Hello! My name is Brendan and I am the founder of Riot King - an experimental arts hub producing theatre, community events, play readings, and fundraisers with the goal of building a stronger arts community for all.

We are so proud of the work we’ve been doing over the last few years - producing award-winning theatre, supporting local arts organizations like ArtReach and The 519, and bringing to life the visions of artists working across theatre, music, photography, visual art, and more. BUT as the cost of living continues to increase in Toronto, so does the cost of making art and supporting artists.

This spring, we’re gearing up to produce The Moors by playwright Jen Silverman, playing from April 3rd to 19th in The Theatre Centre’s BMO Incubator Space. The Moors is a dark comedy about love, desperation, and the dangerous results of yearning to be seen for too long. Drawing inspiration from classic Victorian Gothic novels by the Brontë sisters, but twisting the genre to become something weirder and wilder, The Moors is undeniably queer and unmistakably modern. This production employs an award-winning ensemble of six actors, as well as a creative team of seven designers, producers, and creative team members. In order to make sure these artists are paid fairly for their incredible work, we’re raising funds to cover the non-negotiable production costs to put on this amazing show.

The funds raised through this campaign will help cover the costs of production, including the theatre rental, production rights costs, design elements, including costumes, sets, and props, and any additional technical rentals that we may require to tell this incredible story. By helping cover these costs, we can allocate the profits from ticket sales to pay this all-star, award-winning team of artists.

Take a peek at these cost breakdowns below for an idea of how much it cost to put on top notch theatre in Toronto!

Non-negotiables:

-Theatre Centre rental for 3 weeks - $7500

-Technical work for Theatre Centre - $1500

-Production rights from Concord Theatrical for The Moors - $3000

Design Costs (purposefully kept low through in kind donations to prioritize artists)

-Set - $300

-Props - $200

-Costume/Hair - $250

Advertising - $750 - ($400 for Theatre Centre Lightbox, $350 for digital ads/printing)

Some additional information about the amazing cast and crew!

Leading the cast as older sister Agatha is the Dora Award-winning theatre veteran Raquel Duffy (Soulpepper, Mirvish, Canadian Stage, Neptune Theatre, Coal Mine Theatre). Younger sister Huldey will be played by Lindsey Middleton (Canadian Screen Award-nominee and Dora Award winner for Riot King’s Suddenly Last Summer, Bell Fibe TV1’s Cows Come Home). Canadian Screen Award-nominee and alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre’s Actors Conservatory Blessing Adedijo will play Emilie, the Governess, and Erin Humphry (Coal Mine Theatre’s Breathing Corpses) will play Marjory, the maid. Rounding out the cast is Jack Copland (Dora Award nomination for Three Ordinary Men, TV’s Total Drama Island) as The Mastiff, and Dora Award and Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award winner Heeyun Park 박희윤 as The Moor-Hen (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Crow’s/Mirvish).

The creative team also includes stage manager Ciaran Brenneman (Stratford Festival, Crow’s, Mirvish, Canadian Stage), lighting design by Franco Pang (Riot King/Spindle Collective, Shifting Ground Collective, Theatre Gargantua), costume design by Madeline Ius (Stratford Festival, Crow’s, Obsidian), and sound design by Christopher-Elizabeth (Tarragon, Obsidian/Crow’s, Shifting Ground Collective).

Thank you for your support!