Factory Theatre, originally founded in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz as the first company to produce only Canadian plays, has faced significant challenges in recent years.Courtesy of Factory Theatre
Kevin Matthew Wong, best known for his work with Why Not Theatre, is Factory Theatre’s newest artistic director.
Wong, whose roles at Why Not most recently included executive producer and artistic associate, will additionally serve as Factory’s interim managing director, the company said. His first day was Aug. 11.
Factory has faced significant challenges in recent years. Former artistic director Mel Hague resigned at the end of 2025 and former managing director Mark Aikman left soon after. His replacement will be announced by the end of this year, Wong said.
Factory was originally founded in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz as the first company to produce only Canadian plays. Since 2023, it has offered programming on a much smaller scale than before the pandemic. In addition, Wong said the theatre is on “concerned status” with the Canada Council for the Arts, a label applied to companies whose organizational health is “unstable.”
According to Wong, Factory has also had a portion of its municipal funding cut, and the company is expected to lose 50 per cent of its funding from the Ontario Arts Council over the next three years. Factory’s 157-year-old building, too, is in need of infrastructure repairs and pest control efforts.
Artistic director Mel Hague to depart Toronto’s Factory Theatre
“This is what I’m inheriting,” Wong said. “But I’m unafraid. The more I learn about these challenges, the more I see that there’s space to grow – and that there are strong signs about where and how we should move.”
In a press release, search committee chair Matt McGeachy called Wong an artist and leader of “the highest calibre,” adding that he was chosen from a pool of 70 applicants from across Canada.
In the coming months, Wong will spearhead a number of small changes to Factory’s building. First, the company will combine its downstairs lobbies into one open space, with tables, chairs and reading materials available to local creatives.
“We want this space to be warm and inviting,” Wong said, adding that while selling off the building to a developer remains an option as the company shores up its finances, such a move is at least a few years away.
Kevin Matthew Wong is Factory Theatre’s newest artistic director.Albert Hoang/Supplied
As well, Factory’s studio theatre – formerly a bowling alley – will be reconfigured such that audiences can sit closer to the action happening onstage. “That space is so malleable,” Wong said, noting that the room can be used for several different stage configurations, as will be seen in the upcoming season.
Longer-term goals for the building, he said, include lowering the larger upstairs space’s stage and updating the theatre’s sound equipment.
Mandate-wise, Factory will stay true to its Canadian roots, while also embracing more international work, Wong said.
“Canadian plays aren’t going anywhere,” he said. “But I am convinced that Canada’s most vibrant move now is to interrogate itself in the context of the world. We are in an increasingly globalized time … and I want to be at the forefront of that work.”
“This city needs a comeback story,” he continued. “I know that there are incredible stories that aren’t being told, and I’m convinced that we have this amazing place that we can use to tell them. Time will tell whether we succeed.”