The end is near for the Shaw Festival’s Spiegeltent in Niagara-on-the-Lake, with its final show scheduled for Sept. 28.
Although the closure is bittersweet for fans of the new festival fixture, staff say they understand why it’s necessary.
The Spiegeltent, a 1922 antique structure leased from Belgium, was originally intended as a one-year addition to the festival. Its popularity, however, led organizers to extend the lease for two more years.
The tent is returning to its original home, a company in Belgium called Magic Mirrors, as announced by the festival earlier this year.
“It’s been a very popular site,” said executive director Tim Jennings.
“The thing about the Spiegeltent for us is that it’s a bit of our fringe festival within a festival,” he said, “a space to do things that are a little different, a little more raw … a little more experimental.”
Despite its success, Jennings said practical limitations and the agreement with the museum require the venue to be returned.
“The summers have been so hot that it’s hard to air condition. That’s something we want to think about if we bring a new one over,” he said.
He added that the tent can’t be used in the winter and “you don’t want them sitting in water for long periods of time.”
This year’s program described continuing to rent the Spiegeltent as “throwing money down the drain” and suggested the festival should “buy one of our own. Or even better, build one.”
Jennings said that while a return of the Spiegeltent is possible in the future — “in a couple years we may bring one back” — the festival is currently focused on the Artists’ Village.
The new facility, part of the ongoing All.Together.Now fundraising campaign, will include both indoor and outdoor performance areas.
“It’s been a fantastic cabaret space,” Jennings said of the Spiegeltent.
Five productions were staged in the venue this season: “Dear Liar,” “La Vie en Rose,” “May I Have the Pleasure,” “Through the Wardrobe” and “Ella and Louis.” The final show, “Ella and Louis,” will close the tent on Sept. 28.
A spiegeltent is a round, portable entertainment venue built from wood and canvas, typically featuring mirrors and stained glass.
