What you didn’t know about Brantford’s local theatre

The Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts, Brantford’s local theatre, was nominated for the Best Teamwork Award for a soft seat theatre or performing arts centre for the first time this spring. The nomination was presented during the Canadian Live Music Industry’s Awards on June 4, 2024. 

Local theatre is an important part of both Wilfrid Laurier University and Brantford’s community. It is a place for people to come together and enjoy the arts in all of the forms that it comes in: music, acting or comedy among others. As well as being a place for the community to belong and celebrate together for important events.  

“It’s one of those extraordinary places in a community that people develop connections to and love for it. It’s a place where milestone things happen; we have graduations here all of the time, so people are celebrating life events here. We have people getting married here and proposing here that connects us to their lives,” said Glenn Brown, the manager of the Sanderson Centre.  

Not unlike many of the other buildings in downtown Brantford, there is a history to the Sanderson Centre. 

It began as a theatre called the Brantford Supreme Playhouse, a vaudeville theatre. A vaudeville theatre usually showed more specialized shows like song and dance or burlesque comedies. The building was later transitioned into a movie theatre because movies became more popular in 1930.  

That is until the movie theatre wanted to expand and move down the street to the mall that Laurier students now know as One Market. In 1986, the movie screens were taken down and live theatre was back.  

Buildings being repurposed is not uncommon in Brantford. Many of the buildings that Laurier had purchased that now hold classrooms have interesting histories that began long before Laurier’s lecture halls took over.  

 Brown has worked at the Sanderson Centre since 1986. This was around the same time that the building was purchased to be renovated back from being a movie theatre to a live theatre space again.  

From there, Brown worked his way up the ladder from lighting board operator to technical director to be in the managerial position he currently holds.  

“We have got your attention and your imagination for 90 minutes,” said Brown.  

There are so many options for types of shows and events for people to buy tickets and see, from dances to plays and musical and comedic performances. such as Disco Inferno and Classic Rock Revival. 

Thanks to a partnership between Laurier, Conestoga College and the Sanderson Centre, this year at a time not yet announced, Fusion Beats will be back — an opportunity for student performers to get on stage.  

This article was originally published in print Volume 24, Issue 1 on Thursday, August 29.