Soulpepper pauses training program amid ‘culture change’ at theatre
TORONTO — Normally, the Soulpepper Academy would be ramping up for a nation-wide audition process to find the finest thespians, directors and playwrights to join its prestigious paid training residency.
But as acting artistic director Alan Dilworth can attest, little has been normal about the past six months for the Soulpepper Theatre Company.
As the Toronto-based cultural institution reckons with sexual-misconduct allegations against one of its founders, the Soulpepper Academy is putting its training program on a one-year hold to conduct a review before admitting a new troupe of artists.
Between a costly legal battle, a six-figure deficit and hiccups in government funding, the not-for-profit would seem to be besieged on several fronts.