Our Company

Outdoor Theatre

Using Shakespeare as a foundation, we re-interpret, re-write, and re-new these stories for a contemporary audience. We push the boundaries of what is possible in outdoor theatre.

Education

Integrated into the artistic practice, education gives theatre purpose, encourages risk-taking, and reminds us to look towards the future of the art. We strive to educate younger generations of theatre artists through our educational programming, and connect with emerging professional artists through our annual summer production.

Community Building

We welcome our community into our work; sometimes as audience, sometimes as fellow artists. We understand that when people gather and an experience is shared, the sense of community becomes stronger.

Accessibility

We offer our programming free, or Pay-What-You-Can. Accessibility unlocks everything we do. The stories we tell are useless unless our audience understands and connects with them. Education can only influence if it is made available based on need rather than money; community can only be built if everyone is welcome.

History

Taking something that was already there, using it as inspiration, and leading it to unexpected territories is what Ruff has always been about.

In 2012, Brendan McMurtry-Howlett returned to Toronto in hopes of working in the park that he grew up in, Withrow Park, with a company that inspired his love of theatre in, Shakespeare in the Rough. But Upon returning, he learned the company had taken their final bow. So he gathered a team of artists he loved working with, and began hosting micro-events in living rooms and neighbourhood backyards. Before long, the group of emerging artists had earned enough money to put on their first show Two Gents, an adaptation of The Two Gentleman of Verona that reimagined the play as a more egalitarian offer.

This began Ruff’s long history of adaptions, which ventured to re-conceptualized casting (Romeo & Juliet), explorations of form (Macbeth: Walking Shadows), to entire rewrites (Portia’s Julius Caesar, My Co-Mates & Brothers in Exile).

In 2016, Kaitlyn Riordan took over the company as Artistic Director, pushing the company to a fiercely feminist edge. In 2018, Eva Barrie joined her as Co-Artistic Director, and the two worked under, and advocated for a flattened hierarchy and intersectional value systems.

In 2021, a new collective leadership team – made up of Patricia Allison, Christine Horne, PJ Prudat, and Jeff Yung – was appointed to the position of Artistic Leads.  This collective embodied the flattened hierarchy and intersectional value systems that Ruff had been building towards. In 2024, Nathaniel Hanula-James joined the collective, and in 2025 PJ Prudat stepped away to pursue other projects. Ruff is currently led by Patricia, Nathaniel, Christine, and Jeff. Every decision is guided by Ruff’s 5 Key Values.

Since 2012, Ruff has taken a decidedly un-precious delve into classical plays, finding ways for them to embody our modern city. With the support of our engaged community, we’ve been able to take risks in our organization and our art, and look forward to surprising and delighting our community in ways we can’t even yet imagine, for years to come.

Updates at Ruff

As we gear up for another season, we wanted to share some updates about where our team is headed. 

In 2025, we bid farewell to Ruff collective member PJ Prudat. Alongside Jeff Yung, Patricia Allison, Kwaku Okyere, and Christine Horne, PJ formed the original collective leadership team that took the reins at Ruff in the fall of 2021. During her tenure, PJ led Ruff’s education programming, expanding and deepening the Young RUFFian Apprenticeship Program to better serve youth. In summer 2022 she premiered her new play Otîhêw as Ruff’s summer mainstage production. An adaptation of Othello, it told the story of an affluent Indigenous woman bound in the historical “custom-of-the-country” to Desmond, a fur-trader employed by the imperial trading and trafficking institution that drove colonization over sovereign Indigenous lands. PJ also dedicated countless hours to Ruff’s day-to-day operations, from supporting rehearsals, to fundraising, to facilitation during artistic disputes.  Beginning in our 2023-24 season, PJ went on sabbatical to pursue a Masters degree in Creative Writing. PJ’s care, vision, and passion are missed at Ruff, but we wish PJ the best in her future artistic endeavours, which include her ongoing Residency at The Theatre Centre and the publication of her first children’s book. Thank you, PJ, for your time, energy, and brilliance. 

We’re also saying a temporary goodbye to Patricia Allison this season. Trish is taking a break from her regular Ruff portfolio in 2026 to participate in Stratford’s Langham Director’s Workshop and pursue personal projects. Collective members Christine Horne, Jeff Yung, and Nathaniel Hanula-James will take over Trish’s usual duties for the rest of the year, including communications and social media. Trish will continue to produce the Ruff Radio podcast. Trish, we wish you a fruitful and exciting time away, and look forward to having you back!

With gratitude,

Jeff, Nathaniel, and Christine

Team Ruff 2026