National Arts Centre

More than 50,000 signed petition calling for Shin Yun's return to Ottawa More than 50,000 Canadians have signed a petition calling on the National Arts Centre to allow Shin Yun Performing Arts to return to Ottawa after the government-owned venue decided not to host the show for the 2026-2027 season.

Fans of Xinyun Canada, a community of audience members and supporters, is requesting that Xinyun perform at Ottawa's National Arts Centre, which previously hosted the classical Chinese dance company for 18 years.

The NAC, which is a federal crown corporation, declined to host the show in 2026 and 2027, citing commercial reasons.

Records obtained through an access to information and privacy request show the decision was made just months after senior management of the venue met with Chinese embassy officials.

Mataiko says the public's response to the Let Shen Yun Perform campaign has been remarkable, and the number of signatures continues to grow.

This milestone is significant because it shows that freedom of expression in art matters to Canadians and is something worth fighting for, she told The Epoch Times.

It demonstrates a strong Canadian desire to bring the Shen Yun show back to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

Fans of Shen Yun Canada launched the petition and public awareness campaign at letshenyunperform.ca, documenting instances of Chinese interference with the show.

wow.

Prince 2001 in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre.

So, like, soft-seater, 3,000-person theatre.

And, I mean...

is that right

yeah and he's a renaissance man tommy's like his visual art stuff has taken off they The show that, based on his, the musical based on his book, which is at the National Arts Center in Ottawa.

Yep.

He's got a new book coming next year.

It was a best-selling memoir by Tom.

Took it to the stage recently, played for 10 days in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre, all based on his discovery in his early 50s that he is Mohawk.

Thought he had grown up Irish Catholic in Hamilton.

Well, he did grow up in Hamilton, but the truth came out, and he is now a member of the Order of Canada, named to that distinguished list three years ago.

If you are in Canada, in Ontario, you have the opportunity to see Cambodian Rock Band coming your way.

It'll be at the National Arts Center in Ottawa in, it looks like, April and May of 2027.

So those who are around or want to travel can potentially look forward to that.

cambodian rock band received the 2019 harold and mimi steinberg uh american theater critics association new play award uh the 2019 winning award for emerging writers the 2018 horton foot prize for outstanding new american play and it was um one of the 10 finalists for the susan smith blackburn prize which is a prize we've discussed many times that is particularly aimed at female playwrights um so well lauded, really had a huge production life early and then was interrupted by the pandemic and has mounted a real, uh, resurrection of its, uh, theatrical life.

Mariel dropped by our studio to talk about the record, what was on her mind when she wrote that song, how she actually went to culinary school first before she realized she wanted to be a touring musician.

But while we were catching up, before we got the microphones turned on, Mariel was telling me She just got asked to perform at the National Arts Center's big event celebrating Katie Lang that's happening in October.

This is pretty meaningful because Katie Lang actually took a chance on Mariel when she was just starting out.

Take a listen.

This is one of the things that came out of the TRC was a call for non-Indigenous and Indigenous artists and groups to work together, to make work together that moves the reconciliation story forward.

Irregardless, as my mother would say, we co-prod with the National Arts Centre.

We opened in Ottawa.

Oh, yeah, and Keith was Brutus, tee-hee.

Everything happens as it's supposed to.

And so Keith joined us as Brutus.

We went to the National Arts Centre.

We opened in Ottawa and we ran at 99% houses.

I've been in Cal for about 18 years, and one of the things I love about Craig Martin, or I guess I have to say loved, that still sounds surreal to me, but he was really encouraging and open to the growth of his musicians expanding outside their comfort zones.

So I can honestly say without Craig's opportunities and encouragement, I would not have gone from being exclusively a drummer to fronting sold-out shows as lead singer at places like Massey Hall and Roy Thompson Hall and the National Arts Centre.

Nor would I have had to learn harmonica from scratch or played bits of guitar and bass and keyboards on shows.

So without any doubt, Craig Martin had a direct impact on my growth in becoming the musician I am today.

And now Ins is doing it again, but on an even more personal level.

His latest stage play, Son of a Preacher Man, is about to start a run at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa before hitting other cities in Canada.

And in it, Ins is on stage telling his own story of growing up with the church, and as the title suggests, having a pastor for a father.

But it's also about how Ins didn't follow his father and grandfather's footsteps to become a preacher, and instead, decided to pursue a career in the arts.

It's a very personal show about his experience growing up in the church and his journey to becoming an artist.

Son of a Preacher Man is a Pacific Theatre production.

It begins at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa tomorrow, playing there until September 26th.

And you can catch it in Toronto at an actual church, the Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, from October 1st to 18th before it heads to Vancouver and Kamloops in November.