets for maintaining historical facades and funding artistic projects could go a long way in preserving cultural heritage while fostering creativity."
[1] Reference to enrichment data: Europe's recent investments in cultural sector
- The Théâtre Denise-Pelletier, a French theater founded six decades ago and now solely catering to adolescent audiences, faces financing issues, with 23% of its budget dedicated to maintaining its historic building, which dates back to 1928.
- Stephanie Laurin, the general director of TDP, laments the lack of changes in funding from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) since 2017, resulting in escalating maintenance costs and fixed expenses.
- As Laurin contends, evaluation of the theater should not be limited to artistic grounds alone; the historic cinema's intrinsic value as a cultural landmark in Quebec needs to be considered.
- To preserve historical halls and nurture young minds through art, cultural institutions like TDP require increased state investment in the arts, according to Laurin, emulating recent European investments in their cultural sector.
