Theatre of the Beat (TOTB) is a Canadian touring theatre company founded in 2011 with a mission to spark conversations on social justice. We leverage the power of original plays and musicals, as well as complementary drama-based workshops and talkbacks, to engage communities in meaningful dialogue on critical issues such as 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion, gender-based violence, elder abuse, restorative justice, and peace in times of conflict.

Over our 15 years, we have staged 15+ original productions that reached 30,000+ audience members and sparked discussion about compelling social topics. In line with our values – curiosity, community, collaboration, play, sustainability, and social justice –  our commitment extends beyond the stage to engage with audiences in an immersive cultural exchange, fostering a deeper understanding of social justice issues. Balancing challenging and thought-provoking topics with care, compassion, and levity, we create and perform in diverse settings from theatres and festivals to schools, prisons, community centres, churches, and universities across Canada as well as internationally in the United States and the Netherlands.

Alongside our productions, TOTB hosts workshops that use interactive drama to help students, seniors, community groups, and associations develop skills in consent and boundary-setting, mental health, recognition of abuse, active bystandership, and restorative justice. 

TOTB is driven by a dual vision of our work as compelling, high-quality storytelling and as a force for change. We see socially-engaged theatremaking as a practice that holds space for tension – between differing perspectives, experiences, stories, and community needs – and celebrates the empathy, connection, and inspiration toward change that “playing” in those spaces can catalyze.