Carousel Theatre, now in its 37th season, has produced 147 plays for young people and their families. In its early years, the company performed at several different venues in Vancouver including the Arts Club Seymour Street and the Vancouver East Cultural Centre before moving to our home on Granville Island, where we operate a small arts complex that includes administrative offices and two rehearsal halls. Carousel is one of the long-term resident tenants at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island. Founded by Elizabeth Ball in 1974, the company gained popularity and critical acclaim for its unique modern dress Shakespeare adaptations which toured to BC schools, giving students new spins on classic stories. Throughout its history, Carousel Theatre has developed and premiered many new scripts for the Canadian theatre for young audiences canon, including Dying to be Thin by Linda A. Carson, A Christmas Carol - the Musical by Mavor Moore, Basically Good Kids by Mark Leiren-Young and Suddenly Shakespeare by Kim Selody. Carousel Theatre has also launched the careers of some of Canada's top theatre practitioners.

Each season more than 40 000 young people and their families benefit from Carousel Theatre’s unique programming. Under the vision of Artistic Director Carole Higgins, Carousel Theatre stages a mainstage season of Literary Classics at the Waterfront Theatre, a Teen Shakespeare Program each summer and a year-round Theatre School for young people ages 3 to 17 years. Carousel Theatre also runs a mentorship program for fledgling theatre for young audiences companies and a new play development program. Carousel Theatre plays a unique role in the theatre ecology of our community, and is the only theatre company in BC that produces a fully professional season of mainstage programming especially for young people.

Carousel Theatre is committed to supporting and developing theatre artists for our community. Our projects team emerging talent with veteran theatre artists as a means of enriching the creative process. In addition, we support emerging theatre companies through our annual mentorship program, which provides the means for these companies to create new works and stage productions. We also host Pi Theatre, Bryan Pollock Design, and Touchstone Theatre as tenants in our administrative offices and provide affordable, accessible rehearsal space to more than 60 arts companies each year. Carousel Theatre also serves as a satellite venue for the Vancouver International Fringe Festival each September.

Carousel Theatre is a cultural leader in our community. In 2011, the company was honoured with the Jessie Award  for Outstanding Production - Theatre for Young Audiences for our acclaimed production of Bird Brain. Carousel is a member of PACT (Professional Association of Canadian Theatres), the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance, Alliance for Arts & Culture, Volunteer Vancouver and the Vancouver Theatre for Young Audiences Society.

Carousel Theatre has been creating theatre for young audiences for over 35 years and has introduced theatre to hundreds of thousands of young people. We inspire and develop new generations of artists and theatre patrons.