How The Courthouse Stage Serves Saint John

The Courthouse Stage connects existing assets, supports artists throughout their careers, and creates the conditions for sustained growth, ensuring that more culture is made here, by local people, for local and visiting audiences alike.

Saint John is ready for the next stage of its cultural development, beginning by filling a critical gap.

The Courthouse Stage transforms a historic landmark into a working centre for professional theatre, anchored by the Atlantic Repertory Company (ARC) and built around a missing piece in the city’s infrastructure: a mid-sized venue.

By creating the right scale of space between existing theatres, the project enables more productions, supports local artists, strengthens partnerships, and expands what is possible.

The result is not simply a new building, but a more complete cultural ecosystem that allows Saint John to create, sustain, and showcase its own work.

Located on King’s Square in the historic Sydney Street Courthouse, the proximity to the Imperial Theatre and the BMO Studio Theatre brings more people and activity to the Uptown, and enables coordinated programming, events and festivals.

Strengthening, not replacing, existing venues

The Courthouse Stage is designed to complement - not compete with - existing facilities:

The BMO Studio Theatre will remain in full and active use as a vital space for SJTC programming and the community

The indispensable Imperial Theatre, at nearly 900 seats, serves a much larger scale of production and presentation

SJTC will continue as Imperial’s largest and most consistent customer, presenting several major productions each year

Together, these and other informal venues form a coordinated system. Each serves a distinct purpose, and together they allow work to be developed, scaled, and presented appropriately.

A creative home for the Atlantic Repertory Company

The Courthouse Stage delivers both cultural and economic benefits:

Employment and industry development

Develop and present new work

Provide sustained employment for artists

Expand training and mentorship opportunities

Build a consistent professional presence in Saint John

This level of activity requires a venue of the right size, supporting professional production without the costs and scale of a large presenting house.

Economic and Community Impact

The Courthouse Stage delivers both cultural and economic benefits:

Employment and Industry Development

Permanent roles to operate the facility

Contract work for artists, technicians, and cultural workers

Training & Education

Expanded youth and education programming

Professional development for emerging artists

Community Engagement

Programming for diverse and underserved communities

Ongoing collaboration with Indigenous partners

Tourism and City Building

New cultural tourism opportunities

Capacity to host festivals and visiting productions

Building a complete cultural ecosystem

By adding a mid-sized venue to the existing mix, the Courthouse Stage allows Saint John to move from presenting culture to producing it at multiple scales.

It connects existing assets, supports artists throughout their careers, and creates the conditions for sustained growth, ensuring that more culture is made here, by local people, for local and visiting audiences alike.