Allen's Company of Comedians

Allen's Company of Comedians was a British-Canadian theatre company, active from 1785 until 1790. They played an important pioneer role in the history of the Theatre of Canada as the first professional theatre company to perform in Canada.

The Company was founded by the British actor

American Company in Philadelphia, he left the United states to settle in Montreal

, Lower Canada in 1778, where theatre had been banned during the French period: when Canada became British in 1763, a great interest in theatre resulted in a florourishing amateur theatre, but there was no professional theatre.

After the

Les Jeunes Messieurs Canadiens

(1789).

As there was no theatre playhouse in Montréal, the Allen's Company performed in a temporary locality in the assembly room of

Shakespeare and Molière

as well as opera. Bellair also managed a dance school, Moreau-Mechtler a music school and Bentley a drama school. The company also toured to Quebec. They were active at least until 1790, and possibly longer.

References

^ James H. Marsh: The Canadian Encyclopedia
^ Dorothy E. Ryder, “MOORE, WILLIAM,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 4, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed December 23, 2019, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/moore_william_4E.html.

[1] James H. Marsh: The Canadian Encyclopedia

[2] Dorothy E. Ryder, “MOORE, WILLIAM,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 4, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed December 23, 2019, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/moore_william_4E.html.